Israel, Zionism and the Media

Tag: Gaza (Page 11 of 13)

IDF report does not go far enough

Last week the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) published its preliminary findings into the conduct of its forces during its Gaza offensive (Operation Cast Lead). A more detailed investigation is scheduled to be completed by June. This initial report is not comprehensive and incidents are still being investigated.

The findings will not be unexpected either from those who are inclined to to believe that the IDF did not commit any crimes and those who believe it definitely did.

The former group, although disturbed by many reports which came out of Gaza at the time and subsequent stories from Israeli soldiers, would characterise the IDF as a predominantly moral army which like any army has some soldiers whose actions may be immoral, reprehensible or worse. They would not, however, characterise the IDF and, therefore, Israel, as intent on criminal acts or anything other than displaying the greatest possible care to avoid unnecessary civilian casualties. I would include myself in this group.

The latter group, which, like the first, will probably have already made up its mind, will see the report as a whitewash.

So let’s examine the findings.

Five investigation teams were set up and headed by senior officers who had not been directly involved in the operation.

The teams looked at incidents where UN facilities were fired on, incidents involving medical facilities and vehicles, deaths and injuries to uninvolved civilians, the use of white phosphorous and damage to buildings and infrastructure.

The first finding was:

The investigations showed that throughout the fighting in Gaza, the IDF operated in accordance with international law.

Secondly, the IDF operating to very high moral standards against an enemy which used human shields.

The report now goes on to justify the operation as a response to eight years of rocket and mortar fire including three years of such attacks since Israel withdrew from Gaza and abandoned its settlements. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis lived in constant fear of these attacks which were indiscriminate by their very nature and, therefore, contrary to all norms of international law.

Thee battlefied is described:

The fighting in Gaza took place in a complex battlefield against an enemy who chose, as a conscious part of its doctrine, to locate itself in the midst of the civilian population. The enemy booby trapped its houses with explosives, fired from the schools attended by its own children and used its own people as human shields while cynically abusing the IDF’s legal and ethical commitment to avoid injuring uninvolved civilians. 

This is an aspect of the conflict that is barely reported in the Westerm media and was overwhelmed by the concentration of civilian suffering without regard to the true background to that suffering.

Now the extreme lengths the IDF went to to avoid civilian casualties are described:

In order to ensure compliance with the IDF’s obligations under international law, the IDF invested an enormous effort and huge resources to warn civilians in the Gaza Strip away from harm. The IDF dropped more than 2,250,000 leaflets during the fighting, used Palestinian radio, made personal telephone warnings to more than 165,000 Gaza residents and carried out a special warning shot procedure (“A knock on the roof”), in order to ensure that Palestinian civilians could avoid harm. Additionally, the IDF made extensive use of accurate munitions, wherever and whenever possible, to minimize harm to civilians. In addition, during the operation the IDF authorized humanitarian convoys to enter the Gaza and employed a humanitarian recess for several hours a day….

Like other militaries that are forced to fight a terrorist enemy that hides and operates under a civilian cover, the IDF had to face difficult moral dilemmas as a result of the illegitimate approach of Hamas. This approach turned Gaza’s urban areas into a battle field and intentionally made use of uninvolved civilians, civilian buildings and sensitive humanitarian facilities (i.e. hospitals, religious and educational institutions and facilities associated with the UN and other international organizations). …

In some of the incidents the IDF even placed more limits on its actions than required under international law, and acted with restraint in order to avoid harming civilians.

Crucially, mistakes are given very little coverage:

Notwithstanding this, the investigations revealed a very small number of incidents in which intelligence or operational errors took place during the fighting. These unfortunate incidents were unavoidable and occur in all combat situations, in particular of the type which Hamas forced on the IDF, by choosing to fight from within the civilian population.

