Former Jewish Home MK Yinon Magal, who served in the elite Sayeret Matkal unit, spoke with Radio 103FM Tuesday regarding the harassment and assault of IDF soldiers last Friday by Arab women in the Palestinian Authority-controlled village of Nabi Salih. Footage of the incident was uploaded to social media outlets and quickly went viral. One of the suspects was arrested Tuesday morning for assaulting the soldiers.
“Instead of responding, soldiers find themselves in a marketplace of ideas. There are times when you have to use the butt of a rifle and if not, at least stop [the harassers]. When she gets the butt of a rifle in her face, she’ll understand,” Magal said.
“The left, thank God, has not been not successful in removing us from Judea and Samaria. Therefore, they are trying to do it on the level of consciousness, by castrating and freezing the fighting spirit of the IDF. This is the result of recent events. A soldier must respect himself and his uniform, and not allow himself to be beaten,” Magal added.
Former head of the radical leftist “Peace Now” group Yariv Oppenheimer then joined the conversation.
“No soldier’s life was in danger,” Oppenheimer said of the incident in Nabi Salih. “We are talking about a young Palestinian woman kicking and managing to slap a soldier - an ugly situation, but we must maintain a sense of proportion. We must remember who is strong and who is weak in this scenario.”
Magal emphasized during the discussion, “Terrorists must be killed when they come to hurt us. There is no reason that IDF soldiers have to accept beatings and not respond because of cameras.”