topic by
Seth Sims
4/30/2002 (13:06) |
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These IDF soldiers are a disgrace to the army and country they serve and should be treated harshly.
If only the Palestinians treated their terrorists as honestly...
Israel indicts 10 soldiers for vandalism, looting in West Bank
Tue Apr 30, 4:45 AM ET
JERUSALEM - Israeli troops engaged in widespread and unnecessary destruction of Palestinian property during a major military offensive in the West Bank, the chief army spokesman confirmed Tuesday, adding that nearly a dozen soldiers had been indicted for looting and vandalism.
The spokesman, Brig. Gen. Ron Kitrey, said the soldiers' actions were 'a blatant violation of orders.'
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported Tuesday that soldiers had carried out widescale destruction in some Palestinian cities during the April military incursion that followed a series of deadly suicide bombings and attacks against Israel.
Palestinians have also said personal possessions, including jewelry, office equipment and shop wares, were stolen by troops during the incursion.
'The things reported, unfortunately...are true, both the description and the facts and that really hurts because in the end it is the acts of a few that stain the general public and all Israeli army units,' Kitrey told Israel's Army Radio.
Kitrey said he had seen the destruction to cars in a parking lot in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, where there is a tense standoff between the army and Palestinian gunmen holed up in the Church of the Nativity, the traditional birthplace of Jesus. 'It really looks bad,' Kitrey said.
He said soldiers involved in such incidents would be dealt with 'very seriously,' adding that most soldiers involved in the military operation that began late last month did not participate in the crimes against property. He said about 10 soldiers had been indicted for looting and vandalism.
Not all reports of looting could be confirmed and Palestinian journalists said some complaints may be exaggerated or concocted to get compensation promised by Arab states.
Palestinian ministries in Ramallah and other West Bank cities were ransacked during the incursion. Computers, checkbooks and posters of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat (news - web sites) were destroyed. The Israelis say they took material of intelligence value but Haaretz cited army sources as saying some of the searches had turned into unjustified, systematic vandalism.
Dozens of shops were looted in the West Bank, but the Israelis say that after soldiers blasted locks off doors to search for suspects, businesses were often left open — sometimes for days — and Palestinians could be responsible for the theft.
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