Israel’s war on Gaza earlier this year was one of the most gruesome and destructive chapters in the decades-old Palestinian struggle against Israeli occupation and dispossession. For 22 days, the Israeli army, navy and air force pounded the coastal strip, destroying tens of thousands of homes as well as schools, mosques, food depots and hospitals. Over 1,400 Palestinians were killed, of whom only about 250 were combatants.
Palestinians contended that from the very beginning of the assault, Israeli forces were operating under extremely lax rules of engagement and that the lives of Palestinian civilians were completely disregarded. Human rights organizations, investigating the war and its aftermath, concluded that Israeli soldiers were reckless and committed acts of deliberate destruction. Amnesty International found that Israeli troops had used Palestinian civilians as human shields – a war crime and tactic which Israel had continuously accused Hamas of using during the war although Amnesty found no evidence of that.
Today, Israeli human rights group Breaking the Silence, has released testimony from soldiers who served in Gaza that corroborates Amnesty’s claims and vindicate Palestinian accusations of criminal conduct by Israeli soldiers.
Others spoke of the destruction of homes and mosques for no military purpose and the general attitude drummed into the soldiers by their officers that nobody in Gaza was innocent. Still others commented on the permissive use of white phosphorous in populated areas and instructions to fire if the soldiers felt any danger without verifying the threat.
The revelations will not be received with shock in many parts of the world. The total destruction, gruesome civilian death toll and heavy bombardment of the most densely populated area on earth had by themselves elicited the disgust of many around the globe. Such testimonies will simply confirm what many already knew: the Israeli army committed war crimes in Gaza.
As for the impact they will have within Israeli society, it will take a lot for the testimonies to permeate the culture of denial surrounding the war on Gaza. During the assault the war had almost universal support in Israel and across the entire political spectrum. Most Israelis are still convinced that they actually fought a defensive war; but two years after the 2006 Lebanon war, the military leadership was well aware of the Israeli public’s aversion to deaths amongst their own soldiers. At the same time, sure of the public’s indifference to the total destruction of Gaza, the soldiers operated under the guise that they were to minimize the danger to their lives at any cost. As one soldier says in his testimony, “The soldiers were made to understand that their lives were most important. There was no war our soldiers would get killed for leaving civilians the benefit of the doubt.”
Related posts:
- Not on CNN
- Morality can be a tad subjective…
- Breaking: Israeli incursion into Gaza
- Today in Palestine..
- Record breaking oppression
The IDF loved to whine about the Palestinians using human shields, when it was the IDF that litterally used Palestinians as human shields….
Unfortunately, these atrocities are not limited to the Gaza conflict, they have been the policy of the Israeli military for some time now and are frequently employed in the West Bank.
They literally tie kids to the front of their military vehicles.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3650791.st…
And firing from behind the shoulders of children in the streets of Hebron.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/jan/02/israe…
Posted by Arayus | July 17, 2009, 9:54 pmIf I remember correctly, the Supreme Court of Israel has repeatedly chastised the IDF for using these tactics, and reminded them they violate international and Israeli law, yet the IDF continues to act, much as the larger Israeli government does, as if it is above the law. In February of 2007, during "Operation Hot Winter" in Nablus, the IDF was caught on camera using human shields. A longer interview with Jihan, the young girl near the end of the video, can be found here.
Arayus is astute to note, as many others have, that these as well as the instances he mentioned in his post are what truly constitute the use of a "human shield", not fighting from civilian buildings as the IDF accuses Hamas of doing.
Posted by Nth Republic | July 17, 2009, 11:15 pmThe IDF loved to whine about the Palestinians using human shields, when it was the IDF that litterally used Palestinians as human shields….
Unfortunately, these atrocities are not limited to the Gaza conflict, they have been the policy of the Israeli military for some time now and are frequently employed in the West Bank.
They literally tie kids to the front of their military vehicles.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3650791.st…
And firing from behind the shoulders of children in the streets of Hebron.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/jan/02/israe…
Posted by Arayus | July 17, 2009, 9:54 pmThe Breaking the Silence testimonies booklet is available for downloading:
http://www.shovrimshtika.org/oferet/ENGLISH_ofere…
Posted by Michael | July 18, 2009, 2:56 amThe Israeli defense establishment has reacted to this in a fascistic way….from Haaretz…
"Public criticism of the IDF is inappropriate," Barak said. "Any criticism, information or reservations about the army's conduct should be addressed to me as the Defense Minister of the State of Israel and to the Israeli government which instructed the IDF to reinstate peace and security in southern Israel."
Posted by Joshua | July 18, 2009, 4:28 pmtest
Posted by Nth Republic | July 19, 2009, 10:53 pmhow can i email Muhammad please?
Posted by hiba | September 3, 2009, 10:29 pm