Israeli army under fire for looting

http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters08-25-053414.asp?reg=MIDEAST

JERUSALEM, Aug. 25 ? The Israeli army came under fire
on Sunday after Israel Radio broadcast an
investigative report which found that the looting of
Palestinian property by Israeli troops was more
widespread than previously thought.

Lieutenant Colonel Ilan Katz, the deputy chief
military prosecutor, told Israel Radio after its
report was broadcast that seven soldiers had been
convicted for looting offences and five others had
been indicted and were awaiting trial.

The army spokesman's office said its military
police were investigating 35 reports of looting by
Israeli troops.

''Danny,'' a recently discharged soldier
interviewed under an assumed name, told Israel Radio
that troops stole from Palestinian homes during the
six-week-long sweep for militants launched after
suicide bombings killed scores of Israelis.

''During each search, the head of the family
was meant to accompany the soldiers to every room.
What we would do is take the man to one room as the
soldiers searched other rooms, and they would pocket
things while out of his sight,'' he said.

''When it came to commanding officers, some
knew about it and some were involved. When it came to
squad leaders, all of them knew and were involved,''
Danny said.

The radio report was an embarrassment for the
army whose creed requires stringent ethical behaviour.

The report prompted calls by some politicians
for a parliamentary inquiry and officials, including
the country's chief rabbi, told media outlets who
picked up the story the army must put a stop to
looting by troops.

LIEUTENANT CHARGED

Katz said army regulations required officers to
report all incidents of looting to the military police
and that a lieutenant had been charged for failure to
report looting by soldiers under his command.

''I can tell you with a clear conscience that
in my view the phenomenon is a marginal phenomenon
relative to the huge numbers of soldiers who took
part'' in the large-scale military operations in the
West Bank over the past few months, Katz said.

Military sources said most of these cases were
from the offensive, known as ''Operation Defensive
Shield,'' launched in late March after a deadly wave
of Palestinian suicide bombings.

Israel Radio said Danny was among several
soldiers to come forward. Another man who was not
named told the radio he saw troops ransack a shopping
mall in Ramallah and make off with electronic
appliances, water pipes and other ''souvenirs.''

The Israeli army said in a statement: ''The
army views such incidents with great severity and
instructs its soldiers on the importance of human
dignity and respecting property.''

Katz said most of the seven were sentenced to
jail terms. He gave an example of one soldier who was
sentenced to five months prison, five months suspended
sentence and was demoted from sergeant to private.
Looting carries a maximum 10-year sentence.

Katz added that soldiers convicted of looting
would have a criminal record for life.

COMPLAINTS

Danny said he had complained about the looting
to his superiors in June, when he was still a soldier.

''They said they could not get involved until
the military police arrested the soldiers. And when a
soldier was caught, he was thrown out of the regiment
-- not for looting, but for getting caught.''

He mentioned one occasion on which the company
commander demanded the men hand over what they had
stolen. ''The soldiers gave up the small stuff, but
kept a large quantity of handguns, jewellery and
cash,'' Danny said.

An Israeli lawmaker said he would call for a
special session of the parliamentary foreign affairs
and defence committee.

''We first discussed the matter after Defensive
Shield, but were assured by the army it was under
control. Now it seems the phenomenon is far broader
and warrants closer attention,'' Avshalom Vilan of the
liberal Meretz party told Reuters.

Palestinian authorities were similarly
concerned.

''Each day there are complaints on looting
carried out by Israeli soldiers. We bring up these
issues in our meetings with the Israelis,'' said Ribhi
Arafat, Palestinian chief of military liaison with
Israel in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
(With additional reporting by Mohammed Assadi)

Copyright 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.



__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Everything you'll ever need on one web page
from News and Sport to Email and Music Charts
http://uk.my.yahoo.com