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The Hebron wholesale market. (Eyal Warshowsky/BauBau_
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Last update - 00:49 07/08/2007
IDF troops unwilling to evacuate Hebron market sentenced to jail
By Nadav Shragai, Haaretz Correspondent

The Israel Defense Forces on Monday sentenced twelve soldiers to varying terms in military prison for refusing to take part in the removal of two Jewish families from a wholesale market in Hebron.

IDF GOC Central Command, Major General Gadi Shamni, ordered disciplinary measures against two commanders and ten of their subordinates, and said they would be removed from combat. After the twelve stood trial, the commanders were sentenced to 28 days in military prison, and their 10 underlings were given 14-day terms.

The soldiers refused to take part in guard duty along the Hebron-Jerusalem highway in the West Bank. The young men felt that the mission would negate their ideology as it would indirectly assist the evacuation of the families from Hebron by filling in for Border Police troops who would be diverted to carrying out the evacuation.
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Overall, between 20 and 30 Israel Defense Forces infantry troops have refused to participate in Tuesday's planned evacuation of settlers from the Hebron wholesale market.

The soldiers, who are mostly religious troops conscripted in accordance with the Hesder program, informed their commanders that they would not agree to take over the Border Police positions.

The soldiers announced their decision after consulting with their rabbis, who instructed them not play any role in the evacuation, including an indirect one.

The soldiers are currently undergoing advanced training, and are employing various methods to avoid replacing the Border Police troops. Some have informed their commanders that they will refuse direct orders, while others have simply managed to receive sick leave. In general, the commanders have been sympathetic to the soldiers, and promised to try to find a way to alter the mission.

Hours later, several dozen ultra-Orthodox soldiers of the Nahal Haredi battalion announced they too would refuse to participate in the evacuation. That announcement appears to be largely symbolic, however, as it is unclear whether they would have actually received orders to participate.

The soldiers' commanders made it clear to the reluctant troops that refusal would result in severe disciplinary measures. When the bus arrived to take the soldiers to the Hebron-Jerusalem highway posts, only 12 men persisted in their refusal to get on the bus.

The IDF spokesman's office said that they "will act decisively against any signs of soldiers` insubordination. IDF soldiers are not allowed to choose their mission, hard as they may be. Any soldier who refuses to follow orders will be dealt with severely."

Some of the soldier's parents visited their children's bases in order to show their support. The parents stood outside the entrance of the base, waving signs that said "son, don't exile." One of the parents, who is a psychologist, said that his son is in great distress because he is not willing to take part in the removal of the Jewish families. "He enlisted in the army to fight the enemy - Jews are not the enemy," the father said.

The head of Peace Now, Yariv Oppenheimer, said "the army must show zero tolerance to those who refuse to serve in Hebron and not take this matter lightly."

The right-wing group "Women in Green" said that they "support the soldiers who refuse to expel Jews from Hebron."

National Union MK Aryeh Eldad said he praises the soldiers who refused "to be the executors of an immoral decision tainted with political motives, whose purpose is to exile Jews from their Jewish property."

A few weeks ago, the Yesha Rabbinical Council published a Halachic (Jewish law) ruling that prohibits soldiers from taking part in the evacuation of Jews or in actions that prevent Jews from returning to evacuated sites. The ruling was made public prior to the protest march to the evacuated settlement of Homesh in the West Bank.


