In an interview with the Sheva Newspaper, affiliated with Arutz-7, Eitam said he "would do the same thing today." He emphasized he did not refuse orders, an action he firmly opposes. Eitam explained there is a difference between refusing orders and saying one is not capable of carrying out an order.
"I and my battalion were supposed to be part of the evacuating forces," Eitam recalled. "With the permission of the commander, I appealed to the chief of staff, Rafuel Eitan, and told him, 'I cannot carry out this task. It is against everything I believe in and was taught and I am not in the army for this. I grew up in the secular Kibbutz Ein Gev where I learned one does not leave his home, even under fire.'"
The chief of staff understood the claim and realized he couldn't push Eitam too far, the retired soldier-turned politician related. "He told me, 'Everything will be okay.' In the end, our battalion did not participate in the evacuation."
He said he doesn't know for certain that he would have been able to get out of implementing the evacuation, "but I can say for sure that I wouldn't carry out the order."
Eitam criticized the noisy and public arguments between the IDF command and soldiers who do not want to be a part of the planned eviction of Jews from 25 communities under the government's so-called disengagement plan.
"I would have left the matter for a serious conversation between officers and the command. I hear all the talk on demoting officers and similar actions. Any attempt to solve the problem by force causes more damage than good. The bottom line is that it is forbidden to refuse an order."
He suggested that soldiers follow his example if they do not want to be a part of the planned eviction. They should "make it clear that it is difficult for them to execute the order before raising the banner of refusal."
Eitam also said the government should stopped "jumping on every soldier with a skullcap who opens his mouth and to return the issue to a two-sided discussion."
"I and my battalion were supposed to be part of the evacuating forces," Eitam recalled. "With the permission of the commander, I appealed to the chief of staff, Rafuel Eitan, and told him, 'I cannot carry out this task. It is against everything I believe in and was taught and I am not in the army for this. I grew up in the secular Kibbutz Ein Gev where I learned one does not leave his home, even under fire.'"
The chief of staff understood the claim and realized he couldn't push Eitam too far, the retired soldier-turned politician related. "He told me, 'Everything will be okay.' In the end, our battalion did not participate in the evacuation."
He said he doesn't know for certain that he would have been able to get out of implementing the evacuation, "but I can say for sure that I wouldn't carry out the order."
Eitam criticized the noisy and public arguments between the IDF command and soldiers who do not want to be a part of the planned eviction of Jews from 25 communities under the government's so-called disengagement plan.
"I would have left the matter for a serious conversation between officers and the command. I hear all the talk on demoting officers and similar actions. Any attempt to solve the problem by force causes more damage than good. The bottom line is that it is forbidden to refuse an order."
He suggested that soldiers follow his example if they do not want to be a part of the planned eviction. They should "make it clear that it is difficult for them to execute the order before raising the banner of refusal."
Eitam also said the government should stopped "jumping on every soldier with a skullcap who opens his mouth and to return the issue to a two-sided discussion."