‘I Want to Be Martyred,' a Palestinian Boy Declares
Without attracting much notice or protest, Israel increasingly is using the tools of war familiar in Gaza — tanks, airstrikes and massive destruction and displacement — here in the West Bank. Human rights groups like B'Tselem call this the 'Gazafication' of the West Bank.
A centerpiece of this Gazafication is a wave of Israeli military assaults that started in January in West Bank refugee camps, forcing some 40,000 people from their homes. Historians say that is the highest number of civilians displaced in the territory since Israel seized it in 1967.
In the short run, the Israeli military actions seem to have succeeded in suppressing Palestinian militants in the camps, but at immense cost in lives and suffering. One of those reportedly shot dead by Israeli forces was Sondos Shalabi, a 23-year-old woman who was eight months pregnant with her first child.
In the longer run, the destruction may just sow the seeds of violence. On the edge of a no-go area, where groups of Palestinians looked at their homes but dared not enter for fear of Israeli snipers, I spoke to a 12-year-old boy, Mohammed Abdul Jalil. He said his home had been demolished and his school classes canceled for the last two months because of the military occupation of the camp.
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Los Angeles Times
2 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
How an LAPD internal affairs detective became known as ‘The Grim Reaper'
In a police department with a long tradition of colorful nicknames — from 'Jigsaw John' to 'Captain Hollywood' — LAPD Sgt. Joseph Lloyd stands out. 'The Grim Reaper.' At least that's what some on the force have taken to calling the veteran Internal Affairs detective, usually out of earshot. According to officers who have found themselves under investigation by Lloyd, he seems to relish the moniker and takes pleasure in ending careers, even if it means twisting facts and ignoring evidence. But Lloyd's backers maintain his dogged pursuit of the truth is why he has been entrusted with some of the department's most politically sensitive and potentially embarrassing cases. Lloyd, 52, declined to comment. But The Times spoke to more than half a dozen current or former police officials who either worked alongside him or fell under his scrutiny. During the near decade that he's been in Internal Affairs, Lloyd has investigated cops of all ranks. When a since-retired LAPD officer was suspected of running guns across the Mexican border, the department turned to Lloyd to bust him. In 2020, when it came out that members of the elite Metropolitan Division were falsely labeling civilians as gang members in a police database, Lloyd was tapped to help unravel the mess. And when a San Fernando Valley anti-gang squad was accused in 2023 of covering up shakedowns of motorists, in swooped the Reaper again. Recently he was assigned to a department task force looking into allegations of excessive force by police against activists who oppose the government's immigration crackdown. At the LAPD, as in most big-city police departments across the country, Internal Affairs investigators tend to be viewed with suspicion and contempt by their colleagues. They usually try to operate in relative anonymity. Not Lloyd. The 24-year LAPD veteran has inadvertently become the face of a pitched debate over the LAPD's long-maligned disciplinary system. The union that represents most officers has long complained that well-connected senior leaders get favorable treatment. Others counter that rank-and-file cops who commit misconduct are routinely let off the hook. A recent study commissioned by Chief Jim McDonnell found that perceived unfairness in internal investigations is a 'serious point of contention' among officers that has contributed to low morale. McDonnell has said he wants to speed up investigations and better screen complaints, but efforts by past chiefs and the City Council to overhaul the system have repeatedly stalled. Sarah Dunster, 40, was a sergeant working in the LAPD's Hollywood division in 2021 when she learned she was under investigation for allegedly mishandling a complaint against one of her officers, who was accused of groping a woman he arrested. Dunster said she remembers being interviewed by Lloyd, whose questions seemed designed to trip her up and catch her in a lie, rather than aimed at hearing her account of what happened, she said. Some of her responses never made it into Lloyd's report, she said. 'He wanted to fire me,' she said. Dunster was terminated over the incident, but she appealed and last week a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge granted a reprieve that allows her to potentially get her job back. Others who have worked with Lloyd say he is regarded as a savvy investigator who is unfairly being vilified for discipline decisions that are ultimately made by the chief of police. A supervisor who oversaw Lloyd at Internal Affairs — and requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media — described him as smart, meticulous and 'a bulldog.' 