Israeli soldier posts Instagram image of Palestinian child in crosshairs of rifle

[4now]

An Israeli soldier has sparked outrage by posting a photograph appearing to show the back of a Palestinian boy's head in the crosshairs of his sniper rifle on a social networking site.
snip
The image has been heavily criticised online. Electronic Intifada, a news site focused on Palestinian issues, described the photograph as "tasteless and dehumanising". The site published several other images from Ostrovski's Instagram page, including snaps of the soldier posing with heavy-duty guns.

The Israeli military has been hit by a series of scandals from uncensored social media sites, and Electronic Intifada has been one of the more rigorous monitors of offensive postings by Israeli soldiers.

In December, the site discovered Nisim Asis, a 22-year-old soldier from the Beit-El settlement, who posted racist images on his Instagram page, including a picture of himself licking what is probably tomato ketchup from a knife with the caption: "Fuck all Arabs their blood is tasty".
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/feb/18/israeli-soldier-posts-instagram-palestinian

This is what we are paying for with our tax dollars.

[NaturalHigh]

1. "This is what we are paying for with our tax dollars.

So is this:

http://www.timesofisrael.com/how-american-taxpayers-are-funding-palestinian-terrorism/

It may astound many that American taxpayers are deploying their precious dollars in Israel not just to pay for peace but to fund terrorism. Each year, American aid and financial programs fungibly fund terrorist salaries paid by the Palestinian Authority. This astonishing financial dynamic is known to most Israeli leaders and Western journalists in Israel. It has been written about at least twice in The Times of Israel. But it is still a shock to most in Congress, who are unaware that US money going to the Palestinian Authority is regularly diverted to a program that systematically rewards terrorists with generous salaries. These transactions blatantly violate American laws that prohibit any US funding from benefiting terrorists. More than that, they grandly incentivize murder and terror.


Here’s how the system works. When a Palestinian is convicted of an act of terror against the Israeli government or innocent civilians, such as a bombing or a murder, that convicted terrorist automatically receives a generous salary from the Palestinian Authority. The salary is specified by the Palestinian Law of the Prisoner and administered by the PA’s Ministry of Prisoner Affairs. A Palestinian watchdog group, the Prisoners Club, ensures the PA’s compliance with the law and pushes for payments as a prioritized expenditure. This means that even during frequent budget shortfalls and financial crisis, the PA pays the terrorists’ salaries first and foremost — before other fiscal obligations.

The Law of the Prisoner narrowly delineates just who is entitled to receive an official salary. In a recent interview, Ministry of Prisoners spokesman Amr Nasser read aloud that definition: “A detainee is each and every person who is in an Occupation prison based on his or her participation in the resistance to Occupation.” This means crimes against Israel or Israelis. Nasser was careful to explain, “It does not include common-law thieves and burglars. They are not included and are not part of the mandate of the Ministry.”

Under a sliding scale, carefully articulated in the Law of the Prisoner, the more heinous the act of terrorism and the longer the prison sentence, the higher is the salary. Detention for up to three years fetches a salary of almost $400 per month. Prisoners incarcerated between three and five years will be paid about $560 monthly — a compensation level already higher than that for many ordinary West Bank jobs. Sentences of 10 to 15 years fetch salaries of about $1,690 per month. More severe acts of terrorism, those punished with sentences between 15 and 20 years, earn almost $2,000 per month. These are the best salaries in the Palestinian territories. The Arabic word ratib, meaning “salary,” is the official term for this compensation. The law ensures the greatest financial reward for the most egregious acts of terrorism.

[azurnoir]

2. that is actually very false our tax dollars can not be used for such purposes period

unless of course you're claiming that Barack Obama is okaying the payment of terrorists

[NaturalHigh]

3. Maybe you should read the article.

Is it legal? Of course not. Is it happening? I believe that it is.

No, I'm not blaming President Obama. I just believe that it is an overlooked screw-up.

[azurnoir]

4. maybe I already did months ago it was a very popular meme in these parts

in the run up to the Peace talks - BTW are you then claiming Obama does not know what budget item he's okaying? there is really no way around it because if so this over looked screw up has gone on for years

[NaturalHigh]

5. I don't think that anyone, president or otherwise, is keeping an eye on every single budget item.

I'm not trying to knock the president, no matter how hard you try to frame it that way.

[azurnoir]

6. In this case that is most likely not true because there are a number in Congress

drooling to cut the Palestinians off, if there was a shred of truth to American tax dollars being directly used to pay terrorists it would have happened long ago period

[NaturalHigh]

7. Okay, well if you say so.

[2naSalit]

9. So...

I wonder how many taxpayers are aware that funds being offered to the offenders (Israel) are considered "fungible" - meaning that they are the sole arbiters of how those funds are used. It is part of a long standing agreement and has been so for quite some time. We have no say in how those funds are applied once they are in the fist of the Israeli government. We have been funding this offensive behavior for a very long time, any dissent regarding this issue or anything that gives the hint of dissent with regard to the actions of that government are tabu and the source of any statement of that nature is swiftly dealt with by way of ADL attack in many forms. Go ahead try it, see what happens. That being said, it is no wonder that our president won't dare tell it like it is regarding that government... the resulting attack on the president would be dire.

[NaturalHigh]

8. This article is from February 2013.

Couldn't come up with anything more recent?