Eye on the Enemy: ’’IAF’’ Soldiers abandon their post on Mount Hermon
"IAF" Soldiers abandon their post on Mount Hermon
Mako.co.il
Five soldiers from an anti-aircraft unit stationed on Mount Hermon abandoned their post and surrendered their weapons to their commander on Thursday, after they had been punished by being sent to a 2-man guard point for 9 hours, "Israel" Radio reported. After one of them began to lose his cool he pointed his gun towards his comrades. Thus, they abandoned the post and expressed their concern to their commander, yet the commander returned them, but only after removing the firing pin from their weapons.
The soldiers complained of humiliating treatment from their platoon commander and a critical lack of sleep. They stressed that they did not do a rebel, but they are just afraid of making mistakes since their situation is already degrading.
The army Spokesman's Office said the case, if true, would be a serious deviation from army standards. The "Israeli" army opened a probe into the incident.
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Following a shooting incident: the Central Command discontinues exercises
Amir Bohbot - Walla! News
Central Command, Nitzan Alon, addressed this evening (Thursday) to the shooting incident that occurred during an exercise near Nablus, where a safety officer was injured, and his injury was said to be "very serious". He also ordered to stop all such exercises in the Central Command until further notice.
The initial investigation, presented in the last hours before the Central Command, shows that the Kfir Brigade were briefed before the exercise, during which it was decided that an officer will resemble the enemy coming to the area and acting as a "terrorist". The soldiers dispersed, and two of them manned a guard post near the Hawara checkpoint, one of the main passages for Palestinians into the city.
During the exercise, one of the soldiers noticed a suspicious movement, and saw a man dressed in civilian clothes moving toward him. The soldier was frightened, opened fire, hitting him in the stomach. Within seconds, it became clear the injured turned to be an officer in the brigade, who wore civilian clothes to look like a "terrorist".
Military sources estimated that the brigade that wanted to execute an exercise in which a "terrorist" comes to the transition with explosive devices, as happened in recent months in Judea and Samaria, deviated from the procedures and basic safety level required from them. The investigation into the incident continues with the participation of the safety command of the ground forces to learn where security failure starts from.
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IDF searching for 4,500 deserters, draft dodgers
Yoav Zitun, Ynet News
The Military Police launched a large scale operation to apprehend deserters and draft dodgers, whose number has significantly increased in the past year. The operation will last for 10 days and expected to see hundreds arrested and indicted.
According to data, the number of IDF deserters rose from 1,800 in 2010, to 2,700 in 2011, which also recorded 1,800 draft dodgers. No less than 700 of deserters and 800 of draft dodgers are women, some of whom falsely declared they were religious.
It should be noted that last year, the IDF changed its protocol to consider a deserter as a soldier who has been missing for 21 days, compared to 45 days prior to that. As a result, more soldiers are now considered deserters.
In 2011, a similar operation was stopped after one day due to a shortage of space in military prison. This year, the army set up special detention centers for 28-day stretches ahead of the operation. In addition, some 100 prisoners with less than eight days to serve were released earlier.
An additional detention center which can contain as many as 1,200 inmates is slated to be built near Bayt Nabala. Prison Six may be converted into a security prisoners' jail.
Thus far, 200 deserters and 15 draft dodgers were arrested. Among the deserters was a 31-year-old woman who failed to report to the Induction Center for 11 years as well as men in their 40s who failed to report to reserve duty for five years.
Data also suggest that 18,000 soldiers are sent to detention ever year, of which 12,000 are transferred to military prisons. "We would have a problem if all deserters and draft dodgers turned themselves in at the same time," a senior IDF source admitted.
"For the most part, the IDF discharges older deserters or draft dodgers after they served their time."
Source: Hebrew Press, translated and edited by moqawama.org
