The incident was the latest in a string of episodes involving young Israeli soldiers on social media that have drawn reprimand from the military.

Israeli news site Walla said the women were new recruits stationed on a base in southern Israel. One picture showed the soldiers removing their fatigue uniforms to expose their underwear and back sides. In another, five women posed in what appeared to be a barracks room, dressed only in helmets and a small amount of combat equipment. The faces of the soldiers were blurred in the photos.

In a statement, the military said the young women had acted in a manner that showed “unbecoming behavior” for Israeli soldiers. “The commanding officers disciplined the soldiers as they saw fitting,” it said.

The statement did not identify the soldiers or give any details about the punishments. Military officials said the base conducted educational lectures to keep soldiers from repeating the offense.

Several times in recent years, the Israeli military has disciplined soldiers for what were considered improper postings in social media sites.

In a video posted to YouTube in 2010, a male Israeli soldier was filmed dancing suggestively around a blindfolded Palestinian woman. That incident followed the discovery of photos earlier that year showing a female soldier posing in front of Palestinian prisoners.

Shortly thereafter, the Israeli military banned soldiers from using social media sites while on base. The ban was an effort to prevent future embarrassing posts on social media. It remains unclear whether the ban is in effect.

Early this year, another soldier was reprimanded for writing anti-Palestinian tweets and posting pictures to multiple social media services showing himself naked with a gun.

Most Jewish Israeli men and women are required to serve in the military, starting at age 18.

JERUSALEM: In 65 years, Israel has surpassed the dreams of its founders, emerging as the Middle East’s strongest military force, a global high-tech powerhouse and a prosperous homeland for the Jewish people.

Yet it remains a divided society, and its most intractable problem — peace with its Arab neighbors — has yet to be resolved.

On the eve of the 65th anniversary of its creation, the Jewish renaissance in the Holy Land remains a work in progress.

Dominating the short term is Iran’s nuclear program, which Israel believes is aimed at developing an atomic weapon that could be used against the Jewish state, despite Iranian denials. Unrest along Israel’s borders is equally worrisome.

Over the longer term, reaching peace with the Palestinians remains elusive, with the sides unable to agree even on how to restart negotiations. Palestinians consider creation of Israel a catastrophe that caused a stubborn refugee problem.

The 46-year occupation of Palestinian territories also ignites domestic and international tensions. Without a partition, Arabs could one day outnumber Jews, threatening Israel’s democratic nature.

Israel began observing its annual Memorial Day on Sunday evening, honoring fallen soldiers and victims of militant attacks. At 8 p.m., air raid sirens sounded nationwide to mark a minute of silence. A two-minute siren was set for Monday morning.

At sundown Monday, the country abruptly shifts its mood to mark its 65th Independence Day with fireworks, military processions and picnics. The transformation from grief to joy is an annual ritual meant to show the link between the sacrifices and the accomplishments.

“Today there are also those who rise up against us and threaten to destroy us. They did not succeed in the past, and they will never succeed,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a Memorial Day ceremony Sunday. Netanyahu’s older brother, Yonatan, was killed in a military operation in 1976.

Israel declared independence on May 14, 1948. Israel marks the day according to the lunar Hebrew calendar. This year the Hebrew date comes out April 15-16 on the calendar used in the West.

Since Israel’s creation, it has been in a constant state of conflict with its neighbors, most recently eight days of exchanges last November with Palestinian militants firing rockets from the Gaza Strip. It has signed peace treaties with just two Arab nations, Egypt and Jordan.

Yet the country is thriving in other ways. It has weathered the global financial crisis better than most, with unemployment below 7 percent and a growing economy. As a “startup nation,” it has pioneered breakthroughs, including Wi-Fi technology, the computer firewall and instant messaging. In the past decade, Israeli scientists have won six Nobel prizes in chemistry and economics.

It has absorbed immigrants from more than 100 countries to host the world’s largest Jewish population, evolving from a largely agrarian backwater to consistently rank high in measures of standard of living. Israel has given the world international supermodels, and its war history has inspired Oscar-nominated films and a TV series that was adapted into “Homeland,” the award-winning American show.

