SAOIRSE32

RTE

Singer Frank Harte dies aged 72

27 June 2005 18:58

The renowned Dublin singer and record maker Frank Harte has died at the age of 72.

Born in Chapelizod, he was well known for his rendition of songs and produced a book on ‘Dublin Street Songs’.

Mr Harte, a retired architect, was also a great collector of songs, from Dublin and Northern Ireland.

He also has a string of recordings to his name, most notably ‘Through Dublin City’, ‘Daybreak’, ‘A Candle End’ and his most recent production about the famine entitled ‘Great Hunger’.

Mr Harte had a particular fondness for the late 18th Century French leader Napoleon Bonaparte, and wrote a number of songs about him.

Sinn Féin

University research undermines case for ID cards

Published: 27 June, 2005

Sinn Féin Spokesperson on Human Rights and Equality Caitríona Ruane has welcomed the publication of research today on the consequences of ID cards by researchers at the London School of Economics that suggest that ID cards will cost over £19 billion and that they may compromise Article 8 (privacy) and Article 14 (discrimination) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Ms Ruane said:

“Sinn Féin are fundamentally opposed to the introduction of any voluntary or compulsory British ID card. The proposed Westminster legislation would involve creating a UK-wide database holding information on individuals such as names, addresses, and biometric information like fingerprints, facial scans and iris scans by 2008.

“Under the Good Friday Agreement people in the North have the right to Irish or British identity (or both). Far from being an effective tool for anything, these cards would undermine not just civil liberties but also the right of people living in the north to their Irish identity.

“This latest research I believe undermines the case for ID cards.

“Researchers at the London School of Economics estimate that the cost could be as much as £19 billion. To commit such resources to a scheme that undermines essential rights, at a times when our education system and health system require real and significant investment is not just foolhardy it is criminal.

“Research also suggests that ID cards will only make a negligible impact on fraud (identity fraud crimes estimated at £1.3 billion a year, but only £35 million of this can be addressed by an ID card). They also question whether the technology will work. No scheme on this scale has been undertaken anywhere in the world. Smaller and less ambitious schemes have encountered substantial technological and operational problems that are likely to be amplified in a large-scale national system. The use of biometrics creates particular concerns, because this technology has never been used at such a scale.

“Sinn Féin are greatly concerned at the legal and human rights implications. This research has questioned legality of the Identity Cards Bill in its current form. A number of elements potentially compromise Article 8 (privacy) and Article 14 (discrimination) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

“The report also raises concerns about the creation of a Data Register with a very large data pool in one place that could mean an enhanced risk in case of unauthorized accesses, hacking or malfunctions. Within a divided and sectarian society the opportunity for authorities here to abuse a database of this nature and the ability of agencies such as the PSNI to use such information or ID cards to discriminate against nationalist is huge.

“This research estimates possible personal cost of £230 per person and business costs of a similar amount that would be unwelcome for struggling small businesses here. While LSE researchers suggest alternatives it is clear that there is no demand for ID cards, that the costs will be enormous, that there is a huge threat to civil liberties and no real quantifiable benefits.” ENDS

Daily Ireland

Tragic drowning incident

By Connla Young
c.young@dailyireland.com

A County Tyrone community was trying to come to terms with the loss of a popular teenager after a tragic drowning accident at the weekend.
Nineteen-year-old Martin McGoldrick drowned while swimming at Corrany Lake near the border village of Roslea, Co Fermanagh, at around 11pm on Saturday. The teenager, his older brother and two friends were making their way back from Clones where they watched Tyrone beat Cavan in the Ulster Championship just hours earlier.
The coastguard, supported by an Irish air-sea rescue helicopter, searched for the young man after the accident. The search was called off after several hours and resumed at first light yesterday. The PSNI’s underwater search team eventually recovered the teenager’s body at around 1.45pm on Sunday.
The young men are understood to have gone swimming after stopping at a popular picnic area on the shores of the small lake as they made their way home from the Co Monaghan town. Popular with trout anglers, Corrany Lake is said by locals to be soft bottomed with waters that run no deeper than five metres.
Canon Patrick Marron of St Lawrence’s parish, Fintona, Co Tyrone, spoke of the shock felt by the entire community at the teenager’s death.
“It is a real tragedy for someone so young to lose their life like this. The wider family and parishioners have shown a great deal of solidarity and christian support. This is a large family and very popular in the area. Martin was a good worker, he was working since he was 16 and had a great future. It is a real tragedy to see a young life lost under these circumstances,” he said.
Members of the McGoldrick family and friends gathered in Co Fermanagh amid distressing scenes yesterday as PSNI divers searched for the young man’s remains.
Fermanagh district councillor Brian McCaffrey was with the family at Coranny Lake when the young man’s body was eventually recovered.
“It is terrible to see someone so young lose their life in this way and the people of this area extend their condolences to the family,” he said.
Mr McGoldrick is survived by his brother Ryan, sister Sinead and parents Philomena and Bosco.
The young man will be buried after requiem mass at St Lawrence’s parish church, Fintona, on Wednesday at 11am with burial in the adjoining cemetery.

