Breaking the Silence @BtSIsrael Twitter profile

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

7 months

Hamas's attack and the events unfolding since yesterday are unspeakable. We could talk about their cruel and criminal actions, or focus on how our Jewish-supremacist govt brought us to this point. But as former Israeli soldiers, our job is to talk about what we were sent to do 🧵

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

7 months

Let it be crystal clear: Hamas committed crimes that should horrify any decent person. As people who firmly criticize Israeli policy in Gaza and the West Bank on a daily basis, it is our duty to state things as they are: Hamas has blatantly violated humanity’s basic moral norms🧵

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

7 months

Our country decided - decades ago - that it's willing to forfeit the security of its citizens in our towns and cities, in favor of maintaining control over an occupied civilian population of millions, all for the sake of a settler-messianic agenda.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

7 months

The idea that we can "manage the conflict" without ever having to solve it is once again collapsing before our eyes. It held up until now because only few dared to challenge it. These heartbreaking events could change that. They must. For all of us between the river and the sea.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

7 months

All of these are code words for bombing the Gaza Strip to a pulp, always justified as targeting terrorists, yet always with heavy civilian casualties. In between these rounds of violence we make life impossible for Gazans, and then act surprised when it all boils over.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

6 months

Everyone’s blood is boiling. We all know someone who was murdered, kidnapped, who is still missing. Many are talking about revenge, about erasing Gaza, referring to its residents as “2.5M terrorists,” discussing forcible transfer. But what's actually happening on the ground?🧵

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

6 months

Along with many of our Israeli human rights partners, we call on the international community to act to stop the forcible transfer currently happening in the West Bank. This madness must not be allowed to continue and our government clearly has no intention of stopping it.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

7 months

We talk about "normalization" with the UAE and now Saudi Arabia, while hoping the world will turn a blind eye to the open-air prison we built in our backyard. Apart from the unfathomable violation of human rights, we've created a massive security liability for our own citizens.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

7 months

We send soldiers to secure settler incursions into the Palestinian city of Nablus, to chase Palestinian children in Hebron, to protect settlers as they carry out pogroms. Settlers demand that Palestinian flags are removed from the streets of Huwara; soldiers are sent to do it.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

7 months

The question Israelis are all asking is - where were the soldiers yesterday? Why was the IDF seemingly absent while hundreds of Israelis were slaughtered in their homes and on the streets? The unfortunate truth is that they were “preoccupied”. In the West Bank.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

4 months

"But we left Gaza” is a commonly heard statement in Israel, referring to the situation since 2005’s “disengagement”, during which Israel withdrew its military forces and settlements from the Strip. “We dismantled settlements, took our forces out, and let Gaza become Singapore.”🧵

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

5 months

Following the tragic erroneous shooting of 3 Israeli hostages by IDF soldiers, the IDF's immediate response was that the soldiers had deviated from the rules of engagement. But those deviations aren't the main problem. The rules themselves are. 🧵

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

7 months

Israel's security policy, for decades now, has been to “manage the conflict”. Successive Israeli governments insist on round after round of violence as if any of it will make a difference. They talk about “security”, “deterrence”, “changing the equation”.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

7 months

“They poured water on us, urinated on us, and then someone holding a stick tried to shove it up my rear.” This abuse of 3 Palestinians came at the hands of soldiers from an IDF unit of “hilltop youth” accompanied by settlers and lasted almost a full day.

Beatings, burns, attempted sexual assault: Settlers and soldiers abused Palestinians

***

www.haaretz.com

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

1 year

On Friday, Israeli activists (mostly religious Jews) paid a visit to Hebron to express support & solidarity with Palestinian families who were attacked by settlers the previous week. Clearly, the IDF soldiers posted there to protect the settlements didn't appreciate their visit:

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

2 months

The heated discussion surrounding director Jonathan Glazer’s speech at the Oscars last night is mostly missing the point. His main message was simple and yet vital: empathy is not a zero-sum game.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

7 months

Last time there was a ground invasion of Gaza, in 2014, @BenzionSanders was one of the soldiers sent in. Those fateful weeks transformed him into a human rights and anti-occupation activist. Watch his interview with Sky News' Mark Austin 👇 1/2...

