Horrific footage: Israeli soldiers set a vicious dog on a Palestinian boy

The Israeli army is investigating footage showing soldiers setting vicious dogs on a Palestinian boy, reports the Patria news agency. 

The video was filmed in December in Carmei Tzur in the West Bank, but it drew public attention after ultranationalist politician Michael Ben Ari posted it on Facebook, writing alongside the footage: 'The soldiers taught the little terrorist a lesson'.

In the footage, which many find distressing, 16-year-old Hamzeh Abu Hashem is seen shaking in shock, screaming and wailing as dogs bite his clothes. Israeli soldiers hold him, and one is heard saying 'yofti', meaning 'good'.

According to a translation by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, a soldier in the background asks 'Who is the coward?'.

The father of the attacked boy told Haaretz that his son was arrested on December 23 last year for throwing stones, and that he was admitted to hospital for dog bites before being transferred to prison, where he remains.

– His mother and I watched the video and could not believe what we saw. My wife nearly fainted. I don't know if there is a mother or father in this world who would remain indifferent to such scenes. It deeply affected us, especially because the boy was helpless and the soldiers mocked him – the father said.

The Israeli Defense Forces, which launched an internal investigation, said that certain steps would be taken to prevent similar incidents.

From the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem, they said the footage is an example of standard military practice.

– Soldiers unleash dogs to chase a group of civilians, and they catch them with their teeth so they cannot escape and hold them until soldiers arrive. In some cases we have documented, the dogs refuse to let go, so soldiers have to use a stun gun to separate them. Also, soldiers have cameras on their helmets, and the recorded video was available to commanders, reports Jutarnji.hr.