4 jan 2009
Islamic Jihad's Al-Quds Brigades launched a Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) at an Israeli tank next to the Al-Ja'al fuel station east of Gaza City.
In an earlier clash in the Az-Zaitoun area the Brigades said four activists were injured.
The Brigades statement said the attack was to assure the Israeli forces that Gazans would not stand aside as their people are massacred by the Israeli army.
Earlier in the day Islamic Jihad's military wing the Al-Quds Brigades said their fighters detonated an explosive near an Israeli tank in the Zaitoun neighborhood of Gaza City. They said the tank was completely destroyed and its ruins aflame. They said the soldiers in the tank were either dead or seriously injured.
The Brigades said they fired at least one projectile at an Israeli target and clashed with Israeli troops in the northern Strip.
The military wing affiliated to the Popular Resistance Committees, the An-Nasser Salah Ad-Din Brigades said they fired two projectiles at Kfar Azza where they said two Israeli soldiers were injured.
Spokesperson of the brigades Abu Mujahed said "the resistance fighters are causing injuries among the Israeli soldiers during the clashes but they [the Israelis] do not admit their losses."
Palestinian factions continue to fire projectiles
Palestinian military groups resumed the firing of homemade projectiles at Israeli towns bordering the Gaza Strip on Sunday morning.
Since dawn at least a dozen projectiles have landed near Israeli targets. One projectile hit a home in Sderot. Israeli media sources said five were "treated for shock."
The "Israeli Home Front" ordered southern Israel residents to stay in shelters despite the opening of a ground war in Gaza, warning that projectiles could be expected to increase. Schools in the area are also closed.
Hamas' military wing claimed to have launched two homemade projectiles at the Israeli town of Mefalsim near Beit Hanoun, and at Israeli soldiers stationed near the Camera military post, as well as two more at the Zekeim military post, one at the town of Yad Murdakhai, one Grad at Ashdod city and three mortar shells at Nahal Oz.
Fatah's Al-Aqsa Brigades said they fired three mortar shells at Nahal Oz and one homemade projectile at Sderot.
The military wing affiliated to the Popular Resistance Committees, the An-Nasser Salah Ad-Din Brigades said they fired two projectiles at Kfar Azza where they said two Israeli soldiers were injured.
Spokesperson of the brigades Abu Mujahed said "the resistance fighters are causing injuries among the Israeli soldiers during the clashes but they [the Israelis] do not admit their losses."
Salah Ad-Din Brigades say they attacked Israeli troops near Jabaliya
Palestinian fighters say they have attacked Israeli soldiers east of Jabaliya Refugee Camp in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday evening.
The An-Nasser Salah Ad-Din Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, claimed to have fired three projectiles at the soldiers.
In a statement sent to Ma'an the Brigades said the attack was in response to Israeli "massacres" of Palestinians in Gaza.
In an earlier clash in the Az-Zaitoun area the Brigades said four activists were injured.
The Brigades statement said the attack was to assure the Israeli forces that Gazans would not stand aside as their people are massacred by the Israeli army.
Earlier in the day Islamic Jihad's military wing the Al-Quds Brigades said their fighters detonated an explosive near an Israeli tank in the Zaitoun neighborhood of Gaza City. They said the tank was completely destroyed and its ruins aflame. They said the soldiers in the tank were either dead or seriously injured.
The Brigades said they fired at least one projectile at an Israeli target and clashed with Israeli troops in the northern Strip.
The military wing affiliated to the Popular Resistance Committees, the An-Nasser Salah Ad-Din Brigades said they fired two projectiles at Kfar Azza where they said two Israeli soldiers were injured.
Spokesperson of the brigades Abu Mujahed said "the resistance fighters are causing injuries among the Israeli soldiers during the clashes but they [the Israelis] do not admit their losses."
Palestinian factions continue to fire projectiles
Palestinian military groups resumed the firing of homemade projectiles at Israeli towns bordering the Gaza Strip on Sunday morning.
Since dawn at least a dozen projectiles have landed near Israeli targets. One projectile hit a home in Sderot. Israeli media sources said five were "treated for shock."
