In one picture, a soldier points his assault rifle at the face of a
blindfolded detainee and in another an officer is seen spray-painting a Star
of David and "Back soon" on what looks to be the wall of a home.
Others show soldiers smiling and posing inside what appear to be Palestinian
homes, and in one picture two women can be seen preparing food in a kitchen.
Their release comes after a series of photos and videos depicting Palestinian
prisoners have gone public after being posted on social network sites in a
practice the military has said it is trying to halt.
The latest images were acquired by Breaking the Silence, a group of veteran
Israeli combat soldiers who collect testimonies and photos of troops who
have served in the occupied territories.
Yehuda Shaul, a founding member, declined to reveal the source of the photos,
but said the group has received dozens of similar pictures that point to a
widespread phenomenon.
"It's the norm in the Israeli
military, and it's a direct consequence of being in a place where you
control and rule civilians on a daily basis," he said.
"You become corrupt, and you are not able any more to see them as human
beings like you."
The Israeli military issued a statement in which it criticised the group for
making the photos public before bringing them to its attention, adding that "as
in all previous cases, anomalous incidents are investigated."
It went on to stress that "in no way, shape or form do pictures such as
these reflect the values that the soldiers and commanders who fill our ranks
are taught beginning with basic training and up through the most senior
level."
Mr Shaul said the group decided to release
the photos after previous incidents which the military characterised as
exceptional cases.
"Playing around with detainees is something we have dozens of photos
about. That's the reality. That's the nature of the occupation," he
said.
He added that the group was still trying to determine exactly when and where
the photos were taken, but that they appeared to feature the same units,
weapons and surroundings of other pictures taken during the Gaza war.
Israel launched a 22-day assault on the Hamas-ruled territory in December 2008
in a bid to halt near-daily rocket attacks. Some 1,400 Palestinians and 13
Israelis were killed in the fighting.
In August, photos surfaced on the social networking website Facebook that
showed a female soldier posing next to blindfolded Palestinian detainees,
and a YouTube video earlier this month showed a soldier belly dancing next
to a blindfolded female detainee wearing a headscarf.
