| Israel's Soldier Breaks His Silence on Palestinian Kidnapping |
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| Sunday, 16 July 2006 | |
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Hundreds of Palestinian 'suspects' have been kidnapped from their homes and will never stand trial It's the wee hours of the morning, still dark outside. A guerilla force comes out of nowhere to kidnap a soldier. After hours of careful movement, the force reaches its target, and the ambush is on! In seconds, the soldier finds himself looking down the barrel of a rifle.
A smash in the face with the butt of the gun and the soldier falls to the ground, bleeding. The kidnappers pick him up, quickly tie his hands and blindfold him, and disappear into the night.
This might be the end of the kidnapping, but the nightmare has just begun. The soldier's mother collapses, his father prays. His commanding officers promise to do everything they can to get him back, his comrades swear revenge. An entire nation is up-in-arms, writing in pain and worry.
Nobody knows how the soldier is: Is he hurt? Do his captors give him even a minimum of human decency, or are they torturing him to death by trampling his honor? The worst sort of suffering is not knowing. Will he come home? And if so, when? And in what condition? Can anyone remain apathetic in the light of such drama?
Israeli terror
This description, you'll be surprised to know, has nothing to do with the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit. It is the story of an arrest I carried out as an IDF soldier, in the Nablus casbah, about 10 years ago. The "soldier" was a 17-year-old boy, and we kidnapped him because he knew "someone" who had done "something."
We brought him tied up, with a burlap sac over his head, to a Shin Bet interrogation center known as "Scream Hill" (at the time we thought it was funny). There, the prisoner was beaten, violently shaken and sleep deprived for weeks or months. Who knows.
No one wrote about it in the paper. European diplomats were not called to help him. After all, there was nothing out of the ordinary about the kidnapping of this Palestinian kid. Over the 40 years of occupation we have kidnapped thousands of people, exactly like Gilad Shalit was captured: Threatened by a gun, beaten mercilessly, with no judge or jury, or witnesses, and without providing the family with any information about the captive.
When the Palestinians do this, we call it "terror." When we do it, we work overtime to whitewash the atrocity.
Suspects?
Some people will say: The IDF doesn't "just" kidnap. These people are "suspects." There is no more perverse lie than this. In all the years I served, I reached one simple conclusion: What makes a "suspect"? Who, exactly suspects him, and of what?
Who has the right to sentence a 17-year-old to kidnapping, torture and possible death? A 26-year-old Shin Bet interrogator? A 46-year-old one? Do these people have any higher education, apart from the ability to interrogate? What are his considerations? I all these "suspects" are so guilty, why not bring them to trial?
Anyone who believes that despite the lack of transparency, the IDF and Shin Bet to their best to minimize violations of human rights is naïve, if not brainwashed. One need only read the testimonies of soldiers who have carried out administrative detentions to be convinced of the depth of the immorality of our actions in the territories.
To this very day, there are hundreds of prisoners rotting in Shin Bet prisons and dungeons, people who have never been –and never will be – tried. And Israelis are silently resolved to this phenomenon.
Israeli responsibility
The day Gilad Shalit was kidnapped I rode in a taxi. The driver told me we must go into Gaza, start shooting people one-by-one, until someone breaks and returns the hostage. It isn't clear that such an operation would bring Gilad back alive.
Instead of getting dragged into terrorist responses, as Palestinian society has done, we should release some of the soldiers and civilians we have kidnapped. This is appropriate, right, and could bring about an air of reconciliation in the territories.
Hell, if this is what will bring Gilad home safe-and-sound, we have a responsibility to him to do it.
Arik Diamant is an IDF reservist and the head of the Courage to Refuse organization
Source: ynetnews.com           Readers have left 11 comments.
azaad:
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BRITISH CITIZENS: ISRAELI ARMY
Could the above atrocities have been carried out by a British Citizen? Exactly how many UK citizens are there, who also hold ISRAELI PASSPORTS, and therefore serve with the IDF? (sorry about the'D') Perhaps they go to Israel, put on an IDF uniform, oppress innocent Palestinian civillians, and then -- return to to Blighty and blend back into civvy street. Who knows! Right now, there are 10,000 BRITISH CITIZENS TRAPPED IN LEBANON, so the question is : are there any UK NATIONALS, serving with the IDF, BOMBING AND SHELLING, from Israel, their FELLOW UK NATIONALS in Lebanon? Someone should ask the Home office about the number of UK nationals who also hold Israeli passports; and ask the Ministry of Defence, how many UK nationals are serving in the IDF. You can do this under the FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000. In the meantime, e-mail the BBC, ITV, SKY, and all the main newspapers, with these questions. Azaad (apolgies if this shows as a 2nd , repeat post, as I wasn't sure if my first comment got through)
(1)
2006-07-17 09:05:32
SD:
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I thank this brave soldier for his revelations. It is never easy to speak out against atrocities committed by your own people. Unfortunately, I think it will only add fuel to the fire of the palestinian/israeli conflict. I knew the fight was dirty, I just didnt know it was to such a terrible extent. it seems that there isn't just one guantonamo. My duas are with all the innocents caught up in this brutality.