The "Israeli Home Front" ordered southern Israel residents to stay in shelters despite the opening of a ground war in Gaza, warning that projectiles could be expected to increase. Schools in the area are also closed.
Hamas' military wing claimed to have launched two homemade projectiles at the Israeli town of Mefalsim near Beit Hanoun, and at Israeli soldiers stationed near the Camera military post, as well as two more at the Zekeim military post, one at the town of Yad Murdakhai, one Grad at Ashdod city and three mortar shells at Nahal Oz.
Fatah's Al-Aqsa Brigades said they fired three mortar shells at Nahal Oz and one homemade projectile at Sderot.
The military wing affiliated to the Popular Resistance Committees, the An-Nasser Salah Ad-Din Brigades said they fired two projectiles at Kfar Azza where they said two Israeli soldiers were injured.
Spokesperson of the brigades Abu Mujahed said "the resistance fighters are causing injuries among the Israeli soldiers during the clashes but they [the Israelis] do not admit their losses."
Salah Ad-Din Brigades say they attacked Israeli troops near Jabaliya
Palestinian fighters say they have attacked Israeli soldiers east of Jabaliya Refugee Camp in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday evening.
The An-Nasser Salah Ad-Din Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, claimed to have fired three projectiles at the soldiers.
In a statement sent to Ma'an the Brigades said the attack was in response to Israeli "massacres" of Palestinians in Gaza.
A high-ranking Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) officer has called for an urgent meeting among rival Palestinian factions to discuss the situation in Gaza.
The secretary of the Executive Committee of the PLO Yasser Abed Rabbo, said on Sunday that Palestinians must unite and overcome their internal conflict. He said that Hamas and Islamic Jihad should be included in PLO meetings, although they are not members of the PLO.
The PLO Executive Committee also issued a condemnation of a statement by the European Union describing the Israeli war in Gaza as 'defensive, not offensive.'
He said Israel is targeting all of the Gaza Strip, not just Hamas, the Islamic movement that holds power there.
Abed Rabbo confirmed that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will travel to New York to urge the UN Security Council to enforce a ceasefire.
He also confirmed that it is impossible for negotiations between the PA and Israel are still on hold as a result of the war on Gaza.
The secretary of the Executive Committee of the PLO Yasser Abed Rabbo, said on Sunday that Palestinians must unite and overcome their internal conflict. He said that Hamas and Islamic Jihad should be included in PLO meetings, although they are not members of the PLO.
The PLO Executive Committee also issued a condemnation of a statement by the European Union describing the Israeli war in Gaza as 'defensive, not offensive.'
He said Israel is targeting all of the Gaza Strip, not just Hamas, the Islamic movement that holds power there.
Abed Rabbo confirmed that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will travel to New York to urge the UN Security Council to enforce a ceasefire.
He also confirmed that it is impossible for negotiations between the PA and Israel are still on hold as a result of the war on Gaza.
The Al-Aqsa Brigades, an armed group loyal to Fatah, has confirmed that five of its fighters were wounded in battles with Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip.
According to the group, the most recent fighting has taken place neat the Karni border crossing (Al-Mintar) and the abandoned Israeli settlement Neizarim, south of Gaza City. At Neizarim, two brothers, Ahmad and Muhammad Al-Busheiti, have been seriously injured.
The Al-Aqsa Brigades say they have also fought Israeli troops in the Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya in the north, and Rafah in the south.
They also said they detonated a bomb as Israeli forces passed Netzarim.
According to the group, the most recent fighting has taken place neat the Karni border crossing (Al-Mintar) and the abandoned Israeli settlement Neizarim, south of Gaza City. At Neizarim, two brothers, Ahmad and Muhammad Al-Busheiti, have been seriously injured.
The Al-Aqsa Brigades say they have also fought Israeli troops in the Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya in the north, and Rafah in the south.
They also said they detonated a bomb as Israeli forces passed Netzarim.
Israel escalated land, air, and sea attacks on the Gaza Strip on Sunday, fighting Palestinian gunmen throughout the Strip and killing more than 40, including numerous civilians.
