Military Advocate General

Mahmoud Katusa, seen after his release from Israeli prison, at the Beitunia crossing, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, June 25, 2019. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

How the media helped turn an innocent Palestinian into a child rapist

Mahmoud Katusa, who was falsely accused of raping a 7-year-old Jewish girl, fell victim to a press and a public atmosphere that views Palestinians as guilty until proven innocent. By Uzi Benziman In order to understand the false allegations against Mahmoud Katusa, a Palestinian man from the West Bank who was wrongfully accused of raping a…

By The Seventh Eye June 25, 2019

Col. Yisrael Shomer (IDF Spokesperson)

Shooting and lying: A textbook example of IDF impunity

Changing stories, contradictory testimonies and video evidence were not enough to convince Israel’s military prosecutor that an IDF officer should be prosecuted for shooting and killing an unarmed Palestinian teen. By John Brown* and Noam Rotem In July 2015 an Israeli army officer, Col. Yisrael Shomer, shot dead Mohammad al-Kasbeh, a 17-year-old Palestinian, near Qalandiya crossing…

By +972 Magazine April 11, 2017

An Israeli solider shoots tear gas toward Palestinian demonstrators during a protest against the occupation in the West Bank village of Budrus, three days after soldiers shot and killed 16-year-old Samir Awad, January 18, 2013. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

IDF soldiers who killed unarmed Palestinian set for community service

Two IDF soldiers shot Samir Awad from behind eight times in January 2013, killing him. Nearly four years and a string of investigative failures later, it looks unlikely that either of the accused will go to jail. By John Brown* In January 2013, Israeli soldiers killed Palestinian teen Samir Awad in the West Bank village…

By +972 Magazine December 19, 2016

Latest

Palestinians drive through a destroyed quarter of Al Shaaf area in Al Tuffah, east of Gaza City, March 21, 2015. The rubble from destroyed apartment buildings is often recycled into low-quality cement. (Anne Paq/Activestills.org)

Two years after Gaza war, not a single war crime indictment

The Israeli military’s law enforcement system and its flawed investigative mechanisms appear primarily geared toward protecting the armed forces instead of civilians, thus allowing impunity to prevail. By Muna Haddad Two years after the Israeli military offensive on Gaza, dubbed “Operation Protective Edge,” more than half of the civilian structures destroyed during the war have yet…

By +972 Magazine September 11, 2016

License to Kill: Forgery, evidence tampering and two dead teens

Usaid and Muhammed Qadus are shot to death in their own village by a major in the Israeli army who claims he only fired rubber bullets. But the bullets were real, and he admitted to lying and committing forgery to cover up his crime. Instead of being charged with a crime, he is promoted. By John…

By +972 Magazine July 22, 2016

An Israeli soldier shoots tear gas into a crowd of Palestinian protesters in Hebron. March 31, 2013 (Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)

Leading Israeli rights group to stop cooperating with the IDF

The Israeli military justice system acts only to ‘cover up unlawful acts and protect perpetrators,’ B’Tselem says, citing 25 years of experience working with the military. Palestinian rights expert welcomes the move. Israel’s best known human rights organization, B’Tselem, has lost all faith in the Israeli military justice system and will stop cooperating with it on behalf…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man May 25, 2016

A child surveys the destruction in Beit Lahiya, Gaza. (photo: Anne Paq/Activestills.org)

Permanent victims of war: Who remembers Gaza’s children?

The Israeli public’s indifference to the effects of war on Palestinian children does not result in passivity — it is an integral component of the violence Gaza’s population faces. Ali al-Awour (pictured above on the left) was a 10-year-old boy from Gaza who loved to play soccer. On June 11, 2014, Ali was riding on…

By Amjad Iraqi July 21, 2015

Paramedics, journalists and bystanders run toward the the scene where four Palestinian children were killed by Israeli military shelling at a Gaza City beach, July 16, 2014. (photo: Activestills)

No indictment in killing of four Palestinian kids on Gaza beach

Israeli army prosecutor decides not to open a criminal probe into a widely reported-on air strike against four children playing on a Gaza City beach during last year’s war. The MAG says it will, however, investigate the shelling of a medical clinic ‘in honor’ a fallen soldier. The Israeli military will not seek any indictments…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man June 12, 2015

A Palestinian child with a kite stands in front of the destroyed Al Nada towers in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza Strip. The towers had 90 flats.

The casualties of the next Gaza war

The awful experience of the past few years suggests that in about two years time will be ripe for yet another war with predictable outcomes: thousands of dead, each and every one of them a person who meant the world to their families and loved ones. By Hagai El-Ad One month after the end of the…

By +972 Magazine February 16, 2015

Palestinians gather as some people dig to recover some bodies in the village of Khuza'a, East of Khan Younis August 1st, 2014. Hundreds of residents went back to Khuza'a at the beginning of the ceasefire to dig out and collect bodies, and to salvage furniture. Khuza'a was cut off from the rest of Gaza Strip and occupied by Israeli soldiers. A large number of residents were killed and injured, and many homes were destroyed. Most residents fled the Israeli attacks. 2,100 Palestinians were killed during the war, a majority of whom are believed to be civilians. (Photo: Activestills.org)

Leading Israeli human rights group stops cooperating with IDF in Gaza probes

In a move that could strengthen the case for international investigation of alleged Israeli war crimes, B’Tselem says it will no longer share its current Gaza case files with the country’s Military Advocate General. Human rights watchdog declares that Israel is unable and unwilling to investigate alleged war crimes committed by its own soldiers. Citing “severe…

By Samer Badawi September 7, 2014

Illustrative file photo of IDF soldiers in a Palestinian cemetery. (Anne Paq/Activestills.org)

When ‘security’ means training in a Muslim cemetery

It turns out that the IDF’s legal division has no problem with soldiers holding training drills in a Palestinian graveyard. By Yesh Din, written by Yossi Gurvitz Last Thursday, Yesh Din field investigators filmed our brave troops while they were training in a Muslim graveyard in Hebron. Here are the images (extended video at end…

By +972 Magazine November 7, 2013

Ruins of a Palestinian home in the Az-Zaitoun neighborhood of Gaza city, destroyed during an Israeli airstrike, November 23, 2012. (Photo by: Anne Paq/Activestills.org)

Resource: Over half of Palestinians killed in ‘Pillar of Defense’ were civilians

Human rights organization B’Tselem published a report reviewing harm to civilians in Operation Pillar of Defense. The report provides statistics on the numbers of Palestinians and Israelis killed over the course of the operation, which lasted from November 14 to 21, 2012. The report challenges the common perception in the Israeli public and media that…

By +972 Resources May 11, 2013