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Bekijk Volledige Versie : Israel troops admit Gaza abuses



mark61
19-03-09, 19:25
An Israeli military college has printed damning soldiers' accounts of the killing of civilians and vandalism during recent operations in Gaza.

One account tells of a sniper killing a mother and children at close range whom troops had told to leave their home.

Another speaker at the seminar described what he saw as the "cold blooded murder" of a Palestinian woman.

The army has defended its conduct during the Gaza offensive but said it would investigate the testimonies.

The Israeli army has said it will investigate the soldiers' accounts.

The testimonies were published by the military academy at Oranim College. Graduates of the academy, who had served in Gaza, were speaking to new recruits at a seminar.

"[The testimonies] conveyed an atmosphere in which one feels entitled to use unrestricted force against Palestinians," academy director Dany Zamir told public radio.

Heavy civilian casualties during the three-week operation which ended in the blockaded coastal strip on 18 January provoked an international outcry.

Correspondents say the testimonies undermine Israel's claims that troops took care to protect non-combatants and accusations that Hamas militants were responsible for putting civilians into harm's way.

'Less important'

The Palestinian woman and two of her children were allegedly shot after they misunderstood instructions about which way to walk having been ordered out of their home by troops.

"The climate in general... I don't know how to describe it.... the lives of Palestinians, let's say, are much, much less important than the lives of our soldiers," an infantry squad leader is quoted saying.

In another cited case, a commander ordered troops to kill an elderly woman walking on a road, even though she was easily identifiable and clearly not a threat.

Testimonies, which were given by combat pilots and infantry soldiers, also included allegations of unnecessary destruction of Palestinian property.

"We would throw everything out of the windows to make room and order. Everything... Refrigerators, plates, furniture. The order was to throw all of the house's contents outside," a soldier said.

One non-commissioned officer related at the seminar that an old woman crossing a main road was shot by soldiers.

"I don't know whether she was suspicious, not suspicious, I don't know her story… I do know that my officer sent people to the roof in order to take her out… It was cold-blooded murder," he said.

The transcript of the session for the college's Yitzhak Rabin pre-military course, which was held last month, appeared in a newsletter published by the academy.

Israeli human rights groups have criticised the military for failing to properly investigate violations of the laws of war in Gaza despite plenty of evidence of possible war crimes.

'Moral army'

The soldiers' testimonies also reportedly told of an unusually high intervention by military and non-military rabbis, who circulated pamphlets describing the war in religious terminology.

"All the articles had one clear message," one soldier said. "We are the people of Israel, we arrived in the country almost by miracle, now we need to fight to uproot the gentiles who interfere with re-conquering the Holy Land."

"Many soldiers' feelings were that this was a war of religion," he added.

Defence Minister Ehud Barak told Israel Radio that the findings would be examined seriously.

"I still say we have the most moral army in the world. Of course there may be exceptions but I have absolutely no doubt this will be inspected on a case-by-case basis," he said.

Medical authorities say more than 1,300 Palestinians were killed during Israel's 22-day operation, including some 440 children, 110 women, and dozens of elderly people.

The stated aim was to curb rocket and mortar fire by militants from Gaza. Thirteen Israelis, including three civilians were killed.

Moord in koelen bloede. Anything goes in Israel. En niemand die er wat van zegt. Geen Blair, geen Obama, geen Clinton. Oorlogsmisdaden zijn prima, zolang het maar Israel is die ze pleegt.

mark61
19-03-09, 19:30
Het enige minieme lichtpuntje is dat Ha`aretz het naar buiten heeft gebracht.

Es kijken wat imbeciele en immorele sjonnie en slinger nou weer verzinnen.

Spoetnik
19-03-09, 20:06
Morgen komt er nog een artikel in de Ha'aretz.

IDF in Gaza: Killing civilians, vandalism, and lax rules of engagement
During Operation Cast Lead, Israeli forces killed Palestinian civilians under permissive rules of engagement and intentionally destroyed their property, say soldiers who fought in the offensive.

The soldiers are graduates of the Yitzhak Rabin pre-military preparatory course at Oranim Academic College in Tivon. Some of their statements made on Feb. 13 will appear Thursday and Friday in Haaretz. Dozens of graduates of the course who took part in the discussion fought in the Gaza operation.

