“Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.” That is from the Facebook page of the deputy commander of Israel’s 749 Combat Engineering Battalion (the 749) Lieutenant Colonel Adi Bekore. Did he mean it? It seems, tragically for those Palestinians now deceased and those who have had their lives destroyed, and for humanity generally, he did.
This senior Israel Defence Force (IDF) soldier and the 749 have committed acts in the Gaza conflict that can only be described as war crimes. Importantly, any foreign nationals who have fought with that Battalion must be aware that they could be charged under national laws, like those that exist in Australia, with war crimes.
An extraordinarily detailed account of the 749’s activities by journalists Younis Tirawi and Sami Vanderlip, published yesterday on Dropsite News, a Substack founded by some of the leading lights of the groundbreaking news site, the Intercept, confirms what nations like South Africa have argued for nearly a year now, that what is happening in Gaza is systemic criminality on the part of Israel.
So, what is the 749 and what role has it played in Gaza? Tirawi and Vanderlip describe it playing “an indispensable role in Gaza. Its soldiers are reservists—alumni of the combat engineering corps, which trains soldiers in demolition. The battalion comes in after combat units, toppling buildings and homes that managed to survive air strikes.” In other words, making sure turning Gaza into hell on earth is done efficiently and comprehensively.
Dropsite News has painstakingly gathered evidence and analysed the activities of the 749 over the past year. It has had access to the 749’s own images, sourced from the battalion’s social media outlets and the personal pages of its members. In addition, “Drop Site News was also able to use the videos to determine the areas where the 749 Battalion was operating and document their activities in the Gaza Strip in detail.”
This investigation provides a window into the reality of the IDF’s destruction of Gaza.
It’s truly horrific stuff. References to Nagasaki and Hiroshima from one soldier, proudly comparing the 749’s ‘work’ with those horrific events of World War 2. Zoldan, one of the 749’s reservists, “cheers in a video as the three buildings of [a] university campus are prepared to be blown up.” When the explosion happens he says, “Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined, did you see?!”
And if you want to find an example of clear intent to commit a war crime consider the words of Master Sergeant Ori Fadida, who wrote on his Instagram account; “We won’t leave a single mouse breathing on the face of the earth, We are done with Shuja’iyya Neighbourhood.”
One further example which would make useful evidence in a prosecution brief against the solider in question who wrote last month September 11, in the context of his being vaccinated because of the polio and jaundice epidemics which have emerged in Gaza; “Vaccinating against the polio and jaundice epidemics raging in Gaza, but no vaccination will help Gaza anymore. She is terminally ill, and it is our job to disconnect her from the oxygen devices, and the sooner, the better.”
These are but two examples in an investigation which clearly exposes the intent of many soldiers in the 749. They confirm, if there has been any need to do so, that the IDF is not, and has never been ‘an ethical military force’, a claim it makes regularly.
It is not clear if the 749 includes foreign nationals who are serving as reservists, and if so which nation they have come from.
But countries which are signatories to the Rome Statute, containing the law that is administered by the International Criminal Court, in many cases have incorporated the Statute into their domestic laws. In short, nationals who commit war crimes in overseas theatres of war can be prosecuted on their return home.
Australia and Canada are two countries that incorporated the Statute into their criminal law. As Benedict Coyne and I have written previously the Australian government needs to warn any citizen who is fighting in Israel of their obligations to comply with Australian criminal law. It is not suggested that any Australian is a member of 749 or has committed or been complicit in the commission of war crimes.
The Dropsite News expose of one Israeli military unit’s callousness, inhumanity and clear criminal intent should be reported worldwide by the mainstream media. If this was a report about Hamas you can be sure it would be front page news. But the pro Israel bias of the mainstream media in nations like Australia, the UK, Canada, the US and in EU countries is palpable.
Dropsite News and other news sites like it – that is, unlike those like the ABC, owned by organisations that are susceptible to the Israel lobby’s threats – are ensuring the truth will out about the genocide in Gaza.
Greg Barns SC is National Criminal Justice Spokesman for the Australian Lawyers Alliance
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