Agence France Presse 3 June 2004

TEL AVIV, June 3— A group of Israeli soldiers has fanned debate over the army's behaviour in the occupied territories by going public about their time in the flashpoint West Bank town of Hebron in a disturbing new exhibition.

Snapshots and videos featured at the exhibition here, called “Breaking the Silence”, are designed to shake up complacency among the Israeli public by detailing the abuse meted out by soldiers to Palestinians.

“Hebron was the hardest and most confusing place that we served in. Up until now, we have all dealt alone with the shocking things we saw there… We decided to tell,” said a statement released by the troops who had served in the Nahal Brigade. None of the soldiers was prepared to speak to foreign journalists.

The photos are an eclectic collection of army mugshots and group pictures interspersed with photographs of handcuffed and blindfolded Palestinians, sometimes flanked by a posing soldier.

Other memorable images are of Palestinian children playing under the watchful eye of a soldier or a panoramic view of Hebron shot through bullet-pierced windows.

One soldier who visited the exhibition and is still serving in Hebron, insisted the photos told only one part of the story.

“These handcuffed Palestinians you see here are real terrorists,” he said, asking not to be identified.

“Some pictures are disturbing but I am neither ashamed, nor proud to have done what I did. I was sent to Hebron, I didn't choose to go there.”

The slender, blond-haired man took a long drag on his cigarette, paused and with a broken voice went on: “Most soldiers end up doing deviant things, but they are not evil, the occupation of the (Palestinian) territories is evil.”

Two television sets at each end of the exhibition hall blare out chilling testimony from the troops. Many of the soldiers' faces are blurred and their voices altered to disguise their identity.

“One Friday, a unit killed two (Palestinian) terrorists … I saw three people holding the bodies in a standing position and having their photos taken,” recalls one soldier.

Another recounts how a Palestinian boy was knocked over by a Jewish settler's car: “I saw the settlers check the car and talk about the damage … they said: 'It's just a Palestinian boy, it doesn't matter'.”

A third soldier tells the story of a Palestinian funeral interrupted by an angry Israeli officer: “He insulted them … He went up to an 80-year-old man and held him at gunpoint. It's not humane to do that.”

“At the touch of your fingers, they obey. It's a terrific rush. Suddenly I realized that dominating people is addictive,” says another young man.

The mother of one of the soldiers featured in the exhibition and who is still serving in the army said she felt “physically sick” looking at the images.

“I didn't realize it was so bad,” Keren Alon said, her eyes reddened by tears.

Her son will complete his military service in three weeks, just a few months before his younger brother goes to the army for a mandatory three years.

“The occupation is doing damage to the Israelis, how can these kids come away undamaged?” she said, pointing in shock at a photo of a Jewish settler with a sticker attached to his rifle butt reading: “Kill 'em all. Let God sort 'em out.”

Reaction among visitors was mixed, with some praising the soldiers for opening people's eyes to the reality of the occupation while others said they would have been better off refusing to serve.

The exhibition is the latest sign of a growing willingness among troops to speak out about their experiences.

A group of 46 reservists recently wrote an open letter calling for an immediate evacuation of the controversial Netzarim settlement in Gaza, fed up with acting as “servants and chauffeurs” of the hardline residents.

Chen Livni, 37, who commands a Nahal battalion in Hebron and visited the exhibition on Thursday night hailed the soldiers' courage.

“I think it's very important. It helps us face the problems soldiers have on the ground,” he said.

“We have nothing to hide. If something wrong is done, it's an exception and it's not meant to be bad.”

Some 1,200 soldiers guard some 600 Jewish settlers living in an enclave in the heart of Hebron, which is home to 120,000 Palestinians and has seen some of the fiercest fighting of the near four-year-old intifada.

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