In other words, mistakes happen in war, Hamas chose to use the civilian infrastructure etc. etc. But where’s the substance. This is precisely the area where the IDF has been criticised, indeed, demonised, by the world’s press. Is this really adequate? Some well-reported incidents have been explained elsewhere. Should these not be repeated in this report? 

Anshel Pfeffer in the London Jewish Chronicle ends a piece about this report with this:

In the absence of an investigation by an objective party, trusted by all sides (and, no, the United Nations does not fit the bill), this is the best we are going to get.

I would have been very surprised if a group investigating itself would have come to any other set of conclusions. The problem with all such investigations, whatever the reputation of the investigators, is that those inclined to cynicism will be cynical. On the other hand, the report is hardly likely to change anyone’s overall opinion of Operation Cast Lead or the IDF’s conduct. The use of  white phosphorous is not addressed at all although other reports have stated that many of the images purporting to show WP were in fact other smokescreen producers. 

Sadly, there is no sign of a totally impartial investigation. The UN team is made up of members who had previously condemned Operation Cast Lead and, therefore, its impartiality is compromised.

The report lacks specifics and witness testimony. In particular, I’d like to see more information on the use of WP and an explanation for images which appear to show WP in a schoolyard after the conflict ended. Perhaps the June report will provide more information on all thse matters. Maybe the IDF knows that the UN report is likely to be damaging and will only give more detail when it decides to rebut future accusations. Who knows.

What has become clear is that the IDF were determined to minimise their own casualties. This would be the attitude of any army in the world. To do so in the conditions that pertained in Gaza entailed an aggressive operation in an urban area. Hamas had thought, and announced beforehand, that they had created a killing field for IDF soldiers. The entire Gaza strip had been turned into one huge booby-trap with over a million civilians embedded in this network of terror. Hamas’ perverted ideology requires that the lives of  their own civilians be used as part of the propaganda battle. In that battle, Israel and the IDF were clear losers.

No report will erase the memory of the media images coming from Gaza during the operation. And no report will retrospectively be able to make the Israeli case or provide the rebuttals  that were so absent or poorly presented at the time.

This video is an attempt by the IDF to describe the conditions they encountered. I believe it is too weak and should show more graphically, with photographic evidence the conditions which pertained in Gaza in December and January.

Hazel Blears’ brave stand against the MCB

Hazel Blears, the Secretary of State for Communities in the UK government, may be a diminutive figure but she is punching above her weight in a confrontation with Dr Daud Abdullah, leader of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB)

Abdullah recently attended the “global anti-aggression conference” in Istanbul. Like many such conferences, its main purpose was to bash the Coalition, Israel and Jews generally.

The conference issued a declaration which Abdullah signed up to. Blears objected to this because she claimed that the declaration “calls for violence against troops and Jewish communities”  See Guardian coverage of this here. Abdullah replied that this was “an extraordinary and malicious interpretation”. He then went on to rebut the allegations in the Guardian here.

Blears broke off relations between the UK government and the MCB as a result. Now they are threatening to sue her for libel.

Leaders of the MCB have often been ambiguous about Islamist violence at home and abroad and have steadfastly refused to attend the nation’s Holocaust Remembrance Day because they believe focusing on the Jewish Holocaust ignores the “Holocaust in Palestine.”

So what did the Istanbul text actually say? See a transcript here.

It is clearly a document which supports Hamas who are described with the blanket term “mujahidin” thus characterising them purely as jihadis acting against the “Zionist entity’s” occupation. 

It calls the Saudi peace plan a betrayal. It calls for ALL Palestine to be liberated and thus is calling for the destruction of Israel. It is not very pleased with Fatah or Egypt who it sees as traitors.

Now let’s look at point 7.

7. The obligation of the Islamic Nation to regard everyone standing with the Zionist entity, whether countries, institutions or individuals, as providing a substantial contribution to the crimes and brutality of this entity; the position towards him is the same as towards this usurping entity.

