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IsraelÆs genocide in Gaza may go down as the first genocide in history
where the perpetrators have documented, posted, shared and celebrated
their crimes on social media.

Over the past 10 months, Israeli soldiers in Gaza have taken photos
and videos of themselves while they blew up homes and schools, and
tortured captives.

To boast of their atrocities against civilians, Israeli forces have
routinely filmed themselves demolishing residential blocks in Gaza,
which they proceeded to share online. In June, an Israeli soldier
filmed himself walking triumphantly amid the ruins and rubble of a
destroyed neighborhood in Gaza, while boasting: ôWe were asked to
clear the area. Blow it all up. What can I do, IÆm an obedient
soldier. Tomorrow there wonÆt be anything here.ö

The most disturbing photos feature Israeli soldiers posing mockingly
with belongings of slain Palestinians, mainly womenÆs underwear, or
playing with Palestinian childrenÆs toys and bikes.

Israeli soldiers have recorded themselves looting jewelry, clothes,
and valuables from the homes of Palestinians they have bombed and
ethnically cleansed in Gaza.

Many photos feature soldiers basking gleefully in the ruins of bombed
homes, schools and hospitals. A recent photo, taken in the wake of a
horrific massacre in Gaza City, shows a group of Israeli soldiers
posing, some with smiles, in front of a destroyed hospital they had
converted into a military base.

In some cruel instances, the soldiers filmed themselves inside
occupied homes in Gaza: cooking food left uneaten by victims, drinking
Arabic coffee, lying in bathtubs, urinating on the ruins of homes, or
throwing food at demolished houses to mock starving Palestinians.

Many photos feature soldiers with defenseless Palestinian captives. An
Israeli soldier recently shared a photo on his private Instagram
account showing himself in a destroyed building in Rafah, hovering
over kidnapped Palestinians in inhumane conditions, all blindfolded
and handcuffed while lying on the floor.

By posting these photos, the soldiers wish to cast themselves in a
heroic image back home. However, sometimes this can backfire. For
instance, in December, an Israeli soldier was filmed holding a gun
over a young Palestinian man, Hamza Abu Halima, from ShujaÆiyya
neighborhood in Gaza City. The soldier then posted the video online,
and a screenshot taken from the video went viral. It showed Hamza,
stripped of his clothes, facing the soldier fearlessly and defiantly.
It made Hamza an icon of bravery and resilience, earning him the title
ôLion of Gaza.ö The soldier deleted the video.

Seeking to both dehumanize Palestinians and entertain Israeli
spectators back home, soldiers share footage of themselves desecrating
mosques and the Quran, vandalizing homes and shops, or mocking
Palestinian suffering. One soldier was filmed destroying occupied
Palestinian houses in Rafah, before posting the footage on his
Instagram with the caption: ôRenovations in Gaza.ö Another was filmed
shooting indiscriminately at Palestinian homes in Gaza while smoking a cigarette.

Some posts shared by soldiers celebrate the destruction of entire
neighborhoods in Gaza, with burned homes and rubble in the background.

The posts are often accompanied with messages bearing genocidal
contents and pledges to annihilate Gaza and ethnically cleanse
Palestinians, which echo statements by top Israeli politicians and
military leaders. Some of those posts show soldiers dedicating a
destroyed Palestinian home to family members, friends and even
celebrities. In one video, a soldier dedicated a demolished house in
Khan Yunis to the Israeli singer Eyal Golan, who has called for the annihilation of Gaza. Another was filmed detonating explosives in
Palestinian neighborhoods in Gaza while saying, ôThis is yours, mom.ö

Sometimes, the soldiers attach patriotic Israeli music to the videos,
or, more mockingly, traditional Palestinian music. In one instance, an
Israeli soldier posted a mock advertisement for ôhis barbershopö in
Gaza to the tune of an Israeli hip-hop song likening Palestinians to
animals. The video shows a group of soldiers dancing while flanked by
killed Palestinian civilians lying lifeless on the ground.

Meanwhile, thousands of Israelis have taken to Telegram groups to
share Israeli military atrocities in Gaza. In the wake of an Israeli
massacre in Rafah, some even took to Telegram channels to mock images
of a beheaded Palestinian baby.

