Two videos from Palestine:

First video:

To the list of Israeli atrocities, here comes this film of an Israeli policewoman hitting two Palestinian kids. The incident is decribed as "yet further proof that Israel’s 543 permanent and 610 ’flying’ checkpoints "are sites of systematic torture and human rights violations against Palestinian civilians", according to veteran human rights activist, Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi.

Since the incident is hardly the stuff of the horror associated with the term "systematic torture", Dr. Barghoutti adds some colour and garishness by helpfully guiding the viewer to regard it as worse than it is in conjoining it to a much harsher kind of beating in another incident:

"Dr. Barghouthi said the beatings were reminiscent of the physical assault of 18-year old university student Mohammad Jabali by Israeli soldiers near the notorious Huwwara checkpoint in Nablus on 18 March 2007. Four Israeli soldiers punched and kicked Jabali in the face, head and genitals, causing bleeding and a blood clot in his right testicle. Jabali was forced to undergo surgery and to have part of the testicle removed.".

While I certainly reject that any policeperson should lose her cool and raise her hand on anybody, whatever insults or provocations are hurled her way (short of violent threats which does not seem to be the case here), I confess that I can't feel too exercised about this incident. Especially since it seems like a scripted set up. A little complete story told, with a beginning: donkey card with three youths riding away from camera, turning a corner; a middle (altercation between policeoman and two of the boys); and an end: Policewoman walking away, donkey cart turning around, riding past camera, boys staring at camera, grinning.

BTW, the footage provided for the more severe incident shows actually three soldiers and only one that is doing to beating, hardly fitting the description given by dr. Barghouti. I always wonder why the need to beef up the evidence with hyperbolic, and untrue, descriptions in order to make a point about Israeli brutality at checkpoints. Maybe because the purveyors of these truths feel that there is not enough flesh in the actual incidents to warrant the dominant status granted to Israel in such august bodies as the UN "Human Rights" Council in Geneva?

Second video:

Via Solomonia:

The following is a clip produced by the Hamas Al-Aqsa TV, styled after the Lion King, in which Fatah members are depicted as rats, while Hamas is portrayed as a lion.

Caption: "A message to the criminal gangs in the occupied West Bank"

Voice of Muhammad Dahlan: "Snipers or no snipers – move back, and let
Hamas shoot me." "Charge, with the blessing of Allah."

Rat sprays graffiti on wall: The guard of buffoons was here."

Caption: "If you repeat [the crime], we shall repeat [the punishment]"
[Koran 17:8]

Caption: Produced by the animated films division, Al-Aqsa
TV.

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When I saw this video fed to Palestinian children, all I could say was: Poor Remi.