Netanyahu: Abusers Only Blamed When Caught on Camera
After a video surfaced allegedly showing IDF soldiers abusing a Palestinian detainee, Benjamin Netanyahu labeled it Israel's 'most serious' PR attack. This isn't newfound concern for ethical conduct; this is damage control. The pattern holds: in 2004, and again in 2011, similar 'isolated incidents' of detainee abuse surfaced, only to be framed as aberrations rather than systemic issues.
(Verifiable via Human Rights Watch reports from those periods.) For a government that receives billions in military aid—often without stringent human rights conditions—the priority is rarely accountability but rather managing international perception. It's almost as if the 'PR attack' is the actual crime for which they seek a robust defense, while the alleged abuse itself is just an unfortunate
backdrop. How many 'isolated incidents' does it take to establish a pattern?