“The state of Israel is truly a fantastic success story, perhaps among the greatest success stories of the 20th century,” said Tom Segev, an Israeli author and historian. “There’s an Israeli culture, a renewal of the Hebrew language. The most amazing thing is that we now have a third generation of Israelis for whom the country is a given. ‘Israeliness’ has become something that we take for granted.”

On the other hand, Segev noted that the country is still grappling with the same basic issue that plagued it in 1948 — its relations with the Palestinians.

Israel still does not have internationally recognized borders, and remains in control of about 2.5 million Arabs living in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. Israel captured the areas, along with the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast war, withdrawing from Gaza in 2005. The Palestinians claim all three territories for a future state.

“We haven’t been able to solve this and we may not be able to solve it all,” Segev said. “Most Israelis look at the Palestinian issue as a military problem and not a political problem. As long as it is quiet and there is no terror, we think everything is fine.”

Israelis argue that the Palestinians have rejected generous peace offers, a claim the Palestinians reject, pointing to Israel’s construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem as a sign of bad faith.

Nahum Barnea, a veteran newspaper columnist, said that even if Israel can resolve its conflict with the Palestinians, its place in the heart of the Muslim world will never be certain.

“The occupation (of the West Bank) is an open wound. But even if the occupation were to miraculously end, the country’s relations with the rest of the world would not suddenly be solved,” he said. “Our struggle is not behind us. It is with us and ahead of us.”

Israel has serious internal problems as well.

About 20 percent of its 8 million citizens are Arabs, who are often treated like second-class citizens and frequently identify with the Palestinians.

Nearly 10 percent of Israelis are ultra-Orthodox Jews, who have clashed with the general public over their dependence on welfare instead of work, refusal to serve in the military and attempts to impose their strict practices on broader society.

More than half of Israel’s first grade students are now either Arab or ultra-Orthodox Jews, predicting a future demographic makeup that is less loyal to the state and less productive to its workforce.

Israel’s transformation into a high-tech, knowledge-based economy has also fueled a growing gap between rich and poor, setting off protests in the summer of 2011 against the country’s high cost of living.

Despite all their issues, Israelis are among the world’s happiest people. Recent surveys by the OECD, Gallop and the United Nations’ World Happiness Report all had Israel near the top.

Most Israelis appear to have developed an ability to block out the nation’s problems and focus on life in a country that just a century ago was just a dream.

“Israelis feel that things are good with them, but not with the state,” Segev said.

JERUSALEM: Thousands of outraged Palestinians took to the streets of the West Bank on Thursday, joining funeral processions and demonstrations after two protesters were killed by Israeli troops and a Palestinian prisoner died of cancer in Israeli custody.

The unrest clouded an upcoming visit by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and underscored the difficult task he faces as he tries to restart peace talks in the coming months.

The demonstrations were among the largest in the West Bank in months, and came amid rising violence. But officials on both sides urged calm, and by nightfall, the situation appeared to be quieting down.

Israeli troops had been on heightened alert since Maysara Abu Hamdiyeh, a 64-year-old prisoner, died Tuesday from throat cancer. The Palestinians have blamed Israel for not giving him proper treatment.

Tensions rose further Wednesday when two Palestinian youths were killed in the northern West Bankafter throwing firebombs toward Israeli troops. In an apparent show of solidarity with Abu Hamdiyeh, militants in the Gaza Strip fired rockets into Israel for three straight days, drawing Israeli retaliation, in the greatest challenge yet to a cease-fire reached in November.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Israel was responsible for the violence, claiming it was trying to divert attention from a four-year standstill in peace efforts.

“It seems that Israel wants to spark chaos in the Palestinian territories,” he said. “From the beginning, we have said we want stability and calm. Despite that, Israel on every occasion is using lethal force against peaceful young protesters, and peaceful demonstrations are being suppressed with the power of weapons. This is not acceptable at all.”

In the most serious unrest, thousands of people took part in a funeral procession for Abu Hamdiyeh in Hebron.

