Israeli Soldiers Spark Muslim Outrage By Singing Hanukkah Song Over Jenin Mosque Loudspeaker

West Bank violence has been continuous since Oct.7 and Israel’s major Gaza offensive, but there are fears that clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces and settlers are about to escalate further.

Ultra-provocative footage is now widely circulating online showing an Israeli soldier singing a Jewish Hanukkah song through a loudspeaker at a mosque in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank. A clip was reportedly even shared by Israel’s national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir shares video of soldiers performing Jewish rituals inside mosque in West Bank city of Jenin https://t.co/Lic8B5wY6s pic.twitter.com/yJVBeeUK2J

— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) December 14, 2023

Muslims use loudspeakers attached to mosque minarets for their traditional “call to prayer” several times a day. Thus Israel Defense Forces taking over a mosque to then blare Jewish prayers over a Muslim-dominant town is certainly a big provocation.

At least one of the widely circulating videos has been verified as authentic by Haaretz which said one of the songs sung by a soldier was the Hanukkah song “We Came to Banish the Darkness.”

One video reviewed by Haaretz showed an IDF soldier mocking the Islamic call to prayer by saying the words, “In the name of God, the merciful. Here is the spokesperson of the IDF.”

“For the residents of the camp, the story is over, we will not allow the presence of armed men inside the camp,” the soldier said according to a translation. “The future will be clean, we want you to live with dignity in the camp, there is no power beyond the power of Allah.”

The Israeli army itself appeared to verify the videos, and that they happened recently, telling local media that the offending soldiers had been removed from day. 

A statement said “the soldiers were removed from operational duty immediately, after receiving the videos and an initial inspection of the incident by the commanders.

“The behavior of the soldiers in the videos is serious and stands in complete opposition to the values of the IDF. The soldiers will be disciplined accordingly,” the spokesperson said.

The IDF likely doesn’t want to unnecessarily inflame tensions further, after already more than 270 Palestinians have died as a result of clashes in the West Bank. In some cases Israeli troops have been fired upon by small arms during security raids, as Jenin remains under total military-imposed lockdown.

Another deadly operation has been reported in The New York Times Thursday as follows:

A three-day Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin appeared to end on Thursday; the Palestinian Health Ministry said that during the raid, Israeli forces killed at least 12 people and wounded 34 others.

Residents reported seeing Israeli military vehicles leaving the city on Thursday afternoon, signaling an end to the unusually long operation inside Jenin and its refugee camp, a stronghold of Palestinian armed resistance in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on Thursday.

חיילי צה”ל שרים בכריזה של מואזין בג’נין pic.twitter.com/VD822DSOPs

— הארץ חדשות (@haaretznewsv) December 14, 2023

The IDF has said over 900 Palestinians have been detained from Jenin alone for suspected attacks or terror related activity. Thursday’s raid saw another 100 added to that, as the raids intensify and become more aggressive, according to local eyewitnesses.