The Palestinian people have endured many years of pain and suffering, especially those who have been forced into the refugee camps in the Gaza strip. The bombings and destruction of entire communities by the hands of the Israeli state are only the beginning of what life is like in Palestine. The apartheid-like conditions make the terrible situation even worse.
Recently, an advocacy group in Israel published a lengthy report where Israeli soldiers break the silence on how they conducted themselves during “Operation Cast Lead.” The massacre left more than 1,400 Palestinians dead, and further devastated the already precarious infrastructure of Gaza.
The soldiers admit that they frequently used Palestinians as human shields; others attest to destroying buildings even though the structures housed no direct threat. They confirm that white phosphorus was used in densely populated areas, and describe the rules of engagement as “permissive.”
The report is based on anonymous accounts, and the soldiers have not spoken to the media. The Israeli government has predictably rejected the report, sticking to its official story by reaffirming that it has complied with international law on all fronts.
In an effort to save face, the Israel army conducted an investigation, which concluded that Israeli forces “operated in accordance with international law” with only a few incidents due to intelligence or operational errors. The minister of defense, Ehud Barak, said that criticism of Israel was “misplaced and misdirected.”
“If someone has a criticism, or information or conclusions about [Israel Defense Forces] actions, they should bring them to me, as minister of defense of the state of Israel, and to the Israeli government that instructed the IDF to restore quiet to the communities in the south,” Barak added. “The IDF is the most moral army in the world and it operates according to the highest ethical code.”
Many of the soldiers interviewed in the report are still serving, and there could be serious repercussions should their identities be revealed.
The accounts in the report can be easily corroborated by the Palestinian residents of Gaza. Shafiq Daher told CNN that Israeli soldiers used him as a human shield during the recent Gaza military operation.
“He was holding with all his strength like this and with his heavy machine gun on the other shoulder,” said Daher, who demonstrated how the soldier walked behind him as they approached his neighbors’ homes. Daher, who lives in Jabaliya outside Gaza City, said he was forced to search Palestinian neighborhoods for about a week, under heavy fire. He said he was also given a hammer and told to break through his neighbors’ walls.
“I felt like a dead man walking,” he said. “I was walking and praying to God and thought this is what death is like.”
The criminal siege of Gaza must end immediately. The Palestinian people have a right to live in peace, and those who have been expelled must be allowed to return to their homeland. Free Palestine!