The issue of Palestinian prisoners is deeply emotional in Palestinian society. Nearly every Palestinian family has a member or close acquaintance who has spent time in an Israeli prison, and the 4,500 Palestinians being held by Israel are seen as heroes standing up to Israeli occupation. Israel says the prisoners are criminals and terrorists. Abu Hamdiyeh had been serving a life sentence for involvement in an attempt to carry out a suicide bombing in a crowded Jerusalem restaurant a decade ago.

Mourners carried Abu Hamdiyeh’s body through the streets of the town, while chanting anti-Israel slogans and burning U.S. flags. Masked gunmen fired into the air, while Abu Hamdiyeh was given a full military burial.

Several hundred people later clashed with Israeli troops, hurling stones and firebombs toward forces who responded with tear gas and rubber-coated bullets to disperse the crowd. Several people were taken away in ambulances, but no serious casualties were reported.

In the northern West Bank, hundreds of people turned out for funeral processions for the two youths, aged 17 and 19, who were killed late Wednesday. The Israeli army said it opened fire after a military checkpoint was attacked with firebombs. The funeral march remained peaceful, in part because of Palestinian security forces standing nearby.

Smaller clashes were reported at several locations elsewhere in the West Bank, but the unrest appeared to be quickly contained.

While Israeli officials frequently express concern of a new Palestinian uprising starting, both sides have an interest in keeping things under control.

Israel clearly does not want a return to the days of the uprising a decade ago, when Palestinian suicide bombers frequently attacked major cities. Israel also has come under increasing international criticism for its settlement policies in the West Bank and faces pressure to improve conditions for Palestinians under its control at a time when peace efforts are not moving. A heavy military crackdown could draw additional criticism.

The Palestinians suffered heavy casualties and damage in the previous bout of fighting and seem to have little desire for renewed hostilities. They are eager to capitalize on the international anger toward Israeli settlements and could see this support dissipate if major violence and attacks on Israeli targets were to resume.

“The Palestinians have an interest in controlling the violence, and that is a mutual interest that we have so we don’t see it spinning beyond that,” said Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, an Israeli military spokesman. Nonetheless, he said the Palestinians were playing a “very dangerous game.”

“You know where you begin with this violence. You don’t know where it ends and that, for us, is a red light, something that we have to follow very closely,” he said.

With Kerry expected in the region Sunday, the Palestinians accused Israel of undermining the visit. He plans to meet with both sides in search of a formula to restart peace talks. U.S. officials have said he will largely be listening to each side for fresh ideas on how to break four years of deadlock. A breakthrough may be tough to achieve, partly because hard-line West Bank settlers hold key positions in Israel’s new government, and many of them resist granting concessions to the Palestinians.

“The Israeli government is responsible for the escalation and its dangerous consequences on the American efforts that aim to resume negotiations,” said Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a spokesman for Abbas.

Abbas has refused to negotiate while Israel continues to build settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians claim for a future state. He says the settlements, now home to more than 500,000 Israelis, make it ever more difficult to partition the land and that continued construction is a sign of bad faith.

Israel, which captured the areas in the 1967 Mideast war, has refused to halt settlement construction and says negotiations should begin without any preconditions.

Abbas governs in the West Bank, while the rival Hamas movement controls the Gaza Strip. Abbas hopes to establish an independent state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza. Hamas’ rule over Gaza, seized from Abbas’ forces six years ago, is a major complicating factor since the Islamic militant group opposes peace with Israel.

Early Thursday, Gaza militants fired rockets toward Israel for a third straight day. The rockets, and an Israeli airstrike Wednesday, have strained a cease-fire brokered by Egypt in November after eight days of heavy fighting. Israeli leaders have warned that their patience is growing thin and threatened tougher retaliation if the rocket fire continues.

Hamas, which has close ideological ties with Egypt’s Islamic rulers, also has an interest in keeping things quiet. The group has been working to halt the rocket fire, which is believed to have been carried out by radical, al-Qaida-inspired groups that oppose any accommodation with Israel.

