‘Like The Wild West’: IDF Soldier Says Commanders Treated All Gazans as Terrorists
An Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reservist delivered a searing on-camera account of his time in Gaza, claiming soldiers were regularly ordered to shoot civilians based on vague and shifting rules of engagement set by individual commanders.
Speaking anonymously to Sky News, the soldier, who served three tours of duty in the Israel Defence Forces’ 252nd Division, described his unit’s orders in the Netzarim corridor, a militarised strip that bisects Gaza: “We have a territory that we are in, and the commands are: everyone that comes inside needs to die. No matter who it is.”
The soldier likened conditions within the territory to “the Wild West.” According to his account, soldiers would draw “imaginary lines” around houses they occupied, often previously home to displaced Palestinians, and treat anyone who crossed them as a legitimate target.
“But how can they know?” he said of the Gazans roaming near no-go lines around a unit’s position.
“It was like pretty much everyone that comes into the territory, and it might be like a teenager riding his bicycle,” he said.
The criteria for lethal force, he claimed, shifted daily: “It really depends on the day, the mood of the commander.”
The soldier relayed how on one day a man crossing the boundary was shot; another, later, was captured. The policy then flipped back to shoot-on-sight.
He continued: “Every commander can choose for himself what he does. So it’s kind of like the Wild West. So, some commanders can really decide to do war crimes and bad things and don’t face the consequences of that.”
“They don’t really talk to you about civilians that may come to your place. Like I was in the Netzarim road, and they say if someone comes here, it means that he knows he shouldn’t be there, and if he still comes, it means he’s a terrorist,” he said.
He added: “This is what they tell you. But I don’t really think it’s true. It’s just poor people, civilians that don’t really have too many choices.”
Asked why he chose to speak out, he said: “I kind of feel like I took part in something bad… I think the war is a very bad thing that is happening to us and to the Palestinians, and I think it needs to be over.”
The Israeli military denied targeting civilians in comment to Sky News, stating that it “operates in strict accordance with its rules of engagement and international law.” Allegations of misconduct, it said, are passed to the appropriate authorities and investigated.
Watch above via Sky News.