As it has already called for armed resistance to the Zionist entity it states that its position towards anyone or any government or institution should be the same. Now although the language (in translation) is not exactly explicit it does not take much to work out that this means that violence and armed resistance to countries such as the USA and the UK and towards Jewish institutions (who support the Zionist entity) anywhere in the world is justified. Otherwise what DOES it mean and why make the statement.

Point 8:

8. The obligation of the Islamic Nation to regard the sending of foreign warships into Muslim waters, claiming to control the borders and prevent the smuggling of arms to Gaza, as a declaration of war, a new occupation, sinful aggression, and a clear violation of the sovereignty of the Nation. This must be rejected and fought by all means and ways.

This is more explicit: anyone assisting the blockade is at war with the Ummah and they must be fought “by all means and ways”. All means and ways includes armed resistance and terrorism.

Either Dr Abdullah has not read it or has not understood it or he has signed something he actually disagrees with or, more likely, he is a hypocrite saying one thing to the UK government whilst he subscribes to something else. Whatever his denial and whatever interpretation he wishes to place on the text, it is clear what the text actually means.

It’s about time the MCB stopped associating itself with extremist views. It cannot condemn 7/7 on one hand and be a signatory to the Istanbul declaration on the other. If it is to fight extremists and extremist views from Muslims in the UK it has no business being involved with extremist views abroad. If Dr Abdullah signs such a document he is risks being seen as a coward, a hypocrite or both.

I fervently hope that the libel case is pursued so that the brave stance Hazel Blears has made will be supported by evidence which is patent.

UN appoints a Jew to investigate Jewish “war crimes”

The UN has appointed Richard Goldstone to lead a four-member team of experts.

The BBC reports today.

But in time-honoured BBC-speak they forget to mention that any such investigation, whatever its legal status, should, and surely would, investigate both Israel AND Hamas.

Oh no. This is what the BBC says:

The fact-finding mission, which will aim to provide clarity on the legality of the deaths and destruction…

Of course, that means death and destruction caused by Israel. The BBC has already decided that Israel were murderous, destructive aggressors.  No mention of Hamas yet.

The council voted to set up the investigation into at a special meeting in January, after widespread allegations of war crimes committed by Israeli forces in Gaza.

Widespread by Hamas and the Hamas-infiltrated UNWRA in Gaza and so far all completely refuted.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas is widely accused of basing its forces within heavily populated areas, allegations it denies.

Hah! What a lot of utter garbage. Hamas ONLY fought within heavily populated areas. Hamas is a terrorist organisation. No mention of that.

[Goldstone] is also on the board of governors at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Mr Goldstone said he was “shocked, as a Jew”, to be invited to head the mission.

 BBC-speak to imply that he is shocked that his fellow Jews are war criminals.

“I’ve taken a deep interest in what happens in Israel. I’m associated with organisations that have worked in Israel.

“And I believe I can approach the daunting task that I have accepted in an even-handed and impartial manner.”

 So the able Mr Goldstone falls straight into the trap set by the UN. As a Jew, if his little group concludes there were war crimes, then his findings will carry more weight because he is a Jew. If they find Israel did not commit war crimes he will be pilloried by the usual suspects as being biased because he is a Jew. It’s the same trick the Nazis used when they appointed Jewish police officers in the ghettos. And Goldstone fell for it. Or, maybe, he thought that if he didn’t accept, than someone less neutral would lead the investigations. Precisely the dilemma he was tricked into.

Am I being paranoid. You bet I am. Will Israel co-operate? Should it? 

“This committee is instructed not to seek out the truth but to single out Israel for alleged crimes,” said Yigal Palmor, spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

So he’s made up his mind.

Soldiers Speak Out

A new website has been launched by IDF soldiers to redress the balance and speak out about the moral actions of Israeli soldiers.

See an interview on Jerusalem Post here

Visit the website here.

Listen to their stories. 

Make up your own mind.

Also, read this article in the Jerusalem Post.

Now tell me who is moral and who is immoral?

