“Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.” That is from the Facebook page of the deputy commander of Israel’s 749 Combat Engineering Battalion (the 749) Lieutenant Colonel Adi Bekore. Did he mean it? It seems, tragically for those Palestinians now deceased and those who have had their lives destroyed, and for humanity generally, he did.

This senior Israel Defence Force (IDF) soldier and the 749 have committed acts in the Gaza conflict that can only be described as war crimes. Importantly, any foreign nationals who have fought with that Battalion must be aware that they could be charged under national laws, like those that exist in Australia, with war crimes.

An extraordinarily detailed account of the 749’s activities by journalists Younis Tirawi and Sami Vanderlip, published yesterday on Dropsite News, a Substack founded by some of the leading lights of the groundbreaking news site, the Intercept, confirms what nations like South Africa have argued for nearly a year now, that what is happening in Gaza is systemic criminality on the part of Israel.

So, what is the 749 and what........

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