by Adam Warden
The massacre, reported to the UN General Assembly by UNRWA director Henry Labouisse, killed 275 people, including 140 refugees. Even after the fighting had subsided, the IDF continued its killing spree, executing 111 more people in the Rafah refugee camp. This incident underscores a pattern of calculated violence and disregard for human life that has persisted in Israeli military operations and dominates Israel’s current warmongering policies in Gaza.
Following the initial invasion, Israeli forces and their Western allies conducted air strikes and ground assaults across Egyptian territory, including densely populated areas such as Cairo and Alexandria. These terror attacks resulted in significant civilian casualties and destruction of civilian infrastructure, amplifying the brutality of Israel’s military tactics. The Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula enacted a prolonged period of illegal military rule, during which the local Palestinian population suffered under a regime of arbitrary arrests, torture and systematic discrimination.
This military governance reinforced a pattern of repression and violence that continues to this day.
Gabby Bron, a journalist for Yedioth Ahronoth and former IDF soldier, recalled witnessing the execution of ten Egyptian prisoners in the June 1967 Six-Day War, who were first forced to dig their own graves. On the third day of the war, these Egyptian prisoners of war (POWs) were subjected to a court-martial, after which they were executed. The justification given by Israel was that these men were allegedly Palestinian fighters from Gaza disguised as soldiers in a desperate attempt to escape Israeli forces. Bron wrote:
“The POW was escorted to a distance of about 100 metres from the building and given a spade. I watched the POW digging a big pit which took about 15 minutes. Then the policemen ordered him to throw out the spade. When he did so, one of them pointed his Uzi gun at the POW inside the pit and shot two short bullet bursts, consisting maybe of three or four bullets each. The POW fell dead. After a few minutes, another POW was escorted to the same pit, forced to go into it and was also shot dead. A third POW was brought to the same place and also shot dead. Since the process was repeated a number of times, the grave was filled up. I witnessed about ten such executions. We were standing there, near the place where the POWs were being held and we watched silently. The fact that a number of soldiers were watching the spectacle was apparently unwelcome because after a time, Colonel Eshel, the commander of the communication battalion of the brigade, appeared and shouted at the soldiers, ordering them to leave. When we didn’t show any willingness to obey, Colonel Eshel pulled out his personal revolver and threatened us with it. Raising his voice even more, he was able to get the soldiers to obey, including me.”
This first-hand account highlights severe violations of international law and human rights during the 1967 war, depicting extrajudicial executions of POWs that blatantly disregard fundamental humanitarian principles. These executions are a clear breach of the Third Geneva Convention, which mandates the humane treatment of POWs, prohibiting violence, intimidation and reprisals. Israel’s systematic execution of multiple POWs during its occupation of Gaza uncovers a flagrant disregard for legal and humanitarian obligations. Despite the Universal Declaration of Human Rights being in effect since 1948, Israel’s actions contravened its prohibition against cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of POWs.
Amidst the broader context of violations of international humanitarian law and imposition of the first Israeli occupation in Gaza during the 1967 war, one particularly egregious incident stands out: the attack on the USS Liberty. This event occurred on 8 June, 1967, when Israeli air and naval forces targeted a US Navy technical research ship in international waters off the North Sinai coast even though it was clearly recognisable as an American vessel and was flying the US flag. The attack killed 34 crew members and left 171 others wounded. It raises questions about adherence to the principles of international law and emphasises the lack of accountability in cases of Israeli war crimes. Despite numerous eyewitness accounts and investigations suggesting that the attack was deliberate, the official stance of both governments has been one of denial.
One aspect of the alleged cover-up involves the initial characterisation of the attack as one of mistaken identity. According to the Jewish Virtual Library: “The Israeli attack on the USS Liberty was a grievous error, largely attributable to the fact that it occurred amid the confusion of a full-scale war. Ten official United States investigations and three official Israeli inquiries have all conclusively established the attack was a tragic mistake.” While it is true that the bureaucratic explanation for the attack was deemed a case of mistaken identity, evidence from intercepted communications and testimonies from the survivors has cast doubt over this explanation.
Intercepted communications have been cited as evidence suggesting that the attack may not have been a case of mistaken identity, but rather a deliberate act.
The Naval History and Heritage Command, responsible for the preservation, analysis and dissemination of US naval history, issued a report detailing the attack on the USS Liberty in additional detail.
A key difference between Egyptian and American navy ships was the language used in their markings—Egyptian ships bore Arabic script, while American vessels used the Latin alphabet. Such markings are designed to be visible from a distance to identify a ship’s nationality and other critical details. According to an intelligence memorandum from the CIA and an IDF Incident Report, the Israeli command identified the USS Liberty as the Egyptian ship El Quseir. However, the El Quseir was less than two-thirds the size of the Liberty and was an outdated 1929 horse-and-passenger transport, armed with only two antiquated three-pounder guns. The IDF’s claim that the Liberty (“El Quseir”) was responsible for shelling Israeli forces in El Arish is implausible, given that the Egyptian ship lacked the capability for such an attack.
The attack on the USS Liberty, whether deliberate or not, undoubtedly belongs to the troubling pattern of disproportionate and unjustified military actions by Israel that surpass the bounds of logic and rationality. This incident not only casts further doubt on the legitimacy of Israel’s usual claims of self-defence, but also, most importantly, reflects a broader trend of violations that have been observed and recorded ever since Israel’s foundation during the 1948 Nakba. As the world watches the genocide in Gaza worsen, the deeply-rooted pattern of immorality and terror within Israel’s military operations becomes unmistakable and plays an integral role in Israel’s parasitic colonial strategy.
No comments:
Post a Comment