BBC appears surprised at IDF morality

On Friday the BBC published a news item on its website: Israel army punishes Gaza soldier

Straight away the headline tells a subtle lie. It uses the present tense. We might be fooled into thinking this was some reaction to recent (disproved) stories of misconduct. Maybe a fig leaf for greater crimes, a token gesture? But no, it happened during Operation Cast Lead. Yes, during, before the current round of unchecked and unproved allegations.

The BBC is quoting a Ha’aretz story; the same paper that released the story about alleged atrocities emanating from a pre-military academy.

An Israeli soldier was removed from the combat area after he shot a Gazan woman in the leg “by mistake” during the recent offensive, military sources say.

The soldiers were firing in the air and urging a group of Palestinians who looked “suspicious” at the time, the military said….

…A statement from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said there had been a warning of a suicide attacker in the area where the incident occurred.

The soldier was an infantryman from the Givati Brigades, and has been demoted and put on probation

The BBC report then goes on to rehash recent unproven accusations and drops its own little bomblet: “The Israeli forces’ conduct has been heavily criticised. ” Thus conflating criticism of general tactics with specific allegations of war crimes committed by individuals.

It goes on:

Several international rights experts and organisations have raised concerns that both Israeli forces and Palestinian militants may have committed war crimes during the 22-day conflict.

This despite the fact that Hamas were, had and continue to fire rockets and mortars deliberately intended to kill civilians, a war crime as patent as it is cynical, and the BBC say “may have”. Hamas use schools, mosques, ambulances, innocent civilians’ homes, hospitals and media centers to stockpile weapons and use as firing positions, and the BBC say “may have”. The BBC tries to be even-handed in its treatment of the IDF and Hamas as if the latter were not a terrorist organisation that has no interest in observing ANY international laws and cynically exploits Israel’s attempts at observing those same laws.

Listen to what an IDF Colonel had to say:

He said the soldiers entered “thousands” of homes in Gaza. “Almost in every house we found rifles, grenades, RPGs (rocket propelled grenades),” he said.

They also saw Hamas militants moving from house to house carrying white flags to pose as civilians, he added.

He blamed Hamas for exposing civilians to danger by using civilian institutions for cover:

“When you find in a backpack, a blue backpack with logo of the UN on the backpack, an IED, (improvised explosive device) you understand how cynical, how far they go,” he said.

So Hamas use the white flag as a cover and the world wonders why, perhaps, some really innocent people carrying a white flag may have been shot. They use UN equipment to hide bombs, they place weapons in thousands of homes and the world wonders why innocents were killed, UN facilities damaged and Gazan residents’ homes damaged or demolished. When the enemy cynically exploits its opponents morality – yes, I said morality – a morality they clearly do not have, then it is not surprising mistakes happen – in fact it is amazing so few civilians were killed even if you accept the Palestinian figure and not the Israeli one.

As long as the West believes that asymmetric warfare can still be waged without some ‘loose rules of engagement’ then they will never win the War on Terror.

Nevertheless, and I have said this repeatedly in recent posts, Israel must not sink to the level of Hamas and its fellow travellers. Where there are inexcusable lapses which amount to patent crimes, the perpetrators must be brought to justice. So far no investigations into individual allegations have yielded any clear evidence. Hearsay and rumour are powerful weapons to diminish reputations when so many are willing to accept them prima facie without taking the care to wait for full investigations.

Some believe that Israel has given up caring what the world thinks. Understandable. But dangerous. If you don’t care what others think, that removes a powerful moral deterrent. It must not happen.

IDF smokescreen?

The IDF is now busy refuting claims of breaking international law by using white phosphorus in built-up areas of Gaza.

Channel 4 News last night was busy showing old footage of Gaza two days after the end of the conflict where the stuff was alleged to have been found in a schoolyard. Shocking images of people who apparently had been struck by white phosphorus hammered home the point and tried, as usual, to paint Israel has heartless monsters indiscriminately burning down a UN compound etc etc.

