10 june 2015
Justice Minister Shaked is promoting a bill seeking to tax or eliminate foreign funds to NGOs focusing on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which she says are 'eroding the legitimacy of Israel to exist as a Jewish and democratic state'.
Legislation being proposed by Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked threatens to severely limit the work of scores of Israeli NGOs that receive millions of dollars each year in donations from foreign governments and foundations.
While the legislation is in draft form, Bayit Yehudi's Shaked says she is determined to crack down on those who take foreign money and then criticize Israel, accusing the NGOs of "eroding the legitimacy of Israel to exist as a Jewish and democratic state".
An earlier legislative draft she submitted before rising to cabinet rank after a March election proposed a tax of up to 45 percent on foreign donations unless otherwise approved by a committee of defense and foreign ministry officials.
From the point of view of advocacy groups, the proposals are a dangerous step that would put Israel in a category with the likes of Russia, Turkey and neighboring Egypt, which often struggle to accept internal criticism and have banned some NGOs.
"A super-enormous battle is being waged for the future of our society," said Sarit Michaeli, a spokeswoman for B'Tselem and a veteran activist who has spent years gathering evidence of alleged transgressions in the West Bank. "What we have here are many years of intense efforts to discredit Israel's human rights community, primarily related to our work exposing human rights violations."
'Attack on sovereignty'
Showing the government is determined to penalize those it believes are tarnishing Israel, Culture Minister Miri Regev said on Wednesday she will cut state funds for artists who are deemed to be overtly sympathetic to the Palestinian struggle.
"Whoever delegitimizes the State of Israel will not get budgets from the state," Regev told Army Radio, promising to withdraw funds from an Israeli Arab actor who had refused to perform in a Jewish settlement in the Jordan Valley.
Amongst the projects to be hit are a mixed-race children's theatre that the actor, Norman Issa, runs near Tel Aviv. Issa said he felt he was being "extorted" over his political views. There are more than 30,000 NGOs registered in Israel, about half of them active.
But the focus of frustration for Shaked and her supporters are around 70 whose work focuses on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and which receive funds either from the European Union as a whole, or individual governments, including Denmark, Sweden, Belgium and Norway.
NGO Monitor, an Israeli group set up to track the sector, and in its words make it more accountable, maintains a database of foreign funding to NGOs, using figures the organizations themselves are obliged to provide under Israeli law.
The figures show that just over 100 million shekels ($26 million) was donated to 24 of the most active NGOs during 2012-2014, including Breaking the Silence, which collects anonymous testimony from Israeli soldiers; and Adalah, a legal rights organization focused on the Palestinians.
B'Tselem, one of the main recipients, says it was given 13.3 million shekels from US and European donors in that period, accounting for about two thirds of its entire funding.
If Shaked's bill were to pass, Michaeli reckons B'Tselem could keep operating, albeit with a much reduced budget. Other, smaller NGOs might be forced to shut down.
But it is not so much the potential loss of funding that has NGO advocates alarmed, as the message that such legislation sends, even if it doesn't secure parliamentary backing. In a country that has traditionally taken dissent on the chin, the move to clamp down reveals a new, thinner skin, one less accepting of opposing opinion, especially from those regarded as having a left-wing agenda.
"There's a sense on the Israeli right that progressive or liberal viewpoints are a danger and that something has to be done about it," said Matt Duss, the president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace in Washington, DC. "It creates a hostile environment for those who express legitimate criticism and would put Israel in some very bad company."
It remains unclear how much backing Shaked will get for her bill, but she looks determined to test the waters. NGO Monitor, which has questioned the accuracy of data gathered by groups like B'Tselem, says it does not support any legislation that would punish the NGO community.
But its head, Gerald Steinberg, accuses B'Tselem and others of waging "a very dangerous form of warfare" against Israel and says legislation is needed to combat "the destructive European policy of funding political NGOs". Others see a different objective.
"Members of the government are out to settle scores," said Duss, mentioning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's election-day criticism of unspecified left-wing groups that he accused of helping to take Israeli-Arab voters to the polls.
