A few drops of blood is just what tunnel fighters of the terror group Palestinian Islamic Jihad need to make them work harder, according to a new video. The dramatic footage is aimed at avenging the shooting death of a wounded Palestinian by an IDF soldier.
While the group undoubtedly had very serious aims when making the 'Blood Readiness' video, the music and over-the-top acting make the footage seem more like a soap opera than a threat.
It all begins when a Palestinian family is approached by an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldier at a West Bank checkpoint. When the soldier doesn't like the look of a young Palestinian, he orders him to step out of the car.
Although the Palestinian complies with his orders, the soldier violently yanks him out of the car and shoots him, even though the man had his hands in the air.
Drops of the man's blood then drip underground, and happen to land precisely on the arm of a masked fighter who is digging a tunnel under the Gaza-Israeli border. Upon realizing that a Palestinian has been killed, he rapidly picks up his pace, in order to avenge Palestinian blood quicker than previously planned.
The footage, released on Tuesday by Palestinian Islamic Jihad's armed wing Al-Quds Brigades, appears to be in response to an injured Palestinian man who was shot and killed by an IDF soldier while lying immobilized on the ground. The man had previously stabbed another soldier.
The soldier – who claimed he “did the right thing at the right time," fearing the Palestinian might try to blow himself up – is being held in custody amid an ongoing investigation.
The prosecution has called into question the soldier’s claims of acting out of fear or self-defense, calling the act a “grave offense” on Tuesday, and stating that he had no military need to shoot the man.
After reviewing the crime video, the Israeli military court declared the evidence to be "inconclusive".
The judge , Lieutenant Colonel Ronen Shor, said on Tuesday that there is "reasonable doubt" about the shooting "given the complexity of the events" over the stabbing attempt and the fatality that followed. The soldier will be held in custody at least until Thursday.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken out against any criticism of the IDF, despite the killing of the Palestinian.
“The soldiers of the IDF, our children, maintain high ethical values while courageously fighting against bloodthirsty murderers under difficult operational conditions. We must all support the IDF Chief-of-Staff, the IDF, and our soldiers, who safeguard our security,” Netanyahu said, as quoted by AP.
On Sunday, Israel’s Army Radio reported that the shooter had told a friend the “terrorist needs to die” for stabbing a soldier, implying the shooting was not an act of self-defense.
The soldier's defense lawyer, Ilan Katz, has argued that an autopsy of the Palestinian man could prove vital for his client, noting that the soldier could be saved from murder and manslaughter charges if the victim was already fatally injured from his earlier wounds.
The soldier would seem to have public opinion on his side, with a poll undertaken by an Israeli television station showing that only 5 percent of those responding deemed his actions to constitute to murder.
Some 57 percent of Israelis said there was no need to arrest the soldier or launch an investigation, the survey, which was conducted for Israel’s Channel 2, showed. Over 40 percent of those polled deemed the soldier's actions ‘responsible’.