The brutal nature of Israel's armed forces is somewhat mythic and intangible to many in the western world beyond the images on our phones. So let me give you a concrete story. In 2017, while working on an anti-war film, found myself within the ruins of the infamous Khiam prison near border in South Lebanon. That's how I learned about this story. The Khiam prison in Lebanon was originally built by France as a barracks back in the thirties. Lebanon took control of it after gaining independence in 1946.
But in 1975 during the civil war, the Israel-backed Christian fascist militia, the SLA, took control and turned it into a torturous prison. By 1985, it was holding Muslim prisoners of war who were viciously tortured in a variety of ways. Many of the torture methods involved sexual organs and electrocution. Israel had even banned Red Cross observers from entering, according to British journalist Robert Fisk. By the time SLA collapsed and Israeli forces pulled out of Lebanon, human rights groups internationally had condemned their atrocities in Khiam. I've seen the remnants of where these human rights violations took place. It's an indescribable and overwhelming sensation you feel as you walk the ruins.
The IDF admitted in court that the staff at Khiam were on their payroll. The torturers fled to Israel. They got away with their crimes. When Israel pulled out of Lebanon in 2000, they abandoned the prison... but left the prisoners inside to starve, dehydrate, and cook alive in their prison cells. Lebanon turned the prison into a museum to preserve the terrible history. But in 2006, it was bombed by Israel in the war— leaving it in the condition I witnessed: bombed out ruins. Some say Israel wanted to pave over their atrocities and delete that history. But they can't delete it from my mind.
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