Nir Gontarz Aug 3, 2022
Aug 3, 2022Nir Gontarz
Hello, is this the headquarters of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories?
Yes. With whom am I speaking?
With Nir.
Who is Nir?
A citizen.
Listen, we’re an operational headquarters here at COGAT. We don’t talk with civilians. OK?
But you take messages from settlers against Palestinians, and you go out on operations.
If you want to talk about those things, you can talk with Public Affairs.
Just a minute. Are the military’s public affairs people the ones who confiscate water tanks from the poor shepherds in the territories?
It’s just that all queries go through them.
Except for the settlers’. But is it they who confiscate the water from the poor Palestinians, or you?
I don’t confiscate anything.
So put me through to your commander.
I can’t.
You aren’t a robot that carries out orders. You’re also a human being, no?
True. But it isn’t necessary to talk about everything. I can’t help you at the moment.
It’s not for me.
So stay on the line a moment.
I’m waiting.
Five minutes later…
Hello.
Yes. I’d started telling you that I’m in Tel Aviv and even here it’s terribly hot. And in your sector, it’s even hotter.
I understand, but…
Give me a second to finish.
I’m an operations headquarters, I am on the phone all the time.
Can you talk to the commanders there and update them immediately that people are in danger of death in the area that’s under your responsibility, because of a shortage of drinking water? Just inform your commander.
Public affairs.
Give me their number, please.
It’s on the COGAT site.
I’m trying to understand why a soldier is refusing to inform his commanders that there are people in danger of death in your sector.
Great. I can’t help. Public relations. I’m busy – there are a lot of phone calls.
Call disconnected.
A Palestinian shepherd rides a donkey next to his herd in the Masafer Yatta area in the West Bank, in June.Credit: Moti Milrod
Hello.
Shani Sasson, spokeswoman for COGAT?
Yes.
Hi, Nir Gontarz here. What’s new?
Fine.
Listen, about…
I’m in the middle of a meeting.
I just need a minute of your time. Please be nice.
I’m nice, but as you can hear, I’m in the middle of a meeting with people.
I can’t hear any people. You haven’t got a minute?
No.
Why are you refusing to put on an officer who will speak to me so I can publish what he says instead of the conversation with the soldier at headquarters?
I don’t know what you’re talking about.
You’re lying. You know very well. They contacted you from the IDF Spokesman’s Office and conveyed to you on my behalf the suggestion that instead of the conversation with the poor soldier, I will speak to one of the officers responsible for confiscating the water.
I’m hanging up.
Call disconnected.
The next day…
Hello.
I’ve called the personal number of Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. Who is this?
This is not he.
I can hear that. He’s male and you’re female. May I speak to him please?
He is in a meeting. To whom am I speaking?
To whom am I speaking?
His secretary.
I’m Nir Gontarz. I’m a journalist at Haaretz. Yesterday I spoke with your headquarters, and I wanted to find out how you dare to confiscate drinking water tanks from people, even if they are Palestinian Arabs, and to warn that this will end in deaths. You are abusing the most miserable population between the Jordan River and the sea, on the hottest days of the year. What has come over you? Have you gone mad? In short, I spoke to the most wretched and simplest soldier at the headquarters.
After that conversation, I contacted the officer I work with at the IDF Spokesman’s Office, since for various reasons I don’t like to publish conversations with low-ranking people, and I proposed that instead of publishing that conversation with the soldier who answered the phone, you would put at my disposal a high-ranking interviewee from COGAT who would explain to me and the readers the inhumane measure that in no way has anything to do with defending the security of the state of Israel, and is no doubt a war crime.
The officer at the IDF Spokesman’s Office told me he would look into it, and he contacted Shani Sasson, who was once Likud MK Yoav Gallant’s spokeswoman and is now your spokeswoman, and she refused, and he forwarded her refusal to me. Not only is the IDF harming the weakest population in the whole area, who are human beings, incidentally, but also the command is sacrificing a simple soldier to protest your command and Alian. I phoned Sasson, and even though she knew very well what I was talking about, she lied to me and said she had no idea and cut me off. Bottom line, Alian should talk to me about the war crimes he is implementing in the territories. Thank you for listening to all this.
No problem. I will forward your request to the major general.
Major general evasiveness. Would you perhaps want my contact details?
We’ll get them from our spokesperson’s office.
I see. Is it reasonable, what I’ve described to you?
I don’t deal with that.
When will you update Alian? After all, people’s lives are in danger. Maybe you’ll get back to them with the drinking water you stole from them? People will die.
I will be glad to forward your details and your request to the major general, in a proper way, the moment he is free.
As someone who knows the way your organization works, can you understand how you are playing big heroes with the wretched and the weak, and so scared and evasive of questions about your crimes?
I will forward your request to him verbatim.
Good. I have a feeling that your command will continue to play cat and mouse and evade an explanation, and will continue to let you – the simple soldiers at COGAT – be its human shield. Thank you.
Bye.
Alian and the spokesperson’s office did not follow up.