Soldiers (Illustrative)
Soldiers (Illustrative)Flash 90

The IDF on Wednesday suspended a Kfir Brigade fighter, who refused to participate in an ambush to catch “price tag” vandals, from his position as a fighter for a period of six months.

Wednesday’s suspension comes after the IDF soldier had already been dismissed on Monday from a company commanders’ course because of his refusal to participate in the ambush.

Relatives and friends of the soldier claimed on Wednesday evening that “the trials were showcase trials and there was no authority to put him on trial twice.”

The soldier was asked last week, along with his fellow soldiers, to lie in ambush near a Jewish neighborhood in Hevron, where military officials believed price tag incidents were being planned. The ambush took place one day before the eviction of families from the Ulpana neighborhood in Beit El.

The soldier informed his superiors that he would rather not participate in this activity because, as he put it, he was not recruited to the IDF to arrest Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria but rather to help the people of Israel and fight enemies.

In response to the suspension, the IDF said on Wednesday, “Given the gravity of the incident, which is inconsistent with the accepted norms in the IDF and with the norms expected from a future commander, it was decided to immediately dismiss the soldier from the commanders’ course. Upon returning to his unit he was tried and reprimanded by the brigade commander and was ousted from his position as a fighter for a period of six months.”