The IDF reports:

This particular investigation is dealing with the use of ammunition containing elements of phosphorous, including, amongst others, the 155mm smoke shells which were referred to in the Human Rights Watch report. This type of ammunition disperses in the atmosphere and creates an effective smoke screen. It is used by many Western armies.

The investigation is close to conclusion, and based on the findings at this stage, it is already possible to conclude that the IDF’s use of smoke shells was in accordance with international law. These shells were used for specific operational needs only and in accord with international humanitarian law. The claim that smoke shells were used indiscriminately, or to threaten the civilian population, is baseless.

It should be noted that contrary to the claims in the report, smoke shells are not an incendiary weapon. The third protocol of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) – which defines particular limitations on incendiary weapons – makes it clear that weapons intended for screening are not classed as incendiary weapons. The State of Israel is not a signatory of the third protocol, however, in any, case, as noted this protocol does not ban the use of smoke shells for the purpose of screening.

The problem with this statement is that it avoids mentioning the affects of white phosphorus in built-up areas. It takes a line of stressing the legality whilst ignoring the moral aspects.

Furthermore, the statement that WP is not an incendiary weapon because it is not classed as one is, frankly, ridiculous. tell that to the people in the UN compound.

The Red Cross representative, Peter Herby backed up Israel’s claims of legality during the conflict as reported by the Associated Press (article no longer available on their website):

But it’s not very unusual to use phosphorus to create smoke or illuminate a target. We have no evidence to suggest it’s being used in any other way’. In response, the IDF said Tuesday that it ‘wishes to reiterate that it uses weapons in compliance with international law, while strictly observing that they be used in accordance with the type of combat and its characteristics.’ Herby said that using phosphorus to illuminate a target or create smoke is legitimate under international law, and that there was no evidence the Jewish state was intentionally using phosphorus in a questionable way, such as burning down buildings or knowingly putting civilians at risk. 

OK. All very well. I completely accept it wasn’t used deliberately to harm civilians. I’d like to see an investigation by the IDF to see whether there were any occasions when it was used in way which was reckless of life. Apparently other screening material is available, but I am not an expert.

The rider to all of this is that the IDF used WP to protect its soldiers in precisely the conditions where without its use they and probably civilians would be at risk in a fire fight between the IDF and Hamas. The IDF’s main objective was to minimise its own casualties; this is a primary obligation of ANY army. If you have a defensive material which will save lives judgements have to be made. Sometimes they are wrong. Do you defend your men or worry about the propaganda value given to the enemy.

Once again, the IDF by blandly putting the legal case does not address the image case and does not explain the conditions under which it used WP or any reluctance to do so in residential areas.

Neither do we know what machinations Hamas were up to. Did they plant WP in places that reporters would find it? We know they had it because they fired it indiscriminately at Israel as a weapon, not as a defensive measure. But no-one mentions that particular breach of international law. But as I have said before, Hamas are terrorists, so no-one expects them to observe the law.


Now the second IDF shooting atrocity is refuted

Arutz Sheva reports how CAMERA has published refutations of both the stories which came out of the Rabin pre-military academy alleging wanton killing of innocent Palestinian citizens during Operation Cast Lead. You can read the entire article here

Of course, it goes completely unreported in the news media. As do stories referred to in the Camera article of Israeli soldiers leaving money, letters of apology, refusing to steal, sleep in a bed, take food though hungry etc. etc.

One thing I would say. The soldiers’ story in the second case of a sniper killing an elderly woman lacks evidence and is a result of ‘rumour’ which the soldiers at the academy reported. More should be done to find out who spread those rumours or if they were complete fabrication.

The most honest assessment of Israel yet

I’m not even going to quote the article I am referring to – just read it – please, please read it.

Ami Isseroff writes the most honest, the most compelling, the most moving assessment I have yet read of what Israel has done wrong and what it needs to do to put it right.