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

10 months

The IDF spokesperson doesn’t even blink when admitting that 95% of Palestinian construction requests in the oPt are rejected, while 60-70% of Jewish settler requests are authorized. Not even an attempt to conceal the apartheidist policies of systematic discrimination in the oPt

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

4 months

Happening now in Tel Aviv: We're protesting alongside dozens of other Israeli civil society organizations and thousands of Israelis - for a ceasfire now, for an end to the killing, for the release of hostages.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

7 months

This is why we struggle – and will continue to – against collective punishment, against policies to “maintain occupation.” Against indiscriminate firing policies in Gaza. Our stance is clear: every human being deserves a life of safety and freedom. Israelis and Palestinians both.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

6 months

The Israeli right has a focus right now. The goal? Resettle the Gaza Strip. Their way to establish it in the hearts and minds of Israelis: to aggressively push the false notion that the 2005 disengagement was the main failure that led to this moment. This lie must be debunked 🧵

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

7 months

This 19y.o survivor of the horrific massacre at Kibbutz Be'eri in Southern Israel has a powerful message for Israel & the world: "Don't offer us more soldiers or more protection. We need a political solution." If you watch one thing today, make it this.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

3 years

This video wasn’t filmed in the violent outpost of Havat Maon. It was filmed in the Israeli city of Lod, but it reflects the reality we know all too well from the occupied territories: settler violence accompanied by security forces.

+972 Magazine

@972mag

3 years

WATCH: Israeli settlers and far-right activists throw rocks at Palestinians in the city of Lyd, in central Israel, as the police look on and do nothing to stop them. By @OrenZiv1985

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

7 months

It’s impossible to justify the massacres of hundreds of civilians – even in the name of anti-colonial struggle or popular struggle. It is impossible to construct theoretical justifications for the kidnapping of mothers and their children, of senior citizens, of teenagers.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

3 years

BREAKING: @washingtonpost investigation reveals IDF rollout of "Blue Wolf" — highly invasive surveillance technology to record the personal data and keep track of Palestinians living in the West Bank. This invasion of privacy is on a whole new level.

Israel escalates surveillance of Palestinians with facial recognition program in West Bank

The ‘Blue Wolf’ system integrates a vast database of images with a growing network of cameras and smartphones.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

2 months

"Antisemitic". That's how @yuval_abraham ’s speech at the @berlinale was labeled by Israeli media and even German politicians. The reason: he sees the apartheid reality in the WB for what it is. This is the latest example of weaponizing antisemitism as a tool to silence critics 🧵

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

7 months

Settler violence, especially targeting the weakest and most vulnerable Palestinian communities around the West Bank, has been growing exponentially since last week. Their clear aim is to essentially force whole communities to self-transfer, especially while all eyes are on Gaza.

Yesh Din English

@Yesh_Din

7 months

[1] Vengeful Violence against Palestinians in the West Bank by Israeli settlers is escalating. Last night, dozens of armed settlers invaded the village of Madama, set a vehicle on fire & threw stones at homes & vehicles. Soldiers were present & did nothing.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

6 months

Forcible transfer is taking place on an almost daily basis since October 7th, all over the West Bank. The violent settlers, many now armed and wearing IDF uniform, know that our government and security forces clearly have no intention of stopping them.

Yehuda Shaul

@YehudaShaul

6 months

[1] Yesterday, soldiers raided the village of Tuba in Masafer Yatta (Firing zone 918), took residents' phones to prevent filming, & searched all of the village houses. THREAD

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

6 months

This morning, we received the terrible news that Vivian Silver z"l, a veteran activist, was killed in the Oct. 7 massacre. Vivian was persistent in her quest for peace, which she perused even in the darkest times. Rest in power, Vivian. Your work lives on

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

7 months

The struggle for human rights does not differentiate between blood. The legitimacy of the struggle for rights of one nation cannot be an excuse to decimate the rights of another. That is a basic principle: not only of international law, but of simple moral decency.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

4 months

Dead children aren’t a PR problem, they’re a moral catastrophe. They are victims of Orwellian promises of “surgical” bombings, “proportional” airstrikes and so-called “deviations” from the rules of engagement on the densely populated enclave we keep under siege.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

7 months

We dedicate our lives to the struggle to end occupation and the siege on Gaza because no human being should live under tyranny, and because no one’s blood is redder than any other. Every single person who lives in this land deserves to live a good life, safe and free.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