"It's part of a broader effort to limit the political space, to constrict the freedom of opposing views," said Duss.
Legislation being proposed by Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked threatens to severely limit the work of scores of Israeli NGOs that receive millions of dollars each year in donations from foreign governments and foundations.
While the legislation is in draft form, Bayit Yehudi's Shaked says she is determined to crack down on those who take foreign money and then criticize Israel, accusing the NGOs of "eroding the legitimacy of Israel to exist as a Jewish and democratic state".
An earlier legislative draft she submitted before rising to cabinet rank after a March election proposed a tax of up to 45 percent on foreign donations unless otherwise approved by a committee of defense and foreign ministry officials.
From the point of view of advocacy groups, the proposals are a dangerous step that would put Israel in a category with the likes of Russia, Turkey and neighboring Egypt, which often struggle to accept internal criticism and have banned some NGOs.
"A super-enormous battle is being waged for the future of our society," said Sarit Michaeli, a spokeswoman for B'Tselem and a veteran activist who has spent years gathering evidence of alleged transgressions in the West Bank. "What we have here are many years of intense efforts to discredit Israel's human rights community, primarily related to our work exposing human rights violations."
'Attack on sovereignty'
Showing the government is determined to penalize those it believes are tarnishing Israel, Culture Minister Miri Regev said on Wednesday she will cut state funds for artists who are deemed to be overtly sympathetic to the Palestinian struggle.
"Whoever delegitimizes the State of Israel will not get budgets from the state," Regev told Army Radio, promising to withdraw funds from an Israeli Arab actor who had refused to perform in a Jewish settlement in the Jordan Valley.
Amongst the projects to be hit are a mixed-race children's theatre that the actor, Norman Issa, runs near Tel Aviv. Issa said he felt he was being "extorted" over his political views. There are more than 30,000 NGOs registered in Israel, about half of them active.
But the focus of frustration for Shaked and her supporters are around 70 whose work focuses on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and which receive funds either from the European Union as a whole, or individual governments, including Denmark, Sweden, Belgium and Norway.
NGO Monitor, an Israeli group set up to track the sector, and in its words make it more accountable, maintains a database of foreign funding to NGOs, using figures the organizations themselves are obliged to provide under Israeli law.
The figures show that just over 100 million shekels ($26 million) was donated to 24 of the most active NGOs during 2012-2014, including Breaking the Silence, which collects anonymous testimony from Israeli soldiers; and Adalah, a legal rights organization focused on the Palestinians.
B'Tselem, one of the main recipients, says it was given 13.3 million shekels from US and European donors in that period, accounting for about two thirds of its entire funding.
If Shaked's bill were to pass, Michaeli reckons B'Tselem could keep operating, albeit with a much reduced budget. Other, smaller NGOs might be forced to shut down.
But it is not so much the potential loss of funding that has NGO advocates alarmed, as the message that such legislation sends, even if it doesn't secure parliamentary backing. In a country that has traditionally taken dissent on the chin, the move to clamp down reveals a new, thinner skin, one less accepting of opposing opinion, especially from those regarded as having a left-wing agenda.
"There's a sense on the Israeli right that progressive or liberal viewpoints are a danger and that something has to be done about it," said Matt Duss, the president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace in Washington, DC. "It creates a hostile environment for those who express legitimate criticism and would put Israel in some very bad company."
It remains unclear how much backing Shaked will get for her bill, but she looks determined to test the waters. NGO Monitor, which has questioned the accuracy of data gathered by groups like B'Tselem, says it does not support any legislation that would punish the NGO community.
But its head, Gerald Steinberg, accuses B'Tselem and others of waging "a very dangerous form of warfare" against Israel and says legislation is needed to combat "the destructive European policy of funding political NGOs". Others see a different objective.
"Members of the government are out to settle scores," said Duss, mentioning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's election-day criticism of unspecified left-wing groups that he accused of helping to take Israeli-Arab voters to the polls.
"It's part of a broader effort to limit the political space, to constrict the freedom of opposing views," said Duss.
