Israel Matzav

Soldiers: Eisner was attacked

IDF soldiers who were present at Saturday's incident, in which Lieutenant Colonel Shalom Eisner was filmed striking an International Solidarity Movement terror sympathizer with his rifle, reported that Eisner was attacked by the pro-'Palestinian' foreign 'activists' before the incident took place.

Soldiers who witnessed Saturday's incident in which Lt. Col. Shalom Eisner was caught on camera striking a Danish activist with his M-16 rifle said the deputy commander of the Jordan Valley Brigade was hit by a bicycle that was hurled at him by the pro-Palestinian foreign activists.

Eisner admitted to striking the Danish activist, but said he was attacked prior to the incident. "It's a shame that the camera did not capture the attack on Eisner," one of the soldiers said Tuesday.

"It must be understood that the incident itself lasted maybe a minute or two," said a soldier who serves in an IDF reserves battalion currently stationed in the Jericho sector, where the incident took place. "The two hours that preceded the incident were rather calm, because Eisner allowed the activists to protest along the side of the road. Had they demonstrated on the road itself - it would have ended with a terrible accident. Before they (activists) tied to block the road, things were fairly quiet."

The altercation occurred when dozens of foreign activists and Palestinians on bicycles and on foot left Yitav, located near the Palestinian village of Ouja, and headed towards join Route 90, a major north-south artery. Access to the road was blocked by a group of IDF soldiers.

The activists said they sang and chanted peacefully for about half an hour, then decided to march toward the soldiers in an effort to reach Route 90. That is when Colonel Eisner became violent, they said.

"Eisner lost his temper. We’ve never seen anything like it before," a resident of Ouja said. "You won't find a photo of the officer being assaulted because it never happened."

Actually, you won't find a photo of Eisner being assaulted because - as you might recall - the IDF's video camera battery ran out.

The current expectation is that Eisner - who has a lot of support in the army and among the general public - will be offered a transfer.

Labels: IDF ethics, International Solidarity Movement, Jordan Valley

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:36 PM