An Israeli soldier posted an image of a Palestinian 'for sale'. The Palestinian is missing

“An Israeli soldier posted an image of a Palestinian 'for sale'. The Palestinian is missing Submitted by Oscar Rickett on Wed, 05/20/2026 - 10:24 Harel Amshika posted the photo of a tied-up man in Gaza City. He is believed to be Mohammed Shorrab Harel Amshika's photograph showing a man believed to be Mohammed Shorrab (Supplied) Off On 18 November last year, an Israeli soldier named Harel Amshika posted a nine-image carousel on his personal Instagram account, accompanied by some reflections on his time spent fighting in Gaza. His years spent fighting had “passed quickly, but left a big mark,” he wrote. “Being a warrior in such a time is a privilege… Gratitude for sleepless nights... And a very long war. To friends who became family. To experiences that I never thought I would have, for better or worse.” Amshika went on to thank his unit, the Shaked Battalion, which falls under the Givati Brigade of the Israeli military. He paid tribute to the soldiers he knew who’d been killed in Gaza, with his bio singling out Ido Zano, a combat medic who also served in the Shaked Battalion. One of the photos in the carousel showed a Palestinian man in an all-in-one white hazmat suit with “B4” scrawled just beneath his right shoulder in black marker pen. The man’s feet are bare. His hands and ankles are tied. He is sitting against a cement block. He is blindfolded with what appears to be green cloth, or green tape. Above him, sitting on top of an adjacent block, the bottom half of another man, his hands and feet also bound with plastic zip ties, can be seen. Over this image, posted to Instagram, is a caption. It reads: “For sale”. The Instagram post has since been deleted. The whole account , in fact, has been deleted, though Amshika has started a new one with a very similar username and a bio that reads, “Just for fun”. But archived copies of the post and screengrabs of the photograph have circulated on social media. An archived copy of the Instagram post (Supplied) According to a report from Global Legal Action Network (Glan), Zahra Shorrab, a Palestinian woman in Gaza, saw the photograph and recognised the man in it. It was, she said, her son Mohammed Shorrab. His hands, his hair, his feet: they were the same. The missing son Aged 41, Mohammed, who has a mental health condition that requires constant social and family care, had gone missing on 20 August 2024. He went out for evening prayers that day and was never seen by his family again. For almost a year and a half, his family looked for him, and it was only when Zahra saw the Israeli soldier’s “for sale” post that they had any clue as to what had happened to Mohammed. 'We are human beings. We are people… How can they reduce him to something worthless like that' - Zahra Shorrab, Palestinian mother Interviewed by the journalist Ali Alasmer, Zahra Shorrab said: “Have the Palestinian people become so cheap that they are put up for sale? What is happening to us is cruel… It is unbearable that they are scattering us like this and that a Palestinian is being offered for sale.” “Do human beings no longer have any worth?” Zahra asked. “We are human beings. We are people… How can they reduce him to something worthless like that?” After Mohammed’s mother identified him in the photograph, Glan coordinated with the Israeli organisation Hamoked, which provides free legal aid to Palestinians living under occupation. On 26 February, Hamoked submitted a formal written inquiry to the Israel Prison Service on the family’s behalf, seeking Mohammed’s location. The Israel Prison Service responded that, following a review of its records, it could find no indication that Mohammed Shorrab had been detained or held in any of its facilities. And yet, Glan reported, “the photograph exists. The soldier who took it has been named. The unit has been identified. The brigade has been confirmed as operating in the area at the relevant time.” Israeli army response Middle East Eye contacted the Israeli army with a list of questions about Mohammed Shorrab and Harel Amshika. In response, an Israeli army spokesperson said: “Based on the examinations conducted thus far, no individual by the name Muhammad Rabee Saed Shorrab was found to be currently held, or to have been held during the war, in an IDF detention facility. Iron bars, electric shocks, dogs and cigarette burns: How Palestinians are tortured in Israeli detention Read More » “Regarding the image presented, it is not possible to identify the individual depicted with certainty. The image was taken over two years ago, and the individuals involved have since been discharged and are no longer serving in the military. The image has been removed. Procedures regarding conduct toward detainees were reinforced to the forces throughout the war.” MEE asked the Israeli army if disciplinary action had been taken against Amshika over the photo. The army had not responded to the question by the time of publication. On Monday, UN special rapporteurs released a report on the torture of Palestinians that included verified testimony detailing “repeated and serious physical assaults, setting dogs on detainees”, “handcuffing and blindfolding for extended periods, shackling to beds and feeding through straws”. The report detailed “the prolonged deprivation of food, sleep deprivation, water and medical attention, prolonged exposure to the cold, being forced to kneel on gravel, deliberate humiliation, blackmailing, electric shocks, being burnt with cigarettes, and being given hallucinogenic pills”. The UN report also referenced “enforced disappearance and arbitrary detention of essential healthcare workers in Gaza”. Israel's genocide in Gaza News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

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