Written by Sydney Barakat at theantimedia.org
Criticism of Israel is continually gaining traction, as we have witnessed throughout the year. Most notably, the disapproval has stemmed from last summer’s Operation Protective Edge assault on Gaza, where thousands of Palestinians— mostly civilians—were killed. It’s refreshing to see that the Israeli government—especially within the past few months—is starting to be held even somewhat accountable for its actions. It is encouraging that at the very least we’re now discussing Israel’s accountability.
One hefty criticism of Israel lies within the Report of the Independent Commission of Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza Conflict, which ultimately pointed the finger at Israeli officials, commanders, and soldiers for not having been careful enough in preventing civilian casualties.
Further, other occurrences have also provided grounds for critiquing the Israeli government, in part because Israel seems to regularly target children. For instance, impunity was granted to IDF soldiers— and the commanders who directed them—after an airstrike killed four children playing on a beach in Gaza. They were killed because the soldiers “mistook” the children for Hamas gunmen.
Then there is the story of Israeli soldiers who knowingly killed children, as revealed through text messages they sent to each other before firing.
Lastly— and most recently— the Human Rights Watch accused Israel of abusively detaining Palestinian children. The accusations assert that “Israeli security forces have used unnecessary force to arrest or detain Palestinian children.” HRW further said that “Forces have choked children, thrown stun grenades at them, beaten them in custody, threatened and interrogated them without the presence of parents or lawyers, and failed to let their parents know their whereabouts.” There are numerous individual cases listed, as well, including the case of an 11-year-old boy who had a bag placed over his head before being repeatedly kicked.
Israel’s practices of torture, abuse, and humiliation extend beyond children— they target all Palestinians, regardless of age. But if the constant abuse of children doesn’t open one’s eyes to Israel’s ruthlessness, what will?
Amid this apparent hopelessness, there is still good news: individuals and organizations alike are finallyincreasingly becoming aware of Israel’s fascist practices, including its human rights abuses and crimes against humanity.
One organization called Breaking the Silence is an exceptional example of self-accountability.
In May of this year, Democracy Now reported on the group. The headline reads, “Kill Anything”: Israeli Soldiers Say Gaza Atrocities Came from Orders for Indiscriminate Fire,” and includes transcripts of IDF soldiers who’ve decided to blow the whistle on Israel’s war crimes. Shockingly, as the transcript states, “…a first sergeant in the Israeli military, his voice distorted, describes how a commander told him, ‘There are no innocent civilians…’” This essentially reveals how soldiers were ordered to kill anyone, regardless of their age or innocence.
If you still support Israel, it is time to reconsider your stance. There is a substantial body of evidence that proves the Israeli government takes innocent Palestinian lives without hesitation and often without repercussion. It is time to stand on the right side of history, alongside the individuals and groups that have been—or are starting to—hold Israel accountable for its actions.
(For more information on Breaking the Silence, visit their website by clicking here.)
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Is This an Israeli get in the picture?
So you feel Israel is well within its rights to defend itself , even when the means to do so results in a large number of civilian casualties including many children ? Just look at the numbers of last years war. How many Jewish civilians were killed ? How many Palestinian civilians? Such a disproportionate number of civilian casualties says two things to me about Israel. That they are willingly committing these atrocities as much as they can get away with in order to pressure the Palestinian Arabs to leave and move on elsewhere , ethnically cleansing the land of them , yet denying it to the world. And also that the IDF is far from being one of the best military powers in the world , showing a blatant cowardice refusing to put soldiers on the ground to go door to door in search of the militants , like the USA did in Iraq weeding out the insurgents in urban areas. No instead they bomb entire blocks , women, children and all to take out a target that most of the time already moved on to a new location before the shelling could take them out. Remember this though , that Hamas’s very existence is a direct response to the Zionists treatment of the Palestinian people , starting from the Nakba , forced expulsions and killing of Palestinians in 1947 and 48 long before Hamas was a thought in anyone’s mind.
There ARE civilian casualties but do you guys understand what a misconstrued facts you’re spreading? The immense civilian casualties are caused by Palestinian terrorists literally using their people as human shields. There is factual proof, evidence, that Hamas would send families into places they knew would get bombed by Israel. Now, how do they know where Israel targets? The Israeli army drops hundreds and thousands of flyers saying things along the lines of “this is a terrorist hot spot and will soon be destroyed, please leave in X amount of time” (X being more than enough time to get out. There are videos, pictures, and other evidence showing Hamas literally forcing women and children onto the roofs of houses they knew were going to be destroyed. There is a reason for the so called “disproportionate response” that so many people claim to be Israel’s fault. No one stops to think WHY there have been so many civilian casualties…
This seems to be just made up news…There is no credibility to this particular news article
THIS IS NOT A CREDIBLE NEWS SOURCE..JUST A PROPAGANDA