BICOM

The Israel Defence Force (IDF) has confirmed it has launched an investigation into a video which appears to show an IDF soldier shooting an unarmed Palestinian in Gaza close to the border fence with Israel.

The video, which was published on social media yesterday evening, was filmed on a mobile phone through a rifle telescope. Israeli soldiers can be heard cheering when the unarmed Palestinian protestor is shot.

The IDF said: “With regard to the video of the soldiers at the Gaza Strip border – it was probably an event that occurred a number of months ago. The event will be investigated and examined thoroughly.”

Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid said he fully expects the IDF to “investigate the sniper video without hesitating and according to the IDF’s principles and orders,” adding that “Israel’s moral fortitude is part of the national security and is what gives us the quality advantage over our enemies”.

Head of the Joint List Ayman Odeh called for the soldier responsible to be put on trial and said it was “a clip that terrifies the soul, rejoicing over the taking of a life and what appears to be the execution of someone who endangered no one”.

However Education Minister Naftali Bennet defended the soldiers in the video he said: “Anyone who was ever in the field knows that to sit in Tel Aviv or in studios and judge the expressions of IDF soldiers guarding the borders isn’t serious”.

Israeli Human rights organisation B’Tselem dismissed the IDF investigation as a a “meaningless” attempt to “cover up the truth” and said that the IDF issues “illegal orders telling soldiers to shoot people who endanger nobody”.

According to Israeli military protocol, all live fire directed at protesters requires approval by the most senior officer in the field, usually on instructions from a brigade or battalion commander.

On Sunday it was reported that the Brig. Gen. Moti Baruch, head of the General Staff’s Doctrine and Training Division, will head an inquiry into the conduct of the IDF in the recent events on the Gaza border.