The Israeli army said on Sunday that it had suspended several soldiers after they were filmed exposing their bare buttocks to Palestinians in the south of the occupied West Bank.
"All personnel implicated in this unfortunate affair have been identified and immediately suspended from all professional activity," the army said, without specifying the number of servicemen concerned.
"This affair dates to a month ago and does not characterise the values taught to our soldiers," a statement said. "It will be settled today and the soldiers implicated will have to answer for their actions."
On Sunday the YNet news website posted a video, filmed and first distributed by a peace activist group last week, that shows two soldiers in full combat gear exposing their buttocks and a third flashing a victory sign with his fingers.
According to the activist, Israeli settlers regularly harrass the Palestinian shepherts when they take their flocks to water. "The settlers demanded that the shepherds evacuate the area, and IDF soldiers who arrived at the scene also attempted to clear the Palestinian shepherds from their grazing fields; then, in the middle of the argument and for no apparent reason, the soldiers pulled down their pants and exposed their rear ends to us."
The video was said to have been shot outside the southern city of Hebron, with the troops allegedly exposing themselves to Palestinian shepherds in order to try and make them leave an area near the flashpoint city.
"The soldiers frustrated with the failure of the Lebanon war could finally make a victory sign by showing their posteriors to unarmed Palestinians," Israeli Arab MP Ahmed Tibi told YNet in condemning the incident.
(With wire services)
This video is from AFP, broadcast February 4, 2008.
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