3. nothing compared to what the IDF gets upto
Richard , |
London UK |
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(07.10.08) |
Rank: First Sergeant
Unit: Giv’ati Infantry Unit
Place of incident: Gaza
Description:
Middle of 2004
I would go around talking to the guys. I would sit a lot with all of them and talk to them. Surely, we have been to houses we took over for observation missions, we went to all the houses, and in each we talked, sat with the snipers. Sit and talk inside the houses. That’s the way they were.
Once we went to *** outpost, on the Philadelphi route. Our aid-company was placed there. I go up – in *** there are cameras on top of the outpost, which record; there is video there. He plays a film for me, and says: “Look. Look what he did today.” There is a film there of… They discovered a tunnel. Ok. They dug the tunnel, bulldozers – they [Palestinians] wanted to dig a tunnel that leads to the outpost. We marked all the ‘extermination-zones’ to which they [Palestinians] are not allowed to come close. We decided that every one who comes close we shoot a warning shot, and if he doesn’t run away, shoot towards the legs. For, after all, this is a residential area.
Whoever comes close to the route?
To the tunnel. Because the tunnel was closer to their area. If they got close to the route they would have been killed. But the tunnel was close to their houses, so it was decided that no one is to come close to the tunnel. Perhaps there is ammunition there; they didn’t want them to come close to the tunnel. So one man came close to the tunnel. You could see him. An older person – about 30 or 40 years old.
Unarmed?
No. He wasn’t armed. Just walking about – I don’t want to say he was innocent, I don’t want to make any assumptions. He was walking in the general area of the tunnel. They shot him. He got a bullet here, and fell down.
In the chest.
Yes. He fell down, then stood up, made a few steps, and then dropped dead. I tell them “Why?!” He goes: “No reason, he just got close, they killed him.” I say, “Why didn’t you shoot his legs? Why the chest? Chest is good, and legs are no good?” – It wasn’t from a great distance, and this was a sniper shooting. – “No reason. You know…” I ask, “No one knows about it, right?” – “Obviously not.”
How come no one knows?
A sniper is at his post. Also in ‘Rainbow in the Clouds’ operation, when a sniper shoots, they report shooting.
Does he report what he sees?
He reports shooting. First of all, ‘Rainbow in the Clouds’ operation was a jungle. There were shootings all the time. One does not have to report shooting. In ‘Rainbow in the Clouds’ operation there was shooting all the time.
Whose? Both sides?
Yes.
They would shoot at you and you would return fire?
They shot less. We shot more. You know
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