Even so, the Israeli military said Thursday it had moved a battery of its new Iron Dome rocket-defense system to the southern resort town of Eilat.

Eilat is located near Egypt’s Sinai Desert, where al-Qaida-linked groups have staged attacks against Israel.

JERUSALEM: U.S. President Barack Obama arrives in Israel on Wednesday without any new peace initiative to offer disillusioned Palestinians and facing deep Israeli doubts over his pledge to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran.

Making his first official visit here as president, Obama hopes to reset his often fraught relations with both the Israelis and Palestinians in a carefully choreographed three-day stay that is high on symbolism but low on expectations.

He will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, hold separate talks in the occupied West Bank with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and address a skeptical Israeli public with a speech to students.

U.S. officials say he will try to coax the Palestinians and Israelis back to peace talks. He will also seek to reassure Netanyahu he is committed to preventing Iran from getting a nuclear bomb and discuss ways of containing Syria’s civil war.

However, the White House has deliberately minimized hopes of any major breakthroughs, a reversal from Obama’s first four years in office when aides said he would only visit the Jewish state if he had something concrete to accomplish.

Workers have hung hundreds of U.S. and Israel flags on lamp posts across Jerusalem, as well as banners that boast of “an unbreakable alliance,” but the apparent lack of any substantial policy push has bemused many diplomats and analysts.

“This seems to me to be an ill-scheduled and ill-conceived visit,” said Gidi Grinstein, president of the Reut Institute, a Tel Aviv-based think tank.

“On the Iranian situation, Israel and the U.S.A. don’t seem to have anything new to say to each other. On Syria, the Americans don’t have a clear outlook, and on the Palestinian issue, they are taking a step back and their hands off.”

JERUSALEM: A powerful partner of Israel’s prime minister says sanctions and negotiations will not stop Iran from pursuing its disputed nuclear program.

Former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman says North Korea’s nuclear test was an “obvious example” of diplomacy failing to curb a nuclear program.

Lieberman told Army Radio on Wednesday that “anyone who thinks sanctions or negotiations will stop Iran is wrong.”

Iran, like North Korea, is under stiff sanctions and negotiations with the West over its nuclear program have stalled.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu often hints about a possible strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Lieberman stepped down from his post two months ago after he was indicted for breach of trust in a fraud and money-laundering case. But he remains a powerful lawmaker and Netanyahu’s top political ally.

JERUSALEM: Under heavy security, a Muslim football player whose signing with a Jerusalem club sparked a violent uprising by a hardcore group of racist fans made his much anticipated debut Sunday to a rousing ovation.

Hundreds of police deployed around Beitar Jerusalem’s stadium, two days after a suspicious fire believed to be set by angry fans destroyed the team’s main offices.

Tensions remained high as the team faced off against Bnei Sakhnin, an Arab team whose fans have clashed before with Beitar’s. But the thousands of fans and foes who flooded to Teddy Stadium presented a show of strength against a rising tide of racism among Israeli soccer fans.

“I came today to show that not all Beitar fans are punks and racists,” said Yair Sina, a 49-year-old lifelong Beitar fan. “I won’t let them take away my love for the team.”

The fire, which destroyed historic trophies and mementos, marked the height of a violent campaign by fans upset with the team for signing two Muslim players from Chechnya.

But in contrast to the previous taunts and jeers directed at the players, the crowd of thousands erupted into a rousing standing ovation when Gabriel Kadiev, a 19-year-old defender recently brought over from FC Terek Grozny, entered the game in the 80th minute. Every time he touched the ball the crowd cheered wildly, mostly drowning out a smattering of boos. The trend continued when a few minutes later Beiter scored a late goal to secure a 2-2 tie.

Kadiev’s Chechen teammate, 23-year-old Zaur Sadayev, was injured and not included in the team lineup.

The goodwill was felt throughout the stadium with banners reading “Violence and racism? Not on our field” and fliers explaining the sensitivity of the game and beseeching the fans to behave.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said more than 500 policemen were deployed inside and outside the stadium to prevent disturbances. Officers were on horseback and others escorted the Sakhnin players into the field to make sure they were safe.

