JERUSALEM — It is known simply as "the videotape." And in this small, self-critical and image-conscious nation, it has become an infamous and instantly familiar symbol of injustice and oppression.
The 45-minute tape, filmed by a Palestinian in a nearby apartment, shows two Israeli border guards beating and humiliating six Palestinian laborers caught trying to enter Israel without work permits. When Israeli television aired the tape in November, Israelis and Palestinians alike reacted with shock and anger as they watched guards force the men to do push-ups, kick one in the head and sit, bouncing, on the head of another.
The beating, in a remarkable parallel to the Rodney King case, was aired here repeatedly and broadcast worldwide, creating an immediate uproar. Yet it is only the latest in a series of incidents that have raised concerns about the training, education and racial attitudes of those assigned to protect Israel from intrusion at a time of rising tensions with the Palestinians and the rest of the Arab world.
That border police violence against Palestinians is growing is without question. The reasons, though, are in dispute.
The guard is a 9,000-strong paramilitary force that controls the checkpoints separating Israel from areas under Palestinian self-rule and backs up the Israeli army and regular police in disputed areas.
According to figures released by the guard's commanding officers, incidents involving undue force against Palestinians jumped 21% last year. Recent cases have also tended to be more severe and to have been referred for criminal prosecution more often than in the past, said a Justice Ministry official charged with investigating the incidents.
For years, Palestinians--and some Israelis--have asserted that members of the border guard routinely assault and degrade Arabs. Privately and in testimony to human rights groups, Palestinians have recounted numerous instances of verbal and physical abuse.
Palestinian officials see the current escalation as an indirect result of the election last May that brought to power Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a rightist-religious coalition government that has slowed the peace process with the Palestinians.
"We are not saying that 'Bibi' Netanyahu told them to be tough with Arabs and beat them," said Ahmad Tibi, a senior advisor to Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat. "But we believe that the policeman on the ground is seeing a green light from this government for a harder line against Arabs, and interpreting that in this way."
