Israeli soldiers say reckless force used in Gaza (270 hits)
JERUSALEM – More than two dozen Israeli soldiers who fought in the Gaza war say the military forced Palestinians to serve as human shields and used reckless firepower that caused needless deaths, according to a report released Wednesday. One of the soldiers said the army needlessly used powerful weapons such as mortars and white phosphorous, an illuminating agent that can cause severe burns, in the three-week offensive last winter.
The allegations were the strongest evidence to come from Israeli war veterans that the army used excessive force during the war, and echoed claims by Palestinian witnesses and international human rights groups. The Israeli military rejected the report, calling it defamation and noting that the accounts were all anonymous and impossible to verify.
The testimonies of 26 war veterans were collected by Breaking the Silence, an organization of Israeli army reservists critical of their country's policies toward the Palestinians. They describe demolishing homes and using firepower beyond what was necessary given the relatively light resistance they encountered. One said the regulations on when to shoot were vague. "Sometimes the force would enter while placing rifle barrels on a civilian's shoulder, advancing into a house and using him as a human shield. Commanders said these were the instructions and we had to do it," one soldier said.
More than 1,400 Palestinians, including more than 900 civilians, were killed in the fighting, thousands of homes were destroyed and Gaza's infrastructure suffered heavy damage, according to Gaza health officials and human rights groups. Israel puts the death toll closer to 1,100 and says most were armed fighters. Thirteen Israelis also were killed, including three civilians who died from rocket fire.
