An Israeli reservist, with his face blurred, was videotaped by Sky News, describing Israel’s normalization of the killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. He has served three tours of duty in Gaza, a reservist in the IDF’s 252nd Division. He said: “We have a territory that we are in, and the commands are: everyone that comes inside needs to die,” he said. “If they’re inside, they’re dangerous, you need to kill them. No matter who it is.”
When stationed next to a civilian area, he said, “there’s an imaginary line that they tell us all the Gazan people know it, and that they know they are not allowed to pass it. But how can they know?” Most often they were shot. “It was like pretty much everyone that comes into the territory, and it might be like a teenager riding his bicycle,” he said.
“They don’t really talk to you about civilians that may come to your place. Like I was in the Netzarim road, and they say if someone comes here, it means that he knows he shouldn’t be there, and if he still comes, it means he’s a terrorist. This is what they tell you. But I don’t really think it’s true. It’s just poor people, civilians that don’t really have too many choices.” Not everyone was shot, as some days a commander’s mood may be different than other days. “They might be shot, they might be captured. It really depends on the day, the mood of the commander.”
