"Israel didn't do this kind of thing in previous wars to the best of my knowledge. That's why I said they were copying US actions in Serbia and Iraq."
Here from Human Rights Watch.
hrw.org
"... As Israeli military operations escalated in December 2001, so did the number and gravity of violations committed by the Israel Defence Forces. Repeated militarized "arrest raids" into PA-controlled areas in late 2001 grew in size and intensity until, in March 2002, the IDF mobilized some thirty thousand troops for Operation Defensive Shield, reportedly Israel's largest military operation since the 1982 invasion of Lebanon.
During the operation, Israeli soldiers repeatedly used indiscriminate and excessive force, killed civilians willfully and unlawfully, and used Palestinian civilians as human shields. IDF troops also inflicted damage to homes, businesses, and government offices; looted and stole in the course of searches; coerced civilians to assist military operations, and detained at least 4,500 Palestinian men and boys, many of whom reported ill-treatment during arrest and interrogation. From March 29 to April 19, the Israeli authorities impeded the entrance of outside observers, including journalists, human rights activists, United Nations representatives, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). These violations reflected patterns of abuse that--partly reflecting the effective impunity enjoyed by Israeli soldiers--had progressively worsened since September 2000." |