The heaviest fighting, according to initial reports, appears to be taking place in a ring around Gaza city, a Israeli tanks pushed towards the sea in a column south of the city and moved closer to the city in three separate prongs from the north. The Israeli army hs cut off the main roads into Gaza City.
Fighting has been reported in the northern towns of Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya, and Jabaliya, near the former Israeli settlement Nitzarim, and in Gaza City neighborhoods, including Zaytoun, At-Toufah, and Ash-Shuja'yya.
Sunday's developments are as follows:
By Sunday evening there are reports that Israeli troops are entering residential areas.
7:00pm Medical officials confirm two are killed by an airstrike near a mosque in the Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City.
6:30pm Israeli warplanes bomb a money changer's shop in Ar-Rimal, an upscale neighborhood of Gaza City. Two explosions heard including one at Talateeni Street.
6:00pm Two airstrikes kill three medics and wound another in Tal Al-Hawa, south of Gaza City.
5:00pm An airstrike killed five Palestinians near a Mosque in Jabaliya.
4:45pm An airstrike in At-Toufah, in Gaza City, killed a mother and four children.
4:00pm Four children are among 10 civilians killed in airstrikes in Beit Layhia.
12:15pm Israeli artillery hit a market area killing at least five civilians and injuring more than 40.
11:45am Israeli missiles targeted the Palestinian Ministry of Waqf and Religious Affairs in Gaza City, injuring several passersby.
11:30am Israeli warplanes fired missiles at Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Ambulances were seen speeding up towards the area.
11:15am An Israeli reconnaissance plane fired a missile at the Rafah home of senior DFLP leader Muhammad Abed Barbakh, killing him, his father Abed, his two brothers Mahdi and Yousef, and his nephew Musa Yousef. Barbakh was a leader in the National Resistance Brigades, the DFLP's military arm. He lived in the An-Nahdah neighborhood of Rafah
11:00am An-Nassar Salah Ad-Din activist died of wounds in Saudi Arabia hospital.
Tanks advance from four points
Israeli forces breached Gaza borders at ten Saturday evening and have been advancing ever since. Palestinian fighters clashed with the advancing army, reportedly injuring 30 Israeli soldiers.
East of Gaza City tanks entered Gaza through the Nahal Oz and Karni crossing points, they advanced and headed south of Gaza City and are currently stationed at the abandoned Israeli settlement of Netzarim. Tank fire killed three in the Ashuja'yya neighborhood.
In Beit Hanoun in the north eastern Gaza Strip, tanks penetrated hundreds of meters closing the main road between Beit Hanoun and Gaza City.
From the northwest witnesses said Israeli forces reached the American school north of Beit Lahiya. Forces killed two in Beit Lahiya. The school was leveled on Saturday by and Israeli airstrike.
From the south tanks entered near the destroyed Yasser Arafat Airport east of the city of Rafah amid heavy artillery fire, killing one Palestinian fighter and injuring several others.
Just before the ground invasion Israeli warplanes bombarded more than 45 targets throughout the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military claimed the targets were ammunition caches and groups of Palestinian fighters, although the bombing destroyed a school and apartment buildings.
Another air raid was also in the southern Strip near Khan Younis. The strike killed Hamas activist Muhammad Al-Heila and injured another who could not be identified.
The heaviest fighting, according to initial reports, appears to be taking place in a ring around Gaza city, a Israeli tanks pushed towards the sea in a column south of the city and moved closer to the city in three separate prongs from the north. The Israeli army hs cut off the main roads into Gaza City.
Fighting has been reported in the northern towns of Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya, and Jabaliya, near the former Israeli settlement Nitzarim, and in Gaza City neighborhoods, including Zaytoun, At-Toufah, and Ash-Shuja'yya.
Sunday's developments are as follows:
By Sunday evening there are reports that Israeli troops are entering residential areas.
7:00pm Medical officials confirm two are killed by an airstrike near a mosque in the Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City.