BreakingNews.ie: Man cleared of schoolgirl’s murder

Man cleared of schoolgirl’s murder

27/06/2005 - 15:31:39

A man was today cleared of the murder of teenager Arlene Arkinson more than 10 years ago.

The jury at Belfast Crown Court took almost 23 hours to find Robert Howard, 61, not guilty of the 15-year-old schoolgirl’s murder.

As the verdict was read out some members of the Arkinson family, including Arlene’s sister Kathleen, stormed out of the courtroom.

Howard showed no emotion.

Arlene, from Castlederg, went missing after a night out in Bundoran, Co Donegal, in August 1994.

And despite extensive searches on both sides of the border her body has never been found.

Last week Howard was cleared on one of four counts of perverting the course of justice over Arlene’s disappearance.

The jury has still to deliver verdicts on the remaining three counts of perverting the course of justice.

Kathleen, Arlene’s elder sister, said: “I am suicidal. It is a total shock, but we will never give up hope and I want the police to continue until they find Arlene so that we can grieve properly.”

The prosecution claimed that on the night Arlene went missing she had gone out with Howard, his girlfriend’s daughter and the daughter’s boyfriend. It was claimed she was last seen alive when Howard drove off alone with her in the early hours of Sunday, August 14, 1994.

At the time of Arlene’s disappearance Howard had a flat in the centre of Castlederg but was living with his girlfriend Patricia Quinn and her family in the centre of town.

Howard, who is originally from Wolfhill, Co Laois, was interviewed a number of times after the girl’s disappearance but always denied having anything to do with it.

In excess of 30 or 40 searches were mounted on the border by police and efforts to trace Arlene through the records of social services, the passport office or driving licence centres throughout the UK and Ireland all proved negative.

Police decided that “a combination of events and extensive inquiries over the years” indicated Arlene was dead.

BBC

Two-year-old shot with pellet gun

The pellet hit Paul Barr, 2, in the forehead

A two-year-old boy is recovering after being shot in the head with a pellet gun in west Belfast.

Paul Barr was hit in the forehead by a pellet as he played outside his home in McDonald Street in the Grosvenor Road area at about 1945 BST on Sunday.

His mother, Antonette, said a number of people on the estate had been hit by pellets, and that the sale of such weapons should be outlawed.

“The surgeon said it could have been in his eye if it was any lower,” she said.

“He was very lucky.”

He was treated in hospital, but has since been allowed home.

Sinn Fein’s Fra McCann condemned the incident

Ms Barr said medical staff had told her the toddler was shot at close range and that they had to remove the pellet from his head with a pair of tweezers.

Sinn Fein’s Fra McCann said that the age group buying such weapons range from five to 10 years.

“It is actually the third such incident that has taken place over the past week, there has been two other people that have been injured,” he said.

A police spokeswoman said officers were appealing for anyone with information about who was responsible for the shooting to contact them.

“Police would urge anyone who owns a pellet gun to keep it in a safe place and out of children’s reach as such guns can inflict serious injury,” she said.

