Soldiers struggle with settlers at Shirat Yam
צילום: איי פי
'We cried inside'
Combat engineers of Battalion 603 talk about what it was like at Shirat Yam; one soldier says, 'It was too painful to move a woman who could be our mothers; we almost broke down at times'
GAZA - Soldiers of Battalion 603 are still trying to digest Sunday's tumultuous events, when the IDF demolished abandoned buildings near the settlement of Shirat Yam, in Gush Katif.
Just a month and a half ago, the battalion was stationed in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, along the border with the Gaza Strip. After a training session, the unit returned south, this time to the center of the Strip to guard a house demolition operation.
Soldiers trained to fight terrorists found themselves confronting right-wing protestors trying to stop the demolition.
"They cursed us, but we know that we had come to complete a mission. There were moments when we almost broke down. What held us together was the realization that we are soldiers of the IDF, which is everyone's army," one soldier said.
Staff-Sergeant Mark Brasodsky said, "This was the first time we encountered the settlers. We were not emotionally ready for this. We didn't come to evacuate people. The buildings were abandoned."
Sergeant Lior Massala recalled, "You see people throwing themselves in front of the D9 Bulldozer. You pounce on them so they won't be crushed but also to get them away from the place."
Sergeant Tamir Selah says that he is certain the settlers do not hate him or his comrades: "I have served in the Strip for a year and four months. I have lost friends. I believe the settlers know that we are here for them, that we came to defend them."
Contemplating evacuation
The soldiers said that they did not agree with conscientious objector Corporal Avi Beiber, who was sentenced to 56 days in jail for refusing orders at Shirat Yam.
"It's wrong to grant legitimacy to his actions," Brasodsky said.
Asked if they were ready to evacuate settlers, Massala said, "It will be hard, but if that's what's ordered, that's what we'll do. I understand their (the settlers) pain, but they have to understand us."
The soldiers said that after the clash, the settlers hugged them and invited them for Shabbat meals.
"We understand you," one of the settlers told the soldiers.
