'Soldiers putting their lives in danger.' (archive photo)
צילום: צביקה טישלר
Soldiers to be jailed for hitchhiking
Military police, IDF operations branch stage ‘fake kidnappings’ following warnings that terror groups may try to abduct soldiers. 54 soldiers caught hitchhiking, one MP exceeded authority, conducted chase, used tear gas on highway, confined to base for 30 days
IDF soldiers have yet to internalize the dangers of hitchhiking, say army sources.
54 soldiers were caught in October violating standing orders by hitchhiking during a large-scale Military Police operation to fight the phenomenon.
The soldiers were judged by senior IDF officers and sentenced to heavy military jail terms.
"The operation proves there are still soldiers who don't take this order seriously, and are putting their lives in danger," an IDF source said after the operation was completed.
Several unusual incidents were recorded during “Operation Fake Kidnapping."
One occurred this week in the beach town of Ashkelon, when a soldier jumped out of a car after realizing he had been caught by Military Police.
MPs then violated orders to chase the soldier along the highway, and one even sprayed the soldier with tear gas, endangering the lives of both people. Following the event, the MP was sentenced to 30 days confinement on base.
The IDF spokesman said the issue will also be raised with the head of Military Police this week, and the matter will be presented to all MPs in order to prevent repeat occurrences in future.
The Military Police and IDF operations branch decided at the beginning of the month to conduct a large-scale operation throughout Israel, following a large number of warnings that terrorist groups plan to abduct soldiers.
As part of the operation, MPs drove civilian cars past central intersections around the country and approached soldiers who signaled for a ride.
72-hour justice
Every soldier that entered a car was let out several minutes later, after being notified they had broken orders and receiving heavy fines. Each soldier stood trial within 72 hours in front of a senior officer. In all, 54 reports were issued.
An IDF source said, "Soldiers know they are absolutely forbidden from hitchhiking. Despite this, we caught more than 50 people blatantly ignoring orders.
"Coincidentally, they got in military police cars, on patrol to check out the situation. It could easily have been a group of terrorists looking kidnap a soldier."
The source said the army is "very concerned" about abduction, and that soldiers must obey orders, "so they do not endanger their lives."
The military police will conduct similar operations in the future.