Daily Ireland

Isolated community’s protest at gas pipeline enters sixth day

by Anton McCabe

Yesterday marked day six of a stand-off between one of the world’s biggest energy companies and a small, isolated community in northwest Mayo.
Since Tuesday, residents in Rossport, 20 miles north of Belmullet, have been staging a non-stop blockade of a lorry carrying pipes for work on Shell’s Corrib Gas pipeline.
Last year, the Irish government gave Shell permission to purchase lands compulsorily and put the pipeline through, despite major local concerns about safety and pollution.
Protesters told Daily Ireland they had become increasingly concerned at the company’s activities at its Rossport compound, and on Tuesday last blocked a lorry carrying drainage pipes.
The lorry was parked in the road until Friday, when a Shell driver moved it into the ditch.
Protesters have parked a van permanently beside the lorry, with supplies of tea, coffee, biscuits, sandwiches and cake.
They also have a sofa and bench to sit on, two tricolours flying from telegraph poles and placards erected along the side of the road.
Supporters have come from other parts of north Mayo, and two environmental activists have come up from Galway city.
A local has erected a two-person tent on the bog beside the road for anybody who needs a place to sleep.
Two security guards from the Shell compound sit in a car 100 yards up the road, keeping a wary eye on the protestors, and occasionally venturing down as far as the lorry.
There is no interaction between the two sides.
Residents feel Shell didn’t consult them, and don’t trust the company.
According to writs Shell has served on seven protesters, the protest is costing the company £25,000 (€16,000) per day.
“Due to the seasonal nature of the pipeline construction work, if the construction is not completed by end of October 2005, construction will necessary move into the 2006 construction season whereby the plaintiff will incur a remobilisation fee of approximately €2.5 million (£1.6 million).”
Shell has already obtained one High Court injunction against Rossport farmer, Willie Corduff, to put the pipeline through his lands.
Now he must appear in the High Court again on Wednesday, having been served with an injunction on Thursday to stop him protesting at the lorry.
“I’ve been spending most of the day here,” Corduff said.
“If you go to bed, you can’t sleep, there’s too much worry in your mind.
I have to cross the pipeline every time I go in and out of my house.”
Like other protesters, he is concerned the government is only allowing a 75-metre exclusion area round the pipeline, while they hold it should be 250 metres.
Trinity College professor of material physics, Werner Blau, lives part-time in Rossport and backs the protest.
“You have to go for a worst case scenario,” Blau said. “The energy in this thing is like a bomb – it’s enormous.
Why couldn’t they find a route that avoids the houses?”
Every generation in the community is involved.
Pensioner Elizabeth Lavelle said that, if any protesters are jailed, it will really anger the local community.
“More people will come out,” she said.

Daily Ireland

Historic battle is remembered

by victoria mcmahon

click to view

The sun was shining as hundreds of nationalists from the Short Strand area of east Belfast and further afield gathered to mark the 35th anniversary of the Battle of St Matthew’s yesterday, thought to be one of the most historically important battles of the recent conflict.
Green, white and orange flags fluttered in the light breeze as generations, young and old, enjoyed the heat of the sun, walking to the pace of the commemorate bands, many remembering the fateful night of June 27, 1970 when their area came under siege by loyalist mobs determined to burn St Matthew’s chapel to the ground.
Proudly watching the colour party go past, Short Strand man Jim Gibney recalled the terror of that night. As a 15-year-old boy he watched armed loyalists approach his Comber Street home firing indiscriminately.
“It was very frightening,” he recalled. “The battle raged from 11 that night right through to the early hours. We were besieged by loyalists with petrol bombs. We were under intense gunfire. Were it not for the local IRA and defence group the place would have been another Bombay Street,” said Jim, referring to an incident the year before when Catholics had been forced from their homes in the west of the city.
Even 35 years later, Jim’s memories and the terror he felt that night remain with him as vividly as if it happened only yesterday. Crouching, watching from an upstairs window, a young Jim saw the angry loyalist mob, praying they would not reach their target of St Matthew’s chapel. With only a few weapons between them, members of the newly-formed Provisional IRA and a handful of the local defence organisation defended their area against bitter attack.
Jim said, “The loyalists thought if they could burn down the chapel they would be able to drive the people out of the area. It would have been a blow for the people in the area. The chapel was the heart of the community here and that’s why they wanted to burn it down.”
However, the people of Short Strand eventually won out but the battle was not without its casualties with Henry McIlhone losing his life in St Matthew’s grounds, and veteran republican Billy McKee suffering serious injury from gunshots. Jim’s anger remains when he recalls that the community was left to the mercy of the mobs as the British army and the RUC stood by without intervening.
He said, “The British army and the RUC were in the district and did nothing. They stood by and you could easily see where the gunmen where shooting from and didn’t intervene until dawn when they knew the area would survive and raided the area for guns we had needed to defend ourselves. It is quite remarkable for people to stand up the way they did,” he remarked.
Such thoughts were echoed in a speech made to the crowd by local republican representative Deborah Devenny. She said the battle marked a watershed not just for the people of Short Strand but the republican struggle as a whole.
Ms Devenny said, “It is very important for this community to remember how we were felt under attack by loyalist mobs assisted by the British government and the RUC. After Bombay Street there was writing on a wall in the Falls – IRA: I Ran Away. After the battle of St Matthew’s, no one could say that anymore.”

