Dozens of soldiers who served in the Civil Administration, Gaza DCL and COGAT describe the extent of the bureaucratic violence involved in controling day to day life in the occupied territories.
Testimonies of soldiers from the Civil Administration, Gaza DCL and COGAT, 2011-2021
A Palestinian home will be invaded tonight. Without a warrant. Without a court order. Without a cause for suspicion. Our new report analyzes one of the most commonplace missions employed by the IDF in the occupied territories: home invasions.
Soldiers, from the Second Intifada up until 2017, share their testimonies in a new booklet: "Why I broke the silence.”
What all of these soldiers have in common, despite serving at different times, in different units, and across different parts of the Occupied Territories, is the drive to fight against silence. Their shared commitment to expose the violent daily conduct of the occupation, and their sense of personal and collective responsibility, make one thing clear - so long as there is occupation, there will be soldiers who will stand up and break the silence.
A collection of testimonies exposing how deeply involved settlers are in IDF operations and their influence on how soldiers who serve in the West Bank operate. The report was produced following the El'or Azaria shooting incident in Hebron and Breaking the Silence’s subsequent appeal to the IDF chief of staff in the matter, that exposed disconcerting gaps between the reality on the ground and the ways in which senior decision makers view it.
A booklet focusing on testimonies from women – officers, commanders and soldiers – who served in a variety of units and positions in the territories and took part in the reality of occupation during their service.
A booklet of testimonies from combatants describing the dynamic between IDF soldiers, settlers and Palestinian residents who live in the area, providing the perspective of the soldiers in light of the harsh consequences of The Israeli military control over it.
A booklet of testimonies from combatants that served in the city between 2005-2007, describing how even during the so-called winding down of the Second Intifada, IDF soldiers were required to exert absolute, daily and practically limitless control over the Palestinian residents of the city.
Dozens of soldiers who served in the Civil Administration, Gaza DCL and COGAT describe the extent of the bureaucratic violence involved in controling day to day life in the occupied territories.
Testimonies of soldiers from the Civil Administration, Gaza DCL and COGAT, 2011-2021
This booklet presents testimonies by soldiers about violent actions perpetrated by settlers, and follows on from 'The High Command,' a testimony booklet that we published in 2017 about settler influence on IDF conduct in the West Bank. These testimonies, like many others, describe a reality marked by unending harm to and threat toward Palestinian people, property and land. The acts described here
include different kinds of violent attacks, including beatings, stone-throwing and burning of agricultural fields and groves.
Soldiers' testimonies on settler violence and the ecosystem of injustice that allows it to flourish in the occupied territories
Our in-depth report, 'A Life Exposed', examines military invasions into Palestinian homes in the West Bank. Click here to read the executive summary and a collection of testimonies given by former soldiers who took part in home invasion missions as well as the Palestinians who endured them.
Our in-depth report, 'A Life Exposed', examines military invasions into Palestinian homes in the West Bank. Click here to read the executive summary and a collection of testimonies given by former soldiers who took part in home invasion missions as well as the Palestinians who endured them.
A Palestinian home will be invaded tonight. Without a warrant. Without a court order. Without a cause for suspicion. Our new report analyzes one of the most commonplace missions employed by the IDF in the occupied territories: home invasions.
This booklet compiles 41 testimonies from soldiers who served in the South Hebron Hills during the years 2010-2016 and who were exposed to the realities in the region throughout their military service. Experiences described by combatants in the field, as well as by soldiers who served in the Civil Administration, present a picture that can teach us about the nature of the Israeli rule in this area in particular and in the occupied territories at large.
The Israeli settlement in the heart of the city of Hebron marked its 50th anniversary this year. Its story is a microcosm of the occupation: contempt and disregard for the rule of law, daily violence, deprivation of Palestinian residents’ basic rights, and a military system that preserves all of the above.
This booklet of testimonies intends to offer the public a glimpse of the reality in Hebron from our perspective as soldiers deployed there. These testimonies were given by soldiers who served in the city from 2011-2017. They reveal the violence and discrimination that have become an inextricable part of life in Hebron, and their impact on the lives of Palestinian residents.
Soldiers, from the Second Intifada up until 2017, share their testimonies in a new booklet: "Why I broke the silence.”
What all of these soldiers have in common, despite serving at different times, in different units, and across different parts of the Occupied Territories, is the drive to fight against silence. Their shared commitment to expose the violent daily conduct of the occupation, and their sense of personal and collective responsibility, make one thing clear - so long as there is occupation, there will be soldiers who will stand up and break the silence.
