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<h1><font size=4><b>Israeli soldiers testify on army's immoral behavior
in Gaza
war</b></font></h1><font size=3>
<a href="http://www.imemc.org/article/61120" eudora="autourl">
http://www.imemc.org/article/61120<br>
</a>
<img src="http://www.imemc.org/graphics/date.gif" width=12 height=10 alt="author">
Wednesday July 15, 2009
14:14<img src="http://www.imemc.org/graphics/person.gif" width=14 height=12 alt="author">
by Katherine Orwell - 1 of International Middle East Media Center
Editorial Group
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</font>A group of 29 soldiers, that served in Israel’s recent assault in
Gaza, anonymously spoke out about the war crimes they committed in Gaza.
Breaking the Silence, a group of ex-soldiers, that has been trying to
break the taboo around speaking about the army’s behavior, collected
their testimonies and published them in a report on Wednesday.<br><br>
The testimonies reveal the use of "accepted practices," the
destruction of hundreds of houses and mosques for no military purpose,
the firing of phosphorous gas in the direction of populated areas, the
killing of innocent victims with small arms, the destruction of private
property, the use of Palestinian civilians as human shields, and most of
all, a permissive atmosphere in the command structure that enabled
soldiers to act without moral restrictions. The testimonies demonstrate
that the soldiers were not given directives stating the goal of the
operation and, as one soldier testifies, "there was not much said
about the issue of innocent civilians." <br><br>
The soldiers confessed shooting at Palestinian civilians, because of
“permissive and vague” rules of engagement. Israeli officials have always
stressed that the army had exhausted all the possible means to prevent
civilian casualties during the Gaza war, but the testimonies of the
soldiers claim the exact opposite.<br><br>
"We were told soldiers were to be secured by fire-power. The
soldiers were made to understand that their lives were the most
important, and that there was no way our soldiers would get killed for
the sake of leaving civilians the benefit of the doubt," said one
soldier in the report. <br><br>
Many soldiers said that they fought without seeing "the enemy before
their eyes." "You feel like an infantile little kid with a
magnifying glass looking at ants, burning them," one of the soldiers
testified that "a 20-year-old kid should not have to do these kinds
of things to other people." <br><br>
The testimonies are in line with Palestinian testimonies and the outcomes
of investigations by international human rights groups such as Amnesty
International, stating that Israel committed war crimes with its
indiscriminate and disproportionate behavior. <br><br>
A limited UN investigation blamed Israel in six out of nine attacks on UN
facilities in Gaza, resulting in casualties among civilians that had
sought refuge there. A fact-finding team commissioned by the Arab League
stated there was enough evidence to indict Israel for war crimes and
crimes against humanity, and that "the Israeli political leadership
was also responsible for such crimes". <br><br>
At the same time Israel denies all the allegations and sets every report
aside as biased and untrustworthy. A spokesperson of the military says
the testimonies constitute “hearsay and word of mouth”, doubting the
credibility, since the testimonies were made anonymously. Israel bases
its defense on an internal investigation it carried out itself, that came
to the conclusion that the army fought lawfully, even though in a few
incidents errors did occur. <br><br>
The testimonies of the soldiers largely state the opposite: Israel’s
immoral behavior was not incidental, but systematic. <br><br>
One testimony refers to a policy that is called “the day after”. The
soldier states that this policy meant that whole areas near the borders
with Israel would be razed, to leave behind a “sterile” empty area that
would make future military operations easier. Under this policy houses
were demolished without any justification, other than that they were
located in strategic areas. <br><br>
"The testimonies prove that the immoral way the war was carried out
was due to the systems in place and not the individual soldier,"
said Mikhael Mankin from "Breaking the Silence. “This is an urgent
call to Israel's society and leadership to take a sober look at the
foolishness of our policies."<br><br>
1414 Palestinians were killed in the three-week assault on Gaza, of which
1177 or 83 per cent were civilians. The UN states that 50,000 homes, 200
schools, 39 mosques and two churches were damaged or destroyed.
<br><br>
<font size=4 color="#FF0000">Link to testimonies<br>
</font>
<a href="http://www.breakingthesilence.org.il/oferet/testimonies_e.asp?cat=4" eudora="autourl">
http://www.breakingthesilence.org.il/oferet/testimonies_e.asp?cat=4<br>
<br>
<br><br>
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