6 months

One thing is certain: the answer must take into account a free and safe future for everyone - citizens of Israel, residents of Gaza, and yes, residents of the West Bank too. Otherwise, the next war is only a matter of time.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

4 months

But in reality, Israel figured out it could control the Gaza Strip even without forces on the ground. We left Gaza, but continued to control the entrance and exit of goods and people, the air and maritime space, the electromagnetic space, and even the population registry.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

7 months

Hamas and PIJ committed acts of unfathomable savagery against thousands of innocent civilians - Men, women, children and even babies. Israel’s response, fueled by revenge, is causing mass civilian deaths in Gaza. This is how the current policy is unfolding on the ground 🧵

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

5 months

This is the same "tiny group of extremists" who in the past 8 weeks alone have forcibly displaced 16 Palestinian villages and murdered at least 8 Palestinian civilians, as well as carrying out hundreds of other violent attacks across the West Bank. In a way, they're right: the 1/

Mairav Zonszein מרב זונשיין

@MairavZ

5 months

NOW: At presser, Netanyahu is asked about Biden sanctions on settlers, and notably, Gantz and Gallant answer. They both say that “settler violence” is a derogatory and inaccurate term since it doesn’t reflect settler population and that it is just a tiny group of extremists /1

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

6 months

The Dahiya Doctrine was formulated around the 2006 Lebanon War. Its main tenet was: disproportionate attacks, including against *civilian* structures and infrastructure. >>>

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

5 months

Since October 7th, Israeli politicians, journalists and commentators have been doubling down on their claim to the Israeli public that “there are no innocents in Gaza.” They willingly ignore the fact that Gaza’s population stands at 2.3 million, with 40% of them under age 15. 🧵

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

5 months

We have to ask ourselves: would we as Israelis have been so shocked and outraged if those shot were innocent Palestinians waving a white flag? Would we even have heard about such an incident? The sad truth is - probably not. If we had, many deaths could have been avoided.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

7 months

We, members of the undersigned human rights organizations in Israel, are shocked and horrified in these dreadful days.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

7 months

Without this, all that’s left is a cycle of blind, indiscriminate revenge. Those who find some kind of twisted theoretical logic in order to justify a massacre are not fighting for human rights, and push the goal of liberation further out of reach.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

6 months

Gaza has been under an unprecedented bombardment for a month now. In the first two weeks alone, the Israeli Air Force dropped more bombs on Gaza than the US dropped on Afghanistan in an entire year. One explanation is Israel’s genuine need to remove threats to ground forces, >>>

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

6 months

our only achievement will be perpetuating the cycle of violence and bloodshed. The number of victims is horrifying - more than 1,400 Israelis and over 10,000 Palestinians. Hasn’t enough blood been spilled? >>>

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

1 year

On Feb 25, 1994, Jewish Supremacist Baruch Goldstein entered the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron wearing his IDF reserve uniform with a Galil rifle. He opened–fire during muslim morning prayers and killed 29 Palestinians.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

6 months

The Streets in the center of Hebron are segregated according to nationality. The Area surrounding the Tomb of the Patriarchs is segregated based on religion In any case @DemMaj4Israel , a good place to start would be to ask local Palestinians or Israeli soldiers who served there👇

Democratic Majority for Israel

@DemMaj4Israel

6 months

This deflection settles it. If @RepBowman was truthful about being prevented from passing through a checkpoint because he's not Jewish, Jeremy would’ve said so. He didn’t. Jews & Israelis are not permitted in the 80% of Hebron controlled by the Palestinian Authority. Americans…

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

2 years

Another election cycle in Israel is set to begin (the fifth in three years). Will anyone notice the elephant in the room this time?

