Israeli officer assaults Danish activist

Israeli forces had to arrest a senior Israeli army officer who smashed the face of a Danish pro-Palestinian protester with the back of his gun. Footage of the incident has been spreading on the internet, causing outrage. The Israeli officer, named as Shalom Eisner, appeared in the video holding an M-16 gun and using it to hit the face of the Danish citizen Andreas Ayas, during the participation of the latter in a bicycle rally in the West Bank. The video also shows the activist falling on the ground, then being carried away by other activists from the scene. The Danish activist has since been treated in a Palestinian hospital. However, the Israeli TV channel 10 said that the injury was minor, and quoted the activist as saying that his status was good. The channel reported Ayas saying that he and his colleagues were walking slowly towards the soldiers and were singing Palestinian songs calling for the liberation of Palestine. The Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu condemned the behaviour of the officer and denied that this is the “basic characteristic of Israeli army behaviour.” However, a spokesman for the Israeli army said that although the officer’s action was unacceptable and despite having been arrested, the video does not reveal the whole story. He added that “This harsh footage has been cut from the whole context where the anarchists and Palestinians were engaged in acts of violence,” but did add that it does not justify the officer’s reaction. This incident came at a time the Israeli TV channel was broadcasting a report on last Sunday about the probabilities of an Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear reactors, if diplomacy and economic sanctions against fail. The Israeli journalist, Alon Ben-David, said that he spent several weeks among the Israeli air defence to know the thoughts of the army leaders. He said he expected Israel would not carry out any attacks on Iran before May; after the resumption of the negotiations with the Iranian side on its nuclear programme. However, he stressed that in case of failure of the negotiations and of the issuance of an order to attack Iran, “the Israeli attack would take place by dozens of Israeli planes, if not more.” Ben-David added that: “Israeli air forces do not have the ability to destroy the entirety of Iran’s nuclear programme, so the attack results would not be conclusive. The Israeli TV channel said that the Israeli attack may result in the outbreak of war on the northern front through rocket attacks and that, in this case, no place in Israel would enjoy peace or calm. The Danish ambassador to Israel said Monday that her government is seeking clarifications regarding the assault of a Danish pro-Palestinian activist that occured over the weekend.