6:30pm Israeli warplanes bomb a money changer's shop in Ar-Rimal, an upscale neighborhood of Gaza City. Two explosions heard including one at Talateeni Street.
6:00pm Two airstrikes kill three medics and wound another in Tal Al-Hawa, south of Gaza City.
5:00pm An airstrike killed five Palestinians near a Mosque in Jabaliya.
4:45pm An airstrike in At-Toufah, in Gaza City, killed a mother and four children.
4:00pm Four children are among 10 civilians killed in airstrikes in Beit Layhia.
12:15pm Israeli artillery hit a market area killing at least five civilians and injuring more than 40.
11:45am Israeli missiles targeted the Palestinian Ministry of Waqf and Religious Affairs in Gaza City, injuring several passersby.
11:30am Israeli warplanes fired missiles at Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Ambulances were seen speeding up towards the area.
11:15am An Israeli reconnaissance plane fired a missile at the Rafah home of senior DFLP leader Muhammad Abed Barbakh, killing him, his father Abed, his two brothers Mahdi and Yousef, and his nephew Musa Yousef. Barbakh was a leader in the National Resistance Brigades, the DFLP's military arm. He lived in the An-Nahdah neighborhood of Rafah
11:00am An-Nassar Salah Ad-Din activist died of wounds in Saudi Arabia hospital.
Tanks advance from four points
Israeli forces breached Gaza borders at ten Saturday evening and have been advancing ever since. Palestinian fighters clashed with the advancing army, reportedly injuring 30 Israeli soldiers.
East of Gaza City tanks entered Gaza through the Nahal Oz and Karni crossing points, they advanced and headed south of Gaza City and are currently stationed at the abandoned Israeli settlement of Netzarim. Tank fire killed three in the Ashuja'yya neighborhood.
In Beit Hanoun in the north eastern Gaza Strip, tanks penetrated hundreds of meters closing the main road between Beit Hanoun and Gaza City.
From the northwest witnesses said Israeli forces reached the American school north of Beit Lahiya. Forces killed two in Beit Lahiya. The school was leveled on Saturday by and Israeli airstrike.
From the south tanks entered near the destroyed Yasser Arafat Airport east of the city of Rafah amid heavy artillery fire, killing one Palestinian fighter and injuring several others.
Just before the ground invasion Israeli warplanes bombarded more than 45 targets throughout the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military claimed the targets were ammunition caches and groups of Palestinian fighters, although the bombing destroyed a school and apartment buildings.
Another air raid was also in the southern Strip near Khan Younis. The strike killed Hamas activist Muhammad Al-Heila and injured another who could not be identified.
The popular Fatah leader Marwan Barghouthi issued a statement from his cell in an Israeli prison calling on Palestinians and the broader Arab and Muslim communities to engage in a "solidarity campaign" to halt the Israeli offensive on Gaza
Barghouthi condemned the Israeli onslaught and praised Palestinians 'steadfastness.' He also expressed gratitude to the Palestinians in the West Bank, Jerusalem, inside Israel and the refugee camps in Diaspora and the Arab and Islamic nations for widespread demonstrations of solidarity with Gaza .
He also called on all Palestinian national and Islamic factions to unite, arguing that the Israeli invasion targets all Palestinians. He said that Fatah movement is an integral part of the battle with Israel.
Specifically he called on rival factions to enter into dialogue based on the National Unity Document, also known as the Prisoners' Document, in which jailed Hamas and Fatah leaders called for a return to Palestinian political unity.
Barghouthi condemned the Israeli onslaught and praised Palestinians 'steadfastness.' He also expressed gratitude to the Palestinians in the West Bank, Jerusalem, inside Israel and the refugee camps in Diaspora and the Arab and Islamic nations for widespread demonstrations of solidarity with Gaza .
He also called on all Palestinian national and Islamic factions to unite, arguing that the Israeli invasion targets all Palestinians. He said that Fatah movement is an integral part of the battle with Israel.
Specifically he called on rival factions to enter into dialogue based on the National Unity Document, also known as the Prisoners' Document, in which jailed Hamas and Fatah leaders called for a return to Palestinian political unity.
