Paratrooper ceremony at the Kotel
Paratrooper ceremony at the KotelSarah Schuman/Flash 90

On the orders of the police, IDF paratrooper recruits who were being bused to their induction ceremony at the Western Wall (Kotel) were told to close the curtains on the bus windows as they arrived at the Damascus Gate of Jerusalem's Old City.

The strange request stemmed from police fears that Arab residents would identify that the bus was full of soldiers and start attacking it, reports Yedioth Aharonoth on Wednesday morning.

According to the report the soldiers opposed the demand, and told the commander who gave them the police order that it was an embarrassing request.

However, after the commander insisted, the soldiers closed the curtains even as they began singing: "The eternal nation doesn't fear a long road."

The incident was exposed when one of the soldiers sent a picture on the Whatsapp cell phone application to his family members, showing the bus from the inside with all the curtains drawn.

"We're passing through Damascus Gate. The police asked to close the curtains...did we liberate Jerusalem?!," wrote the soldier in text accompanying the image.

The IDF Spokesperson Unit responded to the report with the following statement: "The incident stands in opposition to the army's instructions. It will be investigated and lessons will be drawn from it."