According to the indictment, “Breaking the Silence” attributed war crimes to the soldiers, such as confirming the killing of a Palestinian old man and burying him while he was alive, as well as additional evidence. Following the reports, the fighters were interrogated by military police, criminal cases were opened against them – which were later closed.
The fighters are now suing Breaking the Silence in the amount of NIS 1,200,000, for the damage caused to them as a result of the evidence. The lawsuit joins a similar lawsuit recently filed by armored combatants against Breaking the Silence, for evidence against them as well from Operation Resilient Cliff.
Archive photo: Ministry of Defense
The indictment, filed by Adv. Michael Devorin and Adv. Tzur Falk, spokesman for the organization “Until Here,” described the testimony of Breaking the Silence “each of which is more false and malicious than the previous one,” as a blood libel published with malicious intent to damage their good name. Of the soldiers, the IDF and the State of Israel.
Advocate Michael Devorin, who is hired by the organization ‘Up to Here’ and represents the plaintiffs, said that “this is one of the most important and justified defamation lawsuits that have been filed in recent years. For years, Breaking the Silence and its senior members have been defaming IDF soldiers and turning them over. No injustice on the part of the war criminals. This organization is not content to slander our soldiers within the borders of the State of Israel, but does so under every fresh tree and in every corner of the globe. “
Breaking the Silence response: “This is another absurd and hopeless legal process by the ‘Up to Here’ plant organization, whose entire purpose is to try to obtain items in the media in order to threaten soldiers and fighters who do not dare talk about the reality they experienced in the territories.
“The bottom line of this unfounded lawsuit is the shooting and killing of an elderly Palestinian who was unarmed or dangerous, and even the prosecutors are not trying to challenge that. Moreover, the lawsuit reinforces the importance of our work, as it is clear that this difficult story would not have been published without the courage of The soldiers break the silence.
“We welcome the renewed discussion of the hard and important testimonies we published from the fighting in Gaza in the summer of 2014, even if the goal here is to hit us again. We stand behind the testimonies and brave witnesses who choose to reveal the harsh reality they took part in and are determined to continue fearlessly.”