Quote:
Originally posted by dhamsaic
This is false. The majority of Palestinian deaths occur when the IDF begins an operation to curb militancy and, in the process of eliminating extremists, kills civilians.
I would be very interested to see <b>one</b> incident where an Israeli soldier was bored and shot an innocent Palestinian walking the streets - without being provoked. So let's see your sources. I want names.
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this is from a b'tselem (israeli human rights group) report titled "Trigger Happy." i hope you are satisfied by the source, since i doubt you would have accepted a palestinian one. they have even more examples.
http://www.btselem.org
Senior IDF officials have repeatedly rejected claims that soldiers fire without justification and claim that the IDF refrains from harming innocent persons. This report contradicts these claims: The IDF's open-fire policy throughout this intifada has resulted in extensive harm to Palestinian civilians who were not involved in any activity against Israel.
These incidents are not "exceptional" cases, but rather they constitute a large portion of the casualties throughout the Occupied Territories.
Initiated Shooting
Testimonies taken by B’Tselem from both soldiers and Palestinians indicate that contrary to the claims of Brigadier General Naveh and other sources, there are cases in which IDF soldiers initiate the shooting, without any shoots fired from the Palestinian side. A conscript soldier who served in the Gaza Strip stated in his testimony to B’Tselem that:
While I was at the post, there were a number of cases of shooting. I thought that it was an exchange of fire, but afterwards I understood from discussions with other soldiers that it was just soldiers shooting out of boredom. Soldiers at two different positions would coordinate opening fire between them, and afterwards they would say that they were under fire. It is important for me to state that I am not talking about single shots, but very massive shooting. In the beginning, I was sure that they had really fired at our post, but afterwards I understood, as stated, that it was shooting out of boredom. From conversations with my friends who were at posts in other areas, it became clear to me that it occurs in those places as well. My friends, who were at the post in the Strip. Told me that they emptied entire crates of ammunition out of boredom.
Ariel Shatil, a reserve soldier, told Yediot Aharonot daily regarding this topic that “They say ‘The Palestinians are shooting at us and we are responding.’ It’s not true. There was one officer there who said to the soldiers guarding at the lookout: “Too quiet for you? You’re not sure? Fire a couple of rounds.’ Every night they would shoot. We start and they shoot back.”
Palestinian testimony also indicates that there are cases in which soldiers open fire even when there was no prior shooting by Palestinians. B’Tselem fieldworker Nabil Mekherez was shot in the arm by shooting initiated by the IDF while in his home in Khan Yunis on 1 February 2002. Hosni al-Jarami, a resident of the Balata Refugee Camp, in a testimony to B’Tselem, described shooting originating from the IDF post located approximately 500 meters from the camp, at Jabl a-Tor. His neighbor, Saleh Zeidan, was killed from the shooting, which took place on 19 August 2001. Al-Jarami said that:
I would like to state that the soldiers at the military post at Jabl a-Tor tend to shoot blindly at the Balata Refugee Camp, sometimes for even no reason. They shoot when someone shoots at them, but they shoot at the camp even when no one is shooting at them. This shooting takes place often, and usually it is innocent civilians who are killed and injured, and not those who are shooting.
‘Adel ‘Atiya Yusef al-Ar’a, age 48, resident of Khan Yunis, told B’Tselem that on 7 May 2001, IDF soldiers shot a number of tank shells at his home, located approximately 450 meters from the Ganei Tal settlement. As a result, the house was severely damaged. In addition, there is an elementary school near his house, and the pupils ran away terrified. Some of them fainted and were injured during the exit, and ambulances evacuated them from the site. According to al-Ar’a:
I would like to emphasize that this shelling was not preceded by an shooting on the Palestinian side. Sometimes armed people in civilian dress do indeed shoot at the Israeli post from the land located to the north at a distance of about 300 meters, or to the south at a distance of about 300 meters from the main road, and that is enough for the soldiers to respond with shells. Sometimes, it seems to the soldiers that anything that moves constitutes a shooting target, even if it is a dog or other animal.