Panama police’s Arab target during Israeli-run training sparks outrage
Panama city (QNN)- Panama’s police have issued an apology for taking part in an Israeli-run training course, which used pictures of Arabs as targets.
The controversy arose after photos emerged from the training, one of which showed a man pointing a gun at an image of an armed person wearing what appeared to be a traditional Kufiyyah.
The images were published on Twitter by the National Police and the local Israeli chamber of commerce but were deleted later.
“We are respectful of cultural, religious and ethnic differences,” the police force said in a statement. “We regret that … a situation arose outside the nature of our mission and duty.”
The deleted Twitter posts had said the training was organized by the Israeli embassy in Panama.
The Palestinian Information Office in Panama condemned the training.
“The target shooting training codes of conduct only accept silhouettes without images … [this] is an act of discrimination and racism that Panama should not tolerate,” the office said in a statement, local media reported.
#Comunicado | Lamentamos que durante un acto en el que como institución participamos como invitados haya surgido una situación ajena a la naturaleza de nuestra misión y deber como primera Institución de seguridad. pic.twitter.com/h2MebZOLR7
— Policía Nacional (@ProtegeryServir) October 2, 2021
The Panamanian Committee of Solidarity with Palestine also condemned the training, adding that the course promoted “violence and racism so that anyone who wears a hijab or something similar can be classified as a terrorist”.
The committee requested the government to cancel the “intervention” of foreign countries in the training of security forces.
“This training constitutes a violation of the protocols referring to the shooting courses that prohibit the use of distinctive figures of the Arab peoples as objects of hatred and persecution,” the statement said.
“We call on the national government to cancel the intervention of Israel and other countries … in our security forces,” it added.
