I served in Gaza for nine months, and first came across these procedures, called "mosquito protocol" in December 2023. It was only two months into the ground offensive, long before there was a shortage of dogs from the IDF's canine unit, Oketz, who were used for this purpose. This became the insane, unofficial excuse for this insane, unofficial procedure. I didn't realize then how ubiquitous using human shields, whom we referred to as a "shawish," would become.

Today, almost every platoon keeps a "shawish," and no infantry force enters a house before a "shawish" clears it. This means there are four "shawishes" in a company, twelve in a battalion, and at least 36 in a brigade. We operate a sub-army of slaves.

I recently saw that the IDF's Military Police Criminal Investigation Division opened six investigations into the use of Palestinian civilians as human shields, and my jaw dropped. I've seen cover-ups before, but this is a new low.

If the MPCID wanted to do its job seriously, it would have to open far more than even a thousand investigations. But all the MPCID wants is for us to be able to tell ourselves and the world that we're investigating ourselves, so they've found six scapegoats and are pinning it all on them.

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[–] peaceful_world_view@lemmy.world 19 points 1 day ago

Israel is a terrorist state.

[–] HiddenLayer555@lemmy.ml 16 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

When an IMAX technician is in a projection contest but their opponent is the IDF

[–] hark@lemmy.world 11 points 2 days ago

The usual for the "world's most moral army".

[–] SulaymanF@lemmy.world 27 points 2 days ago

We’ve known about this disgusting policy for years. It’s a war crime. Anyone who complains about hostages has to condemn this in order to be taken seriously or should shut up forever.

[–] PanArab@lemm.ee 15 points 2 days ago

With Israel every accusation is an admission

[–] Bloomcole@lemmy.ml 10 points 2 days ago (1 children)

It's getting harder and harder to see these IDF monsters as human.

[–] Fredthefishlord@lemmy.blahaj.zone 16 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Never dehumanize your enemy. No matter how much of a monster they are. Realize that they are human, and doing this, and that is why it is terrible.

[–] Bloomcole@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 days ago

That's why I said "getting harder and harder".
At the least they have lost their humanity.

[–] LMDNW@lemm.ee 55 points 2 days ago (2 children)

IDF are akin to Nazi soldiers. They and their leadership deserve the same punishments as was meted out at the end of WWII. “Just following orders” is not a legal justification for war crimes. You have a legal obligation to not follow unlawful orders.

Kill your leaders if it means that’s the only way to not commit war crimes. Why this isn’t a widely adopted belief is a testament to why humanity is a lost cause.

[–] Grapho@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 day ago

Nah, they deserve worse. The Nazis didn't get punished, they got jobs. A few figureheads got the chopping block but most of the actual torturers, rapists, murderers, kidnappers got away scot-free west of the Berlin wall. The US is already doing what they did to the Nazis, shower them with money, find them jobs they need such monsters for.

[–] Bloomcole@lemmy.ml -1 points 2 days ago

You're insulting the nazis here

[–] Sauvandu60@lemmy.ml 31 points 2 days ago

Every israel accusation is a confession.

[–] yojimbo@sopuli.xyz 4 points 2 days ago

archived

[–] qaz@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

For other people who didn't know what Haaretz was:

Haaretz (Hebrew: הָאָרֶץ, lit. 'The Land [of Israel]'; originally Ḥadshot Haaretz – Hebrew: חַדְשׁוֹת הָאָרֶץ, IPA: [χadˈʃot haˈʔaʁets], lit. 'News of the Land [of Israel]') is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew and English in the Berliner format, and is also available online. In North America, it is published as a weekly newspaper, combining articles from the Friday edition with a roundup from the rest of the week. Haaretz is Israel's newspaper of record. It is known for its left-wing and liberal stances on domestic and foreign issues.

As of 2022, Haaretz has the third-largest circulation in Israel. It is widely read by international observers, especially in its English edition, and discussed in the international press. According to the Center for Research Libraries, among Israel's daily newspapers, "Haaretz is considered the most influential and respected for both its news coverage and its commentary."

Wikipedia | Haaretz

[–] Sir_Kevin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 19 points 3 days ago

This needs to become common knowledge.

[–] electricyarn@lemmy.world 19 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Humans are so cruel it's mind boggling.

[–] carotte@lemmy.blahaj.zone 45 points 2 days ago (1 children)

*colonizers

it’s not a human thing, it’s a colonizer thing

[–] pyre@lemmy.world 7 points 2 days ago (1 children)

yeah what a weird thing to say. the palestinians must not be human I guess.

[–] carotte@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 points 2 days ago (1 children)

what are you talking about? Palestinians are not colonizers, israelis are

[–] pyre@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

I was talking about the comment you responded to. seeing colonizers kill and torture innocent civilians and calling "humans" cruel is either both sidesing a genocide or not counting the victims humans in the first place, because they're obviously not being cruel here.

[–] carotte@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 2 days ago

oooh sorry I misread you 😅

but yea you’re right, it’s really gross

[–] eldavi@lemmy.ml 7 points 2 days ago (1 children)

it makes me wonder if things will ever improve.

[–] FriendBesto@lemmy.ml -5 points 2 days ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Are there any other sources that you may know about this? This is a huge claim and one that we would benefit to have more of, as far as it can be backed up from multiple sources.

Anyone have say, video of this?

Edit: Literally, why am I getting downvoted? Because I ask for extra proof for my own sake, which is the reasonable thing to do? Relax. No wonder some people think that some on our side are crazy.

[–] IndustryStandard@lemmy.world 21 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Yes, plenty of video and other sources

video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3p3u7yHo4gg

other source:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israeli-soldier-palestinians-human-shields-gaza/

[–] FriendBesto@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 day ago

Thanks a lot. I appreciate it.