Serious Allegations Made About IDF Behavior In Gaza

The headlines are blaring:

Haaretz: 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.

YnetNews.com: Soldiers say IDF immoral in Gaza

The IDF did not behave morally during Operation Cast Lead, soldiers who had participated in the operation said during a post-op conference at the military academy at Oranim. The conference protocol was published Thursday.

Jerusalem Post:IDF to probe soldiers' Cast Lead accounts

The IDF will investigate reports by graduates of the Oranim-Yitzhak Rabin Pre-military Academy of violations of the IDF Code of Ethics during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza.

New York Times: Soldiers’ Accounts of Gaza Killings Raise Furor in Israel

In the two months since Israel ended its military assault on Gaza, Palestinians and international rights groups have accused it of excessive force and wanton killing in that operation, but the Israeli military has said it followed high ethical standards and took great care to avoid civilian casualties.

Now testimony is emerging from within the ranks of soldiers and officers alleging a permissive attitude toward the killing of civilians and reckless destruction of property that is sure to inflame the domestic and international debate about the army’s conduct in Gaza.

Obviously, the world media is not about to wait for the results of any investigation--Just check out Memorandum for the reaction thus far.

My Right Word pointed me to another article in YnetNews.com:

IDF soldiers refute claims of immoral conduct in Gaza

"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.

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."

...Major (res.) Idan Zuaretz of Givati said "in every war there is a small percentage of problematic soldiers, but we must look at it from a broad perspective and not focus on isolated incidents."

Zuaretz, a company commander, also questioned the integrity of the soldiers who made the controversial claims, saying "if this was such a burning issue for them, why have they remained silent until now? On an ethical and moral level, they were obligated to stop what they claimed had occurred and not wait two months to be heard at some esoteric debate."

Keep in mind that according to the Haaretz article, some of the claims were first made earlier--on February 13, but the question still stands.

The Muqata writes about reasons to doubt the story:

Now, I know plenty of soldiers who saw action in Gaza during the "Cast Lead" operation, and no one that I know saw anything remotely similar to what Haaretz described.

Fast forward to a few minutes ago. Channel 2 TV Army correspondent Roni Daniel stated at 6:30 PM this evening, that he personally tracked down one of the soldiers interviewed for the Haaretz article. Apparently the soldier's testimony to Haaretz wasn't based on anything he personally saw or witnessed, rather based on rumors and hearsay he heard (and the soldier wasn't even in Gaza!). [emphasis added]

Israellycool shares his thoughts (see comments on 3:30pm):

1. I would like to wait until after the IDF’s investigation before passing judgment. It is the least I can do considering the IDF defends my country and protects the lives of me and my family.

2. At least the IDF conducts investigations when accusations like this are made. That seems pretty moral to me.

3. I am uncomfortable with the enthusiasm with which Ha’aretz in particular is pursuing this. I said uncomfortable, not surprised.

4. I am also uncomfortable with this becoming public knowledge before an investigation has been conducted and the findings released. If any of this turns out to be fabrication, it won’t matter. This is going to cause a huge amount of damage to Israel’s image.

5. The IDF still has a track record in being highly moral, and indeed tried to spare the lives of civilians during Operation Cast Lead through actions such as the dropping of leaflets and attempted pinpoint strikes.

6. If an IDF investigation finds that these accusations are true and without the presence of any mitigating factors, I unequivocally condemn the actions in question and sincerely hope that the IDF implements appropriate measures to ensure they don’t happen again.

Israel Matzav is also covering the story and notes:

The IDF will investigate these stories and will likely find in some instances that 'Palestinians' were accidentally shot just like - as the head of another pre-military academy points out - there were some IDF troops accidentally shot. Those things happen in war. When they find widespread verified instances in which IDF troops shoot unarmed 'Palestinian' civilians (real civilians - not just people dressed in civilian clothes as the terrorists are wont to do), call me. Until then, the IDF is the most moral army in the World. Period.

Elder of Ziyon notes:

The next few days will be interesting, as we will see if any IDF soldiers step up to corroborate the stories told earlier. What is clear, however, is that if there were any lapses it was not because of IDF policy nor from the conduct of the vast majority of soldiers.

Equally clear is that the world will harshly judge an entire people based on the the slightest, out-of-context and possibly fictional claims. Certainly they should be investigated but not by a world that has already convicted Israel.

See also Soccer Dad on The New York Times reporting on this--and their approach to a similar 'revelation' about Israeli misconduct: Jenin.

There will be more news and revelations about this in the coming days--both in the media and when the IDF finishes its investigation.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Gaza and Hamas and Operation Cast Lead.