Israel using Palestinian cemetery for military drills

Yesh Din captured footage of the soldiers carrying out military exercises inside the Palestinian cemetery near the southern West Bank city of al-Khalil ('Hebron').

"Think of the scandal we'd see if Palestinian policemen, or other foreign troops, were to use a Jewish cemetery for practice purposes; is it even conceivable for the army to use a Jewish graveyard for training purposes?" said Yossi Gurvitz, author of the Yesh Din blog post.

"One is pressed to imagine greater callousness of heart: turning a graveyard, a place on which every society places many taboos and much sensitivity, into a place where soldiers practice," Gurvitz admitted.

The incident continues a practice of using populated Palestinian areas for Israeli military drills since at least 2007, the author added.

The exercises are not announced to Palestinian locals in advance, and thus it is not always clear to nearby residents that these are mere drills.

During military drills, Israeli forces can enter Palestinian homes and involve Palestinian civilians in their operations without warning them that the raids are mere practice.