'Joe just goes where the facts lead him and he doesn't have an issue asking the hard questions,' the supervisor said. On more than one occasion, the supervisor added, Internal Affairs received complaints from senior department officials who thought that Lloyd didn't show them enough deference during interrogations. Other supporters point to his willingness to take on controversial cases to hold officers accountable, even while facing character attacks from his colleagues, their attorneys and the powerful Los Angeles Police Protective League. Officers have sniped about his burly build, tendency to smile during interviews and other eccentricities. He wears two watches — one on each wrist, a habit he has been heard saying he picked up moonlighting as a high school lacrosse referee. But he has also been criticized as rigid and uncompromising, seeming to fixate only on details that point to an officer's guilt. People he has grilled say that when he doesn't get the answer he's looking for, he has a Columbo-esque tendency to ask the same question in different ways in an attempt to elicit something incriminating. And instead of asking officers to clarify any discrepancies in their statements, Lloyd automatically assumes they are lying, some critics said. Mario Munoz, a former LAPD Internal Affairs lieutenant who opened a boutique firm that assists officers fighting employment and disciplinary cases, recently released a scathing 60-page report questioning what he called a series of troubling lapses in the LAPD's 2023 investigation of the Mission gang unit. The report name-drops Lloyd several times. The department accused several Mission officers of stealing brass knuckles and other items from motorists in the San Fernando Valley, and attempting to hide their actions from their supervisors by switching off their body-worn cameras. Munoz said he received calls from officers who said Lloyd had violated their due process rights, which potentially opens the city up to liability. Several have since lodged complaints against Lloyd with the department. He alleged Lloyd ultimately singled out several 'scapegoats to shield higher-level leadership from scrutiny.' Until he retired from the LAPD in 2014, Munoz worked as both an investigator and an auditor who reviewed landmark internal investigations into the beating of Black motorist Rodney King and the Rampart gang scandal in which officers were accused of robbing people and planting evidence, among other crimes. Munoz now echoes a complaint from current officers that Internal Affairs in general, and Lloyd in particular, operate to protect the department's image at all costs. 'He's the guy that they choose because he doesn't question management,' Munoz said of Lloyd. In the Mission case, Munoz pointed to inconsistent outcomes for two captains who oversaw the police division accused of wrongdoing: One was transferred and later promoted, while another is fighting for his job amid accusations that he failed to rein in his officers. Two other supervisors — Lt. Mark Garza and Sgt. Jorge 'George' Gonzalez — were accused by the department of creating a 'working environment that resulted in the creation of a police gang,' according to an internal LAPD report. Both Garza and Gonzalez have sued the city, alleging that even though they reported the wrongdoing as soon as they became aware of it, they were instead punished by the LAPD after the scandal became public. According to Munoz's report and interviews with department sources, Lloyd was almost single-handedly responsible for breaking the Mission case open. It began with a complaint in late December 2022 made by a motorist who said he was pulled over and searched without reason in a neighboring patrol area. Lloyd learned that the officers involved had a pattern of not documenting traffic stops — exploiting loopholes in the department's auditing system for dashboard and body cameras. The more Lloyd dug, the more instances he uncovered of these so-called 'ghost stops.' A few months later, undercover Internal Affairs detectives began tailing the two involved officers — something that Garza and Gonzalez both claimed they were kept in the dark about. As of last month, four officers involved had been fired and another four had pending disciplinary hearings where their jobs hung in the balance. Three others resigned before the department could take action. The alleged ringleader, Officer Alan Carrillo, faces charges of theft and 'altering, planting or concealing evidence.' Court records show he was recently offered pretrial diversion by L.A. County prosecutors, which could spare him jail but require him to stop working in law enforcement. Carrillo has pleaded not guilty to the charges. In an interview with The Times, Gonzalez — the sergeant who is facing termination — recalled a