Any remaining doubt that Israel is a hooligan state in its treatment of Palestinian citizens will have been removed by the testimonies of some of its soldiers which were carried in the Ha'aretz newspaper last week. The soldiers were recalling their roles in the recent invasion of Gaza, where everybody was regarded as a terrorist and officers were allowed and encouraged to shoot unarmed civilians.

One mother and her two children were murdered by the Israelis because they turned the wrong way down the street. Another soldier told of being ordered to shoot an unarmed elderly woman. That these soldiers were ashamed enough to speak out is to be welcomed. Whether anybody cares in the abominable government about to take power in Israel is, unfortunately, very much open to doubt.