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

6 months

If the doctrine is indeed in play here as it appears to be, then the massive bombings on Gaza in recent weeks are deliberately aimed at damaging infrastructure and property belonging to innocent civilians. >>>

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

3 months

30yrs ago today, Baruch Goldstein - a settler from Kiryat Arba - entered the Ibrahimi Mosque (Tomb of the Patriarchs) and massacred 29 Muslim worshippers. They told us to “let it go, it’s just a few stray weeds”, and in the meantime continued to cultivate violence and terrorism.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

6 months

The heavy bombings in the 2006 Lebanon War did not wipe out Hezbollah or neutralize its military capabilities, nor were they supposed to. They were meant to create deterrence. Since then, Hezbollah has grown stronger and is now firing at civilians in northern Israel daily. >>>

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

5 months

If as a society, we continue to evade questions on how we are fighting, then innocent Palestinians will continue to be killed again and again. And yes, the lives of the hostages will also be put on the line. Nothing should be more important than protecting innocent civilian lives

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

5 months

The “deviation from the rules” claim is weak at best. The IDF’s own internal investigation found that the force in question was instructed to shoot at any “fighting age male". No soldier who fought in Gaza in past campaigns would be surprised to learn this.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

1 year

BREAKING: Israel's Civil Administration has just informed Palestinian officials that over 1,000 Palestinian residents of 14 villages in Masafer Yatta, South Hebron Hills will be forcibly expelled from their homes in the near future.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

6 months

of what’s happening on the ground. Still, statements made by senior Israeli officials and the extent of the destruction already raise suspicions that the army is following the same doctrine it used in previous operations: The Dahiya Doctrine. >>>

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

4 months

Any time these truths about the last 18 years of Israeli policy are uttered, someone says “but there’s a border crossing with Egypt.” But it’s not Egypt that denied Gazans access to the sea or an airport. And yes, movement through the Rafah crossing is coordinated with Israel too

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

6 months

but this doesn’t fully explain the scope of the bombings or their targets. Our work is based on testimonies given by soldiers. Collecting and verifying these testimonies is a long and complex process, and it will be quite some time before we get a full and accurate picture >>>

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

6 months

Israel went to war because of a criminal, horrific massacre. If we stick to mass civilian destruction in response; if we keep harming a population that has done nothing wrong, a population more than 40% of which is under the age of 15, >>>

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

1 year

The Huwara Pogrom was state-sanctioned violence. The settlers rampaged with impunity because they know they have the state on their side. Their leaders sit in Netanyahu’s ultranationalist coalition and regularly call for incitement.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

1 year

Today, Israel's new government is being sworn in. Take a look at its members. By anyone's standards, this will be the most hardline, ultranationalist and illiberal government Israel has ever known.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

10 months

“Israel's hand is extended in peace” & "True peace cannot be anchored in violence," President Herzog told Congress yesterday. Here is just a partial list of the acts of violence the State of Israel has been directly responsible for in the last couple of months alone. 🧵>>>

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

7 months

Almost every one of us knows someone killed, taken hostage, or who spent hours locked in bomb shelters in fear for their lives. We are anxious for the welfare of our families, as well as our Palestinian partners and all innocent civilians of this land from the river to the sea.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

5 months

The hostages were shot despite doing everything they possibly could to show they weren’t a threat: they removed their shirts, shouted in Hebrew and waved a white flag. They were shot from tens of meters away, so it's hard to argue the soldiers' would have been in direct danger.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

6 months

and won't dare to resist. The last month has proved, once again, that this approach has brought us zero security. This doctrine is based on the idea of "rounds" of fighting, as they're referred to in Israel. It’s not meant to be decisive, but to postpone >>>

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

6 months

This doctrine is also immoral, because “searing consciousness” is achieved through widespread civilian destruction. Tens of thousands of homes in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged. Entire neighborhoods have been erased from the map. >>>

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

2 years

Watch this video: @yuval_abraham asks soldiers who've spent the last 1.5 months blockading Deir Nizam, a Palestinian village - why? The soldiers' answer is simple: collective punishment. To pressure the 'village elders' so that children won't throw stones.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

6 months

And still, the question remains: what will the day after the war look like? How will our government guarantee us all safety and security? Astoundingly, our Cabinet has decided “not to discuss the fate of the Gaza Strip.” That’s a luxury we can’t afford. >>>

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

6 months

Because under the Dahiya Doctrine, the method is simple: firepower *must* be used disproportionately; and that’s why the result is always the same – pushing the long-term security farther out of reach in favor of a short-term sense of calm. >>>

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@BtSIsrael

6 months

In Lebanon, too, we wreaked massive destruction on civilians to buy temporary calm and nothing more. Israel also used this doctrine during the last ground invasion of Gaza in 2014. Following the war, Gaza residents returned to neighborhoods that were razed to the ground. >>>

