Zikim base on day of rocket attack (archives)
Photo: AFP
Cadets balk at orders to head for Qassam-stricken base
Female cadets briefly defy orders to get on bus heading for Zikim training base in protest at lack of bomb shelters
About 20 female IDF cadets on Sunday balked at military orders to head for a military base near the Gaza Strip where 67 soldiers were injured earlier this month when a Qassam rocket hit a tent in the base.
The soldiers and their parents held placards criticizing the army for failing to equip the Zikim military base with bomb shelters. "Our daughters' blood is not for sacrifice," one slogan read.
Qassam attack
Amnon Meranda
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The new recruits, who enlisted in the army on September 18, a week after the Zikim incident, claimed that they were not told beforehand that they would be undergoing training in the Qassam-stricken base.
"They were told they were being taken to Zikim only when they were on the bus, which made them all anxious," one mother said.
Parents expressed their anger at the military's failure to start fortification works in the base soon after the incident.
An eyewitness told Ynet that officers who were rushed to the scene warned the cadets they would be put behind bars if they failed to get on the bus.
"They simply threatened them that everyone who refuses to get on the bus will be tried and jailed. They started panicking, they are teenagers after all," the eyewitness said.