Isseroff  enunciates far better and far more eloquently many of the points that I have falteringly been trying to make recently.

He  makes them from the viewpoint of an Israeli committed to Zionism.

He explores why Israel is losing the propaganda battle, he constructively criticises the culture of denial and calls for more openness.

Just go here, do yourself a favour Israeli war crimes allegations: Doing our patriotic duty and read it.

Gaza civilian shooting story shown to be false

The Jerusalem Post has reported here that a source has informed them that at least one of the civilian shooting incidents which was reported by Ha’aretz and seriously damaged Israel’s reputation around the world has been proved to be false.

The JP stresses that this is a leaked story as investigations are not complete.

During the conference, one soldier claimed a marksman opened fire on a mother and two of her children, after a squadron commander told them to walk into a no-entry zone.

“All of the soldiers who were involved in the conference were questioned – not as a punishment – but in order to understand whether they had witnessed these things. From all of the testimonies we collected, we can safely conclude that the soldiers who made the claims did not witness the events they describe,” the source said.

“All of it was based on rumors. In the incident of the alleged shooting of the mother and her children, what really happened was that a marksman fired a warning shot to let them know that they were entering a no-entry zone. The shot was not even fired in their general direction,” the source said.

“The marksman’s commander ran up the stairs of a Palestinian home, got up on the roof, and asked the marksman why he shot at the civilians. The marksman said he did not fire on the civilians. But the soldiers on the first floor of that house heard the commander’s question being shouted. And from that point, the rumor began to spread,” the source added.

“We can say with absolute certainty that the marksman did not fire on the woman and her children. Later, the company commander spoke with the marksman and his commander. We know with certainty that this incident never took place,” he said.

Now we all know, don’t we, that everyone will be calling “whitewash”, but that’s because they are predisposed to believing the worst about the IDF. They wrongly and completely misinterpreted the details of the original allegation and the circumstances of their publication. 

The JP report concludes:

 It is unlikely the damage to Israel’s image from the allegations can be repaired, irrespective of the results of the investigation

As ever, rush to judgement, don’t bother checking the facts or waiting for a full investigation. When I heard the original reports I was shocked because it seemed that if the IDF itself was ‘admitting’ atrocities, so maybe they are true. But at the same time I, at least, reserved judgement for a full enquiry. 

We await the full official report including the second incident from the Rabin Pre-military Academy allegations. If we are not to be guilty of the same rush to judgement we need to hear the full official report.

I am sure that innocents died during the conflict. It is not unlikely that there were some incidents where soldiers behaved badly and these should be investigated and any criminals brought to justice. Allegations still remain to be answered. The outcome may or may not be different. But let’s not rush to judgement. Let’s leave that to the hatemongers.

Ha’aretz and the officer who leaked the original story are very much to the left of Israeli politics and both have an interest in pointing fingers to further their own political agenda. To outsiders this seems improbable, but that’s because they don’t know Israeli politics or have an agenda of their own.

Unfortunately, unsubstantiated reports of this nature fly round the world, give fuel to the Jew-haters and anti-Zionists and sully Israel’s reputation needlessly. There are times when Israelis can be their own worst enemies when it comes to the propaganda war. And its worst enemies are winning that hands down. I am absolutely certain that the results of the investigation will be given little coverage and most commentators will be highly suspicious of the findings. I can already hear the “are you seriously suggesting”s and “this is a whitewash, isn’t it, Mr Regev”. That’s if they even bother to report it, let alone declare their original editorial line to have been in error.

But then we knew that all along.

The Good, and possibly the Bad and the Ugly

With a number of reports coming out of Israel of possible abuses and violations by Israeli soldiers it is interesting to read a couple of reactions from inside Israel.

Firstly Herb Keinon in the Jerusalem post with an excellent article here where he he reports that Alan Baker, former Foreign Ministry legal adviser has said:

it is incumbent on

Israel to investigate the allegations to show the world it is taking the matter seriously 

As I have also stated, it is very important that Israel investigates ALL allegations in an open and thorough way.

