IDF to distribute pepper spray to all non-combat soldiers
The military operations division is currently finalizing the budget resources that will fund the distribution in the face of a growing wave of terror attacks.
The operations division of the IDF is currently in final discussions to secure a source of funding for thousands of pepper spray canisters, which will be distributed to new draftees in 2016. The army has so far only distributed pepper spray to female recruits as a means of self-defense. The soldiers set to receive the spray will range from active duty to non commisioned service, from the rank of private to captain, and for NCOs, to the rank of sergeant major.
An officer involved in the program said that; "We want the distribution to start this year, however the program is still a work in progress. Soldiers who don’t carry weapons will be mandated to carry the pepper spray, just as female soldiers currently do."
The operations division believes that, due to the wave of terror attacks that took place this year, and most recently this week, most of which are conducted by lone attackers, could have been neutralized by soldiers carrying the spray. "The spray can act as a precautionary measure, giving the soldier the ability to react and end the incident," the officer said. We get dozens of requests every year from soldiers, asking to walk around in civilian clothes, for fear of being attacked, as well as those living in cities like Haifa and Jaffa, who feel vulnerable due to their service. Similar requests are received from soldiers who fear for their personal safety, like Haredi soldiers, minorities, and soldiers living in the West Bank."
The military police will enforce the command after it enters into force, and will hand out violations to soldiers who don’t carry a weapon or pepper spray. According to the army's Bamahane newsletter, the program will cost the IDF around NIS 300,000. According to the estimates, the spray canister purchase will add NIS 400,000 to the annual budget.
The total budget for the canisters will total nearly $200,000 Dollars. As a result the military is mulling over cancelling the policy which forced female combat soldiers to carry both their service weapons and pepper spray.
The military briefly stopped distributing pepper spray to female soldiers in 1998 due to budgetary cuts, however the distribution was restarted two years later after a series of rape cases at the Tzriffin military base.
Four years ago marked the first proposal to distribute the spray to all non-combat soldiers, in the wake of increasing kidnap attempts after Gilad Shalit's release.
In recent years the IDF enacted a contrasting policy, telling soldiers who live in problematic areas to deposit their weapon on base before going home, due to a large scale increase in gun thefts. The policy angered many combat soldiers who said they where unable to react when faced with a terrorist incident on the way home.