(2)
2006-07-17 09:40:04
theCloakedOne:
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You have to take your hat off to people like Arik Diamant, who in such difficult circumstances come out and speak the truth. There is clearly an Israeli/Zionist culture which prohibits the questioning of the tactics employed by the military towards Palestinians and Arabs. It goes as far as some Jews being called anti-Semitic or terrorist sympathisers.
(3)
2006-07-17 10:43:31
R Davies:
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Azaad:
the answers to your question are complex because it rests on what you mean by British nationality. However I will respond on the basis of eligibility rather than actual possession of a current British passport. Very few British Jews holding Israeli passports based in UK or having emmigrated to Israel are of active service age. Most will be 30yrs +. Of those Israelis that are eligible for British citizenship by virtue of descent the figure would be somewhere between 200,000 and 250,000. Most will be second / third / fourth generation Israelis. The figure may be higher if Jews from a range of former non-UK territories have mainatined their claim to British citizenship which the British were quite free about in the 19th Century. You must also bear in mind that a person holding dual-nationlity is not protected by the possession of a British passport from being required to do national service. In fact your passport should have a statement about this in it. Thus a British Jew holding dual nationality would be subject to call up regardless given Israel's conscription policies. Further you need to bear in mind that there will be Lebanese and Palestinians who also hold dual-nationality, and they too may be subject to conscription or may chose to fight for any of the Lebanese forces. In addition reports indicate that a number of foreign nationals have volunteered to participate in PLO, Hamas and Hezbollah over the years. Of the 10,000 British citizens in Lebanon a large proportion are likely to have dual nationality. The issue of multiple nationalities has existed for a very long time and at times of crisis like this raises it head. As can be readily seen on the MPACUK site conflicts of loyalty and obligation cause considerable personal difficulty. In the US this situation is even greater as any applicant for permanent residency and citizenship (green card) may be liable for national service, as many found out during the Viet Nam war. In addition the UK has along tradition of allowing its nationals to serve as volunteers or mercenaries in foreign armies. It is not a crime for a UK national to fight in a foreign army, unlike in some other countries.
(4)
2006-07-17 11:40:38
PZ:
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Yes, yes, let's post an article about Zionists. And, while we're at it, let's put up a picture of hands surrounding a globe. As if they are taking over the world!
Yes, that's sensible and rational. :-
(5)
2006-07-17 16:57:45
azaad:
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R Davies:
The point really is whether or not British Jews, with dual nationality, have in IDF uniform oppressed/killed Palestinians. A young Jew in the UK, wishing to also have Israeli citizenship knows that he/she will have to serve in the IDF (as a condition of being granted citizenship). My point also was that, at the moment, potentially a British Jew could be bombarding his/her fellow UK nationals who are trapped in Lebanon.
(6)
2006-07-18 07:54:20
Mohsin:
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AA
The Existence of ISRAEL, in the Middle EAST region, is a threat to World Peace. The Middle East Region, will never be in peace, untill the existence of Israel is resolved. Either, Iran, Syria, and other Muslim countries, "give-up" and accept the co-existence of this Neighbour OR, if they cannot, then all those who are against the existence of this Cancerous state (Israel) wipe this nation of the MAP. In doing, so they better be prepared, to consider the human loss of life equally. Whatever, this "shit" problem has to be RESOLVED. The whole WORLD must be soo fedup from ISRAEL.
(7)
2006-07-18 23:49:25
R Davies:
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Azaad,
Given there are anything up to 15,000 UK nationals in Lebanon at the moment, it is equally possible that a UK national is standing beside a Katyushka Grad rocket launcher firing missiles into Israeli civilian areas and at British nationals, especially as northern Israel is a major tourist area. The forces in Lebanon have a long history of using foreign nationals, and t is unlikely this time anything is different. My view is "so what". The issue of nationality seems to a popular canard directed towards Jews, picking up on a centuries old claim of split loyalty. The documentary last week showed the UK Mike's Place suicide bombers went initially to Syria as foreign volunteers to fight in Iraq against US & UK forces. There are a number of people who have stated on this site that loyalty to Islam has precedence over loyalty to UK. I rarely see any condemnation of them.
