Palestinian homes were destroyed ‘for revenge,’ says Israeli soldier who served in Gaza
Destroyed homes, looting, and a desire for revenge. A former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reservist has alleged serious misconduct by Israeli forces in Gaza, and a lack of discipline in the command structure, in an interview with CNN.
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Green, who served as a medic in his unit, told CNN that prior to October 7 – when he was recruited for reserve duty – he had intended to leave the army, objecting to its conduct in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. He had planned to tell his comrades on October 8, but after Hamas attacked, he felt duty-bound to support them as they were mobilized for the war.
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Atmosphere of ‘demonizing Gazans’
Green told CNN that he served in the Gaza perimeter in November last year before being sent into the strip on December 2, spending 51 days in the city of Khan Younis, in the south. He said that the anger felt by Israelis after October 7 and calls for revenge were expressed openly in his unit, as they waited to be sent into Gaza, and called it the “demonizing” of Palestinians.
“In the days before we entered Khan Younis … there was this atmosphere that was kind of growing of demonizing the Gazans,” he said, adding that he heard people “speaking about killing, ruining all of Gaza. Wiping it out became something that people (were discussing), as if it was some kind of a legitimate idea.”
IDF rules of engagement in Gaza have been under great scrutiny. Green claims that IDF commanders on the ground seemed to acquiesce to soldiers’ desires to have fewer restrictions on their conduct than in previous incursions.
“I felt like my commanders were trying to kind of go with the soldiers and try to say things that they thought … (were) what the soldiers wanted to hear. You know, saying things like, ‘We’re not going to have any boundaries in Gaza this time.’”
A view of destruction in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, on December 17, 2023, after weeks of Israeli bombardment.
‘We don’t care enough’ about Palestinian lives
The war in Gaza has caused widespread material destruction to homes, infrastructure, hospitals and schools. Green says he witnessed the “unnecessary” destruction of Palestinian homes.
“We’ve seen a lot of destruction that was not necessarily related to military reasons. Everything tends to (get) really mix up, you know – people are destroying houses because they believe that they should (get) revenge (for) what happened on (October 7) and it mixes up with the reasons to destroy houses for military reasons,” Green said, adding he witnessed “chaos … I could tell you 100% that we’ve destroyed houses at least for reasons that … we don’t care enough about the lives of Palestinians.”
Describing the extent of the damage in Gaza, he said, “You can’t imagine it. Cities that are completely ruined.”
Don't care enough, or don't care at all?
Accusations of looting
Green told CNN that one of the things that bothered him most was witnessing what he alleged was the looting of Palestinian homes by soldiers in his own unit.
“You’re seeing looting by your peers all the time. That was something (that) was very difficult for me to see. I mean, people were taking ‘souvenirs’ (from) the Palestinians’ houses, which I think directly relates to the demonization we’ve seen before the entrance to Khan Younis,” he said. “People were taking, you know, necklaces and doing graffiti on the walls and … leaving behind damage to the houses that was just completely unnecessary.”
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I guess people on the ground don't see children blown to pieces if looting is the most bothersome...
The decision to leave
In the end, one specific moment pushed Green to make the tough decision to leave his unit: when a commander allegedly ordered the burning of a Palestinian home they were stationed in.
“At some point, my commander told my platoon to burn down the house we’re staying at,” Green recounted. “And I went to him, I approached him and I asked him, ‘Why are we doing that?’ And he gave me a few reasons, and I think those reasons were just not strong enough.”
“They were, you know, military type of reasons, but they (were mixed up with) the revenge type of reasons. Now, I think this is just what’s going on in Gaza. Israel is doing things because it needs to fulfil a type of military purpose, but it all mixes up with our need for – or the Israeli need for – revenge.”
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Green said he decided to speak out publicly to put pressure on the Israeli government to accept a ceasefire and hostage deal. The Israeli government said this week that it was Hamas leadership that was preventing an agreement.
“I think there are concrete deals on the table right now, that Hamas is agreeing to, that make sense. I mean, those deals say that all the hostages would be freed – and Israel is not accepting the ending of the war. And this is crazy,” Green said.
Green added that Israel’s alleged refusal to accept a deal was causing the deaths of hostages. “I’ve seen it from within,” he said. “I mean, we said nothing before we entered Gaza about the hostages. We could have killed them, you know, any moment, and it’s something that has happened. We know about more than 10 hostages that were killed directly from Israeli bombings or, you know, the three hostages that were killed,” referring to an incident of friendly fire by the IDF in December, in which soldiers fatally shot three hostages.
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“We have to tell our government to stop the war. This is the only right solution to save the lives of Palestinians that are dying every day and going through a living hell the past few months, saving the lives of soldiers, Israeli soldiers, that are now present in Gaza and dying every day, and obviously the lives of hostages.”
There's some more in the article, including denial and excuses by the IDF.
Anyway it collaborates UN findings
UN inquiry concludes Israeli army is “one of the most criminal armies in the world”
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/06/20/cxkk-j20.html
