Reporters From Around the World Enter Gaza Tell Stories

From Checkpoint Jerusalem:

Ashraf Khalil at the Los Angeles Times wrote a vivid story about one family whose unarmed father was killed when soldiers burst into the home. The survivors got an OK to walk to safety, but were taunted by Israeli soldiers as they left their homes and a one-year-old was shot as the relatives walked down the road.

Sheera Frenkel at The Times of London tracked down an Israeli soldier stationed in Zeitoun who said they were told: “Fire on anything that moves in Zeitoun.”

The soldier said the instructions were clear: “Shoot first and ask questions later.”

Tim Butcher at The Daily Telegraph was among the first reporters to visit Zeitoun and documented some of the spiteful graffiti left by the Israeli soldiers: “Arabs need 2 die.” “1 down, 999,999 to go.” “Arabs are pieces of s–t.”

What happened in Zeitoun does not appear to have been an aberration.

Tim Butcher was among the many to write about the searing impact of Israeli use of white phosphorus in civilian areas.

~ by maloof on January 30, 2009.