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Revealed: Israeli troops Told to Cleanse Gaza
from Channel 4 News
Exclusive: a filmmaker, who claims Israeli soldiers were
ordered to "cleanse" Palestinian neighbourhoods, tells
Channel 4 News "the atmosphere in Israel was that nobody
should talk about this war".
Nurit Kedar's film, Concrete, hears from Israeli soldiers
who blame their military leaders for encouraging a
"disproportionate" response to Hamas's rockets.
They claim their commanders used to "psych up" soldiers
before an operation so they were ready to shoot
indiscriminately.
This is the first time Israeli soldiers have come forward
publicly with claims which counter those of their bosses.
In a report to be shown on Channel 4 News on Wednesday, 24-
year-old tank commander Ohad remembers being told the night
before the operation that the entry into Gaza was to be
"disproportionate".
"It sounds really terrible to say 'cleanse' but those
were the orders." - Israeli tank commander
Once into Gaza, he says his orders were unambiguous: "We
needed to cleanse the neighbourhoods, the buildings, the
area. It sounds really terrible to say "cleanse", but those
were the orders....I don't want to make a mistake with the
words."
The IDF [Israel Defence Forces] has said its operational
orders during the war emphasised "proportionality" and
"humanity".
The importance of minimising harm to civilians was made
clear to soldiers, the IDF said at the time. By the end
of the 22 day long operation some 1,400 Palestinians had
been killed and large areas of Gaza razed. Ten Israeli
soldiers and three Israeli civilians also died.
Challenging Israeli views
The woman behind the film is Nurit Kedar. Speaking to
Channel 4 News she said it took some time to gain the
soldiers' trust: "It was months of telling them I wasn't
interested in if they shot somebody, I was interested
in their insight, their point of view.
"I was very much interested in their emotional feelings
so that's how I persuaded them. I really didn't threaten
them."
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Nurit continued: "I feel for them, what can I tell you.
It's very sad what our society is doing to youngsters."
She told Channel 4 News the Israeli people did not like to
see themselves in the mirror.
Nurit said: "The atmosphere in Israel was nobody should
talk about this war.
"People in Israel don't like to see themselves in the
mirror." - Nurit Kedar
"There was only one narrative. The narrative was the
Palestinians fired for eight years and that's why we
came in and that's it. Why didn't the IDF let any
journalists inside, any cameramen? Nobody knows what
happened."
There are currently no plans for the film to be shown in
Israel, Nurit hopes this will change: "Right now I don't
have any broadcaster..people in Israel don't like to see
themselves in the mirror.
"Usually the Israeli people don't like to see this kind of
film. I made a lot of films about wars and it's not easy,
they don't like it."
Click link to view article and video clip of Alex Thomson
speaking with filmmaker Nurit Kedar:
http://www.channel4.com/news/filmmaker-tells-story-of-israelis-told-to-cleanse-gaza
Israel's response
Responding to the allegations made in the film an Israeli
embassy spokesperson told Channel 4 News: "Unlike much of
the region, the open society within Israel allows for all
allegations such as these to be aired and investigated.
"Israel has already authorised over 100 separate investi-
gations into the operation, five broader investigations,
and close to 50 criminal investigations are also taking
place.
"All this in the context of having to respond to over
12,000 missiles raining on our citizens - such an
operation could unfortunately never be flawless given
these circumstances.
"Our judicial process is renowned across the world for its
independence. This is a country after all, which holds
even the very top of society to account, as has been
proven in recent days. This is Israel in the 21st Century,
a flourishing democracy, thriving amongst a desert of
tyranny in the Middle East."
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