Eleven of the 16 hesder soldiers from the Givati Brigade's Rotem Battalion who were sent to military prison after refusing to board an APC with a female paramedic, will be released Friday morning after serving five days behind bars.
Five soldiers will remain in military prison for an additional five days.
The soldiers' release is in line with their original sentences: Five of the soldiers were sentenced Sunday evening by the battalion commander to 10 days in military prison, while the other 11 soldiers were sentenced to five days of confinement.
The IDF said that two of the soldiers sentenced to 10 days in prison will undergo an evaluation committee before being allowed to return to combat.
On Thursday, Arutz Sheva - Israel National News revealed that the parents of soldiers in the Rotem Battalion's hesder platoon appealed Thursday to IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, demanding that he intervene in the affair that resulted in soldiers being sent to military prison.
On Wednesday, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich revealed that commanders in the Givati Brigade initially wanted to close the case against soldiers who refused to board an armored personnel carrier with a female medic, but that IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir insisted on severe punishment.
"All the factors within the Givati Brigade wanted to close the case. They understood these were good soldiers. Unfortunately, there was an instruction from someone up in the General Staff headquarters that said: ‘We want severe punishment here,’" Smotrich said in an interview with Galei Israel.
Asked whether he was referring to the Chief of Staff, Smotrich replied in the affirmative, saying, "I checked it. All the factors in the brigade know the commanders, know the soldiers, and understood the enormous harm that could be caused here."
Later on Wednesday, the IDF confirmed that there was no operational reason to conduct the exercise on Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath) and that the brigade rabbi had not been informed of it.