GAZA, (PIC)
Israeli soldiers admitted committing war crimes in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including targeting defenseless Palestinians, and destroying and wreaking havoc on their homes and property even that they did not pose any threat to them in the ongoing Israeli aggression, according to testimonies cited in Associated Press news.
The agency reported that about 200 Israeli soldiers signed a letter stating that they will stop fighting if Benjamin Netanyahu’s government does not reach a ceasefire agreement.
The letter explained that the Israeli soldiers who refuse to fight in Gaza say that they have seen or done things that crossed moral lines.
It reported that a number of them admitted receiving orders “to burn or demolish homes that did not pose any threat,” affirming that they also saw soldiers looting and vandalizing homes.
One of the Israeli soldiers said that he was instructed to shoot anyone who entered a buffer zone they were monitoring, affirming that no value of human life was observed during that period, stressing that the image of soldiers killing an unarmed Palestinian youth was unimaginable.
An Israeli doctor who spent about two months in Gaza also noted that soldiers desecrated homes and looted property, taking them as souvenirs.
Another soldier admitted participating in war crimes in the Strip, adding that several of his comrades said they took time to absorb what they saw in Gaza.
The soldiers who signed the letter, through a coalition called “Soldiers for Hostages,” are seeking to gain greater momentum by holding events and trying to convince more soldiers to join them.
An opinion article in Haaretz highlighted the conditions of Israeli soldiers who are currently fighting wars on several fronts especially against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The author of the article, Sami Peretz, said serving as an Israeli soldier, under the current government, has never been worse than it is today.
The period of compulsory military service has been extended by four months, the duration of reserve military service has been tripled, and the retirement age for reserve soldiers has been raised by an additional year, he elaborated.
Moreover, any Israeli soldier kidnapped in the Gaza Strip would be released the last in any prisoners’ swap deal, if an agreement is reached in this regard, according to the article.