The IDF top brass is furious at the decision by Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer to appoint an investigative committee to look into the killing of "innocent" Arabs in the past few days during army offensives. Senior officers warn that the findings might lead to new restrictions on opening fire at terrorists, leading to increased risk to soldiers and civilians.
It was reported earlier that the IDF unit whose soldiers killed four Arabs seen cutting their way into a Jewish property at 3 AM Sunday morning were angry at accusations that they killed "innocent" Palestinians. The soldiers were waiting in ambush at the site, based on intelligence warnings of an impending attack. When they saw the four, they opened fire and killed them. An axe and wire-cutting equipment was found on the Arabs' bodies. The operative assumption in the army is that the four were either carrying out a "practice run" for yet another attack there and/or were planning to attack Jews with the axe.
Officer and soldiers in the unit complained to Ynet that they could not understand why the IDF does not come to their defense, and does not disseminate the photos they took of the terrorists, including the axe and their other tools. The property whose fence the Arabs were cutting their way into has seen its share of attacks. At least three bombs have been found there in the past year, including one three weeks ago and another one that seriously wounded two high school students.
The IDF acknowledged that the four worked in a nearby saw-mill, but said that it was far from the spot at which the terrorists tried to enter. Defense Minister Ben-Eliezer's statement that he would "investigate" the incidents in which "innocent" Arabs were killed also angered the soldiers.
It was reported earlier that the IDF unit whose soldiers killed four Arabs seen cutting their way into a Jewish property at 3 AM Sunday morning were angry at accusations that they killed "innocent" Palestinians. The soldiers were waiting in ambush at the site, based on intelligence warnings of an impending attack. When they saw the four, they opened fire and killed them. An axe and wire-cutting equipment was found on the Arabs' bodies. The operative assumption in the army is that the four were either carrying out a "practice run" for yet another attack there and/or were planning to attack Jews with the axe.
Officer and soldiers in the unit complained to Ynet that they could not understand why the IDF does not come to their defense, and does not disseminate the photos they took of the terrorists, including the axe and their other tools. The property whose fence the Arabs were cutting their way into has seen its share of attacks. At least three bombs have been found there in the past year, including one three weeks ago and another one that seriously wounded two high school students.
The IDF acknowledged that the four worked in a nearby saw-mill, but said that it was far from the spot at which the terrorists tried to enter. Defense Minister Ben-Eliezer's statement that he would "investigate" the incidents in which "innocent" Arabs were killed also angered the soldiers.