Israeli Soldiers Broadcast Jewish Prayers Over Mosque Loudspeaker, Sparking Furor in Arab World

A video circulating online showing two Israeli soldiers reciting Jewish prayers through the speaker system at a West Bank mosque sparked outrage on Thursday, leading to their apparent suspensions from the IDF.

The footage, shared widely by Israeli news outlet Kann, shows an armed Israel Defense Forces soldier kneeling in the house of worship in the Jenin refugee camp as he recites the prayer of Shema Yisrael and Hanukkah songs into a microphone typically used for the Muslim call to prayer, according to the Jerusalem Post.

The powerful audio system pipes his words far outside the mosque, as "the echoes of the Shema could be heard bouncing off the walls in Jenin," the Post reported.

According to the Times of Israel, the IDF said commanders of the two soldiers reviewed the videos and immediately removed both from operational duty.

“The behavior of the soldiers in the videos is serious and is completely contrary to IDF values,” the military said, adding, “the soldiers will be disciplined accordingly.”

The video triggered a fierce backlash on social media, with many users calling the incident "vandalism" and "desecration."

The clip arrived about a month after the IDF suspended another solider, following a viral video that showed him tossing a stun grenade into a West Bank mosque during a daily call to prayers.

Earlier in November, the IDF said it opened an investigation into videos allegedly recorded by Israeli soldiers showing themselves abusing and mistreating Palestinian detainees in the West Bank.

The clips show men wearing handcuffs and blindfolds as soldiers kick or stomp on some of them.

The videos will likely only continue to escalate the tense and fraught relationship between Palestinians and Israeli setters in the West Bank, which has suffered its worst outbreaks of violence in years since the Israel-Hamas war began in October.

This week, Israeli soldiers have conducted a days-long operation in Jenin, where troops have detained hundreds of suspected terrorists, the Times reported.

Palestinian officials had said Wednesday a total of seven people had died in clashes with IDF amidst the arrest raid, and several more were reported dead on Thursday.

According to Reuters, at least 11 Palestinians have been killed so far.

The IDF says it has questioned hundreds of suspects and searched hundreds of compounds since the operation began on Tuesday, and soldiers have also destroyed six laboratories used for making explosives along with explosive devices and underground tunnel shafts, Reuters reported.

Despite the high count of initial arrests, the advocacy group Palestinian Prisoner's Club has said a majority of the detainees have been released.