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Nine IDF soldiers jailed for refusing orders along Israel-Gaza border

When IDF commanders confiscated personal items, including flags and personalized gun straps, the soldiers refused to take part.

Israeli tanks stationed near the Israeli-Gaza border on March 27, 2019. Photo by Dudi Modan/Flash90.
Israeli tanks stationed near the Israeli-Gaza border on March 27, 2019. Photo by Dudi Modan/Flash90.

A group of nine Israel Defense Forces soldiers were sentenced to 20 days of jail time for refusing to follow orders during preparations for a Gaza ground campaign last week, according to a report by The Jerusalem Post.

As heightened tensions saw rockets flying between Israel and Gaza, the Golani brigade was mobilized to the area, with troops rotating between the open areas outside Gaza and the Tze’elim military base, where drills and preparations were taking place.

According to a report in Ynet, when IDF commanders confiscated personal items, including flags and personalized gun straps, the soldiers refused to take part in preparations.

Additional soldiers in the field were removed from their positions after complaining of inactivity and questioning how much longer they had to remain in the field.

During a heated exchange at a conference on conflict-related sexual violence, Israel’s ambassador accused senior United Nations representatives of bias against the Jewish state.
One of the soldiers was killed in an incident in which two others were critically injured and an officer was moderately injured.
“Hezbollah is Iran’s long arm and they don’t want a cease fire,” the ambassador said.
“IDF soldiers must stand between Hezbollah and Israeli civilians. We will not wait for the next attack to reach our homes.”
The Jewish state, by contrast, absorbed Holocaust survivors, Jews expelled from Arab states and others who did not maintain their refugee status.
U.S.-Iran talks have been postponed after an explosive drone killed four Israeli soldiers in Southern Lebanon.