With a number of reports coming out of Israel of possible abuses and violations by Israeli soldiers it is interesting to read a couple of reactions from inside Israel.
Firstly Herb Keinon in the Jerusalem post with an excellent article here where he he reports that Alan Baker, former Foreign Ministry legal adviser has said:
it is incumbent on
Israel to investigate the allegations to show the world it is taking the matter seriously
As I have also stated, it is very important that Israel investigates ALL allegations in an open and thorough way.
“There is no doubt that Israel did not systematically go in and commit war crimes,” Baker said.
He said that in isolated incidents, things may have happened that caused innocent people to be killed, and that it was in Israel’s interest to investigate itself, and prosecute where necessary.
Exactly right. This is the key issue that makes Israel different from its enemeies and many of the countries who so gloatingly read about Israel’s internal breast-beating over these allegations. Israel is seen as part of the western democracies and is held to account to uphold international law. No other country in the region would be remotely interested in investigating potential crimes in their military. Only truly democratic open societies can do this. Israel has to do it, not to placate foreign media or governments, it must do it to retain its self-respect as a nation, whatever the findings reveal.
The ‘good’ bit in the title comes from yNetnews.com where soldiers who took part in the Gaza conflict rebut claims of immoral conduct.
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.
Other stories of soldiers being berated by colleagues for stealing even a can of drink and being made to put it back, of soldiers who cleaned apartments where they had been billeted and folded sheets and blankets go unreported. *
But please read this article in the JP which offers a firm and fair answer to the concerted attack and demonization of Israel being waged by the Guardian newspaper and also this article referenced in it: a leading article in the Independent which is well balanced apart from the headline – here’s a quote:
It is true that all armies suffer occasional breakdowns in discipline. And we should not make the mistake of holding Israeli soldiers to a higher standard of conduct than we expect from our own. We in Britain should remember that Baha Mousa, an Iraqi hotel receptionist, was beaten to death in the custody of British troops in Basra in 2003 and none of our soldiers was convicted of this killing. American military personnel were guilty of appalling abuses of prisoners in Baghdad’s Abu Ghraib prison.
We should bear in mind too that this testimony was made public by a concerned Israeli academic. Whatever crimes might be laid at the door of the IDF, it should not be Israeli society on trial here. Indeed, it is a tribute to the openness of Israel’s democracy, that we have learned of these allegations. Nor does the conduct of Israeli troops invalidate the overall objective of Operation Cast Lead, namely to stop Hamas firing rockets into towns in southern Israel.
This is the point. Unless Israel is perfect it is the most appaling state in the world. Ever since its formation Israel has faced an existential threat from its neighbours. It’s hardly surprising that Israel is drifting to the right and its people increasingly brutalised by continuous attacks and fear of attacks. Even so, abuses and crimes cannot be dismissed. They must be investigated and, if proved true, action must be taken against perpetrators. If proved true, Israel must do some serious soul searching about the future conduct of its military.
* 26/03/2009 This was my poorly remembered reading of a YnetNews article which I can now quote:
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.”