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I figured someone would say this and your point is totally understandable and valid - I could be wrong with my doubts, but the evidence suggests otherwise. Indeed, every culture, nation, empire etc. has its bad apples (to put it mildly), but that's not quite what I meant and there's a context to it too.
I'm basing this on my academic studies, knowledge, experience and close proximity to the Arab and Muslim world, including the extreme groups that have surfaced therein. As odd and ridiculous as it may sound to you, there are certain behaviors that are unheard of, typically end up discredited upon investigation, or don't even make it to the exaggerated local wives rumours - even when raping, pillaging and killing occurs and has been justified by the assailants.
So to me, some (but not all) of these witness accounts sound like your typical carelessly constructed, BS accounts that unfortunately, many on this side of the world will easily believe without question, thanks to their ignorance and lack of nuance, and thanks to the different forms Muslim terrorist stereotypes and bogeymen that have been erected.
Also, let's not forget that we've seen videos of Israeli soldiers wearing Hijabs and pretending to be Palestinian Doctors/nurses, claiming with thick, pharyngal, Hebrew accents (unlike Levantine Arabic) that Hamas have a base or took over their hospital.
It's pretty darn easy to fake anything these days. And with a propaganda machine like Israel, my skeptical hat is firmly on my head.
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infmz
@Acliff
I get where you are coming from but surely this is just wishful thinking?
Pretty much every culture, nation (Israel included) and religion have had historic and recent instances of committing atrocities, including rape, killing civilians, beheadings, massacres, ethnic cleansing.
It seems likely to me, that in a situation where the military objective was to cause the biggest shock and impact by killing as many civilians as possible, that if they were raping and torturing, they would kill them after and burn the evidence.
Maybe it would have caused more terror if they had left a trail of mutilated, raped survivors? Even if they had, it might be seen as fake propaganda regardless.