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  1.   Kol HaKavod to this soldiers 11:01  |  Miriam 06/08/07
  2.   Go Directly to Jail 11:07  |  Jack 06/08/07
  3.   striking troops 11:12  |  frank 06/08/07
  4.   MUTINY on the bounty 11:17  |  VIPER 06/08/07
  5.   Army discipline 11:22  |  bill 06/08/07
  6.   Mutiny? Shoot Them 11:31  |  Dyinglikeflies 06/08/07
  7.   the right to refuse 11:39  |  Daniel Ben-Tal 06/08/07
  8.   Heroes 11:43  |  David 06/08/07
  9.   Who will evacuate Judea and Samaria? 11:48  |  Curious 06/08/07
  10.   Now it`s the uprising of the rabbi`s ! 11:51  |  Esther 06/08/07
  11.   Good for them!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 11:53  |  Denny 06/08/07
  12.   God bless them 11:59  |  Al Joo El Yehudawi 06/08/07
  13.   Refusing to Serve = Revoking Citizenship 12:02  |  SA 06/08/07
  14.   who is in charge? 12:05  |  A.M. 06/08/07
  15.   YES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) 12:09  |  Jew 06/08/07
  16.   Not a good look, guys. 12:10  |  Johnboy 06/08/07
  17.   Good 12:10  |  Eli 06/08/07
  18.   Refusal is insiduous, results can be fatal. 12:13  |  Esther 06/08/07
  19.   PROUD DAY FOR SOLDIERS 12:16  |  Sarah 06/08/07
  20.   Nobody`s Son Should Die To Protect These Nuts 12:34  |  Dyinglikeflies 06/08/07
  21.   ISRAEL FACILITATES 6000 ASSULT RIFLES AND 1 MILLION BULLETS TO .. 12:37  |  Ron 06/08/07
  22.   Typical Hypocrisy of the Left 12:44  |  Ben Israel 06/08/07
  23.   a different kind of refusnik 12:46  |  Leah 06/08/07
  24.   Jail 12:47  |  paul 06/08/07
  25.   Great news. The first cracks in this Camorra enterprise called 12:49  |  Andreas 06/08/07
  26.   A solider should not carry out any illeagal orders 12:52  |  Nathan 06/08/07
  27.   Hebron is in arab hands already 12:57  |  roberta 06/08/07
  28.   THIS IS A GREAT DAY FOR ISRAEL !!! 12:59  |  Michael 06/08/07
  29.   Where the Demos rules, hence "democracy" 13:17  |  JW 06/08/07
  30.   IDF troops refusing to participate in planned evacuation of Hebro 13:19  |  Gerald Zang 06/08/07
  31.   #21 Ron, Oklahoma 13:25  |  Gerald Zang 06/08/07
  32.   Immoral for army to turn on its own people 13:26  |  Mother of 4 soldiers 06/08/07
  33.   Soldiers duty 13:28  |  steve a 06/08/07
  34.   Rock and a hard place.... 13:29  |  Simon Jenkins 06/08/07
  35.   send Olmert`s sons instead 13:40  |  Moshe 06/08/07
  36.   Zionism was supposed to be about leaving the ghetto 13:43  |  Rowan Berkeley 06/08/07
  37.   KOL HAKAVOD! BRAVO! 13:43  |  Sam 06/08/07
  38.   Daniel Ben-Tal 13:43  |  Ernst 06/08/07
  39.   Jack #2 13:44  |  Nik Miller 06/08/07
  40.   secular draft dodgers 13:45  |  rachel 06/08/07
  41.   Johnboy, you`re wrong 13:55  |  Ernst 06/08/07
  42.   The Struggle of The Israeli-Jewish Identity 14:03  |  Raoul Isaac 06/08/07
  43.   Aid To The Civil Power 14:06  |  SM 06/08/07
  44.   Nazi soldiers 14:08  |  dave 06/08/07
  45.   #21 Ron 14:09  |  Ernst 06/08/07
  46.   Israel`s strength is Israel`s weakness 14:13  |  A Lebanese 06/08/07
  47.   Put them in the stockades 14:13  |  David Teich 06/08/07
  48.   And So It Begins 14:21  |  Yaakov Sullivan 06/08/07
  49.   #21 Ron (part 2) 14:21  |  Ernst 06/08/07
  50.   Raoul Isaac 14:26  |  Rowan Berkeley 06/08/07
  51.   Another indication Israel is falling apart 14:27  |  newageblues 06/08/07
  52.   the right to refuse... 14:28  |  ana 06/08/07
  53.   no. 9--Curious 14:31  |  steve 06/08/07
  54.   Rabbinical Generals... geez! 14:31  |  avi 06/08/07
  55.   To Raoul Isaac: agree, but can you win this way? 14:38  |  A Lebanese 06/08/07
  56.   Why bother at all? 14:42  |  Simone 06/08/07
  57.   13`s first sentence 14:44  |  Baruch Nili 06/08/07
  58.   Right of R`s 14:45  |  Solomon 06/08/07
  59.   remember the LEFTIST refusal? 14:47  |  judith 06/08/07
  60.   Will The Ultra-Orthodox Soldiers Refuse To Fight On Shabat Also? 14:56  |  Bill Foonman 06/08/07
  61.   Halachic - The Same Religious BS As Fatwas 15:00  |  Bill Foonman 06/08/07
  62.   # 41, ERNST 15:03  |  indrajaya 06/08/07
  63.   Right wing religious garbage 15:05  |  Mitch Cohen 06/08/07
  64.   When Feiglin becomes PM, these brave soldiers will be promoted 15:06  |  Manhigut Yehudit 06/08/07
  65.   In reply to # 38 Ernst 15:09  |  Daniel Ben-Tal 06/08/07
  66.   settlers are isrealis version of Hamas 15:15  |  leave them 06/08/07
  67.   Traitors................ 15:23  |  Rami 06/08/07
  68.   #7 Daniel Ben Tal 15:34  |  * BEN JABO 06/08/07
  69.   #11 Al Joo El Yehudawi 15:35  |  Boycott 06/08/07
  70.   #21 Ron Oklahoma 15:40  |  * BEN JABO 06/08/07
  71.   #25 Andreas - Basel 15:43  |  * BEN JABO 06/08/07
  72.   A turning point? 15:43  |  Boycott 06/08/07
  73.   Brilliant suggestion Jack #2... 15:46  |  bat yam 06/08/07
  74.   Equality before the Law 15:47  |  Mike 06/08/07
  75.   # 38 Ernst 15:48  |  Daniel Ben-Tal 06/08/07
  76.   Whose Land Is It Anyway? 16:00  |  Keith 06/08/07
  77.   Nathan of Haifa 16:10  |  Chris Linthwaite 06/08/07
  78.   HaShem is our only Commander in Chief 16:10  |  Nili 06/08/07
  79.   The soldiers must obey , BUT .......... 16:15  |  Ray 06/08/07
  80.   Army is for defending the people 16:16  |  Ralph 06/08/07
  81.   Where were all of you lefties in Lebanon? 16:18  |  Ronn