IDF generals, not just soldiers, must answer questions on human shields
The Givati soldiers' conviction essentially handed the post of chief of staff to Yoav Galant and bestowed legal immunity on political figures, in particular Ehud Olmert and Ehud Barak.
By Amira HassThe Givati Brigade soldiers who were tried and convicted of risking the life of a non-combatant Palestinian child are entitled to feel like victims. But why shouldn't they feel patriotic pride? Their conviction essentially handed the post of chief of staff to Yoav Galant and bestowed legal immunity on political figures, in particular Ehud Olmert and Ehud Barak.
They were just small cogs who were brainwashed about the might of the enemy. Look at the statements other soldiers made to the organization Breaking the Silence; some of them quickly realized their commanders had filled them with lies before the ground offensive on the Gaza Strip on January 3, 2009. But even if the two convicted Givati soldiers had the maturity and judgment to realize this wasn't the heroic struggle for which they had been prepared, it's clear they acted out of fear when they ordered a 9-year-old boy to open bags. They grew up in an atmosphere that one could do anything to the Palestinians in Gaza. They didn't come up with that approach - they're the lower rank soldiers that the system put under the spotlight.
Unlike a soldier who stole a credit card and went to jail, these two did not have to serve time. Their peers, who demonstrated on their behalf, must know: They weren't the only ones who at gunpoint used civilians for military purposes. This practice was prevalent in the Golani Brigade. Civilians were bound, blindfolded and exposed to the cold so they could serve as human shields for soldiers in huge trenches and in houses that were turned into lookout points and from which soldiers opened fire. This was not the whim of an isolated few. There were soldiers who fired directly on civilians bearing white flags. On their commanders' orders, soldiers prevented Palestinian rescue teams from reaching the wounded, so an unknown number of people, including children, bled to death. The multiplicity of similar incidents shows that the soldiers were acting in accordance with uniform guidelines.
Internal military investigations tend to focus on the individual soldiers who took part in the ground offensive. But most of the Palestinian civilians killed by the Israel Defense Forces were killed as a result of computerized fire from afar, whether from the air, the sea or land. Children on the roofs of their homes were killed in just these kinds of deadly video games - by the push of a button pressed by our anonymous warriors, who will not be brought to justice.
Col. Ilan Malka, the commander of the Givati Brigade, appears to be the highest-ranking officer questioned by military investigators, due to his order to shell, from the air, a home to which his own soldiers had brought 100 civilians. The order was based on his interpretation of images received by a drone. But it is not Malka who came up with the instruction that any Palestinian caught by a drone, engaged in civilian activities like speaking on a cell phone near a window, baking bread in the yard, looking for water or riding a bike, is a suspect to be killed. That's why so many civilians were killed; they were hit by rockets fired from the air, not because they were caught up in a battle on the ground. It wasn't Malka who came up with the cult of military high-tech or its depiction as a tool that's never wrong. This cult greases the wheels of Israeli propaganda, which dismisses as a lie any Palestinian report of civilian deaths.
Malka is also not responsible for the concept that Israel must use force several times more deadly than the weapons the Palestinians have. So more civilians than armed combatants were killed? That's their problem.
When one or two soldiers are tried, it's easy for the military establishment to argue these are isolated exceptions whose actions are contrary to the spirit of the IDF. But the military establishment functions under the influence and authority of the civil establishment. Israeli society, for the most part, is indifferent to the killing of non-Jewish civilians. It supports the use of disproportionate force and is not interested in investigating all the incidents resulting in the deaths of Palestinian civilians. In such an investigation the incriminating evidence leads straight to the highest levels of Israel's military and political establishment.
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Hamas is allowed to fire tens of thousands of rockets and mortars aiming at kindergartens and civilians. Hamas is allowed to use human shileds and civilian apartment complexes as firing platforms.
to Gaza was deliberate, and loss of civilian life was due to a political decision to avoid Israeli deaths at any cost. This was not a war, but an attempt to teach the population of Gaza a lesson. This is a war crime.
that kind of terror does not recognize any rules of engagement and for that reason I do not care what means are being use , they have to be stopped . The concept " Disproportional force " does not exist in this case , all tools in the war tool box must be used to save civilian lives when under attack before we sit down to make discussions from the comfort of a lazy-chair .
Nonsense from the courts and others. When the terror groups used to place military equipment to kill Israelis in civilian facilities with the help of the civilians than the Israelis are justified in doing everything needed tyo overcome.. Thjose that condemn are not living in the real world.
How long ago did the High Court rule that the IDF must stop the practice? When did the IDF stop the practice of using Palestinian children as human shields? Clearly there has been a wink and a nod from above or the practice would have stopped.
These incidents are disturbing, but certainly not what I would describe as "war crimes", with he exception of the white flags incident which is still being examined. After so many failed attempts to horrify the public with fabrications on the Israeli army, "legitimate criticizers" of Israel are now jumping on any given opportunity to describe any misconduct as war crimes and blow it out of proportion whilst ignoring possible serious war crimes that take place in other parts of the world. 'Gaza-massacre' you say? In the most densely populated area in the world, where the enemy openly admits to be using its population as human shields, having a civilian fatality ratio of 1-4 (or even less) is an unusual statistics to brand as 'massacre'. And your poor knowledge in international law which allows you to mendaciously classify the Gaza strip as "occupied" will certainly not contribute to the stew of lies.