This groundbreaking collection of essays by celebrated international writers bears witness to the human cost of fifty years of Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza and includes contributions from today’s most esteemed storytellers, including Colum McCann, Jacqueline Woodson, Colm Toibin, Geraldine Brooks, Dave Eggers, Hari Kunzru, Raja Shehadeh, Madeleine Thien, Mario Vargas Llosa and Assaf Gavron, as well as Chabon and Waldman.
A booklet of testimonies from soldiers and officers in regular military service and reserve duty, who participated in Operation Protective Edge in Gaza in the summer of 2014. The testimonies describe the nature of combat the IDF engaged in during the operation, and the wide gap between that reality on the ground and the picture presented to the public by Israeli leadership.
A collection of testimonies exposing how deeply involved settlers are in IDF operations and their influence on how soldiers who serve in the West Bank operate. The report was produced following the El'or Azaria shooting incident in Hebron and Breaking the Silence’s subsequent appeal to the IDF chief of staff in the matter, that exposed disconcerting gaps between the reality on the ground and the ways in which senior decision makers view it.
Rompre le silence est un processus. Il exige de nous que nous retirions les couches épaisses de répression et de déni dont nous nous sommes entourés. Cela exige la reconnaissance douloureuse de la réalité de l'occupation et du rôle que nous y tenons. Le moment précis qui a déclenché ce processus est différent pour chacun d'entre nous : pour certains, la décision de rompre le silence a été prise dans un moment de clarté, et pour d'autres, il s'agissait d'un processus plus long de digestion d'émotions contradictoires. Pour certains, il s'agit d'un sentiment de devoir civique qui entraîne la volonté de rompre le silence. Pour d'autres, c'est le fruit d'un malaise qui nous ronge. Cependant, pour chacun d'entre nous, rompre le silence est la conséquence d'une rencontre directe et douloureuse avec l'occupation. C'est le fruit d’une prise de conscience, celle de ne pas pouvoir rester silencieux face à l'injustice flagrante que nous avons vue à travers les fenêtres de la jeep militaire, ou d'ignorer le sort de ceux dont nous avons attaqué de force les maisons au milieu de la nuit. L’acte de rompre le silence est notre manière de nous révolter contre l'injustice, contre la répression de la liberté et contre l’endurcissement du coeur, omniprésent dans l'occupation elle-même et chez tous ceux d'entre nous qui l'ont servie. Rompre le silence, c'est accepter de supporter le poids de la responsabilité qui nous incombe, en tant que soldats et commandants, pour les actes que nous avons commis dans les territoires occupés : les innombrables intrusions en pleine nuit dans les maisons de personnes innocentes, l’installation de checkpoints injustifiés au coeur des villages palestiniens, les dégâts que nous avons causés en appuyant sur une gâchette ou encore cette gifle donnée à un homme qui obscurcira à jamais sa dignité. Pour cela et plus encore, nous prenons notre entière responsabilité.
A book that analyzes testimonies from over 700 male and female soldiers collected by Breaking the Silence since its founding through 2010. The book addresses the nature of the occupation regime and the wide-ranging implications of IDF activities in the territories.
A booklet focusing on testimonies from women – officers, commanders and soldiers – who served in a variety of units and positions in the territories and took part in the reality of occupation during their service.
A booklet of testimonies from soldiers who served between 2008-2010 in Hebron, the largest Palestinian city in the West Bank, at the heart of which live 850 Israeli settlers. The testimonies describe what the routine of daily military occupation in Hebron looks like.
A booklet of testimonies from combatants who took part in combat in Gaza in the summer of 2009. The booklet reveals wide gaps between how the operation was described by official entities and the reality on the ground, and points to the IDF’s moral deterioration on both a structural and systemic level.
A booklet of testimonies from combatants describing the dynamic between IDF soldiers, settlers and Palestinian residents who live in the area, providing the perspective of the soldiers in light of the harsh consequences of The Israeli military control over it.
A booklet that includes testimonies from soldiers who served in the West Bank and Gaza in 2005-2011, with a focus on the lives of Palestinian children and youth living under Israeli occupation.
A collection of testimonies presented as part of an exhibit in 2004 organized by combatants who served in Hebron and decided to break their silence and bring the day-to-day reality of the occupation in the territories to the Israeli public.
A booklet of testimonies from combatants that served in the city between 2005-2007, describing how even during the so-called winding down of the Second Intifada, IDF soldiers were required to exert absolute, daily and practically limitless control over the Palestinian residents of the city.
A collection that focuses on the IDF’s commands and operational procedures in a variety of units, periods and locations in the occupied territories. It demonstrates the extent to which the military mechanism has been morally corrupted, provides evidence of the moral deterioration and institutionalization of unacceptable practices, and calls for the establishment of a public committee of investigation.
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