Daily Ireland

Loyalists ‘told RUC of plan to kill SF member’

click to view - Alex Kerr, left and Eddie Fullerton

Speaking to Daily Ireland yesterday, former UDA prisoners in south Belfast and Co Down named the informant as former UDA commander Alex Kerr.
They also confirmed reports that a second UDA informant, Ned Greer, who was close to the ‘Gravedigger’ - the UDA killer who pulled the trigger on Mr Fullerton – may have also alerted the RUC to the murder plans.
In the years after the controversial murder, both informers fled the North.
Greer was spirited out of his Lisburn home in 1993 by members of the Force Research Unit after he was spotted driving into the British army barracks at Thiepval with a UDA man.
Kerr relocated to England in 1998 having moved to mid-Ulster to set up the Loyalist Volunteer Force with Billy Wright after being expelled from the UDA.
According to former paramilitary colleagues, because of his high-rank as commander of the South Belfast UDA in the early 1990s, he had intimate knowledge of the Fullerton plans.
They also insist Kerr was responsible for alerting the RUC to a murder attempt that led to the arrests of a number of armed Shankill UDA members on Finaghy Road North in west Belfast in 1992.
No one has ever been charged in connection with the murder of Mr Fullerton.
The Sinn Féin councillor was shot dead at his home in Buncrana, Co Donegal, on May 25, 1991.
Although UDA members from Co Derry assisted the killers, the gunman came from the Lisburn area.
After murdering Mr Fullerton, the three loyalist killers drove to Culmore in Co Derry where they burned the getaway car.
A witness claims he then saw the men getting into an unmarked RUC vehicle.
The family of Mr Fullerton believe that authorities on both sides of the Border had a hand in the killing of their relative.
Until contacted by Daily Ireland, they were unaware that Alex Kerr, as well as Ned Greer, may have alerted the RUC about the murder plans.
Mr Fullerton’s son, Albert Fullerton, yesterday said loyalists’ claims that the RUC had prior knowledge about his father’s murder strengthened the case for a public inquiry.
He said: “The UDA had to have assistance from the RUC and Garda to come so deep into Donegal to kill my father.
“He was set up to be murdered by the police, police informants and paramilitaries. That is a fact.
“In the days before the murder, gardai informants were asking my family about my dad’s whereabouts. Immediately after the killing, the murderers were seen getting into an unmarked RUC vehicle in Culmore. And now I’ve learned possibly two loyalist informers tipped the RUC off prior to the murder.”

Sinn Féin

Synthetic Phonics - Castlewhelan School and teachers inspirational

Published: 27 June, 2005

Sinn Féin Education Spokesperson Michael Ferguson met with teachers from St Malachy’s Primary School in Castlewhelan on Friday morning to discuss the impact of a different Reading Formula.

Michael had written to the previous Education Minister Barry Gardiner asking him to introduce the ‘Synthetic Phonics’ Reading Formula given the results of pilot schemes in Scotland where children in 19 Schools in Glackmananshire were completing Key Stage 2 three years above the chronological reading age.

The Reading Program has been monitored and evaluated by St Andrews and Hull Universities and is under review by Ruth Kelly Education Secretary for England.

The visit to the school according to Michael Ferguson was an inspiration. Synthetic Phonics Teacher, Anne McKeefry has been teaching since 1973 in both Primary and Secondary Schools and spent eight years in Reading Support. For the last 13 years Anne has taught P1 & 2 and is co-ordinator of Foundation/Key Stage 1 in St Malachy’s Primary School Castlewhelan.Under the direction of Anne and with the support of the School Principal the school has introduced Synthetic or ‘Jolly Phonics’.

Independent research consistently shows that children following this program will be on average 12 months ahead in reading and 14 months ahead in spelling by the end of Primary 1 and nearly 100% will achieve Level 2 or above by the end of Key Stage 1. Indeed a number of children in Anne’s class reached Stage 2 in less than 2 years.

