Israel was locked in heated and worried debate over videos and photographs showing Israeli soldiers fleeing before a stone-throwing mob of Palestinian Arabs.

The incident occurred in the Samarian ("West Bank") village of Kfar Qaddum last Friday, when locals staged a weekly riot against the nearby presence of Israel's security fence.

Typically, the soldiers will engage and arrest those who use violence. But some of the soldiers involved said their commander was frightened by the presence of foreign media cameramen and the inaccurate way they would portray any act of self defense on the part of the IDF troops.

So, the soldiers were ordered to run away, and the Palestinian media hailed the confrontation as a major victory.