A "human rights" group that wants Jews to die (canine unit edition) ~ Elder Of Ziyon

Friday, April 11, 2025

A "human rights" group that wants Jews to die (canine unit edition)

Here's the latest absurdity from the "human rights" community: Military dogs whose only purpose is to save lives are illegal when the lives saved are Jewish.

The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor is one of the many NGOs that have been created purely to delegitimize Israel under the false pretense of human rights abuses.

Today, they released a report (Arabic only so far) saying that the Netherlands sends trained dogs to the IDF and this is a violation of humanitarian law, somehow:

Geneva - The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor holds the Dutch government directly legally responsible for complicity in the crimes committed by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory, particularly in the Gaza Strip, due to its continued direct and indirect support for the Israeli war machine.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said in a press release that the Netherlands continues to export military dogs to the Israeli occupation army and other Israeli security services, despite their use as a tool for systematic torture and intimidation of Palestinians, as part of the Israeli system based on imposing comprehensive domination over them, stripping them of their human dignity, and completely destroying their existence.

The IDF uses dogs for various purposes, none of which are torture and all of which save human lives:

Explosive Detection: Dogs are used to sniff out hidden explosives, such as improvised explosive devices, in urban and rural environments. Their acute sense of smell helps identify dangerous materials that could threaten soldiers or civilians.
Search and Rescue: They assist in locating survivors or remains in collapsed structures or disaster zones, leveraging their ability to navigate debris and detect human scent.
Attack and Neutralization: Some dogs are trained to engage threats directly, subduing suspects or protecting handlers in combat situations. They can operate in both open areas and confined spaces like tunnels.
Tracking and Pursuit: Dogs track individuals or groups, such as during manhunts or border security operations, following scent trails to locate targets.
Tunnel Operations: In regions like Gaza, dogs are trained for underground warfare, entering tunnels to detect traps, explosives, or hidden fighters, often equipped with cameras to provide real-time intelligence.

I cannot find any credible evidence that the dogs are used in torture, and it seems highly unlikely that Dutch or any other companies would train the dogs for such a purpose. The IDF Oketz unit that uses dogs has strict guidelines on how they are used and treated. Independent military experts have praised how well the IDF uses their canine units. There are scattered reports of Palestinians accusing the IDF of using the dogs aggressively, but the only cases that have any corroboration are those that the IDF itself investigated.

A 2014 incident where a soldier was disciplined itself proves how moral the IDF use of dogs is. During a confrontation in Beit Umar, a 16-year-old Palestinian, Hamza Abu Hashem, was attacked by an Oketz dog after throwing stones at soldiers. The IDF investigated and found the soldiers’ actions “professionally unacceptable” and “morally mistaken,” as the dog was unleashed against orders. The West Bank Division commander suspended K-9 operations temporarily, ordered retraining, and restricted dog use to brigade commander approval. Disciplinary actions were taken.

This was against a stone thrower, not an innocent boy. Yet the incident was considered so grave that the entire unit was suspended.

So the idea that dogs are used to wantonly attack Palestinians is utterly unfounded.

The canine units exist for one reason only: to save lives. And the "Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor" cannot stomach saving the lives of Jews.

(Note: the bullet list of how dogs are used and the summary of the 2014 case were generated by AI,)