The Program involves the learning of 42 sounds over 9 weeks instead of 3-4 years, which would be the norm. As a result of this new technique some children are able to read and spell more than 30 words in less than two weeks and by the end of Primary 1 most children recognise more than 1.000 words. June tests have shown all (accept two that were statemented) children reading and spelling above their chronological age (6months - 30months).

Commenting upon the School visit Michael Ferguson said,

“St Malachy’s Principle and Anne McKeefry are demonstrating that we can effectively address the scandalous level of illiteracy by starting early and employing this tested reading and learning formula.

“It is clear that Synthetic Phonics works and common sense should dictate that we include this program in all early years learning programs and ensure that it complements the current enrichment curriculum.

“This school management team has demonstrated excellent professional judgement in the interests of the children in their care, none of whom will transfer with a reading and spelling problem.

“I had recommended the introduction of the Synthetic Phonics Program of reading to the previous Minister given its successes in Scotland and I have now asked Minister Angela Smith to support the program in St Malachy’s and implement a pupil profiling and pupil tracking exercise so that we can mainstream the good practice as best practice.

“I have also contacted the Auditor General’s Office who have been examining the public investment in Literacy in light of the high number of school leavers unable to read.

“At present 1 in 5 adults is unable to read. This program can make the difference and this school and management team will have my support for their endeavours.” ENDS

Belfast Telegraph

Summit to pave way for IRA exit
Ahern and Blair to prepare ground for IRA announcement

By Senan Molony
27 June 2005

Prime Minister Tony Blair and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will prepare the ground in Downing Street today for an announcement by the IRA that it is finally going out of business.

The two men meet for a major summit, with officials on both sides promising a special communique afterwards that could contain a prescription for progress in the event of the expected IRA initiative after years of stalemate.

The London summit is officially being billed as a British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference - the first such meeting in six years.

The last prime ministerial meeting of the BIIGC was in 1999 - the honeymoon year after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in April 1998.

Government sources said today’s meeting, which will be followed by a press conference, was the first comprehensive engagement between the two governments on Northern Ireland since the British general election in May.

Mr Blair is likely to be accompanied by his Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Peter Hain.

The Irish delegation will also be pressing for the British Government to provide papers sought by the Barron Inquiry and a cross-party committee into the Dublin and Monaghan bombing atrocities of 1974.

A senior official here said it would mark the “last attempt at raising the lack of co-operation and papers on the bombings” before the Government would seek another form of redress.

There has been speculation that the Irish government could cite Britain in an application at European Court level.

Also on the agenda will be the marching season, while it is possible the British side may offer more information about the reasons for the recommittal to prison of Sean Kelly, an IRA man freed early after receiving a series of life sentences for the murder of nine civilians in a fish shop blast on the Shankill Road in October 1993.

The conference will address political developments, security and criminal justice, policing, human rights and equality - all matters within Northern Ireland.

But it also promises to be a review of other strands in the Agreement, including North/South relationships and East/West matters between Britain and the island of Ireland.

A spokesman in Dublin said holding the meeting under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Conference was “a demonstration of the close working partnership between the two governments and a demonstration of the commitment to pursue progress across the issues embraced by the Agreement.”

BBC

Attacks after ‘loyalist fall-out’

Four separate paramilitary-style assaults in Carrickfergus may have been the result of a fall-out between loyalist factions, it is believed.

The men were attacked with bricks, hammers and meat cleavers on the Woodburn and Castlemara estates at about 2200 BST on Sunday.

Police were attacked by a crowd of up to 50 people during follow-up searches.

At one point a crossbow bolt fired at an officer struck a police Land Rover. No-one was injured.

Carrickfergus Alliance councillor Sean Neeson said the attack on the police was “outrageous”.

“A crossbow is a lethal weapon and this attack should be considered as attempted murder,” he said.

“The community in Carrick as a whole are right behind the police in enforcing the law.”

None of the men who were assaulted has made a complaint to police. Their conditions are not known.

Police have appealed for anyone with information concerning the attacks to contact them.

BBC

Beacon of hope on city’s mountain

The mountain offers stunning views of Belfast and beyond

A beacon of hope is to be lit on Belfast’s Divis mountain as the city looks forward to showing off its rugged beauty to the world.

The National Trust bought Divis and the Black Mountain last November from the Ministry of Defence.

On Monday, 1,500 acres of black hills will be opened to everyone.

A light, lit at 0800 BST on Divis Mountain, will mark the spot where the Drummond limelight shone in 1828 - when the Ordinance Survey of Ireland began.