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@BtSIsrael

5 months

These instructions are in line with what we know from testimonies of soldiers who took part in previous ground invasions in Gaza. "If it’s a man 15 years or older, like anyone who looks like he could be a combatant, shoot him" one soldier who fought in Gaza in 2014 told us.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

4 months

These policies are immoral, illogical and don't even contribute to Israeli security like many believe. It’s impossible to keep millions in an open air prison and tell yourself that you left them to themselves. We as a society have been living in a distorted reality for too long.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

6 months

and deter the next, inevitable, round. It looks like our government is choosing to repeat, albeit with greater intensity, what it has unsuccessfully done in previous rounds. The IDF Spokesperson said himself: “The emphasis [during this operation] is on damage and not accuracy.”>>

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@BtSIsrael

6 months

Journalists and soldiers who took part in the operation described the enormous damage. Politicians and members of the security establishment waxed victorious, claiming we'd "seared the Palestinian conscience", meaning every Palestinian will remember exactly who's in charge, >>>

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

2 years

Proud to be part of 46 Israeli civil society organizations standing in solidarity with our fellow human rights defenders in Palestinian society. Human rights are not terrorism.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

3 months

Finance Minister Smotrich has already explained that the US sanctions on violent settlers stem from a "false and anti-Semitic BDS campaign". So in the face of the shameless denials, here are some things you need to know about the settlers on the US and British sanction lists 🧵

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

1 year

Happening now: we stand alongside thousands of Israelis protesting in Tel Aviv. In the face of the new government's racist, anti-democratic, pro-occupation agenda, we will work together for equality and justice, on both sides of the green line.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

1 year

This is Jana Zakarneh. She was 16. Last night she was shot dead on a rooftop in Jenin during an IDF nighttime raid of the Palestinian city. She joins dozens of other Palestinian children who paid for Israel's occupation with their lives in 2022.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

3 years

Protesting alongside thousands in a joint rally this evening in Tel Aviv. Calling for an end to the recurring cycle of violence, for an end to occupation, for a better and more just society, and for Peace. Our signs read: "This is what occupation looks like!"

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@BtSIsrael

4 months

If they behave, we’ll let them fish 6 nautical kilometers from the shore. Don’t behave well? We’ll close the fishing zones. Behave nicely? We’ll let them export strawberries. Behave badly? The strawberries can rot. Years of arbitrary and changing restrictions on 2M people.

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@BtSIsrael

4 months

We need to talk about what the future holds for Gaza when the fighting dies down - because Israel's politicians are refusing to, and the path they are taking us on is a dangerous one. We've been there before. Read this thread 👇

Jojo

@JoelCarmel_

4 months

Perhaps the reason our govt refuses to discuss the "day after" plan for Gaza is because, probably for the foreseeable future, there won't be a day after. Rather than working on an actual solution, chances are Israel will take the route it knows best: perpetual occupation. 🧵

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

5 months

Of course it’s necessary to talk about the clear deviation from any basic norm that is embodied in the shooting of someone surrendering while waving a white flag. But this is being done while deliberately evading a public discussion of the instructions and policies themselves.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

18 days

Passover begins tonight, a holiday which celebrates the Jewish people’s release from slavery and their journey to freedom and liberty. Every Passover we insist on reminding us all that it is impossible to celebrate freedom while keeping millions under a military dictatorship.

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@BtSIsrael

4 months

"[...] every once in a while, it [fishing zone] would expand, contract, depending on what the State of Israel wanted. And I remember, if it was in response to rockets or something like that, the fishing zone would get reduced or totally shut down. At the time, I didn’t think >>>

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

2 years

Tomorrow, Israel will hold its fifth general election in 3.5 years. Unfortunately, the biggest issue that affects our lives here in Israel & the oPt—our military rule over 5 million+ Palestinians—has not been a major (or even minor) issue in any one of these five election cycles.

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@BtSIsrael

5 months

This kind of view reflects wanton ignorance by the IDF’s senior command, encouraged no doubt by cabinet and gov members who constantly claim that “there are no innocents in Gaza.” It's immoral, no matter how many “knock on the roof” missiles or fliers are dropped from above.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

4 months

18 years of a suffocating siege and rounds of fighting in between are indeed a different method to how Israel maintains its occupation of the West Bank. But that doesn’t change the fact we’ve maintained full continuous control over both. That’s not what “leaving Gaza” looks like.

