By Yuval Azoulay and Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondents : Court convicts IDF officer who led troops in W. Bank rampage
Talkback
Title:israeli military justice; and sanctioned criminals
Name:eric
City: State: nm
let`s see now...they commandeered a taxi, tied and blindfolded its driver, and kept him in the back seat for the "duration of the operation".
ummmmm...WHAT operation? it`s already been described as a "RAMPAGE"!

"knowing that his gun was loaded and cocked, and that the soldier was not trained in operations such as the one they had IMPROVISED"?
ummmm...which is the said "rampage"; right?

"the soldier then pointed his weapon out the window of the taxi and shot samamra"...
he`s lucky they weren`t trained in these "rampage" operations; so is the taxi driver...otherwise they`d both have been "finished off", and there would never have been a trial...just two more terrorists dispatched by the mighty idf.

question: how is it that a "rampage" is magically transformed into an "improvised operation"? to make it seem legit?
question: what IS an "improvised operation"? isn`t that pretty much a rampage? unauthorized and impulsive acts of violence?

sorry to bust your bubble folks; but this guy, and at least some of his men, are nothing more than common criminals who are sanctioned by their military status. how many other similar events take place, and how many of the so-called "brave acts" of the idf have been "rampages" just as this one? after all; this bunch were just two bullets away from being heroes for having removed two "palestinian terrorists".
and now on to the sanctioning:
the charges of wrongful imprisonment and aggravated assault were dropped on plea bargain? then "the prosecution asked the jaffa military court that tried gigi to sentence him to 15 months imprisonment, demotion and a SUSPENDED sentence"?
in other words: NO penalty, still in the idf, and his rank will be restored in a few weeks.
and for his NEXT rampage he`ll be better trained, no witnesses will get away, and he`ll be an idf hero.