Israeli Soldiers Reveal Gaza War Crimes

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Thanks to the Israeli human rights group “Breaking the Silence,” the abuses documented by Amnesty International and residents of the Gaza Strip are now backed-up by Israeli soldiers that took part in Operation Cast Lead. “Breaking the Silence” has interviewed many Israeli soldiers that took part in the December to January incursion, concluding that the account provided by the IDF leadership does not fit well with first-hand soldiers’ experiences.

 

The Spiegel commented that this Israeli soldiers’ perspective, “paints a completely different picture of Israel’s campaign against the Islamist organization Hamas from that provided by the Israeli military leadership.”

 

Operation Cast Lead, disparagingly known as the “Gaza Massacre” in the Arab world, saw well over 1000 Palestinians civilians killed, perhaps as many as 1417, according to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights. The IDF claims fewer than 1200 Palestinian civilians were killed.

The Israeli goverment were quick to deny any wrong-doing

 

According to soldiers’ testimonies, ’standard procedure’ during the war, “was to fire shots when entering residential buildings…the idea was that when we enter a house, no one there could fire [back] at us.” Crucially, throughout the conflict there was little discrimination demanded by IDF leaders between civilians and combatants, helping contribute to the avoidable deaths of up to 400 children.

 

This puts into doubt the Israel Defense Force’s claim that Hamas was to blame for civilian deaths by using them as human shields. Indeed, Israeli soldiers have commented this week that they themselves had used Palestinian civilians as human shields during the incursion.

 

The IDF has responded by saying the soldiers’ accounts are anonymous and unverifiable, therefore easily dismissed. The Israeli investigation into the IDF’s conduct during the war concluded in April that, “throughout the fighting in Gaza, the IDF operated in accordance with international law.”

 

This photo allegedly shows the use of internationally proscribed white phosphorous weaponry.

 

It’s hard to believe the IDF’s account of the war, given the above photographic evidence and the aforementioned soldiers’ accounts.

 

One soldier commented that, “Sometimes the force would enter while placing rifle barrels on a civilian’s shoulder, advancing into a house and using him as a human shield. Commanders said these were the instructions and we had to do it.” Another claims his Commander instructed him, “Better hit an innocent than hesitate to target an enemy.”

The destruction in Gaza was unprecedented

 

What makes these claims all the more believable is that they match reports from civilians in the Gaza Strip, as well as human rights groups’ reports. Precisely how all three of these groups are off the mark, whereas the IDF is infallible, is beyond me. Particularly given the overwhelming photographic evidence of indiscriminate bombing that was beamed into each and every one of our televisions.

 

Ismail Haniyeh, the only legitimately elected Palestinian Prime Minister at this moment in time, has encouraged human rights groups to put Israeli military leaders on trial for the war crimes they have committed. But that’s not going to happen so long as the Israeli leaders and people continue to delude themselves. “The IDF is the most moral army in the world and it operates according to the highest ethical code,” testified Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak.

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Filed under Israel, Operation Cast Lead/Gaza War, Palestine

Tags: Gaza, Gaza Massacre, Gaza Strip, Gaza War, Human Rights, IDF, Israel, Operation Cast Lead, Palestine, War Crimes