- Senior Israeli politicians and commentators have begun
to question whether their own army is drifting beyond the control of the
elected government and courts after a series of incidents in which several
Palestinians were killed, an entire hamlet destroyed, and generals accused
of deliberately undermining peace efforts.
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- The unease comes a year into a Palestinian uprising that
has evolved from riots to low-intensity guerrilla war, and shattered the
Israeli army's image as an efficient citizens' army. Amos Harel, the distinguished
defence correspondent of Haaretz, a Hebrew and English daily, said: "The
IDF's actions over the last few days raise a number of questions, reflecting
the problems that have dogged military operations in the territories throughout
the past year.
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- "These problems are epitomised by two statistics:
the number of Palestinians under 16 who have been killed - 74, out of 662
Palestinian fatalities - and the number of indictments - one - that have
resulted from 150 military police investigations."
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- Human rights groups, and foreign governments, have protested
against the Israeli use of live ammunition for crowd control. There have
been equal appeals to the Palestinian Authority to keep children away from
areas where the two sides clash - and condemnation of the use of civilian
areas as nests for gunmen. But neither side has attended to these concerns.
While the Israelis have strict rules of engagement, which they often ignore,
the Palestinians have declared open season on Jewish settlers living in
colonies on the West Bank and in Gaza.
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- But now there are concerns that the Israeli army's "middle
management" have also begun to shake off civilian control and take
decisions with profound political implications. And that the top echelons
in the armed forces have shown similar contempt for their civilian masters.
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- Last week, ignoring a high court ruling, and the army's
own standing orders, an Israeli major ordered his paratroopers into a hamlet
on the slopes of Mount Hebron. His men, backed up by bulldozers, destroyed
the homes of about 120 villagers. The soldiers filled in wells which fed
the sheep and green crops in fields. The Palestinian families were ordered
out and told to live in nearby Yatta.
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- This was the second time the hamlet had been attacked
by the Israeli army, which almost two years ago was ordered out by Israel's
High Court. Outraged Jewish human rights groups appealed to the country's
top judges again. The judges found in favour of the farmers, goatherds
and families. Binyamin Ben Eliezer, the Israeli defence minister, also
ruled that the evictions should halt. The army ignored him too. It declared
the area, which is on the Israeli occupied-West Bank, a "closed military
zone".
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- Yasser Arafat has struggled to impose on his own troops
and radical Islamic groups opposed to his rule the ceasefire agreed last
week with Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres. The Israeli army said
that there had been more than 100 shooting and bomb attacks on its men
since last Tuesday. Yesterday Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility for
a car bomb in Jerusalem.
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- It has been clear since the intifada began that Mr Arafat
is unwilling or unable to keep the lid on violence from his side. But Mr
Peres is also reported to have complained that Israeli generals had used
a heavy hand in the Occupied Territories where 20 Palestinians have been
killed in a week.
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- Yedioth Ahronoth, a Hebrew daily, said Mr Peres was "convinced"
Israeli army deputy chief of staff Moshe Yaalon had decided to "liquidate
Arafat". Mr Peres's spokesman later denied the report. But Mr Peres
is known to have been outraged that when senior officers are called before
the civilian leadership they try to brow-beat doves in the cabinet into
accepting that a military solution is the only way forward.
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- Haaretz observed in an editorial yesterday: "The
army's commanders must ask themselves why so many Palestinians became casualties
in the past few days. Israel's interest in maintaining the ceasefire is
too vital and clear for there to be whispering inside the government focused
on the army's disobedience."
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