“There is no doubt that Israel did not systematically go in and commit war crimes,” Baker said.

He said that in isolated incidents, things may have happened that caused innocent people to be killed, and that it was in Israel’s interest to investigate itself, and prosecute where necessary. 

Exactly right. This is the key issue that makes Israel different from its enemeies and many of the countries who so gloatingly read about Israel’s internal breast-beating over these allegations. Israel is seen as part of the western democracies and is held to account to uphold international law. No other country in the region would be remotely interested in investigating potential crimes in their military. Only truly democratic open societies can do this. Israel has to do it, not to placate foreign media or governments, it must do it to retain its self-respect as a nation, whatever the findings reveal.

The ‘good’ bit in the title comes from yNetnews.com where soldiers who took part in the Gaza conflict rebut claims of immoral conduct.

I don’t believe there were soldiers who were looking to kill (Palestinians) for no reason,” said 21-year-old Givati Brigade soldier Assaf Danziger, who was lightly injured three days before the conclusion of Operation Cast Lead.

 “What happened there was not enjoyable to anyone; we wanted it to end as soon as possible and tried to avoid contact with innocent civilians,” he said.

 According to Danziger, soldiers were given specific orders to open fire only at armed terrorists or people who posed a threat. “There were no incidents of vandalism at any of the buildings we occupied. We did only what was justified and acted out of necessity. No one shot at civilians. People walked by us freely,” he recounted. 

Other stories of  soldiers being berated by colleagues for stealing even a can of drink and being made to put it back, of soldiers who cleaned apartments where they had been billeted and folded sheets and blankets go unreported. *

But please read this article in the JP which offers a firm and fair answer to the concerted attack and demonization of Israel being waged by the Guardian newspaper and also this article referenced in it: a leading article in the Independent which is well balanced apart from the headline – here’s a quote:

It is true that all armies suffer occasional breakdowns in discipline. And we should not make the mistake of holding Israeli soldiers to a higher standard of conduct than we expect from our own. We in Britain should remember that Baha Mousa, an Iraqi hotel receptionist, was beaten to death in the custody of British troops in Basra in 2003 and none of our soldiers was convicted of this killing. American military personnel were guilty of appalling abuses of prisoners in Baghdad’s Abu Ghraib prison.

We should bear in mind too that this testimony was made public by a concerned Israeli academic. Whatever crimes might be laid at the door of the IDF, it should not be Israeli society on trial here. Indeed, it is a tribute to the openness of Israel’s democracy, that we have learned of these allegations. Nor does the conduct of Israeli troops invalidate the overall objective of Operation Cast Lead, namely to stop Hamas firing rockets into towns in southern Israel.

This is the point. Unless Israel is perfect it is the most appaling state in the world. Ever since its formation Israel has faced an existential threat from its neighbours. It’s hardly surprising that Israel is drifting to the right and its people increasingly brutalised by continuous attacks and fear of attacks. Even so, abuses and crimes cannot be dismissed. They must be investigated and, if proved true, action must be taken against perpetrators. If proved true, Israel must do some serious soul searching about the future conduct of its military.

* 26/03/2009 This was my poorly remembered reading of a YnetNews article which I can now quote:

 

A Paratroopers Brigade soldier who also participated in the war called the claims “nonsense”. Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said, “It is true that in war morality can be interpreted in many different ways, and there are always a few idiots who act inappropriately, but most of the soldiers represented Israel honorably and with a high degree of morality.

“For instance, on three separate occasions my company commander checked soldiers’ bags for stolen goods. Those who stole the smallest things, like candy, were severely punished,” he said.

“We were forbidden from sleeping in Palestinians’ beds even when we had no alternate accommodations, and we didn’t touch any of their food even after we hadn’t had enough to eat for two days.”


 

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