“During the past eight months we have carried out a huge amount of work to secure the property, protect the natural habitat of this unique landscape and provide open access for all,” Maurica Lavery, the Trust’s communications manager said.

“Initial work has included clearing over 1000 tonnes of debris from the site, constructing a floating path to the summit of Black Mountain, securing buildings on the mountain, building a car park as well as ensuring adequate signage in the area.”

The hills will be opened up to walkers and sightseers

More than 200 volunteers from the public, private and voluntary sectors have been involved in the work to make the mountains a place for everyone to enjoy.

There will be room for walkers, nature-lovers and sightseers - young and old.

The National Trust’s aim is to attract 20,000 to 30,000 visitors a year.

The fact that it is in the hands of the National Trust means there will be no danger of illegal quarrying and dumping, and the Army have removed their military trappings.

Black Mountain, including Divis, was first leased by the Ministry of Defence in 1953, during the Cold War.

It was used as a training area, with a small arms range.

When the lease expired in 1986, the MoD purchased the site, and it was used as a communications site throughout the worst of Northern Ireland’s Troubles.

It was deemed surplus to requirements in 1999 and then sold to the National Trust for £3m.

RTE

TV presenter Whiteley dies aged 61

26 June 2005 22:14

Richard Whiteley, the presenter of Channel 4’s Countdown, has died.

The 61-year-old, known for his loud ties and stripy jackets as much as for his homely manner on screen, had been suffering from pneumonia for some time.

Whiteley, from west Yorkshire, had presented Countdown since the quiz was the first aired in 1982.

The show was originally supposed to run for five weeks but now enjoys cult status.

Whiteley leaves behind a partner of 11 years, Kathryn Apanowicz, who shot to fame on EastEnders in the 1980s

Scotsman.com

Israeli troops tell of tactics to abuse Palestinians

BEN LYNFIELD IN JERUSALEM

FORMER soldiers in the Israeli Defence Force have come forward with claims of widespread abuses against the Palestinians amid what they say is a growing climate of “moral corruption”.

A group of 300 ex-service personnel gathered together by the Breaking the Silence group made a series of damaging allegations about the behaviour of soldiers.

In public testimonies, the troops alleged the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) routinely carried out “deterrent gunfire” into Palestinian areas without a specific target and also used Palestinian civilians to investigate suspected bombs and as human shields during arrest operations.

The claims, which are beginning to filter into the Israeli media, contrast sharply with government assertions that the Israeli army is a “role model for the world” because of its particularly moral behaviour.

Major Sharon Finegold, an army spokeswoman, said: “The Israeli army is a role model for many armies in the world and we are pioneers in the war on terror.”

However, while allegations of mistreatment made by Palestinians or human rights groups are dismissed by many Israelis as hostile, those from Israel’s own soldiers, who undergo three years of mandatory military service, carry added weight.

What emerges from the testimonies is that far from being aberrations, abuses of Palestinian civilians are institutionalised and come from the highest levels of the army.

In one written account by a soldier who served in Ujah village, near Jericho in 2001, he describes the “suspicious object” procedure.

“If there is a suspicious object such as a pile of rocks in the road, we stop a Palestinian and send him to move the object while the soldiers hide behind cover,” he said. “The Palestinian is considered unimportant since the object was put there by another Palestinian.”

Breaking the Silence, which was launched a year ago, recently released testimonies showing that the Israeli army in 2001 had killed 15 Palestinian policemen as revenge for the killing of six soldiers.

Avichay Sharon, an activist in the group, said the incident reflected a pervasive “moral corruption” resulting from the occupation of Palestinian territory. “If it’s sergeant at a checkpoint, he will slap people around,” said Mr Sharon.

“If it’s an officer, he will give crazy rules of engagement, if it’s a brigadier-general it’s giving rules in which tanks shoot into cities. Even the public becomes morally corrupt. What has happened here is a war on civilians, a war on civilian life, a war against women, children, men, against millions of people.”

The Israeli army said it “welcomed” the claims by Breaking the Silence, insisting it was important to report behaviour that was not up to IDF standards.

“Unfortunately, they refuse to give us the names of soldiers, making it hard to investigate and get to the bottom of things in the cases they document,” Major Finegold said.

She added: “Searches at 2am save the lives of Israeli civilians who would be the targets of suicide bombers. There has been a dramatic reduction in Israeli fatalities because of our going into the cities and arresting the masterminds of terrorism.”