Israeli Army

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In Rare Case, Israeli Soldier Guilty in Death of Palestinian

Elor Azaria fatally shot assailant in March

(Newser) - An Israeli soldier was convicted of manslaughter on Wednesday in the deadly shooting of an incapacitated Palestinian attacker, capping a nine-month saga that has deeply divided the country, reports the AP . The verdict, which marks an extremely rare instance of an Israeli military court siding against a soldier over lethal...

Israeli Troops Kill Unarmed Palestinian

Farm laborer was reportedly carrying a glass bottle

(Newser) - Tensions in the West Bank came to a head yesterday, when an unarmed Palestinian man was shot at an Israeli checkpoint. The Israeli military says Ahmad Maslamani, a 24-year-old farm laborer, was holding a glass bottle and ignored orders to stop, and that soldiers followed the rules of engagement when...

Israeli Soldier's Facebook Snaps Spark Outrage

Eden Aberjil's posing with blindfolded prisoners 'shameful'

(Newser) - Nobody's rushing to hit the "like" button on a former Israeli soldier's Facebook album about her tour of duty. Waxing poetic in the album "The army: the best days of my life," former soldier Eden Aberjil posted a snap of herself smiling for the camera next to...

Israel Strikes Gaza After 'Barrel Bombs' Wash Up

Militants claim responsibility for explosives-laden barrels

(Newser) - Israeli jets fired on tunnels along Gaza's border with Egypt yesterday, the day after two explosive-laden barrels washed up on Israeli beaches. Israeli authorities have closed a a 25-mile stretch of coastline north of Gaza indefinitely while they search for more barrel bombs. "We are not taking any chances,...

Bar Refaeli Dodged Draft Via Sham Marriage
 Bar Refaeli Dodged 
 Draft Via Sham Marriage 
SAYS ISRAELI GENERAL

Bar Refaeli Dodged Draft Via Sham Marriage

General calls for boycott of products endorsed by model

(Newser) - Bar Refaeli, the Sports Illustrated cover girl and on-off girlfriend of actor Leonardo DiCaprio, dodged Israel’s compulsory military service with a sham marriage to a family friend, one of the country’s generals says in calling for a boycott of products she endorses. All Israelis must serve 2 years,...

Prof's Nazi-Israeli Comparison Stirs Uproar

Students, faculty defend instructor amid anti-Semitism charges

(Newser) - A UC Santa Barbara professor's decision to send his students an email comparing graphic photographs of the Holocaust's Jewish victims to similar shots taken of Palestinians during the recent offensive in Gaza has caused an uproar. Many students and faculty members have expressed support for the professor, who is Jewish,...

Israel Committed Gaza War Crimes: Rights Group

Human Rights Watch finds army fired white phosphorus at civilians

(Newser) - Israel's military committed war crimes by repeatedly firing white phosphorus into crowded areas of Gaza, Human Rights Watch said today. A report by the group alleges that Israel chose not to use less dangerous smoke shells and even fired the incendiary agent at the main UN compound in the Strip....

Israeli Army Rabbis Preached Hate During Gaza Assault

(Newser) - During Israel’s recent Gaza offensive, an increasingly influential corps of military rabbis cast the conflict as one to “expel the non-Jews” from Israel, the Los Angeles Times reports. “This rabbi comes to us and says the fight is between the children of light and the children of...

Israeli Troops: We Were Ordered to Kill Gaza Civilians

Defense chief vows 'serious' investigation

(Newser) - Israeli soldiers' accounts about their actions in Gaza seem to back up critics' assertions that the army violated rules of war and have set off a "soul-searching" in Israel, writes Richard Boudreaux in the Los Angeles Times. The troops tell of orders to shoot civilians without warning and destroy...

Israel Opens Inquiry Into Soldiers' Gaza Killings

(Newser) - Israel's military today ordered a criminal inquiry into its own soldiers' reports that some troops killed Palestinian civilians during its recent Gaza assault by hastily opening fire, confident that relaxed rules of engagement would protect them. Their accounts, published in a military institute's newsletter, echo Palestinian allegations that Israel violated...

