Soldier complains of 'pullout trauma'
IDF soldier who was involved in disengagement from Gaza asks for compensation from Defense Ministry due to 'feeling that I was taking part in evicting Jews from their homes'
"The sights of the pullout have left me with difficult feelings of destruction of homes, destruction of kindergartens, and homes that have remained chiseled in my memory," the soldier said.
He suffered a mental breakdown and has been hospitalized. "Currently I am suffering from flashbacks, nightmares, panic, depressions, and I'm being treated daily at an institute," he wrote to the Defense Ministry. The soldier was released from the IDF a number of months ago.
'No previous mental condition'
He joined the IDF in 2003 with a reasonably high profile and no notes on mental conditions. He served a variety of roles in the Golani Division in missions in Gaza, Judea, and Samaria. The soldier served in the Megiddo prison and witnessed difficult sights, but continued his service without disturbances.
"I was selected for a special unit and attached to the Defense Ministry. I was given the mission of collecting and taking apart IDF equipment in cleared communities," the soldier said.
The IDF is closely following the issue. A senior IDF mental health department source said: "We've seen difficulties. We knew how to deal with it, and there have been almost no delayed reactions."
