The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) suspended several soldiers Thursday for using the loudspeakers at a mosque in Jenin to broadcast Jewish prayers and holiday songs.
“The soldiers were immediately removed from operational activity, after receiving the videos and after an initial inspection of the incident by commanders. The behavior of the soldiers in the videos is serious and stands in complete opposition to the values of the IDF. The soldiers will be disciplined accordingly,” a statement by the IDF posted to Twitter read. (RELATED: Wild Video Shows IDF Soldier Getting Blasted By Grenade, Then Getting Up And Gunning Down Hamas Member)
During IDF operational activity in close proximity to a mosque in Jenin, soldiers acted against IDF codes of conduct within a religious establishment.
The soldiers were immediately removed from operational activity, after receiving the videos and after an initial inspection of…
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) December 14, 2023
In one video clip posted by Kann News, one soldier is chanting the Jewish Shema prayer from the mosque while another soldier says in Hebrew “friends, we are here at a mosque in Jenin.” The post further noted that the soldiers also sang Hanukkah holiday songs.
דיווחים פלסטינים: חיילי צה”ל משתמשים בכרוז של אחד המסגדים במחנה הפליטים ג’נין ומשמיעים בו שירי חנוכה וקריאות שמע ישראל | תיעוד@eliorlevy pic.twitter.com/Pcr53t2Wcb
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) December 14, 2023
Jenin is a city in the West Bank, where the IDF launched a 60-hour military operation that ended Thursday with 60 arrests of wanted Palestinians, 50 weapons and hundreds of explosive devices seized, 10 armed Palestinians killed and more than 10 tunnels shafts discovered, Emanuel Fabian, a Times of Israel journalist, reported.
The IDF says that after 60 hours it has wrapped up its counter-terrorism operation in the northern West Bank’s Jenin and adjacent refugee camp.
According to the IDF, the troops scanned hundreds of buildings, arrested 60 wanted Palestinians, seized 50 weapons and hundreds of… pic.twitter.com/qXSudLSY4M
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 14, 2023
“Separately, in other areas of the West Bank, the IDF says it detained 14 wanted Palestinians, including three Hamas members, in overnight raids,” Fabian added. No IDF fatalities are mentioned but the report did include an admission that seven “IDF soldiers” suffered light wounds during the multi-day operation, the post by the Israeli journalist reads.