Israel "Strips" South Lebanon... Jewelry, Blankets, and Photos Go Missing
Israeli media reported that the Israeli army is “struggling to stop acts of looting carried out by soldiers in southern Lebanon, despite warnings from senior commanders.”
The newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth quoted an unnamed reserve soldier as saying that he had witnessed several looting incidents.
The soldier said: “We came across many reserve units at the border. They simply took everything: weapons, souvenirs, jewelry, blankets, and photographs.”
In another incident, he said he witnessed an Israeli commander preventing soldiers from returning to Israel with the items they had looted.
Haaretz also reported that soldiers looted homes and private shops in Lebanon after residents and owners had fled the fighting.
Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir issued a stern warning about soldiers engaging in looting during a speech to senior military officials about a week ago.
He said: “The phenomenon of looting, if it exists, is unacceptable and could damage the reputation of the entire army.” He added: “If such incidents occurred, we will investigate them. We will not simply move on to the next item on the agenda.”
