The court of public opinion: The story of a Golani brigade soldier on trial

Haifa, Israel.

A Golani Brigade soldier was accused of shooting a 11-year-old Palestinian girl to death while on routine operation in Hebron. The soldier claimed that he did that because he saw her as a threat, as he had seen numerous children throwing rocks to him during his 11-month service. As the case ended up in the Military Tribunal, the case was going to be dramatic regardless of the verdict, like other incidents related to Golani Brigade, one of the most infamous IDF units, and since like many other incidents related to IDF in Hebron, the case had been circulating in Israeli media even before the investigation was launched due to being uncovered by Haaretz and Wafa News Agency. After MAG corps indicted him with murder and illegal use of weapons, the soldier refused a plea bargain, as he considered himself as doing what’s appropriate for a soldier.

The prosecution read the testimonies collected from various soldiers and witnesses as journalists, the public and several other soldiers and officers were watching the case unfolding. “…..I saw him taking out his Tavor X97. I told him that it is a war crime to deliberately shoot innocent civilians. He said that all Palestinians are terrorists, and opened fire. The girl screamed and fell to the ground. The commander ordered the girl to be taken to the hospital immediately, but she died on the road to the hospital. ”

“War Criminal! ” A member of public, believed to be an Israeli Arab based on the accent when speaking Hebrew, shouted, “Genocidal monster! ”.

“She is a terrorist! ” Said the defendant.

“Nazi! ” Said the aforesaid member of public.

“You are the Nazi! ” Another visitor replied to such an incendiary word. After all, in a country of Holocaust survivors, who would tolerate being called a Nazi?

“Silence! ” The judge ordered.

The prosecution continued to present the evidences, include both anonymous and named ones, those from soldiers and from Palestinians, and a short video taken by a Palestinian and sent to MAG by an Israeli netizen.

“Boged(Traitor)!” Some visitors sympathetic to the soldier shouted, while others said “Posheˈe milẖama!(War Criminals!)”

Another soldier from Golani Brigade, who participated in the same operation, was called to witness. The soldier gave a lengthy testimony of what really happened at the time. The defendant accused the soldier of lying as details of the incident were told.

As the prosecution finished the case, the defense produced a written testimony from the defendant, which claimed that the girl seemed to be provoking him, and he thought that she might slap his face as Ahed Tamimi did, and he needed to prevent her from becoming another icon to the terrorists. Much of the audience laughed at the testimony before the judge ordered them to stop.

The case was reported by Ynetnews, Reuters, Times of Israel and Haaretz, and also on Palestinian newspapers, with polarizing opinion on Twitter and comment sections. Right-wingers called for his acquittal, centre-left Israelis called for his conviction, and several prominent Palestinians and anti-Zionists derided the court as a distraction to the crime against humanity committed by Zionists against Palestinians.

The case closed with the prosecution concluding that the defendant was guilty of murder, while the defense concluded that the case should be reduced to voluntary manslaughter, and the defendant himself called for his acquittal.

Ultimately, the soldier was convicted of murder and illegally using weapons, and sentenced with a 10-year imprisonment and expulsion from IDF. The conviction was denounced by Israeli right for supposed capitulation to anti-Israel forces, while Palestinians and other anti-Zionists called the verdict a whitewash and distraction from what they perceived as a genocide against Palestinians. Centre-left Israelis celebrated the event as a victory of the rule of law over political pressure, and so did many writers on Times of Israel and Ynetnews and many diaspora Jews. Following the case, those soldiers who testified for the prosecution were lynched by violent settlers, which became a controversial case in its own right……

The story here is fictional, but the public attitude to MAG corps and Military tribunal as presented here is real. Many right-wing Israelis do feel dissatisfied with MAG corps and military tribunals because they feel that such institutions would make soldiers less likely to fight, while Palestinians feel that Israeli justice system as a whole whitewashes crimes against Palestinian people. Support for Israeli justice system and/or IDF military justice system generally come from the Israeli political centre or centre-left and from the Jewish diaspora.