Several incidents at army checkpoints in Judea and Samaria underline the unstable conditions that reign there. Palestinians have served notice that the soldiers are in their gun sights, with a series of recent attacks against the positions - most notably, the attack in which six soldiers were killed last week.
Israeli soldiers shot at two Arab cars in the past two days that were carrying women in labor; the husband of one was killed. In both cases, the drivers did not adhere to soldiers\' orders to stop. Soldiers also shot inadvertently last night at or above a car carrying PA senior official Abu Ala; the car was speeding towards the IDF checkpoint near Kalandia, south of Ramallah, and appeared to be bent on running down the troops. The IDF later \"expressed sorrow over the incident,\" and said it would continue to investigate it. The most serious incident, from Israel\'s point of view, came on Friday when a deputy company commander deserted his post, complaining that the checkpoint he and his men were assigned to man was unsafe. He later explained, \"This was an attempt to cry out for help so that the people on top will realize that this is a matter of life and death.\" He was sentenced to 28 days in army prison. Many soldiers later acknowledged that safety conditions were not adequate, but sharply condemned the act of desertion.
Israeli soldiers shot at two Arab cars in the past two days that were carrying women in labor; the husband of one was killed. In both cases, the drivers did not adhere to soldiers\' orders to stop. Soldiers also shot inadvertently last night at or above a car carrying PA senior official Abu Ala; the car was speeding towards the IDF checkpoint near Kalandia, south of Ramallah, and appeared to be bent on running down the troops. The IDF later \"expressed sorrow over the incident,\" and said it would continue to investigate it. The most serious incident, from Israel\'s point of view, came on Friday when a deputy company commander deserted his post, complaining that the checkpoint he and his men were assigned to man was unsafe. He later explained, \"This was an attempt to cry out for help so that the people on top will realize that this is a matter of life and death.\" He was sentenced to 28 days in army prison. Many soldiers later acknowledged that safety conditions were not adequate, but sharply condemned the act of desertion.