2017-10-10
PALESTINE: routines of the occupation...
===============
The book review,
originally published by Maariv daily in April 2016, is a bit long for
Facebook, but I thought that it would be important enough to
translate for the benefit of readers, who may want to understand the
reality of the occupation, which is covered up by media. This is what
it looks like, boots on the ground. The alternative (US way) is massive bombing/drones… This is of course only a small part of the
picture. The preliminary work involves intensive totalitarian
surveillance, based on both sigint and humint, which undermines any
semblance of civil society in Palestine. JZ
“A Ticking Bomb.
The shocking story of a Shin-Bet man”
Breaking Silence:
Former Shin-Bet man Yizhar David wrote an indictment of the Shin-Bet
By Ran Edelist
The book is written
in semi-legal style. Beyond personal redemption, what is missing is
any discussion of accountability of blood and souls vis a vis the
Shin-Bet as an organization, and government policies, which guide it.
_____
For years, I have
reasoned (and warned) that part of the Shin-Bet's activity is harmful
for Israel's security, particularly the disproportionate oppression
of the civilian population and killing of individuals, who are not
"ticking bombs". I have attempted to back up my opinion by
facts and examples, but I have been limited by my information
gathering ability and by censorship.
Anything I and
others have done in an effort to have the Shin-Bet redraw its course,
is dwarfed by the testimony of Yizhar David, former Shin-Bet man, who
wrote a book, which is a detailed indictment from start to finish,
and is documented at a level that is almost legal. On the other
hand, it is a document of personal decline during the service, down
to mental breakdown.
I have no clue what
happened in discussions about the book between David and past or
present senior Shin-Bet officers. The Shin-Bet denied me an
interview with him. Obvious. On the other hand, Channel 2 was
permitted to interview him, after it had been demonstrated that
Channel 2 was the home channel of "Ad Kan", a right wing
investigative agency. I naively thought that one should separate the
circus for the plebs (we killed the bad guy) and the political bonus
(only this government can do it), from long term national security
interests.
I thought that
David, in his book, would dare to go beyond that madness and vicious
cycle of his tormented soul, and would try to explore his own conduct
and Shin-Bet policies from the broader perspective of Israeli
national security. The man had already proved himself during service
as one who could go beyond Shin-Bet robotics - do what your boss
tells you. I expected that he would at least try to evaluate whether
the policy of liquidations indeed terminated the Palestinian
rebellion, whether the "Lawn Mower" Shin-Bet policy (mow
the terror down to grass level, and once it grows again, mow it down
again and again and again) proved itself in eliminating the
Palestinian national aspirations. Wouldn't it be right to take his
personal case as an example of the failure of this policy?
The book's
protagonist, Alon, is sketched in his own image: "Regardless of
running dozens of operations, which led to the arrest of terror
activists, 2-3 a week, it appeared to be a bottomless pit. The number
of activists only continued to grow. After each liquidation, dozens
of new members would join terror groups. Often, when he had
intelligence leads regarding the hiding place of a wanted man, he
couldn't get the IDF Undercover Unit to execute the arrest. The Unit
was working non-stop in various districts of Palestine At times,
they spend whole days getting ready until the final indication
arrived for executing the arrest.
Once Yizhar/Alon had
understood that working this way he would never be able to
exterminate the terror, he proposed a change: "Instead of
defining one target for each operation, as previously done, we should
define several targets." And it worked. He was decorated and
promoted. However, "the large number of targets that was
provided to the Units, and the lack of clarity regarding the specific
location of the target, led at the end to a large number of the
operations, where the target was killed, instead of being arrest".
His reaction, at
that time, when he got comments regarding the problematics of
liquidation instead of arrests, was: "Alon involuntary grinned,
trying to make sure that nobody noticed it. From his point of view,
it was one of the biggest advantages of the new system".
It is hard for me to
figure out how David could write about it so openly. Maybe he failed
to understand the implications from international law perspective.
Even if it is assume that it is impossible to build a case on a
fiction-like part of a book by a man, who is a bit unstable, such
presumed admission still leaves considerable room for accountability,
both by Shin-Bet and by Israeli society.
"The Undercover
Unit", David writes, "typically returned at the end of such
operations without the arrest target, leaving his body and the bodies
of others, who were in the vicinity, in the field..."
"Initially", he writes, "he felt in each such
operation the surge of revenge and satisfaction. With time, he became
apathetic, realizing that it wouldn’t be the way to find solace for
his ailing soul." On the way, he was promoted, now he was
seated in front of a large plasma screen, a district commander,
issuing operations: "The Unit was assigned 8 targets. The first
was a 22 year old guy, who had declared himself the head of Tanzim,
after all his predecessors had been liquidated or arrested. Alon
couldn't understand, how there would still be demand for the
position, whose end was known in advance - death or arrest... The
Unit's vehicle arrived at the crossroads, where Khaled was surrounded
by other youths. A battle ensued, at the end of which 6 bodies were
counted, in addition to Khaled's."
When he reached the
scene, "he noticed two small bodies. At first, he tried to avoid
them, to save himself the sight. But something inside him didn't
allow him to ignore the small bodies. He went over, and realized that
they were the bodies of small children. Twelve year olds at most -
children! He choked. He couldn't remove his eyes from the small
bodies. A sharp pain cut his chest. He heard a loud rolling scream
inside, tearing his soul apart. They are merely kids!!! (3
exclamation marks in the original - RE]... They were not regular
kids. Their bodies were perforated by bullets... The blood of these
kids and the image of their bodies continued to follow him and
torment him. Recently, he has realized that he is facing a breakdown,
that he must seek help."
Apart from the book
and David - in August 2014 the Mohammed Deif was located. The house
was bombed. His wife, his son, his daughter and his baby son were
killed. Deif is still with us. Even if he were liquidated then, a new
Deif would have arisen, whose wife, son, daughter and baby son would
have been liquidated. Because that's how it is. And that's what drove
the protagonist of the book crazy. He decided to break his contract
and retire before he would need to be hospitalized. But he
hesitated:"Immediately he erased the idea. If you let them know
that you are leaving tomorrow, the Shin-Bet wouldn't let you go. The
would liquidate you. Or maybe they would place you in compulsory
psychiatric solitary care. So that you wouldn't divulge anything that
you know."
I assume that this
is part of the personal paranoia, but the book was written years
later. He is by now a successful, esteemed educator. His souls is
still boiling, but his head is supposed to be cooler.
When he confronts
the psychiatrist, who tries to have him hospitalized, he tells her:
"Dozen of times during my Shin-Bet service I faced decisions,
where I had two options. The first was the easy one, and better for
me, the other was the more difficult and risky for me, but better for
the nation. I never hesitated, and I always went for the one that was
difficult and dangerous for me, but better for the nation. I have
seen cowards like you [Alon says to the psychiatrist - RE], and
unfortunately, there are many of them in the Shin-Bet as well. And it
costs Israel blood. In the case of the two of us, it is only
misunderstanding".
Even if David is
willing to turn himself into a sacrificial lamb of sorts for what he
and his friends have perpetrated, still, what is missing here, beyond
the personal redemption, is any discussion of accountability of blood
and souls vis a vis the Shin-Bet as an organization, and the
government policies which guide it.
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