When the horror stories from Sde Teiman concentration camp first emerged, most of our political class shrugged and Zionists called the accusations “blood libel”. The rape and torture scandal was first exposed by the Hamas-backed Unrwa several months ago. Am I using the correct terminology here? Anyone who defends Palestinian rights gets called “Hamas-backed”, right?
Anyways, the Hamas-backed Associated Press reported on the scandal and I didn’t hear a peep from our politicians who were happy to push Israel’s mass rape hoax and beheaded babies hoax and all the other hoaxes. Our leaders seem keener to run with lies than with the truth, even when we’re talking about the most insidious crimes. We should spend some time considering what this says about our leaders.
When we had undeniable evidence of the IDF doing all the things it accuses Hamas of doing, our political class did not give a crap. The horrifying reports included: the neglect of existing medical conditions; operations performed without anaesthetic; loud music played for long periods; sound grenades set off throughout the night; beatings and violence with the use of dogs; prisoners left naked and blindfolded and having their limbs restrained for months until they had to be amputated; and more that I’ll get to later.
For months, we’ve been told how uncivilised Hamas is for its alleged abuse of prisoners, but we don’t need to speculate about how the IDF treats prisoners. We don’t have to take the word of tortured Palestinians or the doctors who treat their injuries, we can look at what the IDF is willing to share publicly. They’re constantly releasing footage and images of them stripping and abusing prisoners, often with grins on their faces. They don’t even hide many of their war crimes.
Perhaps the most disturbing abuse meted out by Israeli soldiers is that of rape and sexual violence, not just because of the sadistic nature, but because false allegations of mass rape against Hamas was a key justification for the brutality of the Gaza invasion. “We are fighting human animals and we will act accordingly,” we were told.
Well, if mass rape hoaxes warranted the destruction of Gaza, what does mass rape committed by the IDF warrant? You see the problem with genocidal rhetoric? It’s becoming cliche at this point, but every Zionist accusation is a projection. Not only do Zionists commit every atrocity they accuse Hamas of, but they do worse. Their crimes are so sadistic, it feels uncomfortable writing them out, but they include penetrating the anus of prisoners with an electrified, red-hot rod, causing excruciating pain and horrific injuries. What type of monster thinks of this shit?
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Ordinarily, the IDF acts with impunity, but when the injuries of one prisoner were reported to Israeli police, to their credit, they actually did their job. Now I don’t exactly have faith in the Israeli justice system. My guess is one or two soldiers will serve a couple of years and be released to adoring crowds.
The Israeli media is already calling the victim a “terrorist” to justify the rape and torture so you can imagine where the public sympathy lies. Erez Tadmor, a former speech writer for Netanyahu, even claimed the prisoners raped themselves. How do you respond to such lunacy?
As far as I understand, nine soldiers were arrested for the abuse of just one prisoner when there were many more victims. The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel welcomed the investigation, but reiterated this is about systemic abuse, rather than a single case. However, the military is saying it has opened 70 investigations and is treating the matter “very seriously.”
Every soldier at Sde Teiman should be arrested because if even I knew what was taking place, they certainly did! However, I would be surprised if we saw many more arrests, and even more surprised if we saw anything approaching the number of prosecutions we need to see.
A petition to Israel’s High Court of Justice by the Association of Civil Rights has demanded the closure of Sde Teiman and a hearing is being held on August 7th. At least the IDF has acknowledged “mistakes” were made. Isn’t that nice? They promised the incidents would not reoccur and presumably they will return to the noble job of blowing up people in tents. They reassured everyone they are upgrading the Sde Teiman facility, although I’m unclear why we are meant to find this reassuring.
Somehow, I can’t imagine the prisoners are thrilled at the idea of an upgraded torture chamber. How do you even upgrade a torture chamber anyway? Are they planning on bringing Suella Braverman over there?
Almost every Palestinian captured by Israel goes to Sde Teiman at some point, and that includes the hundreds of civilians, such as doctors and aid workers, who were released without charge. By all accounts, life inside Sde Teiman is even worse than Guantanamo Bay. Thirty-six prisoners have died from torture in just nine months, whereas nine prisoners died at Guantanamo in 20 years.
A legal aid organisation called Honenu is representing four of the accused soldiers, and you’re going to love this one, they’re claiming the soldiers acted in self-defence. They released a statement saying their victim attacked and bit the soldiers during a transfer from Ofer Prison to Sde Teiman.
I’m unclear how such an attack would necessitate the use of a red hot pole, but it’s good to hear Israelis have a right to rape and torture in self-defence. That is the argument they’re going with, right? They’re gonna use that argument in court and hope the judge and jury are lunatics? Well, there is a good chance they will be. This is Israel we’re talking about where 91% of the public are fully behind a genocide.
Not only were the people who made the mass rape claims lying to justify genocide, but they came out to protest their own right to rape, screaming into megaphones. The protesters were chanting “shame”, not because they think raping Palestinians is shameful but because they think preventing rape is. The crowds waved Israeli flags, presumably because they feel this is what their country stands for. Rioters invaded the Israeli court building in Beit Lid, some wearing IDF uniforms and appearing to be armed. They were demanding the accused rapists be released without charge.
One journalist tried to report on the riot and later said: “They pushed me, spit on me, called me a slut, the Arabs’ whore, traitor… They threw my phone twice. I’m in tears.”
Nice people we’re dealing with here, eh? Let’s not forget Israeli protesters have blocked aid trucks, and even set up bouncy castles so their kids could play while they starved Palestinian kids. It’s hard to imagine how a society can get so sick. One day historians are going to study this period and use it as a warning.
It would be easy to suggest I’m being melodramatic, that we’re talking about just a handful of fanatical protesters, but that’s not the case. Politicians in the coalition government from Likud, Jewish Power, and other parties are supporting the rioters and rapists.
Likud politician Hanoch Milwidsky announced a “voting strike” in response to the arrests. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the protests “are justified and I support them with all my heart.” Justice Minister Yariv Levin blamed the High Court of Justice for the arrests and called for judicial overhaul, presumably to ensure the IDF is above the law. The notion of immunity for IDF soldiers is popular among Israelis.
“I was shocked to see the difficult pictures of soldiers being arrested at Sde Teiman the way dangerous criminals are arrested,” Levin said, arguing the accused rapists had been involved in “holy work”.
As if that wasn’t batshit enough, the Israeli knesset debated if the rape and torture of Palestinians was acceptable and many politicians seemed to think it was. I say “seemed”, they were actually yelling their point like lunatics because that’s exactly what they are.
When Jewish scholar Norman Finkelstein described Israel as a “lunatic state”, he wasn’t exaggerating. We need to break the mythology of Israel because it is the exact opposite of what it pretends to be, and when we join in that pretence, we enable the most sickening of crimes.The last working-class hero in England.
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Where's Angelina Jollie and little willie Hague? (nm)
on July 30, 2024, 6:25 pm