IDF soldiers allegedly caught getting high on duty
Military police investigating claim that three paratroopers smoked marijuana while on guard duty in Hebron.
Three soldiers from the Paratroopers Brigade were arrested Friday by military police investigators on suspicion of smoking marijuana during operations in Hebron.
Investigators were said to be examining the possibility that other soldiers in their unit, which is responsible for the city's sector, acted similarly, and that the arrested soldiers did so on previous occasions.
An officer caught the soldiers smoking while they were guarding a pillbox located across from a Palestinian neighborhood in the city, and they confessed to the activity after they were caught.
Sources in the unit tipped off the military police and the group were charged with possession and use of narcotics under severe circumstances.
"Usually, when soldiers are arrested on drug charges, it doesn't happen within the base, and certainly not during operations, but rather in their homes during weekends off," said a source close to the investigation, who stressed that the case was unusual.
"Their behavior was hugely irresponsible, as it's impossible to estimate how they would have responded if they had been attacked by terrorists or required to disperse a violent demonstration, which Hebron has nearly every day."
Sources close to the fighters said the three have no criminal past and are disciplined soldiers who fought flawlessly during Operation Protective Edge.
The IDF spokesperson unit said that "following commanders' suspicion that three soldiers are using drugs, the investigations unit of the military police was summoned. They opened an investigation and arrested the suspects. At the end of the investigation, the case will be taken to IDF prosecutors."
Military sources added that "the case was handled with speed and efficiency thanks to the personal responsibility taken by the sergeant who reported the incident at the commander echelon and made rapid treatment possible."
