Israeli NGO denounces abuses against Palestinians.
A group of former Israeli soldiers formed the organization Breaking the Silence, which collects testimonies from Palestinians about abuses by the army; the organization's goal is to curb mistreatment in occupied territories.
247 - Israeli soldiers who served in occupations in the West Bank, forcing Palestinian residents to live under curfew and often to leave their own homes, now regret the practice and denounce abuses by the Israeli army against the Palestinian people.
Today they form the organization Breaking the Silence, which collects testimonies from residents about the soldiers' actions. In June, the organization celebrated its tenth anniversary.
"We have to be responsible for what we did. For what I did," comments Avihai Stollar, who accompanied the Folha de S. Paulo reporter on a trip to the city of Hebron, where Palestinians and Israelis are disputing territory. "To show that the occupation is immoral, that it cannot continue," the former soldier adds.
Four years after being discharged from military service, he is currently the director of the testimony department at Breaking the Silence. "I want to take responsibility for my actions," he says.