Austin reaffirms US support for Israel amid spiking regional tensions
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has reaffirmed Washington’s support for Israel’s “right to self-defence” during a call with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.
“I reaffirmed our ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and right of self-defence against threats from Iranian-backed terrorist groups and our support for a diplomatic resolution along the Israel-Lebanon border that will allow citizens on both sides to return home safely,” he said in a post on X.
Today I spoke with Israel’s Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant about Israel’s response to Lebanese Hizballah’s July 27 attack, which killed 12 teenagers and children. I reaffirmed our ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and right of self-defense against threats from…
— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) August 1, 2024
Assassinating the negotiator is not self-defense. What about the right to self-defense of Palestinians, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iran. Israel just blew up chances of a diplomatic solution. Your unconditional support for Israel's terrorism is the problem.
And what are you actually supporting...
Israeli veterans release testimony of Sde Teiman prison camp guard
Breaking the Silence, an advocacy group of Israeli military veterans, has published the testimony of a soldier who served in the prison camp for detainees from Gaza.
Sde Teiman has been in the international spotlight this week after nine Israeli soldiers were detained for the serious abuse of a Palestinian prisoner at the camp.
“For months, we’ve been hearing gruesome testimonies from detainees, soldiers, doctors and more about the horrific conditions and abuse at the Sde Teiman prison camp,” the advocacy group said in a post on social media.
The soldier told the rights group of prisoners held in “a covered enclosure, like a cowshed”.
“We were in a facility that had two cells. When I say cells, I mean large cells. They called [them] ‘pens’. One pen [had] 70 people and one [had] 100 people [sitting] in rows on ultra-thin outdoor mattresses” on an asphalt floor, the soldier said.
For months we’ve been hearing gruesome testimonies from detainees, soldiers, doctors and more about the horrific conditions and abuse at the Sde Teiman prison camp.
Below are excerpts from a newly published testimony given by a soldier who served there.
Warning: graphic content🧵 pic.twitter.com/AGO3cevjM5
— Breaking the Silence (@BtSIsrael) July 31, 2024