3 june 2015
Tzipi Hotovely
Israel has urged the Swiss government not to back an exhibition which highlights human rights abuses by Israeli soldiers against Palestinians, the Times of Israel reported. "I have instructed our embassy [in Bern] to immediately look for actions that can be taken against this exhibition. The Foreign Ministry will continue to act against groups that act against Israel from within the country and abroad," Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely said.
She added: "We will not ignore an organisation whose sole purpose is to shame Israeli soldiers, as it operates in the international arena to inflict severe damage on Israel's image."
The exhibition is set to be held this month at the Culture Helferei events centre, and will feature testimonies from former Israeli soldiers who said there was a policy of "unnecessary killings of Palestinians".
Breaking the Silence, which has organised the event, is dealing mainly with military operations against Palestinians, and violations of human rights by the Israeli soldiers during the course of their service.
Media reports claim Breaking the Silence originally sought out a local synagogue for its exhibition, but was rejected.
According to the event invitation: "The mission of Breaking the Silence is to raise awareness of the daily reality in the Occupied Territories, and to create public discourse on the moral price for military control of a civilian population and an occupation that has lasted many long years."
Israel has urged the Swiss government not to back an exhibition which highlights human rights abuses by Israeli soldiers against Palestinians, the Times of Israel reported. "I have instructed our embassy [in Bern] to immediately look for actions that can be taken against this exhibition. The Foreign Ministry will continue to act against groups that act against Israel from within the country and abroad," Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely said.
She added: "We will not ignore an organisation whose sole purpose is to shame Israeli soldiers, as it operates in the international arena to inflict severe damage on Israel's image."
The exhibition is set to be held this month at the Culture Helferei events centre, and will feature testimonies from former Israeli soldiers who said there was a policy of "unnecessary killings of Palestinians".
Breaking the Silence, which has organised the event, is dealing mainly with military operations against Palestinians, and violations of human rights by the Israeli soldiers during the course of their service.
Media reports claim Breaking the Silence originally sought out a local synagogue for its exhibition, but was rejected.
According to the event invitation: "The mission of Breaking the Silence is to raise awareness of the daily reality in the Occupied Territories, and to create public discourse on the moral price for military control of a civilian population and an occupation that has lasted many long years."
15 may 2015
Rubble in Gaza in the wake of Operation Protective Edge
IDF vets take to social media in protest over damning reports from NGO claiming abuse of Palestinians during Operation Protective Edge.
A group of former IDF soldiers, incensed over an Israeli NGO's claims that they abused Palestinians during last summer’s fighting in Gaza, have taken to social media to fight the allegations.
Under the hashtag #my_truth in Hebrew, the soldiers, many of whom faced heavy fire from Hamas and other terrorist groups during the 50-day Operation Protective Edge, have begun posting stories of cases showing how they went to great lengths to avoid harming Palestinians. They also mentioned cases in which civilians took part in terrorist activity.
The initiative counters anonymous testimonies by other troops published by the NGO Breaking the Silence, known for publicizing stories of alleged IDF mistreatment of Palestinians.
Breaking the Silence touts itself as an organization of ex-soldiers who collect testimonies from troops who served in Palestinian areas since the start of the Second Intifada.
The organization's stated goal is to "raise awareness over the everyday reality of serving in the occupied territories and to create a discussion about the cost of military control over a civilian population for so many years," but the NGO refuses to post the names of the soldiers who testify. Despite the seriousness of the claims, Breaking the Silence hasn't filed official reports with the IDF for investigation.
The latest counter-initiative to the NGO report began after Israeli left-wing Meretz MK Zehava Galon posted one such anonymous testimony last Tuesday on her Facebook page.
In the allegation that she posted from Breaking the Silence, Galon quoted the following: "the unit identified two figures walking in an orchard around 900 meters from where we were posted. The figures were two girls. The observation post could not see them well, so the commander sent a UAV. The UAV marked them as dangerous. The unit directed an aircraft who fired on the girls, killing them. When the bodies were checked they had no weapons on them," the allegation said.
Such accounts have prompted numerous counter claims from other IDF soldiers, who have attempted to portray a more positive view of IDF activities during the foray.
