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A group of Israeli soldiers who fought in the recent war in Gaza have testified that the military allowed them to use reckless force.Related articles by Zemanta
The 26 soldiers published their anonymous accounts in a booklet compiled by Breaking the Silence, an Israeli soldiers' organisation.
They describe the Israeli army's use of human shields and deliberate targeting of civilian structures.
The soldiers' descriptions confirm information first published by The Times during the offensive that soldiers were given orders to shoot first and ask questions later.
In one typical account, a soldier said that in pre-invasion briefings his officers said it was better to hit an innocent than hesitate to attack an enemy. "If you're not sure, kill. Fire power was insane."
"You felt like a child playing around with a magnifying glass, burning up ants," another Israeli soldier said. "A 20-year-old kid should not be doing such things to people."
Several Israeli soldiers adescribed the use of white phosphorus in Gaza. One soldier described walking on the beach in Gaza and discovering an area covered in glazed sand from a white phosphorous bomb.
He said it was upsetting because "in training you learn that white phosphorus is not used, and you're taught that it's not humane".
A soldier from the Golani brigade said: "Sometimes a force would enter while placing rifle barrels on a civilian's shoulder, advancing into a house and using him as a human shield."
Another soldier related an incident in which he was ordered not to fire warning shots at a man approaching their position from some dozen yards away.
When they asked their commander why he told them not to fire warning shots, he said: "It's night time and this is a terrorist."
Israel has blamed Palestinian militant groups for the high death toll in Gaza, stating that they hid explosives in schools, hospitals, and other civilian structures.
They said that Palestinian militants often dressed as civilians and attempted to get close to forces before launching an attack.
More than 1,400 Palestinians died in the three-week offensive. Gaza health officials say 900 of those killed were civilians but Israel says that figure is closer to 300.
Thirteen Israelis were killed, including three civilians who died from rocket fire.
A military spokesman accused the group of "defaming and slandering the IDF [Israel Defence Forces] and its commanders" but said that he would investigate formal complaints of military misconduct.
- Israel Accused of War Crimes in Gaza (abcnews.go.com)
- Amnesty accuses Israel, Hamas of war crimes (cbc.ca)
- Israel, Hamas accused of war crimes: Amnesty (nationalpost.com)
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2 comments:
Palestinian civilians used by the Israeli army as 'human shields' - the sickening allegations now emerge of soldiers out of control as they attacked defenseless women and children on the instructions of their officers and, apparently but unbelievably, also of serving rabbis.
Anyone who has served in the military as a professional soldier will know, as I have over seven years, that no other army kills hundreds of women and children, uses them as 'human shields' and then denies such tactics.
It points to a moral degradation that is unheard of in modern day warfare.
Actually, I believe that this sort of thing is far more common than anyone wants to believe. The Winter Soldier Investigation during the Vietnam War was an attempt to demonstrate that such inappropriate actions are part of every war. The desire to retain a sense of an "honorable war" and an attempt to prevent soldier casualties at the expense of innocents can be found in Israel, Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Georgia. It's the "dirty little secret of war".
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