Israeli soldier complains about Palestinian underwear

An Israeli soldier has complained to the authorities that he was given Palestinian-made underwear during his national service.

Aviv Kolber, 37, was on duty in the West Bank when he realised his military-issue underwear was made in Beit Jalla, a Palestinian village.

“On the one hand, they send us to fight our so-called enemies, and on the other, they buy clothes from them,” he said. “It is just crazy.”

Until Israel’s Operation Defensive Shield, Beit Jalla was the source of regular shooting attacks against the nearby Jewish neighbourhood of Gilo, which is built on land Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast War.

The Defence Ministry said the underwear might have been donated to the army, or that an existing Israeli supplier subcontracted the manufacturing process to the Palestinians in Beit Jalla.