Amos Harel, a writer for Ha’aretz, is an interesting source. He tries very hard to present the Israeli army’s official position on any given story. But he does make an effort to present the facts as best as can be ascertained, and doesn’t leave out the ugly details (even when he does try to downplay them along the lines of the army’s “script”).
This recent article presents in dry language some detailed examples of the shocking brutality of the occupation. While Harel does present the army’s position that these are “isolated incidents” he presents enough evidence to show that this is clearly not the case.
The story of Captain R. is also a good example of the inherent racism of the Israeli army. There are two well-publicized cases in the recent Intifada, of the army bringing serious charges against officers in the case of civilian deaths. One is Captain R. The other, also mentioned in the story, is that of the soldiers involved in the case of Tom Hurndall. In both instances, the soldiers being charged are Druze, i.e. members of the Arab Muslim sect that has allied itself with Israel and serve in the Israeli army.
Apparently the army prosecution has no problem believing that Arabs are capable of brutality. But Jews are different. Jewish soldiers, being Jewish, are ipso facto incapable of war crimes in the army’s view. So when Jews are brought up on charges, it is for lesser infractions, like the case of Koretzky who was charged with “negligence.”
Of course, as Harel notes, most cases of civilian deaths aren’t even investigated by the army. Only after intense bad publicity (as in Hurndall case and the case of Captain R.) does the JAG bother to look into these incidents.
One final note. Harel mentions the story of the razed houses in Rafah, and focuses on the dispute of how many houses were actually destroyed. Sadly, he avoids the most relevant question of all: by what norm of civilized behavior is the army destroying even one home of innocent civilians?
Such actions are part of the explicit policy of Sharon and his army henchmen, of “searing the consciousness” of the Palestinian people with the mighty strength of Israel’s armed force. It is this policy, which by definition involves using violence against innocent civilians, that is the basis of all of Israel’s war crimes, whether it be the destruction of one house, or killing “anything that moves”, even when it is clear that the “anything” is an innocent child. There is no need for a JAG investigation to prove guilt. These are clear and explicit orders that come from the top echelons of Israel’s political and military leadership. Sharon and his cabinet, along with the entire Israeli army command, deserve to be sent to the Hague.