12/11/2023–|Last updated: 11/12/202309:58 AM (Mecca time)
“Here is the Middle East, and it is very hot.” This is the phrase used by Mark Regev, an advisor to the Israeli Prime Minister, in an attempt to justify what the occupation army did in stripping displaced people in Gaza of their clothes and photographing them in this inhumane way.
Netanyahu’s advisor was speaking in an interview with Britain’s Sky News, when the channel’s anchor inquired about the spread of pictures of dozens of displaced Palestinians bound and stripped of their clothes in Gaza, which sparked angry reactions on social media.
Regev’s response was strange, as he said, according to what was reported by Anatolia News Agency, “First of all, remember that we are here in the Middle East, and the weather is very hot. It may not be a good idea to be asked to take off your shirt, especially on sunny days, but it is not the end of the world.”
After the program presenter pointed out that the Israeli forces released some Palestinian detainees after it was revealed that they were not affiliated with the Hamas movement, he stressed that the Israeli army does not have the right to strip people of their clothes, and asked Netanyahu’s advisor whether they violated the Geneva Convention in this context.
But Regev replied, saying, “The photos are not official material, and it is necessary to look into the way the video spread, which means that Israel cannot be held responsible in this regard.”
However, the program presenter objected to the advisor’s answer and told him: If it turns out that the Israeli army was the one who captured those scenes, then that has nothing to do with the issue or the heat in the Middle East.
In turn, Regev responded to the broadcaster who besieged him by repeating questions about Israel’s violation of the Geneva Convention, saying that he was not familiar with international law at this level.
What’s the story?
Last Thursday, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority published pictures and a video clip of dozens of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, saying that the army had arrested them during an operation in the northern Gaza Strip, noting that they were taken naked in cold weather to Israeli detention centers.
The Palestinians appear in the pictures and video clip sitting on a street in their underwear, surrounded by a number of Israeli soldiers, while trying to cover their chests with their hands (from the cold).
In turn, the Hamas movement denounced the Israeli occupation army’s arrest of displaced civilians in Gaza, stripping them of their clothes, and photographing them, stressing that this was “the work of mercenaries and terrorist militias devoid of all values, customs and laws.”
Since last October 7, the Israeli army has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip that, as of Saturday evening, has left 17,700 people dead, 48,780 wounded, most of them children and women, massive destruction of infrastructure and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, according to official Palestinian and UN sources.