Watch: shocking moment IOF soldiers threaten to gas Palestinians to death

[lego 44,165]

 

BETHLEHEM, Occupied Palestinian Territories - Yazan Ikhlayel, 17, was at a community centre in Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem when Israeli forces stormed the camp. Ikhlayel was using his iPhone to film as Israeli jeeps rolled by on one of the camp’s main roads, shooting off tear gas, when a soldier began issuing a message to residents from one of the jeep’s loudspeakers.

 

“People of Aida refugee camp, we are the occupation army,” the message began.

“If you throw stones, we will hit you with gas until you all die - the youth, the children, the old people, you will all die.”

 

The soldier continued, speaking in Arabic and issuing more threats and insults to the people of Aida camp. But Ikhlayel says it was the first line that really shocked people.

“The most important thing I want people to see when they watch this video is to realise what the Israeli ‘democracy’ really is,” Ikhlayel told Middle East Eye.

“They have said it for us now, they are an occupation - they said ‘we are the occupation army’. It is proof, this is an apartheid country, it is not democratic at all.”

“This is the first time I heard them say something like that over a speaker for everyone to hear,” Ikhlayel continued.

“The young people aren’t accepting what the soldiers are doing particularly now. They’re going to the streets [to protest] everyday, and they aren’t stopping. They aren’t scared of them.”

When asked if he thinks the soldier’s message would scare the youth enough to stop the protests, Ikhlayel shook his head adamantly.

“This will not stop until the occupation ends,” he insisted.

 

Mohammed al-Azza is a freelance journalist from Aida refugee camp. He was in the streets taking photos during the raid on the camp on Thursday.

“What happened today wasn’t normal. The way they attacked the camp was crazy. There were protesters in the streets, yeah, but the soldiers weren’t focused on shooting tear gas at the kids protesting,” al-Azza said.

“The main thing today was to hurt the people who live in the camp more than to try and stop the protesters in the street.”

Al-Azza said he believed Israeli forces were attempting to get the community to pressure the youth to stop the protests, instead of attacking the protesters back and forth in the cat-and-mouse game between youth and Israeli forces that has been going on daily since 2 October.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve seen the soldiers get on a speaker like that,” al-Azza said.

“But really we were surprised by one word - usually they call themselves the IDF (Israel Defence Forces), they don’t say the IOF (Israeli Occupation Forces) like we do, but that is something good for us, and for people outside the country to hear. They said it to us, ‘we are the occupation.’”

Al-Azza said he hopes people watch the video and think about what the daily reality is for Palestinians living under a military occupation.

“Usually when we talk about Palestine we are telling people abroad what happened, and it’s usually after the Israelis have done whatever they did, but now it’s good that the people can hear it from the soldiers. They said ‘we are going to kill you and we are going to do this and that’ in their message. It’s very important for international people to hear this sort of stuff that we are hearing all the time from them.”

 

- See more at: http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/watch-israeli-soldiers-threaten-bethlehem-refugee-camp-over-loudspeaker-1147215543#.dpuf

 

 

[Didymus 34,380]

Why are they surprised? Isreali soldiers have been attacked constantly these past two weeks. A counter-reaction is no surprise to me, though of course it doesn't make it right. The reference to murder by gas is especially funny for obvious reasons.

Still don't get how throwing stones is seen as a threat. I mean, there's a pattern here in the way Israel is defended, like how people always refer to the Palestinian rockets aimed at Israel even though they have first class technology in the form of a shield that makes the rockets absolutely harmless when they pass through it. So what are you talking about, exactly? I see the same with the stones and even the knife attacks.

[lego 44,165]

@Didymus what's so funny? Read the text, it explains why they were surprised. Also these raids on refugee camps and throwing gas (and skank water!) on protesters and inside homes is something which regularly happens even without those knife attacks. 

 

[Didymus 34,380]

@Didymus what's so funny? Read the text, it explains why they were surprised. Also these raids on refugee camps and throwing gas (and skank water!) on protesters and inside homes is something which regularly happens even without those knife attacks. 

I read the text

I just think it's stupid that the article (logically, looking at the source) doesn't mention how obviously this is connected to the criminal activities against the IDF. This is symbolic revenge and I see no surprise there at all, though I already said it doesn't make it right.

[lego 44,165]

I read the text

I just think it's stupid that the article (logically, looking at the source) doesn't mention how obviously this is connected to the criminal activities against the IDF. This is symbolic revenge and I see no surprise there at all, though I already said it doesn't make it right.

 

because it doesn't mean that it is connected, it's a general practice when they raid camps.

The only difference is recorded open threat. 

 

[Didymus 34,380]

because it doesn't mean that it is connected, it's a general practice when they raid camps.

The only difference is recorded open threat. 

Well, read the text

"What happened today wasn’t normal. The way they attacked the camp was crazy."

"There were protesters in the streets, yeah, but the soldiers weren’t focused on shooting tear gas at the kids protesting"

"The main thing today was to hurt the people who live in the camp more than to try and stop the protesters in the street"

The main difference (≠ you saying that this is a general practice) is that they seemed to hold regular non-violent Palestinians responsible for the criminal behavior against the IDF, so much so that the actual protesters were almost ignored.

So yes, it is connected.

[Chic 20,830]

Wouldn't it, in theory, be best if a natural disaster just destroyed the corrupted land they're fighting over? It's too much of a mess at this point. Honestly they're not going to stop and I don't see either destroying the other in the foreseeable future so what the fúck 

[brizoda 4,177]

ha ha ha. the only democracy in the middle east. ha ha ha

[Didymus 34,380]

Wouldn't it, in theory, be best if a natural disaster just destroyed the corrupted land they're fighting over? It's too much of a mess at this point. Honestly they're not going to stop and I don't see either destroying the other in the foreseeable future so what the fúck 

You mean killing all the people who live there too?

[Chic 20,830]

You mean killing all the people who live there too?

Not necessarily  Just push them somewhere else. Force them apart. It may be totally impossible, but from a hypothetical standpoint, neutral diffusion through natural disaster sounds a lot better than watching one destroy the other 

[Melech 9,900]

Not necessarily  Just push them somewhere else. Force them apart. It may be totally impossible, but from a hypothetical standpoint, neutral diffusion through natural disaster sounds a lot better than watching one destroy the other 

Yeah since Jews are used to that to get kicked out all the time.