moment during a recorded interrogation that he found so troubling he contacted the police union director Jamie McBride, to express concern. McBride, he said, went to Lloyd's boss, then-deputy chief Michael Rimkunas, seeking Lloyd's removal from Internal Affairs. The move failed. Lloyd kept his job. Rimkunas confirmed the exchange with the police union leader in an interview with The Times. He said that while he couldn't discuss Lloyd specifically due to state personnel privacy laws, in general the department assigns higher-profile Internal Affairs cases to detectives with a proven track record. Gonzalez, though, can't shake the feeling that Lloyd crossed the line in trying to crack him during an interrogation. He said that at one point while Lloyd was asking questions, the detective casually flipped over his phone, which had been sitting on the table. On the back of the protective case, Gonzalez said, was a grim reaper sticker. 'And then as he turned it he looked at me as if to get a reaction from me,' Gonzalez said. 'It was definitely a way of trying to intimidate me for sure.'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
In their words: Israeli leaders support the mass relocation of Palestinians from Gaza
President Donald Trump has said little about his idea of relocating many of the Gaza Strip's 2 million Palestinians to other countries since he stunned the world by announcing it in February. But Israel's leaders have run with it, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at one point listed it as a condition for ending the 22-month war sparked by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack. He and other Israeli officials present it as a humanitarian measure allowing Palestinians to flee war and hardship, and say it should be voluntary. Israel has been in talks with African countries — many of which are themselves wracked by war and at risk of famine — about taking Palestinians in. Palestinians say there would be nothing voluntary about leaving part of their homeland with no guarantee of return after an occupying power has rendered much of it uninhabitable. Rights groups and much of the international community say it would amount to forcible expulsion in violation of international law. The issue is likely to take on greater urgency as Israel widens its military campaign to the last parts of Gaza that it hasn't taken over and largely flattened, and as large numbers of Palestinians flee once again. 'This is our land, there is no other place for us to go,' said Ismail Zaydah, whose family has remained in Gaza City throughout the war, even after much of their neighborhood and part of their home was destroyed. 'We are not surrendering,' he said. 'We were born here, and here we die.' Here's what Israel's leaders have said, in their own words. Defense Minister Israel Katz, in a Feb. 6 post on X 'I have instructed the (Israeli military) to prepare a plan that will allow any resident of Gaza who wishes to leave to do so, to any country willing to receive them. ... The plan will include exit options via land crossings, as well as special arrangements for departure by sea and air.' Netanyahu, addressing a Cabinet meeting on March 30 'Hamas will lay down its weapons. Its leaders will be allowed to leave. We will see to the general security in the Gaza Strip and will allow the realization of the Trump plan for voluntary migration. This is the plan. We are not hiding this and are ready to discuss it at any time.' Netanyahu, in a public address May 21 Israel will create "a sterile zone in the southern Strip to which the civilian population will be evacuated from the combat areas, for the purpose of defending it. In this zone, which will be Hamas-free, the residents of Gaza will receive full humanitarian assistance.' 'I am ready to end the war — according to clear conditions that will ensure the security of Israel. All of the hostages will return home. Hamas will lay down its weapons, leave power, its leadership, whoever is left, will be exiled from the Strip, Gaza will be completely demilitarized, and we will carry out the Trump plan, which is so correct and so revolutionary, and it says something simple: The residents of Gaza who wish to leave — will be able to leave.' Netanyahu, in an interview with Israeli media on Aug. 12 'I think that the right thing to do, even according to the laws of war as I know them, is to allow the population to leave, and then you go in with all your might against the enemy who remains there.' 'Give them the opportunity to leave! First, from combat zones, and also from the Strip if they want. We will allow this, first of all inside Gaza during the fighting, and we will also allow them to leave Gaza. We are not pushing them out but allowing them to leave.' ___ Follow AP's war coverage at Solve the daily Crossword
USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
I'm Israeli. The world must stop our government's genocide in Gaza while we still can.
