It's easy to laugh when your Army is humiliating a captive population with impunity... for decade after decade, "peace process" after "peace process"
What a Feeling! They can really have it all!
Over the years, Israel established a number of settlement points in and around the Old City of Hebron which had traditionally served as the commercial center for the entire southern West Bank . Israeli law-enforcement authorities and security forces have made the entire Palestinian population suffer in the process of protecting Israeli settlement in the city. The authorities impose a regime intentionally and openly based on the "separation principle", the result of which is legal and physical segregation between the Israeli settlers and the Palestinian majority.
This policy led to the economic collapse of the center of Hebron and drove many Palestinians out of the area. The findings of a survey conducted by B'Tslem in November-December 2006 show that at least 1,014 Palestinian housing units in the center of Hebron have been vacated by their occupants. This number represents 41.9 percent of the housing units in the relevant area. Sixty-five percent (659) of the empty apartments became vacant during the course of the second intifada. Regarding Palestinian commercial establishments, 1,829 are no longer open for business. This number represents 76.6 percent of all the commercial establishments in the surveyed area. Of the closed businesses, 62.4 percent (1,141) were closed during the second intifada. At least 440 of them closed pursuant to military orders.
The main elements of Israel's separation policy are the severe and extensive restrictions on Palestinian movement and the authorities' systematic failure to enforce law and order on violent settlers attacking Palestinians. The city's Palestinian residents also suffer as a direct result of the actions of Israel 's security forces. b'tselem
One can imagine the boredom these kids go through each day, keeping Palestinians off their own streets (the street they are dancing on is off limits to Palestinian residents). As the above B'tselem report testifies, settler violence is severe in Hebron (the site of the infamous Baruch Goldstein massacre, a man still revered for his murder of 29 in a Mosque and wounding of 150 more) and the role of the Israeli military is to protect the settler population, and enforce restrictions on Palestinians. So i suppose after day after day of barking orders to Palestinians, children and elderly, men and women... you can't blame the Israeli soldiers for wanting to let off a little steam and do their little victory dance... they rule the streets, after all.
This was a little too much for Israeli authorities, and it is said that their will be an investigation for this lack of military decorum. They have been instructed to make another video.
But the occupation goes on, and still Palestinians cannot walk, much less dance on this street.
Prime Minister Netanyahu, (a most reasonable man, we are told) has declared a site, Ibrahimi Mosque (Cave of the Patriarchs), in Hebron, deep in the West Bank, as an Israeli National Heritage site (so where does that leave Palestinians? I thought the West Bank was where Palestinians were going to be allowed, by Israeli generosity, to have their mini-state?).
Where will Palestinian youth have a place to dance? Where and when will Palestinians have their freedom?
Very little chance of that while Israeli troops march, or dance, on Palestinian streets.
In the meantime, Palestinians of Hebron cope with Israeli occupation.
