The IDF investigation commissioned by Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Moshe Yaalon into last week's evacuation of Gilad issued its findings last night. The report states that the forced evacuation of Gilad Farm on Shabbat was "a serious foul-up with repercussions that could affect the soldiers' trust in their officers." Yaalon ordered no operative measures, however, other than a "freshening up" of Sabbath orders and awareness.
Yaalon determined that the rule that IDF forces may be activated on the Sabbath only for life-saving matters was not adhered to in the case at hand, and that in fact the forces should not have been activated on Shabbat afternoon for a Saturday night eviction. The committee said that it could be that the intense fighting of the past two years caused confusion as to what is permitted on the Sabbath, but on the other hand, "this foul-up indicates a lack of awareness and internalization of the importance of the Sabbath." The Chief of Staff has therefore ordered the matter to be discussed at the upcoming General Staff meeting, "and has given an order to re-issue the [Sabbath] orders, and to internalize the significance and the lessons for both officers and soldiers in all the units and commands in order to prevent incidents of this nature from recurring."
Yitzchak Meir, father of one of the young officers who was tricked into desecrating the Sabbath, told Arutz-7 that the committee was not authorized to investigate the man who was responsible for abusing the military framework for his own political ends, Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer.
Yaalon determined that the rule that IDF forces may be activated on the Sabbath only for life-saving matters was not adhered to in the case at hand, and that in fact the forces should not have been activated on Shabbat afternoon for a Saturday night eviction. The committee said that it could be that the intense fighting of the past two years caused confusion as to what is permitted on the Sabbath, but on the other hand, "this foul-up indicates a lack of awareness and internalization of the importance of the Sabbath." The Chief of Staff has therefore ordered the matter to be discussed at the upcoming General Staff meeting, "and has given an order to re-issue the [Sabbath] orders, and to internalize the significance and the lessons for both officers and soldiers in all the units and commands in order to prevent incidents of this nature from recurring."
Yitzchak Meir, father of one of the young officers who was tricked into desecrating the Sabbath, told Arutz-7 that the committee was not authorized to investigate the man who was responsible for abusing the military framework for his own political ends, Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer.