Israeli soldiers fighting injustice in Palestine, by Terry Plane

 There’s a small bazaar just below the Al-Ibrahimi mosque, in Hebron, the second largest city in the West Bank. The tomb of Abraham, at the heart of the mosque, is said to be 3700 years old.

The West Bank is theoretically under the control of the Palestinian Authority but in reality it’s under Israeli military occupation. Military checkpoints abound, heavily armed Israeli soldiers are visible on many streets, Israeli military helicopters circle, army trucks rumble through dusty streets.

On some streets in Hebron there are deserted fruit, spice and meat markets, where Palestinian traders have been thrown out. There are houses where the same fate has befallen Palestinian families. Israeli forces then install Jewish families in those houses, many of them immigrants from Poland and Russia. They don’t have to work ; they’re paid a living “wage” to simply occupy.

And they’re protected by the soldiers. “It’s a military dictatorship,” says Nadav Weiman, deputy director of a remarkable organisation, Breaking the Silence. “The IDF is  a private militia for the settlers.” He says the ratio of IDF soldiers to imported settlers is almost 1:1.

BtS has around 30 members, backed by more than 1200 testifiers. Every single one of them, members and testifiers, is a former member of the IDF. In other words, they are all Israelis.

Their purpose is to gather information about human rights abuses committed under the auspices of the Israeli Government, some of which they were required to commit whilst serving in the forces. Weiman, for instance, was a sniper in both Gaza and the West Bank.

“We’re not against the IDF,” he says. "The change we want is the policy of the government. We’re not pacifists ; Israel’s a very militarised society. We believe we have to have the Army to protect the country. We don’t think Israel needs to control Palestine to do that.”

BtS believes the Israeli Government’s occupation and settlement policies are corrupt. UN resolution 2334 (2016) describes the Jewish settlements in the West Bank as “land theft” and a “flagrant violation of international law”.

“Soldiers are sent every day to carry out corrupt government policies,” says Weiman. "It’s a choice between the settlements and the rule of law.

“There are two justice systems, the Israeli system for the settlers and military justice for Palestinians, from eight years old up. Throwing stones is a terrorist offence. There are curfews on Palestinians on Jewish holidays. Their children can not go to the same schools as the Jewish kids, the Palestinians can’t go to the same hospitals. they can’t ride in the same buses, in a lot of places they can’t use the same roads. It’s apartheid,” he says. “It’s two different societies.”

One day last year I walked with Weiman through streets that proved his claims. From the bazaar below the Al-Ibrahimi mosque, through Bab Al-Khan and A-Sahla to A-Shuhada Street. Streets overlooked by a hilltop IDF lookout, where Palestinians risk being shot if they dare walk there.

   Terry Plane is an Adelaide journalist who visited Palestine in 2019.