Yotam Vilk (28 years old), an officer in the Israeli armored corps, recently shared with AP that the image of Israeli soldiers killing an unarmed Palestinian teenager in the Gaza Strip was imprinted in his mind. Vilk said he had received orders to shoot anyone unauthorized in the buffer zone controlled by Israel in Gaza.
Israeli soldiers operate in the al-Amal area in the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, in this photo released on April 6, 2024
Vilk said he witnessed at least 12 people killed, but the shooting of the Palestinian teenager was something he could not forget, proving that the Israeli army’s orders “did not consider Palestinians as human beings”, Vilk said. told AP.
200 soldiers signed a letter to put pressure on the government
Vilk is among a growing number of Israeli soldiers who have spoken out against the 15-month-long Hamas-Israel conflict and refused to continue serving. He said those Israeli soldiers saw or did things that crossed moral boundaries.
About 200 Israeli soldiers have signed a letter saying they will stop fighting if the government does not guarantee a ceasefire, but soldiers say that is just the tip of the iceberg and they hope many others will join. speak up.
There is a final draft for ceasefire negotiations in Gaza
The growing refusal of Israeli soldiers to fight comes at a time of growing pressure on Israel and Hamas to end the conflict. Ceasefire negotiations are ongoing and both US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump have called for an agreement to be reached before Trump’s January 20 inauguration.
Seven Israeli soldiers who refused to continue fighting in Gaza spoke to the AP, describing how Palestinians were indiscriminately killed and homes destroyed. Some Israeli soldiers were ordered to burn or destroy homes that posed no threat, and they saw soldiers loot and vandalize many residential areas.
An Israeli soldier stands on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza on January 13
International human rights groups have accused Israel of committing war crimes and genocide in Gaza. Meanwhile, Israel firmly denies accusations of genocide and affirms that it has taken special measures to minimize damage to civilians in Gaza. The Israeli army also emphasized that it never intentionally targets civilians, and investigates and punishes cases of suspected wrongdoing.
The Israeli military told the AP that it condemns the refusal to serve and takes seriously all calls to refuse to fight, reviewing each case individually. Soldiers can go to jail for refusing to serve, but so far none of the letter’s signatories have been detained, according to organizers of the signing.
Reaction of Israeli soldiers in Gaza
When entering Gaza in November 2023, Vilk said he thought the initial use of force could bring both sides to the negotiating table. But as the conflict dragged on, Vilk saw the value of human life being destroyed.
On the day the Palestinian teenager was killed in August 2024, Vilk said many Israeli soldiers shouted loudly and fired warning shots near the teenager’s feet to ask him to stop, but the person continued to move. Vilk said others also died while entering a buffer zone called the Netzarim Corridor, a road that divides northern and southern Gaza.
Vilk admitted that it was difficult to determine whether those killed were armed or not, but he believed that Israeli soldiers acted too quickly. Vilk also said that Hamas was ultimately responsible for some of the deaths in the buffer zone. Vilk said a Palestinian detained by his unit claimed that Hamas paid $25 per person to anyone who entered the Netzarim corridor to gauge the reaction of Israeli soldiers.
Palestinian homes in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip are heavily damaged on January 18, 2024 during the Israeli military operation.
Some Israeli soldiers told the AP that it took time to “digest” what they witnessed in Gaza. Others said they were so angry that they decided to stop serving almost immediately.
Yuval Green, a 27-year-old doctor, described abandoning his mission in January 2024 after nearly two months in Gaza, because he could not live with what he had witnessed. Green said that many soldiers desecrated houses, looted… However, the “last straw” for Green was when the commander ordered soldiers to burn a house because he did not want Hamas to use that house. Green said he realized the fire was revengeful and he left the unit.
Green said that while he did not like what he saw, “the brutality stemmed at least in part from the destruction caused by Hamas on October 7 (2023)”. Green said he wanted to refuse service to help break the cycle of violence on all sides.
Israel launched an attack on Gaza in response to the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas gunmen. That attack left about 1,200 people dead, mostly civilians, and more than 250 people taken to Gaza as hostages, according to AFP citing data from Israel.
Israel’s retaliatory attacks, with the goal of destroying Hamas, have leveled many areas of Gaza, forced most people to flee their homes and killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to Reuters citing new data. from the Gaza Health Authority.
Refuse to fight as an act of protest
Soldiers for the Hostages, the group behind the letter signed by soldiers, is trying to gather momentum, organizing an event this month in Tel Aviv and collect more signatures. At that event, a group of soldiers spoke about what they had witnessed in Gaza. Organizers distributed posters with a quote from the late American human rights activist Martin Luther King Jr.: “People with moral responsibility do not obey unjust laws.”
Mr. Max Kresch, among the organizers, said soldiers can use their position to create change. “We need to use our voices to speak up against injustice, even when it is not popular,” Mr. Kresch emphasized.
But some who fought and lost comrades called the movement a slap in the face. More than 830 Israeli soldiers have died in the conflict, according to the Israeli army.
“They are damaging our ability to defend ourselves,” charged Gilad Segal, a 42-year-old paratrooper who spent two months in Gaza at the end of 2023. He affirmed that everything Israeli soldiers did was necessary, including razing houses used as Hamas hideouts. Mr. Segal argued that agreeing or disagreeing with the government is not a soldier’s job.
Spokesman Ishai Menuchin of Yesh Gvul, a movement of soldiers who refuse to serve, said he works with more than 80 soldiers who have refused to fight and there are hundreds of others who want to do the same but remain silent. .
“Sorry for what we did”
Several Israeli soldiers who spoke to the AP said they felt conflicted and remorseful, and they were talking to friends and relatives about what they saw to resolve the issue.
Mr. Tuly Flint, a trauma therapist who has counseled hundreds of Israeli soldiers during the Hamas-Israel conflict, said many soldiers were “morally damaged”. It’s a reaction when people see or do something that contradicts their beliefs, and it can lead to insomnia, flashbacks and feelings of unworthiness, according to Mr. Flint.
A former soldier in the Israeli infantry told the AP about his feelings of guilt. This person said he saw about 15 buildings burned down unnecessarily during the two-week campaign in late 2023. He said that if he could do it all again, he would not fight.
“I didn’t start the fire, but I stood guard outside the house. I participated in a war crime. I’m very sorry for what we did,” the former soldier told the AP on condition of anonymity. name for fear of retaliation.