"but certainly not what I would describe as 'war crimes'," Then you are "describing it" incorrectly, because ordering a 9 year old boy to open parcels so that HE gets blown up and not YOU is most definitely a war crime.
It is that simple , and I do not find it to be a war crime . The solder's life is more valuable to me then the life of an enemy , even the civilian enemy . And nobody in the world will honestly deny my statement when it comes to their own solders . Lokk back into history of warfare , like Dresden , Hamburg , Hirosima , and now Pakistan , Afghanistan Chicana .....Any outcry there ????
This statement about Gaza's density is a propaganda statement that has been used so many times that people accept it, but it's nonsense. Tokyo is ten times more densely populated. There are statistics that show that your "fact" here is not at all true. Sorry I don't have them at hand. Although I agree with you overall, this fact is wrong.
He should put some effort to bring back some dicipline to IDF. Look at recent scandals: -Using kids as human shield (cowardness) -Humiliating detainees and taking photos and putting them on facebook. (disrespect to humanity) -Stealing the confiscated property of Mavi Marmara activists and selling them (thievery) -Using phosphorous bombs on civilian during Cast Lead (...) - and so on. Don't forget that they were unsuccessful against Hizbullah and Mavi Marmara.
Come on, you can't deny the Gaza massacre, you can't deny the use of human shields. You can't deny the illegal occupation. Why don't you just say something like: ok, we made the worst mistake of our lives. Those innocent civilians will haunt you the rest of your lives.
the Gaza massacre mantra
Hamas used their own people as human shields. They attacked from schools and private houses full of civilians, and put people on the roofs to avoid being bombed. When will Amira Hass ever mention it?
Well, so far only Israel has been found to have used this abhorrent technique. All your howling about Hamas using human shields has been unsubstantiated, yet Israeli troops are being charged for it. Stop calling the kettle black, please. Look at the beam in your own eye.
Maybe you don't want to open your eyes to them.
many decades, is that (a) Israel used to be almost universally admired, and (b) in recent years that "universe" of admirers has shrunk (1) drastically, and (2) alarmingly. (Then again, all my impressions are second or third hand, so who knows?)
Amira, I speak on behalf of the whole UCSD community when I ask you to stay off of our campus and to stop spreading your lies.
As far as I can tell nothing Amira writes here is new. It is quite easy to put reliable references in for most of her remarks.
Haaretz is widely quoted in the international media. Thus as journalists who are often viewed as “the voice from inside Israel” you have a special responsibility for truth. Amira Hass has filled her article with untruths and hate. Most of the accusations made by the group Breaking the Silence were hearsay and unfounded. Each of the individuals who made these false charges should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. In the United States, John Kerry appeared before Congress and made similar accusations. Many of the accusers had never served in Vietnam. Others, had no firsthand knowledge. Kerry falsely branded an entire generation as war criminals. In Israel,several groups seek to subvert the Israeli Defense forces.Realize that these brave soldiers are the guardians of your freedom and liberty. The specific case of the boy in Gaza shows clearly that the two soldiers did not endanger his life. If he trusted his parents then there was absolutely no danger. Those who most hostile to the two soldiers testified that the boy was terrified and wet his pants. Isn't that a clear message that he could not trust the adults in his life not to engage in terrorism. US Army investigation of most of the allegations against the IDF showed that these were not based on fact. My unit review, shell by Shell, the firing history in Gaza. The accusation that Israel use phosphorous against civilians was crumbling unfounded. My only complaint against the IDF is in Gaza, like in Jenin, in order to attempt to spare civilian casualties the IDF took too many extra casualties on their own forces.. The world gives you no credit “for being the most humane army in the world”.
Amira Hass is one of the few principled journalists you have left in Israel. She should be object of praise, not defamation. The IDF has been found by International investigators to have committed multiple war crimes. No whitewashing from your top brass is going to change the perception we have from you around the world. If you want to alter your terrible image, stop perpetrating war crimes.
is also read by foreign diplomats posted in Israel...And it is considered to be the most liable and not one-sided english newspaper here. Why -because it does not try to hide the ugly truth either. There is not so many, who could tell that Amira Hass is lying...Why should she? What kind journalist she would be by covering the things with silky paper. She is the daughter of holocaust survivors and surely learnt to hear of the s of the innocent people´s suffering and destiny.
Did what these soldiers do even register with you? They were convicted of ordering a nine-year old child to CHECK FOR EXPLOSIVES. Such a moral army you have...
Human shield is using civilians to get protection from a third party firing. This is what the Palestinians are doing all the time - hiding their rockets and snipers among civilian population.
You don't use other people's children to open those bags! Those cowards were using small children to go into houses around the neighborhood to check if they were booby trapped. That's just disgusting.
...behind or among the civilian people -children and women ...this seems to be so "truth" for the soldiers. So why to use fighters, tanks or other arms which surely will kill more civilian people than Hamas terrorits? You say, that Hamas do not care...Maybe. But the soldiers of the most moral army (?) should... To fight against the real enemy ...Not enough brave to fight the man against man?
the most moral army mantra.
During the offensive most of these things were already known through daily UN reports. The political layer is as responsible as the generals. Otherwise a Hass classic.