Israel's Ruthless Golani Brigade:
Detention, Intimidation, Provocation, And Arrest Of
Children
05 March 2012
By Stephen Lendman
On February 28, 1948, David Ben-Gurion formed Golani
to help ethnically cleanse Palestine during Israel's
War of Independence.
Ariel Sharon was one of its first commanders. Earlier
he was a notorious Hagana terror gang one and
Alexandroni death squad head. In 1953, he established
the infamous Unit 101.
It included lawless cutthroats responsible for
numerous massacres. Sharon's entire career was
bloodstained. Many other Israeli commanders matched
him. Their careers often included Golani service.
It's a ruthless killing machine. In 1947-48, it
participated in displacing about 800,000 Palestinians,
massacring many others, committing numerous
atrocities, and destroying 531 villages and 11 urban
neighborhoods in cities like Tel-Aviv, Haifa and
Jerusalem.
Its initial mission was systematic crimes of war and
against humanity. Decades of cold-blooded murder,
rape, torture, and genocidal slaughter followed.
They're also cowards. They terrorize defenseless
civilians, including women and children. Brutes excel
in this type violence. It exposes their dark side.
They avoid fair fights.
Golani attracts the most criminal elements in Israeli
society. According to an unidentified soldier:
They include "psychopaths, the poor, orphans, Israelis
who live in small towns, immigrants, illiterates,
people with mental problems, drug and alcohol abusers,
and people with criminal records."
Sharon was a quintessential member. Later commanders
were similar. Some rose to high IDF posts. Former IDF
head General Gabi Ashkenazi served with Golani in 1972
and during Israel's 1973 Yom Kippur War.
In mid-February, a Christian Peacemaker Teams report
submitted to the UN documented Golani crimes in
Hebron's Old City and areas around Israel's Tel
Rumeida settlement. They include home invasions,
unprovoked violence, inflicting physical injuries,
arbitrary arrests and detentions, assaulting women and
children, and numerous other human rights violations.
Palestinians and international observers trying to
document their crimes are victimized. "Contrary to
military justifications, these human rights violations
have occurred without observed provocation on the part
of" those targeted. Accounts reported or witnessed
"are believed to represent only a small portion of the
total number of abuses."
On December 27, 2011, Golani arrived in Hebron.
Systematic terror followed. On January 3, 15 Golanis
approached children near Tel Rumeida. Attempting to
arrest a 15-year old boy, family members and other
Palestinians intervened.
In response, soldiers fired sound grenades, assaulted
a woman, a three-year old boy, a 70-year old man,
arrested two other men, and detained them.
On January 7, Golanis arbitrarily arrested a
Palestinian boy for not having his ID card.
On January 12, they assaulted a disabled young man and
beat him repeatedly. The same evening, they stormed
his family home, beat him again, his brother, and
mother with batons, fists, and rifle butts. The
brother sustained a fractured skull and other wounds.
Other terror tactics followed, including harassment,
home invasions, property destruction, arrests,
detentions, and beatings.
On February 8, Golanis and Israeli border police
stormed 30 or more Hebron Old City homes, broke down
doors, smashed windows, and ransacked and damaged
belongings. A family of eight with two small children
were forced out. Ill and disabled residents were
terrorized.
On February 13, Haaretz writer Amira Hass headlined, "IDF
brigade leaves an impression in Hebron," saying:
Golanis may "remain in the area until May, and in
Hebron residents are worried." Since arriving, they've
been systematically terrorized. "Witnesses refer to
protracted delays at crossing points that straddle the
Jewish settled part of the city and remainder of
Hebron."
Palestinians cite numerous other abuses, including
"detention, intimidation, provocation, and arrest of
children and teenagers; arbitrary detention of
Palestinians or blocking access to roads; beatings or
threatening (them); religion-based provocations and
insults; forcible entry into homes and violation of
Palestinian property; (and) reprisals against local
and international human rights activists."
Following protests by area residents and international
observers, an IDF spokesman called "instances of
deviation....exceptional and do not reflect the
conduct of IDF forces in the region."
Despite well documented evidence reflecting decades of
IDF state terror, Defense Minister Ehud Barak once
called it "the most moral army in the world."
Cast Lead examples included shooting unarmed
civilians, writing "death to Arabs" on walls, spitting
on family pictures, using Palestinians as human
shields, ordering home residents outside in five
minutes or be shot, distributing a booklet calling it
"terribly immoral" to show Palestinians mercy,
preaching hate, and much more.
A Rules of Engagement document orders soldiers in
combat to shoot Palestinians in cold blood, or in
cases of injuries, prevent evacuations and let them
bleed to death.
Gideon Levy countered Barak, saying the "IDF ceased
long ago being the most moral army in the world." In
fact, it was established to reign terror on opponents,
including defenseless civilians. Soldiers are taught
to hate Arabs. Jews, they're told are superior, so
it's "morally" OK to slaughter them.
Israel's entire history reflects it. Golanis are the
worst of the bunch. Palestinian journalist Kawther
Salam called them "Israel's finest psychopaths,"
describing a lawless bunch of cutthroats.
As a journalist, he covered them for 23 years, saying:
Golanis "were consistently weak, cowardly psychopaths.
I remember these soldiers, their names, their faces,
their criminal and sadistic actions. I have documented
everything in photos and videos. I have written lots
about these soldiers, their officers and units in the
past."
Their entire history is bloodstained. A succession of
cutthroat commanders led them. Recruits are
"psychopaths, criminals, and drug dealers who hide
themselves behind a military uniform and derive their
power from" the barrel of a gun. "(A)rmed to the teeth
and before a defenseless civilian population,
(they're) cowards second to none."
They're also rapists and thieves, anything they get
their hands on. They reflect the truth about Barak's
"most moral army in the world."
In a just one, they'd be imprisoned for life doing
hard time. So would Barak, Netanyahu, and other
Israeli officials and commanders. Unaccountable, they
have lots to answer for!
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached
at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. Also visit his blog
site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to
cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on
the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive
Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and
Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are
archived for easy listening. http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.
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