Israeli soldier’s photo of Palestinian boy in crosshairs stirs debate

JERUSALEM

Photo from electronicintifada.net.

A photo taken by an Israeli soldier showing a Palestinian boy in the crosshairs of his sniper’s rifle has drawn fierce criticisms from activists after the soldier allegedly posted it on the photograph-sharing hub Instagram.

The picture, which appears to have been taken in the West Bank, was posted on a page belonging to Israeli soldier Mor Ostrovski. The image was later removed from the site but it was publicized on the Electronic Intifada website.

The Israeli military said the soldier’s commanders were investigating the incident, British daily the Guardian reported. His actions “are not in accordance with the spirit of the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] or its values,” a spokesperson said.

Ostrovski told the army he did not take the picture but found it on the Internet, according to the daily.

Palestinian blogger Ali Abunimah, founder of the Electronic Intifada website, wrote a blog on the photo on Feb. 16, describing it as “tasteless and dehumanizing.”

“It embodies the idea that Palestinian children are targets,” wrote Abunimah. “This is what occupation looks like,” representatives of Breaking the Silence, a group of Israeli army veterans who aim to raise public awareness of what happens in the territories, said on the group’s Facebook page, daily Haaretz reported. “This is what military control over a civilian population looks like.”