Israeli troops say they were given shoot-to-kill order
Conal Urquhart in Tel Aviv
Tuesday September 6, 2005
The Guardian
Israeli military prosecutors have opened criminal investigations following allegations by soldiers that they carried out illegal shoot-to-kill orders against unarmed Palestinians.
The 17 separate investigations were prompted by the testimony of dozens of troops collected by Breaking the Silence, a pressure group of former Israeli soldiers committed to exposing human rights abuses by the military in suppressing the Palestinian intifada. The investigations cover a range of allegations, including misuse of weapons and other misuses of power.
Some of the soldiers, who also spoke to the Guardian, say they acted on standing orders in some parts of the Palestinian territories to open fire on people regardless of whether they were armed or not, or posed any physical threat.
The soldiers say that in some situations they were ordered to shoot anyone who appeared on a roof or a balcony, anyone who appeared to be kneeling to the ground or anyone who appeared on the street at a designated time. Among those killed by soldiers acting on the orders were young children.
While the background to the soldiers’ experience is the armed conflict that has been going on in the West Bank and Gaza Strip since October 2000, many of the shootings occurred in periods of calm when there was no immediate risk to the soldiers involved.
Yehuda Shaul, the co-founder of Breaking the Silence, said it aimed to show that individual soldiers were not to blame for killings of innocent Palestinians. “It is the situation which is to blame and that is created by military and political leaders, not the soldiers on the ground,” he said.
The testimonies shed light on how around 1,700 Palestinian civilians have been killed during the second intifada.
Please read the above and tell me how this is any different from your classical “Islamic” terrorism. The Israeli army openly targets civilians, 1,700 dead in the last Intifada - many of whom are children.
To all the usual suspects, you slop fed Fox News consuming tools in here, how are the Israelis any different from Osama or Hamas? I accept that suicide bombing is wrong. Do you accept the crimes of the state of Israel?
Why can they mass-murder innocent people? Why do you consistently maintain one standard for Muslims and another for the US and Israel.
I am hardly an islamist, and I have very little regard for the Arab plight in general (much is of there own making), but this is completely and unequivocally wrong to me. Blatant Western hypocrisy, like the refusal to punish Israel for activities like this are the sole reason for Muslim “fundamentalism”, and until these injustices are vanquished (or 1.5 billion Muslims disappear), the current conflict cannot end.
The fact that the democratically elected Israeli government is responsible for these atrocities is even more damming to me. Its utterly revolting how little regard these people have for human life.
no coherant arguement for me?
on a diet of SUV’s, MTV and Burger King anyhow 