Les pilotes de Tsahal ont du vague à l’âme

Pour la première fois, des précisions circonstanciées sont apportées sur des problèmes de moral chez les Israéliens, à cause de la forme qu’a prise la guerre au Liban. L’article de The Observer du 6 août développe effectivement des témoignages sur des “ratages volontaires” de cibles, de crainte de tuer des civils.

« As international outrage over civilian deaths grows, the spotlight is increasingly turning on Israeli air operations. The Observer has learnt that one senior commander who has been involved in the air attacks in Lebanon has already raised concerns that some of the air force's actions might be considered “war crimes”.

» Yonatan Shapiro, a former Blackhawk helicopter pilot dismissed from reserve duty after signing a ‘refusenik’ letter in 2004, said he had spoken with Israeli F-16 pilots in recent days and learnt that some had aborted missions because of concerns about the reliability of intelligence information. According to Shapiro, some pilots justified aborting missions out of ‘common sense’ and in the context of the Israeli Defence Force's moral code of conduct, which says every effort should be made to avoiding harming civilians.

» Shapiro said: “Some pilots told me they have shot at the side of targets because they're afraid people will be there, and they don't trust any more those who give them the coordinates and targets.” He added: “One pilot told me he was asked to hit a house on a hill, which was supposed to be a place from where Hizbollah was launching Katyusha missiles. But he was afraid civilians were in the house, so he shot next to the house ... Pilots are always being told they will be judged on results, but if the results are hundreds of dead civilians while Hizbollah is still able to fire all these rockets, then something is very wrong.”

» So far none of the pilots has publicly refused to fly missions but some are wobbling, according to Shapiro. He said: “Their target could be a house firing a cannon at Israel and it could be a house full of children, so it's a real dilemma; it's not black and white. But ... I'm calling on them to refuse, in order save our country from self-destruction.” »

Mis en ligne le 6 août à 14H58