“It is now clear to any reasonable person in the country where racism can lead. I came here to strengthen Beitar in their battle against racism,” said Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, one of several dignitaries at the game. “This is a historic process and it is clear that what was once cannot be again.”

Beitar has long tried to contain a tightly knit fan group called “La Familia” whose behavior has had the team docked points and forced it to play before empty stadiums. The group is routinely abusive toward opposing players, taunting them with racist and anti-Arab chants.

But only after the signing of the Chechens did a full-fledged confrontation erupt between the Beitar fans and team management. At the first game after the move, fans unfurled large banners with racist undertones, such as one that read “Beitar pure forever.”

When the team refused to back down, the fans turned abusive and began cursing and spitting at players and management.

Most of the ire has been directed toward general manager Itzik Kornfein, a former Beitar goalkeeping great who has spoken out forcefully against racism. “La Familia” members often curse at him outside team practices and some have even attempted to attack him physically.

Following Friday’s firebombing attack, Kornfein said he feared for his life.

Four members of the group were charged with anti-Muslim chanting and most were prevented from entering the game.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel on Tuesday welcomed a Bulgarian report implicating Hezbollah in the deaths of five Israelis in a bus bombing last summer, signaling that it will use the findings to focus on a diplomatic battle rather than military retaliation against the Lebanese militant group.

Israel has long blamed Hezbollah for the attack, which targeted a bus carrying Israeli tourists in the Black Sea resort town of Burgas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the report “further corroboration of what we have already known, that Hezbollah and its Iranian patrons are orchestrating a worldwide campaign of terror that is spanning countries and continents.”

The bomb exploded as the Israeli tourists boarded a bus from the airport to their hotel. The blast also killed the Bulgarian driver and the bomber.

Instead of hinting at retaliation, Netanyahu signaled he would step up his efforts to press the European Union to declare Hezbollah a terrorist group. “We hope the Europeans learn the proper conclusions from this about the true character of Hezbollah,” he said.

Analysts said they did not expect Israel to retaliate now that Bulgaria has named Hezbollah.

“When Israel acts, it is in order to prevent a security threat, to prevent a concrete attack. It is not in order to punish,” said Israeli counter-terrorism expert Boaz Ganor.

Last week, U.S. and regional officials said Israel struck a military research center and a convoy carrying sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles from Syria to Hezbollah. Israel has not officially confirmed it carried out the airstrike, though its defense minister this week strongly hinted at Israeli involvement.

Israel and Hezbollah have a violent history. The two fought an inconclusive monthlong war in 2006, when Hezbollah fired nearly 4,000 rockets at Israel. Israel’s heavy aerial bombardments caused much damage to civilian infrastructure but ultimately were unable to stop Hezbollah from continuing to amass a large stockpile of rockets just beyond Israel’s northern border.

Hezbollah accuses Israel of assassinating a top commander, Imad Mughniyeh, in 2008, when a bomb tore through his car in Damascus, Syria.

Israel, meanwhile, accuses Hezbollah of maintaining a network of operatives around the world who plot against its citizens. Israel has attributed a series of attacks on its citizens in recent months to Hezbollah, and by association, its patron, Iran.

Israel has prodded countries to brand Hezbollah a terror organization. A few countries, like the U.S. and Canada, have agreed. While Holland and Britain have also listed Hezbollah, Israel has so far been unable to persuade the European Union as a whole to take action. Bulgaria is an EU member.

Organizations placed on the EU terror list would struggle to function in the countries in which they are banned. Hezbollah operatives and lawmakers could be prohibited from entering Europe, and activities such as planning attacks or fundraising could be hindered.

An Israeli official said Israel plans to continue sharing intelligence on Hezbollah with European allies as it has in the past, but that in light of the report, it would press the Europeans harder to punish Hezbollah. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the Bulgarian investigation with reporters.

Efraim Inbar, head of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University, said the Bulgarian report could force the EU into action.

“An official Bulgarian investigation — from a country which is a member of the European Union — will make it difficult for the Europeans not to put them on the list,” he said.