Israeli airstrikes killed three Palestinian paramedics and injured another injured in the Tal Al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City on Sunday evening.
Witnesses said that medics Yaser Shbeir and Raf'at Al-A'kluk were attempting to rescue a group of injured Palestinians when an Israeli drone fired a missile that ripped them to pieces.
Another paramedic, Anes Fadel Na'im, the nephew of Gaza-based Health Minister Basam Na'im, rushed in to help the medics wounded in the first strike. He too was killed by Israeli fire. Na'im's colleague was injured.
Meanwhile, the international aid agency Oxfam said a paramedic working for one of its affiliate organizations was killed when Israeli forces shelled a civilian ambulance.
Another paramedic lost his foot and a driver was injured in the same incident, which occurred when an ambulance belonging to Oxfam's partner organisation, Union of Health Work Committees, was hit while trying to evacuate an injured person in the Beit Lahiya area, Oxfam said.
"The incident shows yet again that trying to fight a military campaign in the densely populated streets and alleys of the Gaza Strip will inevitably lead to civilian casualties. There are no safe areas and Gazans who want to flee the fighting have been prevented from leaving the Strip," said Oxfam GB Country Director John Prideaux-Brune in Jerusalem.
The Israeli ground offensive into Gaza, which began on Saturday following a week of heavy bombardment by land, sea and air, is preventing urgently needed supplies of medicine, food, water, and fuel from reaching one and a half million Palestinian women, men and children, Oxfam said.
"Hospitals in Gaza are overflowing with dead and wounded while facing severe shortages of essential medical supplies and spare parts. Oxfam and local partners have had to suspend all our work, apart from emergency medical aid. Many of our colleagues in Gaza are trapped in their homes, and in fear of their and their families' lives. Others, such as the paramedic Arafa, have lost their lives trying to save others," added Prideaux-Brune.
Witnesses said that medics Yaser Shbeir and Raf'at Al-A'kluk were attempting to rescue a group of injured Palestinians when an Israeli drone fired a missile that ripped them to pieces.
Another paramedic, Anes Fadel Na'im, the nephew of Gaza-based Health Minister Basam Na'im, rushed in to help the medics wounded in the first strike. He too was killed by Israeli fire. Na'im's colleague was injured.
Meanwhile, the international aid agency Oxfam said a paramedic working for one of its affiliate organizations was killed when Israeli forces shelled a civilian ambulance.
Another paramedic lost his foot and a driver was injured in the same incident, which occurred when an ambulance belonging to Oxfam's partner organisation, Union of Health Work Committees, was hit while trying to evacuate an injured person in the Beit Lahiya area, Oxfam said.
"The incident shows yet again that trying to fight a military campaign in the densely populated streets and alleys of the Gaza Strip will inevitably lead to civilian casualties. There are no safe areas and Gazans who want to flee the fighting have been prevented from leaving the Strip," said Oxfam GB Country Director John Prideaux-Brune in Jerusalem.
The Israeli ground offensive into Gaza, which began on Saturday following a week of heavy bombardment by land, sea and air, is preventing urgently needed supplies of medicine, food, water, and fuel from reaching one and a half million Palestinian women, men and children, Oxfam said.
"Hospitals in Gaza are overflowing with dead and wounded while facing severe shortages of essential medical supplies and spare parts. Oxfam and local partners have had to suspend all our work, apart from emergency medical aid. Many of our colleagues in Gaza are trapped in their homes, and in fear of their and their families' lives. Others, such as the paramedic Arafa, have lost their lives trying to save others," added Prideaux-Brune.
The telephone network in the Gaza Strip is on the verge of collapse after being bombarded by the Israeli military, the Palestinian Telecommunication Group said on Sunday evening.
In a statement the phone company said the "infrastructure of the network is suffering to direct hits to the main lines due to the Israeli assault on all areas of the Gaza Strip."
The network may shut down at any moment, the company added. Mobile phones, land lines, and internet connections will be affected.
Some 85% of Jawwal mobile phones are already offline.
