A Heartless Bastard

From The Guardian:

An Israeli army officer who repeatedly shot a 13-year-old Palestinian girl in Gaza dismissed a warning from another soldier that she was a child by saying he would have killed her even if she was three years old.

A tape recording of radio exchanges between soldiers involved in the incident, played on Israeli television, contradicts the army's account of the events and appears to show that the captain shot the girl in cold blood.

The official account claimed that Iman was shot as she walked towards an army post with her schoolbag because soldiers feared she was carrying a bomb.

But the tape recording of the radio conversation between soldiers at the scene reveals that, from the beginning, she was identified as a child and at no point was a bomb spoken about nor was she described as a threat. Iman was also at least 100 yards from any soldier.

Instead, the tape shows that the soldiers swiftly identified her as a "girl of about 10" who was "scared to death".

. . .Witnesses described how the captain shot Iman twice in the head, walked away, turned back and fired a stream of bullets into her body. Doctors at Rafah's hospital said she had been shot at least 17 times.

Over the years my views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have done a, well not a complete 180, but more like a 150. In my youth I was a real hawk when it came to Israel. I suppose I was a product of my surroundings that, looking back now, painted everything in black and white. While you would never find me carrying a Palestinian flag at a protest (or even standing near someone with one), I am certainly sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinian people. Not their corrupt leaders, but the actual people who just want to live their lives without constantly fearing for their lives or the lives of their children. But I also say the same thing for the Israeli people, for they, too, live in constant fear of the next attack.

It is stories like this that turn the world against against the Israeli people. This is just ammunition for all those people looking for yet another reason to hate Israel. Israel is under the constant scrutiny of the entire world and it can't afford to make mistakes like this. And in the times when it does fuck up, the Israeli people need to come clean about it, not bury it like this:

The army's original account of the killing said that the soldiers only identified Iman as a child after she was first shot. But the tape shows that they were aware just how young the small, slight girl was before any shots were fired.

The case came to light after soldiers under the command of Captain R went to an Israeli newspaper to accuse the army of covering up the circumstances of the killing.

A subsequent investigation by the officer responsible for the Gaza strip, Major General Dan Harel, concluded that the captain had "not acted unethically".

What is it saying about the Israeli Army when it takes some brave soldiers leaking the story to the press for justice to be served?