Knowing my own society is committing these crimes has shattered everything I thought I knew about myself, about my country, about humanity. The international community has failed us all. A few years ago, at a meeting of Israeli and Palestinian peace activists, we sat on the grass trying to brainstorm new initiatives. Some Palestinians I had just met proposed, sarcastically, to form a Palestinian 'reservation' that would preserve their culture, along the lines of Indigenous reservations in North America. As a Jewish Israeli who hadn't fully grasped the depth of injustice baked into Zionism's premise of Jewish supremacy, I was horrified. I couldn't believe their imagination had taken them so far. Now, looking back, I see it was no joke. It was a warning. What I once found unthinkable is quickly becoming our reality. The combination of genocide in the Gaza Strip, accelerated ethnic cleansing in the West Bank and demolition of entire Bedouin villages within Israel makes it clear: There is a coherent logic behind the actions of the Israeli regime since its establishment. Maintaining Jewish supremacy over the entire territory reflects an apartheid logic that restricts or erases Palestinian rights. The genocide in Gaza is its most extreme manifestation, showing how far the regime is willing to go to achieve its objective. As a Jewish Israeli, I ask Americans not to look away Immediately after Hamas' criminal atrocity on Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli politicians, military commanders and members of Knesset openly declared their goals. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tied the war to the biblical commandment to "blot out the memory of Amalek" – a message every Israeli understands as a call for total annihilation. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced a complete siege on Gaza City ‒ no electricity, no food, no fuel. President Isaac Herzog claimed that it was false to speak of innocent civilians in Gaza, and that 'an entire nation ... is responsible' for Hamas' crimes. Words quickly turned into actions. As early as November 2023, Brig. Gen. Yogev Bar-Sheshet reported from inside the Gaza Strip: 'There's nothing left. Anyone who comes back here, if they come back at all, will find scorched earth. No homes, no agriculture, nothing. They have no future.' The attack on the population of Gaza goes far beyond the staggering number of deaths. It is a methodical policy with a clear objective: full occupation of the Gaza Strip and ethnic cleansing of its residents. The siege, starvation tactics, leveling of entire cities, relentless air strikes and manipulative use of humanitarian aid to force population transfer through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's 'aid centers' – all this is designed to eliminate Palestinian life in the Gaza Strip. More than 90% of the population has been displaced, and about 92% of all housing units have been destroyed or damaged. Most hospitals and schools have been attacked, and many have been put out of service by Israel. The options Israel leaves to 2 million people of Gaza range from expulsion to death by starvation, disease, shooting or air strikes. We must call the suffering in Gaza what it is: genocide This is not about random acts of cruelty. This is genocide, in the full sense of the word: a coordinated attack on all aspects of the lives of a group of people, aimed at erasing the foundations of their existence. The vision of a land 'cleansed' of Palestinians, free for Jewish Israelis to take over, is not limited to the Gaza Strip. While the attack in Gaza is underway, Israel has also ramped up efforts to drive Palestinians in the West Bank into ever-shrinking enclaves and degrade their living conditions. The military has taken over and destroyed entire neighborhoods, displacing about 40,000 people. Also, in recent months, consistent attacks by settlers have driven 40 communities out of their homes, while many others face imminent expulsion. Meanwhile, the network of checkpoints installed by Israel severely restricts Palestinians' freedom of movement, blocks farmers from accessing their land and damages the economy. In Gaza and in all the areas under Israel's control, we are witnessing the complete stripping away of Palestinians' rights, both as individuals and as a collective, in the face of unrestrained, deliberate and systematic Israeli violence. When I talk with Palestinian friends and partners, I can hardly look them in the eye anymore. Knowing my own society is committing these crimes has shattered everything I thought I knew about myself, about my country, about humanity. To begin rebuilding from the ashes, the genocide must stop. Yet this will not happen from within. There is no institution or mechanism in Israel today capable or willing to stop the government's campaign of annihilation. The international community has also failed. Some leaders have issued hollow statements, while others – especially the United States, both under the Trump administration and the Biden administration – are directly assisting Israel in the horrors. Only sustained public pressure on world leaders, and an uncompromising demand that they use every measure available under international law, can bring this genocide to an end. That is the only hope of saving whoever and whatever little remain from this catastrophe. Yair Dvir is the spokesperson for the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem.
