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August 31st, 2020 
Awake Goy The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday denounced the apparent inaction of a group of soldiers who were captured on video not responding as a Palestinian teenager threw rocks at them in the West Bank city of Hebron over the weekend.
In the footage, the Palestinian youth can be seen repeatedly running up within close range of the soldiers, who stand behind a small barrier, and hurling stones at them. In the heavily edited 2-minute video, the troops, who wear vests and helmets, can be seen protecting themselves from the rocks — one soldier uses a plastic riot shield — but do not appear to respond to their attacker.
“On first glance and without seeing the entire video — the conduct that is seen in the video is not the conduct expected of IDF soldiers. IDF soldiers are required to prevent such incidents and to use force with discretion and in accordance with the rules of engagement,” the IDF said in response to the footage.
The military said an investigation had been launched into the encounter by the commander of the Hebron-area brigade, Col. Avichai Zafrani, whose initial findings were presented to the head of the IDF Central Command, Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai.
Yamina MK Bezalel Smotrich in Jerusalem on May 18, 2020. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
The video of the incident was shared widely on Palestinian and Israeli social media.
The footage sparked an online feud between far-right lawmaker Bezalel Smotrich of the Yamina party and left-wing politician — and former IDF deputy chief of staff — Yair Golan of Meretz.
“I would prefer a thousand videos of Elor Azaria instead of an embarrassing and dangerous one like this. Whoever trained these soldiers to respond in this way is not worthy to be a commander for another day,” Smotrich wrote in a tweet, referring to a 2016 case in which an IDF soldier was filmed shooting dead a wounded, supine Palestinian assailant. Azaria was later convicted by a military court of manslaughter.
Golan responded to Smotrich’s comment, ridiculing the lawmaker’s bellicose language in the context of his short, uneventful military service.
Retired major general Yair Golan at a conference held at the Israel Democracy Institute in Jerusalem on July 7, 2019. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
“Only a corporal from the [IDF’s Kirya headquarters] who never had to deal with a riot could come out with statements like this. Only a fascist can call for civilians to be shot indiscriminately. Pray to God that Smotrich doesn’t get to make choices for your children,” Golan said.
In an interview later with the Kan broadcaster, Golan explained that he thought the soldiers did not appear to respond correctly, though he could not say definitively as he did not know what orders they had received or what the situation was in Hebron on that day.
The former general said he took particular issue with Smotrich’s comment about Azaria: “That’s a call for rebellion — saying you’d rather see 1,000 cases of soldiers not obeying orders instead of one case of soldiers obeying orders.”
The footage also caused a stir among Palestinians, with many hailing the young man as a hero for standing up to the armed soldiers. Some, however, saw the video as a roundabout form of Israeli propaganda, demonstrating the restraint that IDF soldiers use.
Hebron, which holds a small Jewish community, is known as a flashpoint site between Israelis and Palestinians.
The city’s Tomb of the Patriarchs holy site, believed to be the burial location of the biblical patriarchs and matriarchs, with the exception of Rachel, has long been a hotspot for violence.
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