IDF troops training for evacuation of Gaza settlers
צילום: אטילה שומפלבי
‘I’m scared for the children’
Ynet correspondent accompanies IDF company training for evacuation of Gaza settlers ahead of upcoming pullout; 2nd Lieutenant Leah Zucker: I have questions regarding the reasonable amount of force that needs to be applied
Second-lieutenant Leah Zucker, 21, is resposible for 16 Nahal Brigade soldiers gearing up for the pullout from Gaza and northern Samaria but says that she has questions regarding what's considered reasonable force in evacuating settlers from their homes.
“I am certain that once I see someone hurt a soldier, even unintentionally, my ‘reasonable force’ will naturally increase,” she said. “On the other hand, it is very important to me that the soldiers do not deem all those that confront us as regular outlaws, but rather as ideological people.”
How difficult is this mission?
This mission is quite different from what I am used to. First of all, I am walking around without a rifle. We have never faced the dilemmas we are dealing with now, the emotional dilemmas. There are a lot of emotions at play here, and then settlers make it a point to emphasize this to make it harder on us.
It is very important to me that the soldiers relate to the silent majority of settlers. It will be easy to see the bad things there, but most of these people love Israel. We should appreciate the silent majority, and not look only at the violent, extreme and loud minority.
2nd Lieutenant Leah Zucker (Photo: Attila Somfalvi)
Have you had any political dilemmas?
Not really. I am treating the mission as an order I must carry out. Ideologically, I am an avid believer in the rule of law, so there was no dilemma. If I did not want to carry out the mission, I could have refrained from signing on for standing army service. I knew of the mission beforehand, but I did not give up.
What is most troublesome for you regarding the mission?
The insubordination, even though I do not believe there is a chance of it happening in our platoon. Last week, a soldier refused to play the role of a heavy-set settler during an exercise. This is a soldier who felt he did have a good enough reason to carry out the mission. He did not understand that you don’t always need a reason to obey orders.
I am afraid that people in one of the settler homes will be in a dire mental state and that one of them may attempt to blow up the house and him or herself out of desperation. I also fear a serious riot may erupt. I am afraid for the little children; they are supposed to be easier to evacuate, but they are also more miserable.
Two weeks to the disengagement - do you feel you and your team are ready?
Yes, I feel relatively prepared, but it seems to me no one will be ready for the first day. You cannot really determine what the mission is until it starts.
In any case, we’ll really see what’s going on when we get there.
