Participation in atrocities among Israeli soldiers during the first intifada: A qualitative analysis

Atrocities committed by soldiers are a common occurrence that harms not only victims, but also perpetrators, armies, and nations. However, censorship, limited access to information, and the tendency to deny one's evil and project it onto the other impede investigation into how ordinary soldiers cross the line between legitimate fighting and excessive violence. This study examined processes associated with Israeli soldiers' brutal behaviors during the first Intifada. Participants were 21 male combat veterans of two companies stationed in Gaza whose sampling reflected diversity in Israeli society and a wide range of behaviors in the Intifada. Situational factors and social-psychological processes (i.e. modeling, moral disengagement, dehumanization, and deindividuation) were powerful inducers of brutality. The data also showed individual differences in violence, inner-outer directedness, and moral standards. Consequently, five subgroups were identified: Callous/Impulsive, Ideologically Violent, Followers, Restrained, and Incorruptible. The use of these categories to examine the soldiers' unfolding experience over time generated a unique perspective into two less studied dynamics. The first was a synergistic interaction between dispositional and situational factors, manifested in level of brutality and differential subgroup stability of violent behaviors over time. The second was the company as a family-like primary social system that developed inner culture and structural patterns characterized by alignments and social power. Initially, there evolved a culture of brutality with an associated leadership that escalated the violence. A later clash with soldiers who adhered to the army's professional culture transformed the company's culture and structure. This analysis has implications for preventive measures, including the development of morally committed and resolute leadership at both lower and higher echelons of command.