No public criticism of the IDF, please: this is Israel...

Hard to escape the impression Israel is slowly turning into a garrison state where the army is in charge of an awful lot of things and should be considered above criticism:

Snippet from Ha'aretz

Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Wednesday criticized an Israeli human rights organization for publishing an Israel Defense Forces soldier's testimony that troops used Palestinians as human shields during Operation Cast Lead last January, despite a 2005 High Court ruling outlawing the practice.

"Public criticism of the IDF is inappropriate," Barak said. "Any criticism, information or reservations about the army's conduct should be addressed to me as the Defense Minister of the State of Israel and to the Israeli government which instructed the IDF to reinstate peace and security in southern Israel."

Of course he was referring to the excellent work by the indefatigable 'Breaking the Silence' group on practices by the IDF during Operation Cast Lead. Cat's out of the bag, Barak.

Any criticism, information or reservations about the army's conduct should be addressed to me as the Defense Minister of the State of Israel and to the Israeli government which will promptly file them in that small, round thing known as the waste paper basket...