TEL AVIV - Less than a day after nine soldiers refused to comply with orders at the Kissufim Crossing in the Gaza Strip, Chief of Staff Dan Halutz ordered the offending platoon be dismantled.
The incident was the second outbreak of refusal in the unit in the last several weeks.Several weeks ago, members of the unit refused to set up tents to house soldiers who will participate in the disengagement program
The initial investigation has not been completed, and as of this writing all nine insubordinate soldiers - who are in the final stages of basic training -are set to face disciplinary hearings in front of senior officers for insubordination.
Last Thursday, soldiers in the Lavi Company were briefed about their upcoming mission to close off Gaza, including the platoon to which the offending soldiers belonged.
At the time, several soldiers said they would have "trouble" completing the task, and said they were not willing to evacuate Jews.
Eventually, they agreed to show up for the mission but said they would act according to their conscience.