Israeli Soldier Killed in Gaza Border Attack

Militants breaching ceasefire believed to have set blast

(Newser) - An Israeli soldier has been killed and three wounded by an explosion along Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, reports the BBC. The attack appeared to have been carried out by militants in a breach of last week's ceasefire declaration, although no group has claimed responsibility, according to Palestinian authorities....

Gaza Conflict Triggers Talk of War Crimes

With battles on pause, new fight begins over legality of assault

(Newser) - Now that its 22-day offensive in Gaza has ended, Israel is facing a new battle—over the legality and morality of its military action. Several human rights groups, in Israel and elsewhere, have accused the army of committing war crimes in Gaza's cities and denying medical care and refuge to...

Israel Probes Phosphorus Use in Gaza
Israel Probes Phosphorus
Use in Gaza

Israel Probes Phosphorus Use in Gaza

Admits deadly shells may have hit civilian areas, violating law

(Newser) - Under pressure from the international community, Israel has admitted its troops might have inappropriately used white phosphorus in attacks on Gaza, and has launched an investigation. International law only permits the caustic chemical for creating smokescreens in troop areas, which wouldn’t explain hits on United Nations facilities in Gaza,...

Israeli Gains in Gaza Are Elusive
 Israeli Gains in Gaza  
 Are Elusive 
ANALYSIS

Israeli Gains in Gaza Are Elusive

Amid tenuous ceasefire, officials wonder if they have weakened Hamas

(Newser) - As the world waits to see whether the truce declared this weekend in Gaza will hold, Israelis are asking themselves just what the 3 weeks of vicious fighting has achieved. There is hope that damage to tunnels may prevent Hamas from rearming and resuming firing rockets across the border, at...

Hamas, Israel Deploy Deadly New Tactics
Hamas, Israel Deploy Deadly New Tactics
ANALYSIS

Hamas, Israel Deploy Deadly New Tactics

Civilians pay the price of 'asymetrical urban warfare'

(Newser) - The disturbing civilian death toll in Gaza is a result of new tactics being deployed by Hamas, Steven Erlanger writes in the New York Times. Hamas militants, trained by Hezbollah and Iran, are said to be systematically hiding weapons in schoolyards, mosques and hospitals, fighting in civilian clothes, using tunnels...

Israelis Drive to Heart of Gaza City

Death tolls edges to 900 in 16-day offensive.

(Newser) - Israeli forces pushed toward the heart of Gaza City today in continued defiance of a UN call for a ceasefire and killing close to 30  Palestinians, Reuters reports. Nearly 900 people have been killed in the 16-day offensive. Israeli forces and tanks backed by helicopter gunships battled Hamas militants as...

60 Strikes Pound Gaza Overnight

Mosque used as hideout leveled; death toll nears 700

(Newser) - Israel intensified its airstrikes in Gaza last night, reports CNN, bombing about 60 targets across the Strip on the 13th day of the operation. One of the targets was a mosque that the Israeli military claims stored weapons and sheltered Hamas fighters. The airstrikes also targeted 10 Hamas tunnels used...

Israel Likely Using Shells That Burn Skin

Controversial tool to disguise troops causes horrific damage

(Newser) - As Israeli soldiers approached the limits of Gaza City, reports have suggested they are using controversial white phosphorus shells to cover their advance. Although the shells are not illegal if used as a smokescreen, they can cause severe burns among bystanders, says the Times of London. An international treaty says...

Israeli Soldier Shoots Prisoner on Tape

Blindfolded Palestinian demonstrator hit with rubber bullet

(Newser) - An Israeli soldier was arrested today after a human rights group released a tape showing him shooting a handcuffed and blindfolded Palestinian protester with a rubber bullet, YNetNews reports. The Israeli Defense Force questioned the man shortly after the incident, which was reported by an officer at the scene, but...

Israel Returns Hezbollah Spy
 Israel Returns
 Hezbollah Spy 

Israel Returns Hezbollah Spy

Prisoner swap may be under way with Lebanon

(Newser) - Israel returned a Hezbollah spy to Lebanon today and may have started a prisoner exchange, BBC reports. Hezbollah quickly handed over the bodies of Israeli troops killed in 2006, but officials on both sides deny a swap is under way. Secret talks clearly are, perhaps aided by German mediators; a...

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