The statement said that Israeli missile strikes and ongoing blackouts resulting from the Israeli siege are to blame for the shutdown.
In a statement the phone company said the "infrastructure of the network is suffering to direct hits to the main lines due to the Israeli assault on all areas of the Gaza Strip."
The network may shut down at any moment, the company added. Mobile phones, land lines, and internet connections will be affected.
Some 85% of Jawwal mobile phones are already offline.
The statement said that Israeli missile strikes and ongoing blackouts resulting from the Israeli siege are to blame for the shutdown.
RAW War Scene. Kids, please do not watch this
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Israeli Army T-Shirts Mock Gaza Killings
The Israeli army is at the centre of a second controversy over the moral conduct of its soldiers in as many days. Printed t-shirts were discovered by an Israeli newspaper. The revelations centre on t-shirt designs made for soldiers that make light of shooting pregnant Palestinian mothers and children and include images of dead babies and destroyed mosques. The t-shirts were printed for Israeli soldiers at the end of periods of deployment or training courses and were discovered by Israeli newspaper Haaretz. One, printed for a platoon of Israeli snipers depicts an armed Palestinian pregnant women caught in the crosshairs of a rifle, with the disturbing caption in English: “1 shot 2 kills”. Another depicts a child carrying a gun also in the centre of a target. “The smaller, the harder,” read the words on the t-shirt. According to a soldier interviewed by the newspaper, the message has a double meaning: “It’s a kid, so you’ve got a little more of a problem, morally and also the target is smaller.” Another shows an Israeli soldier blowing up a mosque and reads “Only God forgives”. Israeli Army T-Shirt Furore. T-shirts printed for Israeli soldiers mocking the shooting of Palestinian women and children are revealed by an Israeli newspaper. |
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Above a ninja figure, yet another shirt bears the slogan “Won’t chill until I confirm a kill”. The revelations, coming so soon after Israel’s offensive in Gaza in which hundreds of civilians were killed – many of them women and children – are causing outrage.
Perhaps the most shocking design shows a Palestinian mother weeping next to her dead baby’s grave, also in the crosshairs of a rifle. It suggests it would have been better if the child had never been born, with the slogan “Better use Durex”. The controversy follows more revelations by other soldiers about abuses and the shooting of civilians during Israel’s offensive during the Gaza offensive. Ex-soldier and campaigner with Breaking The Silence, Michael Maniken, told Sky News Online this week’s revelations suggest a pattern of immoral conduct in the army. |
The army keeps on saying we’re talking about a few rotten apples but it seems the army doesn’t understand there’s a norm in this kind of action,” he explained. “We’re hearing about this time and time again and the army seems disconnected from reality.”
A spokesman for the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) told Sky News Online, the t-shirts were printed on the private initiative of the soldiers and their designs “are not in accordance with IDF values and are simply tasteless.
This type of humour is unacceptable and should be condemned”.
IDF raps soldiers for images of dead Palestinian babies on t-shirts
In wake of Haaretz expose, Brig. Gen. Shermeister says soldiers' civilian clothes should match IDF values.
The IDF's chief education officer Brig. Gen. Eli Shermeister issued a letter to a number of military units Tuesday, commenting on T-shirts printed by soldiers, as exposed by Haaretz two weeks ago. Haaretz found that dead babies, mothers weeping on their children's grave, a child in the crosshairs of a sniper's rifle and blown-up mosques are just a few of the images with which IDF soldiers decided to mark their graduation from a training course or tour of duty.
Shermeister's letter described some of the shirts depicted in the Haaretz story, and included pictures published in the feature. The chief education officer called on commanders to "increase vigilance and rule out any such phenomena, which stem from group culture and might affect it."
The Haaretz inquiry brought several examples of such prints: An infantry snipers' T-shirt with the writing "better use Durex" running alongside a dead Palestinian child, a weeping mother and a teddy bear; another sniper course shirt showing an aim taken at the belly of a pregnant woman, with the slogan "One shot, two kills;" a T-shirt depicting a Palestinian baby becoming an angry youth and then an armed man, with the slogan "no matter how it starts, we'll end it;" a shirt from the Haruv battalion with the picture of a Samurai and the caption "we won't chill before we verify the kill," and many more.
