The legal advisor of TIPH (Temporary International Presence in Hebron), who
is “responsible for assessing the TIPHs reports from the perspective of international humanitarian law, human rights law, and the agreements on Hebron” is DOING IT ALL WRONG! Unless international law allows you to slap kids around.
What seems to have occurred is that the man was part of a tour right by the Gilbert checkpoint (where the Elor Azaria incident took place) with anti-Israel group Breaking the Silence. At one point, the 10-year-old Jewish boy rushes up to him and seems to kick him. He responds by slapping the boy, as you can see from the footage:
He was subsequently arrested.
According to the Jewish Press – who I quoted in a previous version of this post, until it became known to me their report is full of inaccuracies (serves me right for quoting them – their journalistic standards are horrendous) – police eventually had to release him because of his diplomatic status. (Update: they are also wrong about this! He can be arrested and charged by the police, but it’s a long process).
What is clear is if it was an Arab kid and the perpetrator was an IDF soldier, this would be mainstream media news already.
In the meantime, here’s my legal advice to Slappy McSlapperson: get the hell out of Israel and stay out!
Update: The Swiss ambassador has apologized and is pulling him out of Israel.