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@BtSIsrael

4 months

This all is known in Israel as a policy of “managing the conflict” - a sterile euphemism for rounds of periodic fighting with a siege in between. The concept behind it: “the carrot and the stick.” The carrot’s for Hamas, the sticks for the people of Gaza.

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@BtSIsrael

4 months

about the fact that there were fishermen in Gaza who depended on it and might not have any connection to the rockets [being fired at Israel], who get punished because Hamas, or whoever was firing these rockets, was doing it,” said an officer who served in the civil administration

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

2 years

Two international anti-occupation activists (incl one in her 70s!) were hospitalized today after settlers stabbed & beat them near Bethlehem, per initial reports. The activists were accompanying local Palestinians who were tending to their olive trees (now is the harvest season).

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

4 months

Even urging people to know “what is being done in our name,” as one school teacher wrote online, is treated by many in the media and public as treasonous. But the real betrayal is the blindness and efforts to silence those who seek the truth. A betrayal of basic human values.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

3 years

Outlawing human rights organizations is a well-known tactic of authoritarian regimes who fear criticism. How many times have we heard, "where are the Palestinian human rights organizations?" Well, here they are.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

4 months

We’re silent on policies that get children killed. Blind to lives lost. Choosing not to see the ongoing human suffering won't make it go away. Until we chose to see and use our voices, we’ll keep circling back to this supposed “no-choice” reality. But we all have a choice.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

4 months

Do restrictions on flowers or strawberries seem excessive or an exaggeration? What about bulgur? “[...] There are very detailed lists of what can and cannot go into the Gaza Strip, and we have full control over it. And it’s as specific as bulgur, yes, no, how many trucks.”

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

5 months

To ignore that not all civilians evacuate is to bury one's head in the sand. We’ve seen this before as well: "[the instructions that] come down to us from above. There aren’t supposed to be [civilians] there, whoever is there is sentenced to death," a soldier told us in 2014.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

5 months

Example: how is it that an often used phrase like "if there's a doubt, there's no doubt" has been turned on its head in the Gaza context: in the past, the phrase was used to mean "err on the side of caution." Now, it means: "if you think you might be in any type of danger, shoot"

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

5 months

Former IDF soldier @snirklein92 fought in Gaza in 2014. He has a clear message for our political leadership: "For years, we and the Palestinians have both been cannon fodder for lack of leadership and political cowardice. Enough." This is a must read 👇

I Served in the IDF in the 2014 War in Gaza. The Friends I Lost There Should Have Been the Last...

The Israeli government insists it can “manage the conflict” by sacrificing the lives of Israelis and Palestinians. What it needs to do is end the conflict once and for all.

www.thedailybeast.com

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

5 months

Since the horrific massacre by Hamas on October 7th, the West Bank has been on fire. More Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank than in any year since 2005. That’s over 220 people in a little less than two months. At least eight of them were killed by armed settlers 🧵

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

6 months

"My experience in Gaza led me to a clear conclusion: we must push for an agreement with the Palestinians that will put an end to the occupation and the siege of Gaza" Our researcher @bernstein_ariel on how his time as a combatant lead to his call for peace

I fought house to house in Gaza ... I know force alone won’t bring peace

An IDF veteran calls for a political solution that offers hope for both Israelis and Palestinians

www.theguardian.com

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

4 months

Years of illusory restrictions on the entry of wood and building materials, while Hamas dug tunnels at its leisure; Years of restrictions on exports to the West Bank along with massive unemployment rates, all while Hamas received suitcases of money thanks to our Government.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

10 months

Earlier this month, the Israeli police officer who shot dead Eyad al Hallaq while he was innocently walking to school, was acquitted of all charges. Here is an excerpt from the testimomy of Warda abu Hadid, Eyad's caregiver, who was with him that fatal day.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

7 months

Our government is implementing a policy that has led and will continue to lead to the killing of countless innocent men, women and children. The statement "there are no innocent people in Gaza," which is heard from politicians, is a horrific attempt to legitimize this policy.

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Breaking the Silence

@BtSIsrael

2 months

As Israelis, and as former IDF soldiers, we unequivocally say: Opposing the occupation and apartheid does not make you antisemitic. Neither does calling for an end to the bombardment of Gaza. Fight antisemitism. End the occupation. Demand a ceasefire in Gaza. Now.

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