After reading the Breaking the Silence pamphlet, former IDF soldier Matan Katzman wrote on his Facebook page last Thursday that "during Operation Summer Rains in Beit Hanoun (in the northern Gaze Strip in 2006), we entered a house with a couple living in it. We asked them if they’re involved with Hamas, they said "no, not at all." We asked them if they have weapons in the house, they said "no, not at all". We stayed in the house for a couple of hours. When we left, we moved the couch and discovered an IED."
The informal pro-IDF campaign by former Israeli soldiers also cited examples of humane and respectful behavior towards non-combatants during operations in the West Bank.
Avishai Shorsham recalled in a testimony that he wrote of his service on his Facebook page on Wednesday, that "During an operation in the Nablus Kasbah, while we are in the middle of a stakeout, an old man who lived in the house felt sharp pain in his chest. Without accordance with our orders, we evacuated him in the middle of the night while endangering ourselves."
According to the organization's website, the recent Breaking the Silence pamphlet was produced with the "generous support" of such foreign organizations as Christian Aid, Dan Church Aid, Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, Secretariat and Open Society Foundations founded by George Soros.
IDF vets take to social media in protest over damning reports from NGO claiming abuse of Palestinians during Operation Protective Edge.
A group of former IDF soldiers, incensed over an Israeli NGO's claims that they abused Palestinians during last summer’s fighting in Gaza, have taken to social media to fight the allegations.
Under the hashtag #my_truth in Hebrew, the soldiers, many of whom faced heavy fire from Hamas and other terrorist groups during the 50-day Operation Protective Edge, have begun posting stories of cases showing how they went to great lengths to avoid harming Palestinians. They also mentioned cases in which civilians took part in terrorist activity.
The initiative counters anonymous testimonies by other troops published by the NGO Breaking the Silence, known for publicizing stories of alleged IDF mistreatment of Palestinians.
Breaking the Silence touts itself as an organization of ex-soldiers who collect testimonies from troops who served in Palestinian areas since the start of the Second Intifada.
The organization's stated goal is to "raise awareness over the everyday reality of serving in the occupied territories and to create a discussion about the cost of military control over a civilian population for so many years," but the NGO refuses to post the names of the soldiers who testify. Despite the seriousness of the claims, Breaking the Silence hasn't filed official reports with the IDF for investigation.
The latest counter-initiative to the NGO report began after Israeli left-wing Meretz MK Zehava Galon posted one such anonymous testimony last Tuesday on her Facebook page.
In the allegation that she posted from Breaking the Silence, Galon quoted the following: "the unit identified two figures walking in an orchard around 900 meters from where we were posted. The figures were two girls. The observation post could not see them well, so the commander sent a UAV. The UAV marked them as dangerous. The unit directed an aircraft who fired on the girls, killing them. When the bodies were checked they had no weapons on them," the allegation said.
Such accounts have prompted numerous counter claims from other IDF soldiers, who have attempted to portray a more positive view of IDF activities during the foray.
After reading the Breaking the Silence pamphlet, former IDF soldier Matan Katzman wrote on his Facebook page last Thursday that "during Operation Summer Rains in Beit Hanoun (in the northern Gaze Strip in 2006), we entered a house with a couple living in it. We asked them if they’re involved with Hamas, they said "no, not at all." We asked them if they have weapons in the house, they said "no, not at all". We stayed in the house for a couple of hours. When we left, we moved the couch and discovered an IED."
The informal pro-IDF campaign by former Israeli soldiers also cited examples of humane and respectful behavior towards non-combatants during operations in the West Bank.
Avishai Shorsham recalled in a testimony that he wrote of his service on his Facebook page on Wednesday, that "During an operation in the Nablus Kasbah, while we are in the middle of a stakeout, an old man who lived in the house felt sharp pain in his chest. Without accordance with our orders, we evacuated him in the middle of the night while endangering ourselves."
According to the organization's website, the recent Breaking the Silence pamphlet was produced with the "generous support" of such foreign organizations as Christian Aid, Dan Church Aid, Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, Secretariat and Open Society Foundations founded by George Soros.
