Soldiers have released, again, a video that expresses their extreme frustration at the IDF's absurdly strict open-fire orders that have turned them into sitting ducks for Arab attacks in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem.

In the latest short video, shot from inside an IDF pillbox, a soldier says plaintively: “Israel, the year 2014, firebombs.” Then, firebombs hurled from below burst into flames just outside the pillbox window. “Israel,” he continues, bitterly – “keep tying us down! Keep tying us down, in the end we'll burn!”

A video released by soldiers about two weeks earlier shows a similar situation in a guard position, with Arabs taunting the soldiers from up close.

Two years ago, a shocking video showed a helpless soldier inside a Border Police position at Shuafat, north of Jerusalem, who was under vicious attack by Arabs while other soldiers waited nearby and did nothing, under orders from above.

 

Soldiers who serve in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem consistently complain that extremely strict open-fire orders prevent them from shooting at attackers except for the most extreme situations. Even the use of nonlethal weapons involves approval from higher-ups, which is rarely forthcoming.

As a result, the Arab rioters grow ever more brazen in their attacks.

"Central Command and the Judea and Samaria theater have turned into a Russian roulette in the last few months, in which the lives, health and dignity of soldier and civilians hang in the balance, while Palestinian marauders enjoy near complete immunity in what can only be described a operational recklessness," wrote political activist and reservist soldier Erez Tadmor last year.

Soldiers' presence does not guarantee the safety of civilians, he said, "especially when they are afraid to exit their rock-proofed vehicle, for fear that they will have to open fire and will face the real threat: the possibility of being put on trial."