Monday, February 22, 2016

2016-02-21 ISRAEL: IDF Chief of Staff, extra-judicial killing of Palestinians, and right-wing politics...

2016-02-21 ISRAEL: IDF Chief of Staff, extra-judicial killing of Palestinians, and right-wing politics...
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The world of Israeli politics is a bit convoluted, but i try to go step by step over the current episode. 
International pressure has been mounting over a wave of "extra-judicial killings" (to quote the Swedish foreign minister) of Palestinians by IDF soldiers during the current intifada. Numerous cases of unjustified killing of Palestinians by IDF soldiers have been documented.
IDF is still (but to a diminishing degree) based on general draft. I consider a professional army, as in the US, for example, the kiss of death for any civil society. Therefore, IDF Chief of Staff Eisenkot, appointed by Netanyahu, appeared last week before 17 yo high school students, facing the draft.
A student asked him whether IDF orders regarding opening fire on civilians in Palestine are clear enough.
Eisenkot answered that he would not like to see an IDF soldier emptying his magazine into a 13 yo scissors wielding Palestinian girl, and that some judgment is called for...
The statement, which may appear benign, caused a huge critical tidal wave among right-wing politicians... Normally they consider IDF sacred. But here they attacked the Chief of Staff, and said IDF soldiers should kill any Palestinian who appears threatening in any way, and that the Chief of Staff should be reprimanded by his civilian superiors for his comments...
Then, Israel Today, Sheldom Adelson's propaganda newspaper for Netanyahu tackled the issue differently - claiming that there were no instances such as IDF soldiers unnecessarily emptying their magazines into Palestinians. Therefore, IDF Chief of Staff was talking nonsense...
But in the same page of the same issue, Israel Today showed a screen print from Al Jazeera video of IDF soldiers emptying magazines into an incapacitated Palestinian to ensure he is killed...
HERE: The Al Jazeera video, from which the screen print was taken
https://youtu.be/W22rtTpibQQ
HERE: Media review with the copy of Israel Today story:
http://www.the7eye.org.il/194418
قتلت قوات الاحتلال الإسرائيلي اليوم شابا فلسطينيا بعد أن أمطرته بوابل من الرصاص في باب العمود بالقدس، وقد وثقت كاميرا الجزيرة لحظة إطلاق النار على الشهيد خلف...
YOUTUBE.COM

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