Some of the captions and images emphasize actions the army vigorously denies, such as coups de grace or deliberate attacks on women, children and religious sites.
Commenting on the inquiry at the time, the IDF spokesperson's office said that "military orders do not refer to civilian clothing, including shirts printed at the end of various training courses. The shirts are printed at the personal initiative of the soldiers, and are not army property," the statement read.
However, Shermeister's letter, titled "The boundaries of humor," appears to indicate that the chief education officer disagrees. "Some would say the printing of the shirts is a local matter, done at the personal initiative and often at the private expense of the soldiers with the aim of bonding through humor," he writes. "[However,] printing shirts for IDF soldiers, even if not initiated by the commander, is not a private action. It is an action carried out in the context of military service and should match the values of the IDF."
"We are not exempt from this duty even when dealing with writings on civilian shirts, organized independently by the soldiers. Even humor, which is an important instrument of coping with the stress and exhaustion of military service, has its boundaries. We do not teach hatred for our enemy, and we must not mock or belittle the lives of a pregnant woman or a small child," Shermeister said.
A spokesman for the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) told Sky News Online, the t-shirts were printed on the private initiative of the soldiers and their designs “are not in accordance with IDF values and are simply tasteless.
This type of humour is unacceptable and should be condemned”.
IDF raps soldiers for images of dead Palestinian babies on t-shirts
In wake of Haaretz expose, Brig. Gen. Shermeister says soldiers' civilian clothes should match IDF values.
The IDF's chief education officer Brig. Gen. Eli Shermeister issued a letter to a number of military units Tuesday, commenting on T-shirts printed by soldiers, as exposed by Haaretz two weeks ago. Haaretz found that dead babies, mothers weeping on their children's grave, a child in the crosshairs of a sniper's rifle and blown-up mosques are just a few of the images with which IDF soldiers decided to mark their graduation from a training course or tour of duty.
Shermeister's letter described some of the shirts depicted in the Haaretz story, and included pictures published in the feature. The chief education officer called on commanders to "increase vigilance and rule out any such phenomena, which stem from group culture and might affect it."
The Haaretz inquiry brought several examples of such prints: An infantry snipers' T-shirt with the writing "better use Durex" running alongside a dead Palestinian child, a weeping mother and a teddy bear; another sniper course shirt showing an aim taken at the belly of a pregnant woman, with the slogan "One shot, two kills;" a T-shirt depicting a Palestinian baby becoming an angry youth and then an armed man, with the slogan "no matter how it starts, we'll end it;" a shirt from the Haruv battalion with the picture of a Samurai and the caption "we won't chill before we verify the kill," and many more.
Some of the captions and images emphasize actions the army vigorously denies, such as coups de grace or deliberate attacks on women, children and religious sites.
Commenting on the inquiry at the time, the IDF spokesperson's office said that "military orders do not refer to civilian clothing, including shirts printed at the end of various training courses. The shirts are printed at the personal initiative of the soldiers, and are not army property," the statement read.
However, Shermeister's letter, titled "The boundaries of humor," appears to indicate that the chief education officer disagrees. "Some would say the printing of the shirts is a local matter, done at the personal initiative and often at the private expense of the soldiers with the aim of bonding through humor," he writes. "[However,] printing shirts for IDF soldiers, even if not initiated by the commander, is not a private action. It is an action carried out in the context of military service and should match the values of the IDF."
"We are not exempt from this duty even when dealing with writings on civilian shirts, organized independently by the soldiers. Even humor, which is an important instrument of coping with the stress and exhaustion of military service, has its boundaries. We do not teach hatred for our enemy, and we must not mock or belittle the lives of a pregnant woman or a small child," Shermeister said.
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The report contains very graphic images - viewers may find the contents disturbing.
Shifa hospital is Gaza's main hospital - it's at breaking point with the amount of casualties being brought in. Nick Walshe has the story of one family torn apart by this war. |
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