Were his fingers injured by one of the Internationalists (at 1:52 or so)?
P.S. Just sent this from IDF Spokesperson's Office (SPOX):
Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon, Commander of the Central Command, has ordered to conduct a thorough investigation of the video showing the Deputy Brigadier commander Lt. Col. Shalom Eisner use violence against protestors. After finishing a primary investigation, Maj. Jen. Nitzan Alon has decided to suspend the officer immediately until a full investigation will take place. In addition, Brig. Gen. Danny Efroni, the Military Attorney General, has ordered to begin a military police investigation.
Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz said today (sunday) that this incident does not reflect the true values of the IDF, and it will be investigated and appropriate actions will be carried out.
UPDATE from the Jewish Press.
And from Ynet:
Lt. Col. Shalom Eisner says he should not have flung his M-16 rifle on Danish activist but claims activists had beaten him with sticks, broke his finger...
...He said he allowed the activists to demonstrate inside the village of Ouja and ride off the road. "All was calm and in control and that is why I didn't bring a water canon and gave them 15 minutes to protest," he said.
"It was a group of 60 activists and suddenly two buses arrived and the activists all together called to block the road while closing our barrier. One of the Palestinian organizers told me at this stage that she no longer had control over the event."
Lt. Col. Eisner claims that some of the protesters started attacking him with sticks which caused one of his fingers to break. He also suffered a major injury in his wrist which required a cast. "The weapon was the only thing I had in my hands. The whole thing lasted 60 seconds, we prevented them from getting on the road and they boarded the bus. Obviously, they didn't show the part where they attacked us with sticks in the video."
Eisner's jeep contained a crowd dispersal kit which was not used during the event. "There was no reason for me to fire a gas grenade as there had been no violence in the course of two hours of dialogue. I thought about using the kit, but I decided it would be better to let them calm down."
And recent UPDATE:
What is that ISMer holding in his hand?
A piece of paper? A pen? A knife?
^
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2 comments:
Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Barak, Chief Of Staff Ganz and Judea and Samaria GOC Nitzan Alon have never been beaten to an inch of their lives by anti-Semites. Its easy for them to judge Lt. Col. Eisner from the comfort of their air-conditioned offices.
Apparently, better an IDF officer die than than they be embarrassed in front of the entire world. Its too much for them to stand behind an officer who did nothing more than defend himself from a hooligan terrorist, who deserved to be shot dead.
If they need to apologize let them do it outside Israel and not shame the entire Jewish people by groveling before ISM terrorist thugs!
that movement of his with the rifle is a standard dispersal maneuver taught to soldiers since the 1990s in situations where no other equipment, i.e., batons, shields, etc., are available.
given the situation whereby the injured protestor was from Europe, the officer could have struck him in the chest - but if there was any violent reaction prior to the video's content, then perhaps his movement was justified. i would not have used tear case there and I don't see a water cannon.
the IDF could have come out and said: while the video is obviously partial and edited and we have no idea what the facts of the case are, we will nevertheless investigate and if any infraction has been committed, proper punishement will be meted out - and that's it. no apologies aforehand.
after the obsequious behavior with al-Dura and a dozen other cases, one would think IDFSPOX has learned something.
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