Israel has “gone to the dogs” in its treatment of children and youth (image, via Mondoweiss)

Israel continues to outdo itself in the appalling treatment of children and young persons and has literally “gone to the dogs” attacking a teenager who was alleged to have thrown stones. A video from an incident on 23rd Dec, 2014 was posted by B’Tselem (the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories) and shows 16-year old Hamzeh Abu Hashem crying out in an obvious state of distress as two dogs appear to latch on to his body. The English expression “gone to the dogs” is used to suggest a descent to dissipation and ruin which could well be applied to the reputation of the Israeli soldiers involved in this incident. As far back as the 1500s, bad or stale food that was not thought to be suitable for human consumption was thrown to the dogs. The expression caught on and expanded to include any person or thing that came to a bad end, was ruined, or looked terrible. A fitting description for those with little respect for the rights of young people.

International Middle East Media Centre (IMEMC) gave the following account of the incident,

“In the video leaked by Michael Ben-Ari on his Facebook page, two Israeli soldiers are holding onto a 16-year old boy, and forcing a dog to bite the child while commanding the dog ‘Bite him!’ and saying to the boy, ‘Who’s the coward now?’ in Hebrew.

The incident in question has been identified as a December 23rd 2014 attack by Israeli soldiers who captured the child in a ‘buffer zone’ between Beit Ummar, a town located near Hebron in the southern part of the West Bank, and a nearby Israeli settlement built on land stolen from the Palestinian residents of Beit Ummar.

Before it was removed, the video was copied and spread around the internet. In response, the Israeli military issued a statement saying that the incident was ‘irregular’ and ‘would be investigated’

See full story and videos of incident on the following link,

Israeli Politician Leaks Classified Army Video Showing Soldiers Using Dogs to Attack Palestinian Boy

Israel have been using dogs in the military for a number of years. According to information provided in A Special Presentation From Hahn’s 50th AP K-9, West Germany on “K-9 History: World’s Military Working Dogs” Jesusalem’s Police Dept have in the past purchased a number of dogs “from private resources in the U.S.A., who also trained their K-9 handlers, these are used for crowd control.” They also state that, “within the military, the exact number of dogs is classified, the Army, Air Force and Navy, all have K-9 Units.”

B’Tselem claim they have documented their concern regarding Israeli military use of dogs as weapons against unarmed Palestinian civilians. They have also written to the Military Advocate General demanding an end to dog attacks, however, “the only response, received more than 18 months ago, was that the letter was received and is under review.”

Response to dog attack on Twitter

Voice from Palestine tweeted,

“This is Israel! Israelis celebrate the shameful attack of Israeli dogs on Palestinian boy”

Ruchi Gupta said,

“Revolted by the story of Israeli soldiers using attack dogs against Palestinian boy. Human rights violations inevitable outcome of occupation”

David Harris-Gershon stated,

“in Ferguson & Palestine, dogs have shockingly been used on unarmed Palestinians and African-Americans”

A Palestinian protester attacked by an IDF dog during a protest in the West Bank, 2012. Photo by Lazar Simeonov (via Haaretz)

Emanuel Gross writing in Haaretz stated, “a society without respect for human dignity, that is willing to use animals against human beings, is an unfit society that is losing its compass and its conscience.” Israel’s chief military prosecutor has now ordered an investigation into the alleged assault which was also condemned by the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Considering the ructions caused by this latest dog attack, Israel would be wise to reconsider its use of dogs confining their activities to positive work such as “search and rescue” to assist humans not savage them, and as sniffer dogs in bomb disposal.

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights/WOT and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad . She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.