5 may 2015
|
Former soldier: I could shoot whenever, whatever I want
A group of Israeli veterans released testimony on Monday collected from more than 60 soldiers of various ranks who fought in Gaza during the war in summer of 2014. In the report:-- One soldier states, "If you shoot someone in Gaza, it's cool." -- Another describes living in a former home of Palestinians before it was blown up. -- And another says two women were called terrorists simply because they had been shot. "So of course they must have been terrorists," he adds. They turned out to be unarmed civilians. |
The 240-page report, published by the veterans group Breaking the Silence, outlines various tactics used by soldiers in the Israeli military during the 50-day war that left more than 2,100 Palestinians dead, with more than 1,500 of those being civilians. More than 60 Israeli soldiers were killed along with several Israeli civilians.
In response to the report, the Israeli military released a statement Monday afternoon saying, in part, it is "committed to properly investigating all credible claims raised via media, NGOs and official complaints concerning IDF conduct during operation Protective Edge."
The statement continues saying, "Breaking the Silence refused to provide any proof of these claims."
Avihai Stollar, research director for Breaking the Silence, told CNN in an interview that the interviews were collected to shed light on why large areas of infrastructure had been destroyed and why civilian deaths were so high during the fighting.
"The idea was not to massacre ... but their commanders lied to them and lied to the public that there were no civilians [killed]," Stollar said.
Alongside the report, the group has also released videos of the testimony by soldiers.
"The rules of engagement during operation Protective Edge were pretty vague. There wasn't anything organized."
The soldier goes on to add that he and his regiment were told to open fire on anything that looked suspicious, "be it a very tall house, or head peeking from a window, certainly if you see anyone walk out from one house and into another."
During the conflict, the Israel Defense Forces repeatedly stated Hamas used civilians as shields and stashed weapons and artillery in locations such as schools and hospitals.
After the end of the war last summer, an investigation was carried out while soldiers were offered a chance to voice complaints, the IDF said in the same statement Monday.
Stoller says that the state has failed to inquire into its past actions.
"In mid-March we reached out to the chief of staff of the military and sent him a letter asking him to meet urgently in order to discuss the testimonies of the soldiers and we never received a positive response or any response in that regard," he says.
"Aside from that, Breaking the Silence receives its mandate from the public and therefore aims to raise the debate over the conduct of the military within the civil society. History shows that the military does not have the ability or the willingness to question its own policies and regulations and that's why we believe in an independent inquiry in Israel that could bring about any change."More than 20,000 homes were destroyed and hundreds of thousands are still displaced, according to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
Many parts of Gaza have yet to be reconstructed as material has been difficult to get because of the Israeli economic blockade on Gaza since 2007.
Video
In response to the report, the Israeli military released a statement Monday afternoon saying, in part, it is "committed to properly investigating all credible claims raised via media, NGOs and official complaints concerning IDF conduct during operation Protective Edge."
The statement continues saying, "Breaking the Silence refused to provide any proof of these claims."
Avihai Stollar, research director for Breaking the Silence, told CNN in an interview that the interviews were collected to shed light on why large areas of infrastructure had been destroyed and why civilian deaths were so high during the fighting.
"The idea was not to massacre ... but their commanders lied to them and lied to the public that there were no civilians [killed]," Stollar said.
Alongside the report, the group has also released videos of the testimony by soldiers.
"The rules of engagement during operation Protective Edge were pretty vague. There wasn't anything organized."
The soldier goes on to add that he and his regiment were told to open fire on anything that looked suspicious, "be it a very tall house, or head peeking from a window, certainly if you see anyone walk out from one house and into another."
During the conflict, the Israel Defense Forces repeatedly stated Hamas used civilians as shields and stashed weapons and artillery in locations such as schools and hospitals.
After the end of the war last summer, an investigation was carried out while soldiers were offered a chance to voice complaints, the IDF said in the same statement Monday.
Stoller says that the state has failed to inquire into its past actions.
