To hear spokesperson Major Sharon Finegold tell it, the Israeli Defense Force is all but tucking Palestinian children in at night. Her statement that the IDF acts as a "role model for many armies in the world" stands in stark contrast to the experiences of some 300 ex-personnel who've recently come forward with claims of "moral corruption" within the IDF.

Brought together by the year-old peace group Breaking the Silence, the ex-soldiers are going public with tales of random shootings, use of Palestinians as human shields and revenge killings - all the things the IDF has been denying or dismissing as random acts. Breaking the Silence member Avichay Sharon says the incidents are far from random, and says the crimes come down from the military's highest ranks. "Even the public becomes morally corrupt," says Sharon. "What has happened here is a war on civilians... a war against women, children, men."

Finegold says the fact that Breaking the Silence doesn't name names makes it difficult to "get to the bottom of things."

» Scott Saxon