South of the newly-established Yellow Line, Israel has established de facto military occupation of over 50 Lebanese municipalities, and has been demolishing homes and preventing the return to displaced locals. The destruction goes deeper than that, however.
A new report from Israel’s Haaretz quotes numerous Israeli soldiers within southern Lebanon saying that the looting of civilian property from homes in the area has become “wide-spread” and “routine” and that commanders are making no serious effort to try to prevent it.
Soldiers cited troops taking motorcycles, televisions, even sofas, out of private homes and loading them on military vehicles and bringing them back across the border into Israel. “Everyone sees it and understands it” one was quoted as saying.
IDF soldiers have taken videos of themselves looting. | Image from X
Though the IDF responded to the Haaretz report by claiming that it conducts inspections at the border and takes disciplinary action when necessary, the soldiers suggested that virtually never happens. Indeed, only some of the border crossings even have checkpoints in which to inspect looted cargo in the first place. At most, some commanders tell their soldiers to “stop looting” but have taken no action to really enforce that order. Others simply let it go.
“When there is no punishment, the message is obvious,” one of the soldiers added. Another said he thought if military police jailed anyone for the looting it would stop pretty quickly. So far the indication is that’s not happening.
Other soldiers suggested that the reason looting is happening with such impunity is that the IDF is engaged in wiping out many of those towns and villages, and the sense is “What difference does it make if I take it? It’s going to be destroyed anyway.”
Mass looting was similarly reported in Gaza, according to Haaretz, and in the course of that, only one indictment ever happened, which was ultimately settled with a plea deal.
