Israelis turn on their own: Israeli commanders ‘wanted to see blood’

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July 19, 2009

by Ben Heine

Sat, 18 Jul 2009, Press TV

In another outburst of brutality, Israeli commanders turn against their own forces, beating and harassing the IDF’s newly recruited soldiers.

In one incident, Commanders of the IDF’s Armored Corps brigades ordered seven service members to beat the new recruits, who suffered substantial bruising and scarring.

“All the soldiers stood in one row and lifted up their shirts, while the staff was yelling ‘cowards, no-goods, you’re worth nothing.’ The commanders would start beating us, slapping us, and whipping us. The pains were terrible,” one abuse victim told Ynet on Saturday.

Such abuses were authorized by the Armored Corps brigades’ commanders, who would not physically get involved in the brutality.

The incidents would take place in ‘hazing ceremonies’, which according to Ynet are held on two occasions — at the end of training, and upon receiving sergeant ranks.

“Those were terrible blows, which had to be sustained silently. Everyone got beaten up, because the commanders wanted to see blood,” a victim said.

Following the last of such incidents, which took place on July 8, twenty soldiers were left with red marks on their backs, bruises, and sharp pain.

Although there is a record of such brutalities in the IDF, it is not known for how long the practice was in use because the soldiers subjected to abuse observed the code of silence.

Israeli military officials say that the incident was probed in depth shortly after it came to their attention.

The Israeli military has always been marred by brutality and violence. Following Tel Aviv’s three-week-long onslaught on the Gaza Strip, Israelis confessed that they were instructed by their superiors to target innocent civilians.

“Better hit an innocent than hesitate to target an enemy,” an Israeli soldier remembered his seniors as repeating at pre-invasion briefings.