Left-wing human rights group B'Tselem drew condemnation from both sides of the political spectrum on Wednesday after it launched an advertising campaign calling on Israeli soldiers to disobey orders to shoot "unarmed demonstrators" in the Gaza Strip.
Last Friday, Passover eve, tens of thousands of Palestinian demonstrators gathered on the Gaza border with Israel in a mass march organized by Hamas. Violence erupted and Israeli forces killed 17 Palestinians, including 10 known terrorists, and wounded more than a thousand in an effort to prevent them from breaching the fence and entering sovereign Israeli territory.
B'Tselem said the ad, titled "Sorry commander, I won't shoot," is a last-ditch attempt to prevent more bloodshed on the volatile Gaza-Israel border. The campaign comes ahead of this Friday, when Hamas is expected to stage another mass prowwww.
B'Tselem has never before called on soldiers to refuse orders, but believes firing on Palestinians who pose no imminent threat to the lives of Israeli forces is "manifestly illegal," said spokesman Amit Gilutz.
"As long as soldiers in the field continue to receive orders to use live fire against unarmed civilians, they are duty-bound to refuse to comply," the group said.
The Israeli military has said its response is justified because the protests were organized by Hamas, the Islamic militant group that controls the Gaza Strip and is sworn to Israel's destruction.
The IDF said soldiers targeted only "instigators" who burned tires or threw stones and firebombs toward the border fence. The IDF accused Hamas of using the large crowds as cover to carry out terrorist attacks.
Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan (Likud) voiced outrage at B'Tselem's campaign, calling the group "liars who support terrorism."
He described the ad campaign as "plunging a knife into the backs of the residents of [Israel's] south," referring to the Israeli communities near the Gaza border that shoulder the brunt of Hamas aggression.
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman also criticized the ad campaign, saying, "I have a practical suggestion: I invite the head of B'Tselem to come to Gaza on Friday and convince thousands of Gazans to stop planting explosives on the border, to stop shooting at Israeli soldiers, and to stop violating our sovereignty, and then go home safely. If that doesn't work, I guess we're going to need the IDF after all."
Zionist Union leader Avi Gabbay condemned "all calls for insubordination and disobeying a command."
"The IDF is the army of the people and it reliably does what it does to protect us during the holiday," Gabbay said.
B'Tselem said the IDF "is preparing for the demonstrations, but instead of attempting to reduce the number of those killed or injured, official sources have announced in advance that soldiers will use live fire against demonstrators even if they are hundreds of meters from the fence."
The advertisement claims that "contrary to the impression given by senior military officers and government ministers, the military is not permitted to act as it sees fit, nor can Israel determine on its own what is permissible and what is not when dealing with demonstrators. Like all other countries, Israel's actions are subject to the provisions of international law and the restrictions they impose on the use of weapons, and specifically the use of live fire."
In response, Erdan said, "While our soldiers defend the communities of [Israel's] south over the holiday, some delusional, radical leftists sit in their air-conditioned offices in Tel Aviv and issue instructions to the soldiers in the field. They expect the soldiers to obey their instructions to avoid using fire over the chief of staff's orders.
"Listen closely, B'Tselem. I understand that you need to justify your salaries, which you receive from the New Israel Fund and foreign governments among other sources. But the public will no longer submissively remain quiet while you preach to us. No one is buying your bullshit anymore. If you truly cared about peace, you would be calling on Hamas to stop sending terrorists to breach the [border] fence."
Israel advocacy group Im Tirzu said it would petition Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit to launch a criminal investigation against B'Tselem.
