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 during army offensives over the past few days. Senior officers warn that the findings might lead to new restrictions on opening fire at terrorists, leading to increased risk to soldiers and civilians.
The IDF unit whose soldiers killed four Arabs seen cutting their way into a Jewish property at 3 AM Sunday morning were earlier reported to be angry at accusations that they killed "innocent" Palestinians - and at the lack of backing by their higher-ups. 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 were found on the Arabs' bodies. The army's operative assumption is that the four were 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 News that they could not understand why the IDF does not come to their defense. 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 this past June. The IDF acknowledged that the four worked in a nearby sawmill, but said that it was far from the spot at which the terrorists tried to enter.
"Professors for a Strong Israel" issued a statement today demanding that
"the political leadership, in particular the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister, give full support to the officers and soldiers of the IDF, who stand in the front line of this Oslo War that was forced on Israel by the Palestinian Terror Authority. We demand that this support be expressed in the wake of military operations that cause deaths among the human shields employed by Arafat's terrorists, whether by accident or not. Such deaths are not a fitting subject for commissions of inquiry; we expect the Defense Minister to investigate instead how many citizens and soldiers paid with their lives for unnecessary hesitation and delay in carrying out prevention and elimination operations."
The IDF unit whose soldiers killed four Arabs seen cutting their way into a Jewish property at 3 AM Sunday morning were earlier reported to be angry at accusations that they killed "innocent" Palestinians - and at the lack of backing by their higher-ups. 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 were found on the Arabs' bodies. The army's operative assumption is that the four were 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 News that they could not understand why the IDF does not come to their defense. 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 this past June. The IDF acknowledged that the four worked in a nearby sawmill, but said that it was far from the spot at which the terrorists tried to enter.
"Professors for a Strong Israel" issued a statement today demanding that
"the political leadership, in particular the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister, give full support to the officers and soldiers of the IDF, who stand in the front line of this Oslo War that was forced on Israel by the Palestinian Terror Authority. We demand that this support be expressed in the wake of military operations that cause deaths among the human shields employed by Arafat's terrorists, whether by accident or not. Such deaths are not a fitting subject for commissions of inquiry; we expect the Defense Minister to investigate instead how many citizens and soldiers paid with their lives for unnecessary hesitation and delay in carrying out prevention and elimination operations."