Traumatized by Egyptian Soldier’s Op, Bardelas Battalion Soldiers Refuse to Attend Their Shifts

By Staff, Agencies

Traumatized soldiers from the ‘Israeli’ military’s Bardelas Battalion have refused to go on their standard 12-hour shift at the Egyptian border, ‘Israeli’ Walla! news agency reported on Friday. The transformation comes in wake of the heroic operation carried out by a daring Egyptian Army soldier who killed two of the battalion's soldiers, Sgt. Uri Itzhak Ilouz and Sgt. Lia Ben Nun while on-duty, and Sgt. Ohad Dahan, who was killed while pursuing the perpetrator.

The Bardelas Battalion "is in charge of the Arava Region, which stretches from the Dead Sea to Eilat," according to the ‘Israeli’ military website.

The soldiers, while also having their parents' support in their complaints, made it clear to their commanders that they were unable to perform such long shifts. The soldiers criticized the command of their battalion, which made them work these shifts despite the poor weather conditions, and stressed that they felt useless while they were in the field for so long.

A report on the matter was quickly passed between the battalion's commander on Mount Harif to the commander of the Paran Brigade. Sources involved with the issue reported that there was a lengthy debate between both the Zionist commanders and soldiers, which was then brought to the attention of the brigade commander, Col. Ido Saad.

It was ultimately decided to shorten the shift hours from twelve to eight, and to reduce the guarding of the border by one post.

Additionally, an ‘Israeli’ military spokesperson said that "following an assessment of the situation and the incident at the Egyptian border, it was decided to convert the single guard position to a two-person job during night hours."