Israeli Soldiers Speak of Atrocities in Gaza

[Ab-Titchaz]

Israel soldiers speak out on Gaza ​

Soldier testimonies appear to contradict official Israeli statements​

Israeli soldiers have described the use of "permissive" rules of engagement that cost civilian lives during the recent military campaign in Gaza. The troops said they had been urged to fire on any building or person that seemed suspicious and said civilians were sometimes used as human shields. ​

Breaking the Silence, a campaign group made up of Israeli soldiers, gathered anonymous accounts from 26 soldiers. Israel denies breaking the laws of war and dismissed the report as hearsay. ​

Breaking the Silence described most of the testimonies of soldiers who took part in Operation Cast Lead as "sober, regretful and shocked". ​

Many of the testimonies are in line with claims made by human-rights organisations that Israeli military action in Gaza was indiscriminate and disproportionate. ​

According to testimonies from the 14 conscripts and 12 reserve soldiers: ​

• Rules of engagement were either unclear or encouraged soldiers to do their utmost to protect their own lives whether or not Palestinian civilians were harmed.​

• Civilians were used as human shields, entering buildings ahead of soldiers​

• Large swathes of homes and buildings were demolished. Accounts say that this was often done because the houses might be booby-trapped, or cover tunnels. Testimony mentioned a policy referred to as "the day after", whereby areas near the border where razed to make future military operations easier​

• Some of the troops had a generally aggressive, ill-disciplined attitude​

• There was incidents of vandalism of property of Palestinians​

• Soldiers fired at water tanks because they were bored, at a time of severe water shortages for Gazans​

• White phosphorus was used in civilian areas in a way some soldiers saw as gratuitous and reckless​

• Many of the soldiers said there had been very little direct engagement with Palestinian militants​

The report says Israeli troops and the people who justify their actions are "slid[ing] together down the moral slippery slope".
"This is an urgent call to Israeli society and its leaders to sober up and investigate anew the results of our actions," Breaking the Silence says. ​

Israeli officials insist troops went to great lengths to protect civilians, that Hamas endangered non-combatants by firing from civilian areas and that homes and buildings were destroyed only when there was a specific military need to do so. ​

Israel said the purpose of the 22-day operation that ended on 18 January 2009 had been to end rocket fire from Gaza aimed at its southern towns. ​

Palestinian rights groups say about 1,400 Palestinians died during the operation. Thirteen Israelis died in the conflict, including 10 soldiers serving in Gaza. ​

According to the UN, the campaign damaged or destroyed more than 50,000 homes, 800 industrial properties, 200 schools, 39 mosques and two churches. ​

Investigations​

Reacting to the report, Israeli military spokeswoman Lt Col Avital Leibovich said: ​

"The IDF regrets the fact that another human rights organisation has come out with a report based on anonymous and general testimony - without investigating their credibility."​

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Israel soldiers speak out on Gaza​

 

[Junius]

Bahati nzuri baadhi ya mambo haya nimeyaona kwa macho yangu kule. Kwa kweli Israel wanachofanya ni kinyume kabisa na maadili ya kiutu. Inaskitisha sana kuona "vita" inapiganwa mpaka Hospitalini, mashuleni, sehemu za ibada na hata kwenye kambi za wakimbizi!!!

 

[X-PASTER]

Bahati nzuri baadhi ya mambo haya nimeyaona kwa macho yangu kule. Kwa kweli Israel wanachofanya ni kinyume kabisa na maadili ya kiutu. Inaskitisha sana kuona "vita" inapiganwa mpaka Hospitalini, mashuleni, sehemu za ibada na hata kwenye kambi za wakimbizi!!!

Hilo wagala hawalioni kaka, mambo hayo yangefanywa upande wa pili ungesikia kila media ingeyaeleza 24/7... Vipindi vyote vingesimamishwa!

 

[Natty Bongoman]

Ab, nilikuja huku leo ku-post similar stories... manake nilikumbuka mjadili humu ulokuwa na wateteaji wengi wa wayahudi. Yaani hata mwandishi anasema "it appears"... kweli wayahudi wana 'carte blanche' kufanya chochote na kutamka uongo (that spokeswoman wao) afu dunia magharibini bado inanyamaza... haya ndo mambo yanayowaudhi waarabu sana wakishuhudia vile wakionewa na majeshi ya wayahudi wa-magharibi wananyamaza, wakilipua kabomu kamoja wa-magharibi wanaimba 'ujangiri' ... this is bullshyt, and it actually is, in my opinion, what keeps the conflict alive. IT HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR YEARS. I WILL NEVER FORGET A NEWS VIDEO OF A FATHER (UNARMED) DUCKING FLYING BULLETS AT THE WALL WHILE SHIELDING HIS SON, AND STILL GOT SHOT AT KILLING HIS SON... NEVER WILL FORGET THAT... MY OPINION OF ISRAELI SUNK THAT DAY... IF THAT IS A HOLY LAND FOR MY RELIGION, THEN WE DON'T HAVE HOLY PEOPLE LIVING THERE. MORE IN WESTERN COMMUNITIES SHOULD DO THE FOLLOWING...


Ken Loach takes Israel stance down under
Ken Loach takes Israel stance down under - Yahoo! News[/url]

Ken Loach takes Israel stance down under - Yahoo! News

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Ken Loach takes Israel stance down under AFP/File – Filmmaker and activist Ken Loach, seen here,has moved to withdraw his work from Melbourne's International …
59 mins ago

MELBOURNE (AFP) – Filmmaker and activist Ken Loach has moved to withdraw his work from Melbourne's International Film Festival in protest against partial sponsorship from Israel, a report said Saturday.

Loach, whose work The Wind that Shakes the Barley won the Palme D'Or at Cannes in 2006, wrote to the festival's director Richard Moore threatening to pull his film Looking for Eric because the event had received Israeli funds.

"Palestinians, including artists and academics, have called for a boycott of events supported by Israel," wrote Loach, according to The Age newspaper.

The boycott, aimed not at independent Israeli film-makers or films but "the Israeli state", was in protest at what Loach described as "illegal occupation of Palestinian land, destruction of homes and livelihoods" and "the massacres in Gaza".

Controversy hit the festival earlier this week when Chinese officials attempted to ban the screening of a documentary about a Uighur activist, in the wake of recent violence in Xinjiang involving the Muslim minority.

Moore refused to exclude the Uighur film, Ten Conditions of Love, and said he would not meet Loach's request to reconsider sponsorship from the Jewish state.

"I wouldn't do it. The festival wouldn't. It's like submitting to blackmail," he said.

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Israeli soldiers allege abuses against Palestinians
Last Updated: Wednesday, July 15, 2009 | 10:08 AM ET

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Israeli soldiers allege abuses against Palestinians

A group of Israeli soldiers who say they took part in January's military operation in Gaza are claiming widespread deadly abuses were committed against Palestinian civilians.

The accusations, which come in a new 110-page report released by a group called Breaking the Silence, were quickly dismissed by the Israeli military, accusing the group of "defaming and slandering the IDF and its commanders."

The report includes the testimony of 26 soldiers who participated in the three weeks of Gaza fighting. Breaking the Silence said it included troops who approached the group or were reached through acquaintances of group members. Two were junior officers and the rest were lower-ranking troops.