These photos and videos, which are widely shared on social media
platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, represent a growing culture of impunity. Together, they bear witness to the brutality of IsraelÆs
genocidal war in Gaza and its unfolding horror. These posts not only
shatter the myth of ôthe most moral army in the world,ö but show to
what extent the dehumanization of Palestinians has been normalized in
Israel.

When asked by The New York Times in February, the Israeli military
said the conduct in some of these videos ôis deplorable and does not
comply with the armyÆs orders.ö

But the attitude on display is by no means an aberration or anomaly
among a few outliers; rather, it is a symptom of a collective mindset
that views Palestinians as less than human, or as IsraelÆs Defense
Minister Yoav Gallant has stated, ôhuman animals.ö

These kinds of posts have a wide following on social media, with some
garnering hundreds of thousands of views and shares. ôEach of these
videos documents a war crime,ö noted Al Jazeera in a review of footage
shared by Israeli soldiers. Yet despite the self-documented atrocities
ûû the ômost documented genocide in history,ö to cite Palestinian UN
Ambassador Riyad Mansour ûû the soldiers will likely escape justice as
they enjoy total immunity in Israel, where courts have a pathetic
track record of prosecuting war crimes committed by Israelis.

Some of the soldiers who murdered Palestinian children have been
hailed as heroes by the Israeli military and political leaders. In
March, IsraelÆs National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir saluted an
Israel Defense Forces sniper who shot a 12-year-old Palestinian boy,
saying the soldier ôdeserves an award.ö Ben-Gvir has called on Israeli
soldiers to kill children and women in Gaza. Bone-chilling reports by
Israeli outlets reveal that soldiers have been told ôitÆs permissible
to shoot everyoneö in Gaza, children included.

This impunity is easy to imagine when Israeli leaders and politicians
have routinely claimed that ôthere are no innocents in Gazaö; when
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calls people in Gaza
ôchildren of darknessö; and when a supposedly ôliberalö Knesset member
says ôthe children of Gaza have brought this upon themselves.ö

Israel has made no secret of its genocidal crimes against civilians in
Gaza. Israeli politicians and top generals have openly suggested to
nuking Gaza or annihilate it like Dresden and Hiroshima. One former
Israeli lawmaker recently invoked Adolf Hitler as an inspiration for
IsraelÆs plan to ethnically cleanse Palestinians in Gaza. Israeli
politicians have openly celebrated their atrocities in Gaza. Following
IsraelÆs destruction of north Gaza, Israeli Minister of Heritage
Amichai Eliyahu mused: ôThe north of the Gaza Strip, more beautiful
than ever. Everything is blown up and flattened, simply a pleasure for
the eyes à We will hand over lots to all those who fought for Gaza
over the years.ö

Much of this genocidal rhetoric pouring from the upper echelon of the
Israeli government was cited as damning evidence at the International
Court of Justice genocide hearing in January. Meanwhile, the
International Criminal Court (ICC) is seeking arrest warrants against
Netanyahu and Gallant, who have called for measures that starve
Palestinians in Gaza, among other crimes. IsraelÆs Channel 14 reports
that the ICC could issue arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant
within the next two weeks.

This is the same army the United States is funding and arming to the
hilt, and lavishing with billions in tax dollars, unconditional
diplomatic support and defense from criminal trial. The U.S. has even
allowed tax deductions for Israeli settler groups who block
humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Despite overwhelming evidence of Israeli war crimes and crimes against
humanity in Gaza ù much of which has been proudly provided by Israeli
soldiers themselves ù Congress has decided, with bipartisan blessing,
to welcome Benjamin Netanyahu, a genocidal war criminal, who will
address U.S. lawmakers for the fourth time on July 24. He is set to
receive standing ovations, and likely more funds and weapons, and a
license to massacre more Palestinians. This is plainly a bipartisan
nod to genocide.

Unbound by the moral corruption of the U.S. political class,
anti-genocide activists are calling for a mass mobilization to arrest
Netanyahu for war crimes. Jewish Voice for Peace and dozens of partner organizations will issue a mass notice of citizenÆs arrest for
Netanyahu. Humanity itself is at stake. If there remains a shred of
justice in this world, Netanyahu should be arrested for his war crimes
on the Senate floor.

https://truthout.org/articles/israeli-soldiers-flaunt-war-crimes-online-why-arent-they-held-accountable/

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