Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

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.

The promotion of one of the president’s most partisan and hard-nosed lieutenants to one of the most powerful jobs in Washington may signal how Trump intends to respond to his party’s defeat in the midterms.
“It’s an evolving trend that shows greater signs of permanence than temporary quality,” Dan Diker of the Jerusalem Center for Foreign Affairs told JNS.
The National Jewish Assembly called on the government to address concerns over sanctions targeting Israelis in Judea and Samaria after a 94–90 vote.
The U.S. Justice Department told JNS that Eric Lee Boltz and the government agreed that the hate-crime sentencing enhancement would apply.