(8)
2006-07-19 07:28:47
azaad:
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R Davies
I appreciate your considered posts/comments. First, I must state that I am not anti-Jewish; nor am I against the idea of a Jewish homeland. Second, I am not from the middle east, and have no 'national' bias. Essentially, as an outsider I see the overall picture to be that of injustice. Perhaps I can explain that best with an analogy (I accept that no analogy can be exact, but I'll try and be as close as possible). Consider this hypothetical scenario: USA/China and other permament members of UN decide that there should be a 'homeland' for American Indians (another issue arising from the conduct of the 'West'), and that this should be in Germany. So, they 'give' Germany to the Indians. Furthermore USA then arms the Indians so that they can defend themselves. In the process, millions of ethnic Germans are displaced and are squeezed into enclaves in France, Poland etc. Would you say that the Germans had the right to fight against the Indians? Or, more tellingly, would you say that the Indians had the right to 'defend' themselves against German missiles? You sound like a thinking person, so I believe that your answer can be guessed. Ethnically, the Jews have been transplanted by USA and the Europeans onto a Middle Eastern 'body'. And that body has been rejecting the 'transplant' for over sixty years now. To me it seems that either the body dies (in which case the transplant also fails), or the transplant doesn't work. It is hard to see how both can survive. The point is that, the so-called democratic State (I say 'so-called' because the incoming settlers expelled the incumbent population and THEN carried out a plebecite -- no wonder the result favoured the incomers) of Israel was established WITHOUT consultation with the existing people. Therefore its a Tree with diseased roots (just as the Apartheid state was). Often, I've wondered why USA et al, didn't give Florida or Arizona to the long-suffering Jews. (As it happens, there are now more Jews in the USA (5.9m) than there are in Israel(5.1m) --also only 39% of the world's Jews actually live in Israel). If I was a Jew, I wouldn't bother living in Israel. There is no point, Why cause so much turmoil when you can live freely in USA, Europe etc? And, here's another thought: why don't USA/Europe take in all the displaced Palestinians? And before you say, why don't the surrounding Arab States do that, I say: they didn't set up Israel!
(9)
2006-07-19 16:22:51
Maryam Amen:
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Muslims love the Jews after all nobody can be a good muslim unless they believe in all past revealed books and that would include the messages brought by Moses and Jesus who were Jews. For more than 1300 years, Muslims and Jews were living in relative peace in Palestine as both believed in ONE GOD, the God of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. Many Jews became Muslims. Relying on a good relationship, palestinians welcome the migrants european Jews in their home only to realized that they were kicked out by their guests.
In 1880, Jewish population was merely 25,000 or about 5% of the population. In 1896, Hungarian-born Jewish Herzl proposed the creation of Jewish state. By 1914, Jewish population had grown to about 85,000 due to immigrations in preparation for the creation of Israel. It shows that most of the Jews were ‘imported’ because most of the original Jews embraced Islam. Media would like us to believe that Israel is all Jews. Almost 30% of Israel are Muslims and the number is growing faster than the Jews that it was predicted that by year 2020, Muslims will dominate. The best way for Israel to defend herself is to be GOOD. The more it arrogantly blow its force, the more it melting its candle. Truth and Justice always prevails. Good triumph over evil because there is a loving God watching over everything. We are only being impatient seeing evil winning at the moment but we all know, GOOD wins in the end.
(10)
2006-07-21 00:28:23
Insight:
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Maryam,
You first statement is not true. How can you love a people that ruthlessly kill inocent children, and then show no remorse? These jews no not follow the Torah and what was revealed with Musa AS (Moses) they follow the thalmood and kabalah (the magic they carried with them from egypt). They think they are the chosen people and that the land has been given to them by God. Well, that was true, but not anymore. You can't be a chosen people and act like that, being chosen doesn't mean being able to do anything you like and look down on anyone who isn't jewish. But let us be clear about one thing, they will be against Muslims till the last days, and they shall support the anti-christ. Just for the way they slander Mary and Jesus AS people should know the type of people they are. But victory is for Islam, and nothing can change that. The reward for good is good, and the reward for evil is Hell, a hapless journeys end.
(11)
2006-07-23 11:17:15
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