In early December, images circulated worldwide showing dozens of Palestinian men in the city of Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, who were stripped to their underwear, kneeling or sitting hunched over, then blindfolded and put into the back of Israeli military trucks like cattle. The vast majority of these detainees were civilians with no affiliation to Hamas, Israeli security officials later confirmed, and the men were taken away by the army without notifying their families of the detainees’ whereabouts. Some of them never returned.
+972 Magazine and Local Call spoke with four Palestinian civilians who appeared in these photos, or were arrested near the scene and taken to Israeli military detention centers, where they were held for several days or even weeks before being released back to Gaza. Their testimonies — along with 49 video testimonies published by various Arabic media outlets of Palestinians arrested in similar circumstances in recent weeks in the northern districts of Zeitoun, Jabalia, and Shuja’iya — indicate systematic abuse and torture by Israeli soldiers against all of the detainees, civilians and combatants alike.
According to these testimonies, Israeli soldiers subjected Palestinian detainees to electric shocks, burned their skin with lighters, spat in their mouths, and deprived them of sleep, food, and access to bathrooms until they defecated on themselves. Many were tied to a fence for hours, handcuffed, and blindfolded for most of the day. Some testified to having been beaten all over their bodies and having cigarettes extinguished on their necks or backs. Several people are known to have died as a result of being held in these conditions.
Serious question.
Does an occupier have the “right” to defend itself from attacks from the occupied in occupied areas? For example, attacks on the IDF in the West Bank.
I believe that as long as there are attacks against civilians, then yes. Basically attacking civilians is never a good option. Many people live in the undisputed areas simply because it’s more beneficial to them as Israel supports it a lot. I personally visited one of these areas and the amenities were very good. So I don’t think that it should be okay for Palestinians to come and murder Israelis in the undisputed areas.
However, the main issue is that these settlements exist. I am under the impression that you should not use the land as long as it is not widely recognised that it belongs to you. So the main issue is the approach that Israel claimed something is theirs without actually talking about it with the relevant parties.
But it’s been their decision to do this shit, so it’s their responsibility to solve it now. Either abandon it (which would be a complete waste of resources) or build something for Palestinians but those are just random guesses.
So basically you are saying the settlers are like Israel’s human shields for the occupation and the Palestinians should not attack them? Excellent point, which of course should be applied also to the Gazan civilian population.
My point is that both sides should to their best to protect civilians whether those civilians are Palestinian or Israeli. None of them is doing it.