"In mid-March we reached out to the chief of staff of the military and sent him a letter asking him to meet urgently in order to discuss the testimonies of the soldiers and we never received a positive response or any response in that regard," he says.
"Aside from that, Breaking the Silence receives its mandate from the public and therefore aims to raise the debate over the conduct of the military within the civil society. History shows that the military does not have the ability or the willingness to question its own policies and regulations and that's why we believe in an independent inquiry in Israel that could bring about any change."More than 20,000 homes were destroyed and hundreds of thousands are still displaced, according to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
Many parts of Gaza have yet to be reconstructed as material has been difficult to get because of the Israeli economic blockade on Gaza since 2007.
Video
|
Grief-stricken relatives mourn in Gaza City after four children were killed in July last year by Israeli forces
As a former sniper with the Israeli army, I am calling for for an investigation of the events that took place in Gaza last year The conflict in the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2014 was the most violent and destructive round of fighting experienced in Gaza in recent years. According to the UN, 2,205 Palestinians lost their lives, 18,000 homes throughout Gaza were damaged or destroyed and 108,000 Palestinians were left homeless. This unprecedented scale of death and destruction is not a matter of chance and should surprise no one – it is the result of a deliberate change in recent years in the way the Israeli army (IDF) conducts its wars. |
This change began in 2005, when Professor Asa Kasher and Major General (res.) Amos Yadlin published a paper called “Military Ethics of Fighting Terror: An Israeli Perspective.” This paper offers a radically changed perspective on the IDF’s obligation to avoid harming innocent lives. It defines a “hierarchy of lives” with four levels. The lives of Israeli citizens come first, followed by the lives of IDF soldiers. The lives of enemy civilians come next and enemy combatants come last. This hierarchy determines that the army’s duty is to do everything in its power to prevent harm to IDF soldiers, even if it causes probable harm to the lives of innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
This doctrine shaped the IDF’s mode of action in Gaza and influenced the rules of engagement Israeli soldiers received last summer during Operation Protective Edge, as indicated in over 60 soldiers’ testimonies collected by Breaking the Silence. One testifier described the rules of engagement as follows: “The instructions are to shoot right away. Whoever you spot – be they armed or unarmed, no matter what. The instructions are very clear. Any person you run into, that you see with your eyes – shoot to kill. It’s an explicit instruction.” Instructions of this kind were given to soldiers of all ranks.
A second doctrine that shaped the IDF’s approach during Protective Edge was the “Dahiya Doctrine”, adopted by the IDF since the Second Lebanon War in 2006. In an interview in 2008, the IDF’s current Chief of Staff, Gadi Eizenkot (then head of the army’s Northern Command), described the doctrine bluntly: “What happened in the Dahiya quarter in Beirut in 2006 will happen in every village from which they fire at Israel. We will apply a disproportionate amount of force and cause massive damage and destruction. As far as we are concerned, these are military bases.” Major General (res.) Dr. Gabriel Siboni argued: “When the next confrontation breaks out, the IDF will need to act quickly, resolutely, and with unprecedented force against the threat and actions of the enemy, in order to harm and punish, on levels that will require long and expensive rehabilitative processes.”
In line with this rationale, IDF actions included destruction that had no correlation to the level of risk to the forces or to Israeli citizens. Such actions were designed to exact a heavy price and increase Israel’s deterrence against Gaza. For example, one soldier testified about a heavy bombardment after the forces began withdrawing from Gaza, when a ceasefire was about to take hold: “After we left, I heard a boom. I looked back and I saw an air bombardment, and they told us, ‘Yeah, there’s going to be a cease-fire, so we want to have “the final word” before we leave.’”
These doctrines shaped the IDF’s conduct during all stages of combat in Gaza. Principles like the “purity of arms” and the “value of human life,” which once stood at the basis of the IDF’s code of ethics, were abandoned.
READ MORE
The testimonies of Israeli soldiers provided to group
Netanyahu 'has never believed in two state solution'
Cameron says Israel was right to defend itself over Gaza attacks
The extremely permissive rules of engagement last summer point to a fundamental change in the norms that guide IDF combat, which peaked during Operation Protective Edge. According to senior IDF officials, it will continue to shape the IDF’s approach in future conflicts.
