The Israeli army has come under fire after a video emerged showing IDF soldiers cheering and rejoicing as a Palestinian protester is shot on the Gaza Strip.
It comes at a highly sensitive time for Israel's military, which has faced mounting criticism over its use of live fire on the Gaza Strip border, where 31 Palestinians have been killed in recent mass protests.
The video, filmed through the rifle-sight of an Israeli soldier as he opens fire on Palestinians, was captured on December 22 in the area of Kissufim near the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said today.
Officials said that the individual in the clip was hit in the leg and wounded.
Voices can be heard discussing whether to open fire on what seems to be several Palestinians on the other side of the fence.
The Palestinians do not appear to be protesting, are several feet from the fence and are also not carrying out any acts of aggression, such as throwing stones.
A shooter then appears to open fire on one unidentified male, knocking the person to the ground.
'Whoa! What a video! Yes! Son of a b****. What a video!,' a voice believed to belong to the shooter says in Hebrew.
He is also heard bragging about hitting the Palestinian man in the head, despite Israeli Army officials later stating the man was hit in the leg.
As a group of Palestinians can be seen carrying the injured man away, the photographer adds, 'What a legendary video.'
Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the soldier who shot the Palestinian 'deserves a medal', but added that whomever made the recording should be demoted.
In a statement pledging disciplinary action an Israeli Army spokesman said the incident took place took place on December 22, amid Palestinian unrest at U.S. President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.
The sniper fired at him once, wounding him in the leg, after warnings shots and orders to disperse went unheeded, it said, adding that the video was taken by a soldier from another unit.
'As for the unauthorized filming of an operational event, the distribution of the filmed material and the statements made there, it should be noted that these do not suit the degree of restraint expected of IDF (Israel Defence Force) soldiers and will be dealt with by commanders accordingly,' the statement said.
Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan downplayed the actions of those in the video that began to spread widely on Monday night.
'We are going overboard with this video,' said Erdan, from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party.
'It doesn't show gunfire at everyone, but at a terrorist who approaches the barrier in an unauthorised zone coming from an area controlled by Hamas terrorists,' he told public radio.
'I am convinced that everything is OK,' he added, while also speaking of a 'human reaction' by the soldiers confronted with a 'tense situation'.
Education Minister Naftali Bennett of the far-right Jewish Home party also justified the behaviour depicted in the video.
'Judging soldiers because they are not expressing themselves elegantly while they are defending our borders is not serious,' Bennett told army radio.
However, senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi said the video showed what Palestinians have long alleged regarding soldiers' actions on the Gaza border, 'but nobody has been listening'.Education Minister Naftali Bennett of the far-right Jewish Home party also justified the behaviour depicted in the video.
'Judging soldiers because they are not expressing themselves elegantly while they are defending our borders is not serious,' Bennett told army radio.
However, senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi said the video showed what Palestinians have long alleged regarding soldiers' actions on the Gaza border, 'but nobody has been listening'.
'We have been complaining about this, but unfortunately nobody believes it unless an Israeli source documents it,' Ashrawi told AFP.
'The issue of sniper fire is not something new at all, but it is time for the world to see and to believe what we have been saying all along.'
Mass protests along the Gaza border beginning on March 30 have led to clashes in which Israeli forces have killed 31 Palestinians and wounded hundreds of others.
There have been no Israeli casualties.
Israel has faced criticism over its use of live fire, while the European Union and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres have called for an independent investigation.
Israel says its forces only open fire to stop attempts to damage the fence, infiltrations, bids to carry out attacks and at those seeking to harm soldiers.
It accuses Hamas, the Islamist movement that runs the Gaza Strip and with whom it has fought three wars since 2008, of seeking to use the protests to carry out violence.
Palestinians say protesters are being shot while posing no threat to soldiers.
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