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Ombudsman: Consider discharging IDF officer
Soldiers who were sent to prison for abandoning positions in Hebron complained of abuse at hands of commanders
General (res.) Yitzhak Brick, the IDF ombudsman in charge of soldiers' complaints, has recommended that the army consider discharging the commander of a Paratroopers Brigade unit whose soldiers complained of abuse, Ynet reported Sunday.
About two months ago eight soldiers from the Paratroopers' 890th Airborne Battalion deserted their unit's positions in the Hebron area as an act of protest against their commanders. The troops, who were subsequently sentenced to 30 days in military prison, claimed their commanders would beat them and hurl objects at them.
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The group initially included 15 soldiers, but seven of them agreed to return to their base.
The ombudsman recommended that the IDF discharge the company's deputy commander for allegedly using violence against the soldiers, and noted that the events point to moral and operational failings. He urged the army to take measures against the commanders.
The event took place shortly after a new commander was introduced to the unit. The soldiers – all of whom are snipers – claimed that he had ordered them to perform tasks senior soldiers in the unit were traditionally exempt from. The final straw, they said, was cleanup duty.
The affair was first published by the Yedioth Ahronoth daily.
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