The IDF has declared the establishment of an investigative team charged with examining any deviations from IDF protocol during the operation. During my army service, I was exposed to the IDF’s investigative mechanisms. I am now a member of Breaking the Silence, an organization that has been observing the IDF’s policies in the occupied Palestinian territories for nearly 11 years. I know that these mechanisms are not capable of investigating the wider policy that guides the IDF’s actions. At best, only some junior soldiers will be held responsible for isolated incidents.
Therefore, we call for an extensive and thorough investigation of the events that took place in Gaza in the summer of 2014. This investigation must be conducted by an external and independent entity authorized to investigate the political and military leadership that developed and approved these policies – not just the soldiers who carried them out.
Ron Zaidel served as a sniper in the Nahal Brigade of the IDF and is currently a researcher at Breaking the Silence.
This doctrine shaped the IDF’s mode of action in Gaza and influenced the rules of engagement Israeli soldiers received last summer during Operation Protective Edge, as indicated in over 60 soldiers’ testimonies collected by Breaking the Silence. One testifier described the rules of engagement as follows: “The instructions are to shoot right away. Whoever you spot – be they armed or unarmed, no matter what. The instructions are very clear. Any person you run into, that you see with your eyes – shoot to kill. It’s an explicit instruction.” Instructions of this kind were given to soldiers of all ranks.
A second doctrine that shaped the IDF’s approach during Protective Edge was the “Dahiya Doctrine”, adopted by the IDF since the Second Lebanon War in 2006. In an interview in 2008, the IDF’s current Chief of Staff, Gadi Eizenkot (then head of the army’s Northern Command), described the doctrine bluntly: “What happened in the Dahiya quarter in Beirut in 2006 will happen in every village from which they fire at Israel. We will apply a disproportionate amount of force and cause massive damage and destruction. As far as we are concerned, these are military bases.” Major General (res.) Dr. Gabriel Siboni argued: “When the next confrontation breaks out, the IDF will need to act quickly, resolutely, and with unprecedented force against the threat and actions of the enemy, in order to harm and punish, on levels that will require long and expensive rehabilitative processes.”
In line with this rationale, IDF actions included destruction that had no correlation to the level of risk to the forces or to Israeli citizens. Such actions were designed to exact a heavy price and increase Israel’s deterrence against Gaza. For example, one soldier testified about a heavy bombardment after the forces began withdrawing from Gaza, when a ceasefire was about to take hold: “After we left, I heard a boom. I looked back and I saw an air bombardment, and they told us, ‘Yeah, there’s going to be a cease-fire, so we want to have “the final word” before we leave.’”
These doctrines shaped the IDF’s conduct during all stages of combat in Gaza. Principles like the “purity of arms” and the “value of human life,” which once stood at the basis of the IDF’s code of ethics, were abandoned.
READ MORE
The testimonies of Israeli soldiers provided to group
Netanyahu 'has never believed in two state solution'
Cameron says Israel was right to defend itself over Gaza attacks
The extremely permissive rules of engagement last summer point to a fundamental change in the norms that guide IDF combat, which peaked during Operation Protective Edge. According to senior IDF officials, it will continue to shape the IDF’s approach in future conflicts.
The IDF has declared the establishment of an investigative team charged with examining any deviations from IDF protocol during the operation. During my army service, I was exposed to the IDF’s investigative mechanisms. I am now a member of Breaking the Silence, an organization that has been observing the IDF’s policies in the occupied Palestinian territories for nearly 11 years. I know that these mechanisms are not capable of investigating the wider policy that guides the IDF’s actions. At best, only some junior soldiers will be held responsible for isolated incidents.
Therefore, we call for an extensive and thorough investigation of the events that took place in Gaza in the summer of 2014. This investigation must be conducted by an external and independent entity authorized to investigate the political and military leadership that developed and approved these policies – not just the soldiers who carried them out.
Ron Zaidel served as a sniper in the Nahal Brigade of the IDF and is currently a researcher at Breaking the Silence.