Imagine if Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip posed with lingerie belonging to Israeli women who had been forced to flee or killed in the conflict with Israel – the moral outrage and accusations of perverseness, sexism, and violence that would follow. Yet, the reality is that Israeli soldiers have been found playing with Palestinian women’s lingerie in online posts.
In a recent Reuters article, it was revealed that Israeli soldiers have been posting photos and videos of themselves toying with lingerie found in Palestinian homes. One video shows a soldier grinning and holding lingerie over the mouth of a comrade, while another features a soldier introducing his “beautiful wife,” a mannequin in a bra.
The Israeli military has stated that they investigate incidents deviating from expected values, but it’s hard to talk about values amid a genocide in Gaza that has resulted in thousands of deaths and widespread destruction. The social media posts of Palestinian women’s underwear seem to align with the general moral depravity of the Israeli military.
The United Nations Human Rights Office has condemned the posts as demeaning to Palestinian women, along with the mass slaughter occurring in Gaza. This militarized semi-pornography is a violation of the intimate space of Gazan women, further degrading them in an already conservative society.
In December, Palestinian men and boys in Gaza schools were detained, stripped, and made to kneel on the ground by the Israeli army, adding to the humiliation faced by Gazans. The hypocrisy of Israel condemning Hamas for discrimination against women while engaging in such behavior themselves is glaring, especially as they bomb opportunities for Palestinian women to thrive.
The weaponization of humiliation by Israeli soldiers in Gaza only adds to the suffering of Palestinian women and men who have already had their intimate space violated in every possible way. As the Israeli military simultaneously plays with underwear and perpetrates genocide, it paints a dissonant visual record indeed.