I thought I'd share some of an interview I had with a friend who served in IDF about Palestine . This isn't some news report, or some opinion article, this was someone I spoke to via Skype who told me what they experienced and their opinions. Now obviously they're responses are going to be in defense of Israel, BUT still it's good to talk to people and get human to human feelings. It's also good to talk to someone who has been in or experienced certain situations, and not just analysts. And he told me some interesting things that I have never thought about or encountered when reading debates about the Israel Palestine issue.
About border patrol and incidents that happen near there He told me about how he was stationed at a base at the Gaza border crossing. He described to me that they keep watch for terrorists that come too close to the fence. I asked him, who exactly do you deem a terrorist? He says anyone who comes too close to the fence. I asked him, so it doesn't matter who it is, it could be a civilian, a farmer, anyone and they would still be considered a terrorist. He said yes. He says that it's part of protocol that after warnings if someone gets too close to the fence then they might be shot.
Now the reason why this is interesting to me is that, there are always casualties at the fence. News reports just mention that Israeli forces kill a Palestinian at the border. However, it has been brought to my attention that the IDF does not mess around with people who try to get close to the fence, and anyone who comes close they call a terrorist. Which makes me believe that the incidents might be protesters that try to test the border patrol and end up being killed. Some of the incidents are usually teenagers.I ask him, well what is someone comes close to the fence by accident, or didn't know. He claims that they really should know and on the other side Palestinians should know not to get too close or they could get hurt.
People usually say that Israel uses too much force? I ask him that people often accuse Israel of being too forceful. He explains to me that he has been in life and death situations, and there are a lot of protocols to minimize casualties, but when you're having bullets fired at you it's either killed or be killed. He says those that say that have never been a situation like the soldiers at the IDF have been in.
I asked him that I've read articles about casualties at the borders with the West Bank and other places, where the border patrol would accidentally kill a civilian. One outstanding case an Egyptian friend told me was a pregnant woman who was shot. His reply is that there are have been much stricter rules that Israelies have to deal with Palestinians. He says that it is not in the soldier's best interest to act forcefully or cause trouble because they will be jailed and lose their position. He told me an incident that a friend of his was inspecting a car. And the car drove off without approval and he shot a warning shot in the air. That was not the right thing to do and he was arrested and jailed for 4 months and was suspended for awhile.
An interesting perspective, because learning about the IDF, they do have protocols and soldiers can get in trouble if they don't handle situations properly. Usually when I read articles on the Palestinians side, it just appeared to me that every Israeli soldier is just itching for a chance to shoot someone (not saying that there aren't ever) but in the interview my friend explained, Israel tries to minimize casualties since they are under international pressure and they are really strict with their soldiers to make sure they don't cause any incidents. Anyone who breaks rules will get into troubleHe does however admit that the people at border patrolbetween the West Bank are complete assholes. I told him that I have seen videos where they just treat Palestinians like dogs and he does admit that he's not surprised.
Incident at Hebron.I asked him what was one of his most memorable incidents. He said that him and his squad had to patrol Hebron. He says it's like a power cake ready to explode, because Jews and Arabs live there together, and of course neither side wants to leave because the area is sacred to both. He said a few years ago when a prominent Hamas leader was killed there was a riot that erupted in that area and he had to go there to patrol and try to keep things under control. He says that a teenage about age 17 was pissing off one of the IDF guards. Then suddenly he pulled out a gun on him, in which another officer saw this and shot the kid immediately. It was only upon inspection they had realized that it was a fake gun painted black to look real. My friend was one of the first people to be on the scene. At first many people crowded around and you have a dead Arab kid shot by an Israeli. It wasn't long till there was a major riot and he said that he didn't sleep for 3 days in that area trying to keep things under control and everything just went to shit. I asked him, the Israeli forces are pretty hardcore, why do you think this kid would try to pick a fight. He says he was either really stupid or just crazy.
What's the deal with Palestine suffering more casualties that Israel?So I ask him well how come we have all these reports the Israeli forces killing civilians. He says that the IDF like he mentioned to ensure that they don't have any unnecessary causalities. They're only interest is to stop terrorist from harming Israeli civilians and to keep order and peace. He says that the terrorist purposely use civilians as shields and launch rockets in populated areas so that Israel has a hard time getting to them. I asked him if he has witnessed this personally. He said he had a pursue a terrorist who hid behind a young woman in the street, but he stopped in his story and said that he it was a classified incident and he shouldn't tell me anymore details. He also told me of another incident that there was bunch of kids staging a protest and the older kids ages 15-18 stood in the back and they marched the younger kids ages 4-10 in the front. He says by doing this the Israeli forces can't do anything to them. Like my friend says, it was really clever really, because no one wants to throw tear gas at a 5 year old.
I asked him in what incidents does the IDF have permission to shoot to kill. He said that, that was classified and he couldn't mention. But he said that the only one he could mention was if anyone throws a moltov cocktail and they have permission to shoot to kill. He says they are really dangerous and he himself got almost hit my one once and fortunately didn't receive much injury.
He also says that the media is biased and that they don't explain the whole story. He says sometimes they would throw stones or try to provoke the Israeli forces, and when they get killed the news just says "Palestinian killed by Israeli forces.. etc etc." But not often do they explain the incident from the beginning. And after Israel does a thorough investigation to find out that happened then it's too late to redeem themselves.
What's the deal with Israel cutting off electricity in Gaza?He says it's done to put pressure on the people to kick Hamas out of power. Hamas has devoted all of their energy and funds to make rockets to attack Israel, and needs to go. He says there use to be more open travel and trade before Hamas, and it's their fault that they decided to attack Israel and in response Israel puts the squeeze on Gaza. I tell them that's kind of cruel and I ask if he had any other ideas of what could be done besides things like that. He says he doesn't know.
Are there areas where Arabs and Israelis live together peacefully?He says that in the Old City of Jerusalem there do and there are hardly any incidents. He says that the IDF forces that patrol there are often made fun of because nothing goes on in that area. He says there are other places but couldn't name anymore. He also says that there are Arabs that also serve in the IDF alongside Israelis without problem, which was interesting to me.
Another memorable incident?He told me he felt really good once because there was an Arab family that got into a crash and him and a few other Israelis (not soldiers) went to help them. I asked them what was their reaction and he said they were very grateful. However, he says that there were other Arabs observing nearby that were starting to cause a scene and make trouble.
Ok that was already too long. And I wanted to share that. Any comments
If you want me to ask him any questions let me know.Also I'm looking for someone from Palestine to interview as well If you know anyone I can hook up with on facebook thanks
Topic: Interview with a friend who served in the IDF. Other side of the story