The speakers included combat pilots and infantry soldiers. Their testimony runs counter to the Israel Defense Forces' claims that Israeli troops observed a high level of moral behavior during the operation. The session's transcript was published this week in the newsletter for the course's graduates.

The testimonies include a description by an infantry squad leader of an incident where an IDF sharpshooter mistakenly shot a Palestinian mother and her two children. "There was a house with a family inside .... We put them in a room. Later we left the house and another platoon entered it, and a few days after that there was an order to release the family. They had set up positions upstairs. There was a sniper position on the roof," the soldier said.

"The platoon commander let the family go and told them to go to the right. One mother and her two children didn't understand and went to the left, but they forgot to tell the sharpshooter on the roof they had let them go and it was okay, and he should hold his fire and he ... he did what he was supposed to, like he was following his orders."

According to the squad leader: "The sharpshooter saw a woman and children approaching him, closer than the lines he was told no one should pass. He shot them straight away. In any case, what happened is that in the end he killed them.

"I don't think he felt too bad about it, because after all, as far as he was concerned, he did his job according to the orders he was given. And the atmosphere in general, from what I understood from most of my men who I talked to ... I don't know how to describe it .... The lives of Palestinians, let's say, is something very, very less important than the lives of our soldiers. So as far as they are concerned they can justify it that way," he said.

Another squad leader from the same brigade told of an incident where the company commander ordered that an elderly Palestinian woman be shot and killed; she was walking on a road about 100 meters from a house the company had commandeered.

The squad leader said he argued with his commander over the permissive rules of engagement that allowed the clearing out of houses by shooting without warning the residents beforehand. After the orders were changed, the squad leader's soldiers complained that "we should kill everyone there [in the center of Gaza]. Everyone there is a terrorist."

The squad leader said: "You do not get the impression from the officers that there is any logic to it, but they won't say anything. To write 'death to the Arabs' on the walls, to take family pictures and spit on them, just because you can. I think this is the main thing: To understand how much the IDF has fallen in the realm of ethics, really. It's what I'll remember the most."

More soldiers' testimonies will be published in Haaretz over the coming days.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1072040.html

Ben alleen bang dat het enige wat er uit het onderzoek van het IDF tevoorschijn zal komen, dat het allemaal niet zo erg was. En de enige die gestraft zullen worden zijn deze soldaten die zo dapper zijn om naar buiten te treden met de misdaden. Je kan er ook maar gelijk vanuit gaan dat dit nog maar het tipje van de ijsberg is.

Spoetnik
19-03-09, 20:13
Es kijken wat imbeciele en immorele sjonnie en slinger nou weer verzinnen.

"Er zitten altijd een paar criminelen tussen"

en

"Wie een omelet wil bakken moet een paar eieren breken".

IbnRushd
19-03-09, 20:38
Israëlische troepen erkennen misstanden in Gaza

TEL AVIV - Israëlische militairen hebben willekeurig burgers gedood tijdens het recente offensief in de Gazastrook. Dat verklaarden veteranen van de strijd tijdens een bijeenkomst op de militaire academie Oranim in Tivon.
Israëlische media publiceerden donderdag details van de sessie vorige maand. Het Israëlische leger heeft inmiddels een onderzoek aangekondigd.

Er komt uit de getuigenissen een beeld naar voren van Israëlische militairen die de Palestijnen verachten en persoonlijke bezittingen van Palestijnen met opzet vernietigden. Mensenrechtenorganisaties en Palestijnen beschuldigden het Israëlische leger al eerder van het plegen van oorlogsmisdaden tijdens de 22 dagen durende campagne die eind januari stopte. Er kwamen 1434 Palestijnen, onder wie 960 burgers, en dertien Israëli's om.

Er golden lankmoedige dienstvoorschriften als het ging om schieten op burgers. ,,De atmosfeer in het algemeen was dat het leven van een Palestijn heel veel minder waard is dan het leven van onze soldaten'', zei een commandant. Een andere commandant vertelde van een incident waarbij een militair het bevel kreeg een oude Palestijnse vrouw dood te schieten. ,,Het was een koelbloedige moord'', aldus de militair.

(ANP) ad.nl

John2, Slinger, Bar en de rest v/d zionazi's? Nou?