Note that a vocal number of Israelis opposed the trial of these soldiers (supporting their actions) - but I'd like to believe that the majority of Israelis are as abhorred at the crime committed and the leniency of the sentences as most decent people would be.
Fewer and fewer people are tolerant of the racist attitudes that underlie these actions - both of the soldiers and of the IDF court's sentence.
Tibi: For Israel, the life of an Arab has less value
Israeli Arab lawmaker slams IDF court decision to hand suspended sentences to soldiers who used Palestinian boy to open suspicious packages.
By Haaretz Service
Tags: Israel news IDF Gaza
By handing light sentences to IDF soldiers who knowingly risked the life of a non-combatant Palestinian child, an Israel Defense Forces court has conveyed a message that the lives of Arabs have less value than the lives of Jews, Deputy Knesset Speaker Ahmed Tibi said Sunday.
Tibi made the comments after an IDF court demoted two Givati Brigade staff sergeants to the rank of sergeant, and handed them suspended sentences of three months each for inappropriate conduct during Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip in 2008.
Deputy Knesset Speaker Ahmed Tibi spars with National Union MK Michael Ben Ari
Photo by: Emil Salman
The military court found the soldiers guilty last month of forcing a nine-year-old Palestinian boy to open a number of bags they thought could contain explosive materials. The bags eventually turned out to be free of any explosives.
"The entire system conveys the message that the life of a Arab, especially the life of a Palestinian child, is worth less. It's no surprise that up to now, hundreds of Palestinian children have been killed by the Israeli army, and it has not led to any punishments or even condemnation," Tibi said.
"This whole court case has been a grand deception from the start. These soldiers deserve to be sent to jail, with their commanders in tow," Tibi added.
National Union MK Michael Ben Ari praised the convicted soldiers and condemned their demotion.
"The judicial lynch perpetrated on the Givati heroes is a sign of surrender to the enemies of Israel, who are interested in castrating our ability to pulverize the enemy. The Givati soldiers deserve to be awarded medals, not a judicial lynch," Ben Ari said.
Following the sentencing, another Givati soldier told Army Radio that all the soldiers involved in the incident were left with "a sense of satisfaction and joy over the sentence."
"I don't know how many people have been in combat situations, but if it won’t end well if we are made to think about every thing we do," the IDF soldier said.
The soldier added that "no one thinks that 'neighbor procedure' is positive… but does that mean that decision soldiers have to make during an operation should enter a courtroom? Will we find ourselves in court every time we are forced to confront a civilian population?"
Last month's conviction triggered a wave of protests. The trial's opening session was accompanied by a demonstration of more than 200 Israelis, including reservists, outside the court.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-d ... e-1.325892
Cheers,
Shafique
)
)