Some 30 paratroopers demonstrated yesterday outside the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv against the IDF's treatment of their colleague, a sergeant who was accused of abusing Palestinians at a West Bank barricade.
The members of Battalion 202 were protesting the arrest of B., commander of the Hawara barricade near Nablus, who was sent to military prison after beating up a Palestinian. He was charged with a few cases of assaulting and abusing Palestinians.
"B. is not to blame, he is the victim," one soldier said. "The state and the IDF are to blame. They placed him there without the proper training or means at his disposal."
They explained that B. had been under great mental pressure caused by his assignment, and that nobody had prepared them for the impossible situations they encounter at the barricades.
"How can a mere six soldiers cope with more than 5,000 people, examine their papers, search their belongings, make medical decisions without knowing whether it is a medical emergency or not," they wrote in a petition sent to Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon on Tuesday. "We also get endless alerts of intended attacks or kidnapping of soldiers. People trying to transfer explosives were already caught at the Hawara barricade."
Former Hebron Brigade commander Colonel (res.) Moshe Givati said that "whoever puts young soldiers with no training at the barricades is asking them to carry out an impossible mission, and is tripping them up from the start."
He noted that B.'s case is not isolated. "These things happen every day, everywhere," he said. "It is enough to see the reports of Betselem," the human rights organization.
The soldiers denied the IDF's claim that the incident was an exception.
"Worse things happen at the military barricades," said Michael Aman, B.'s close friend. "The incident was caused by emotional and operative stress. Presenting it as a case of sadism and abuse is blatantly untrue. The conditions are very hard - the place is not fenced, there are no toilets, the Palestinians don't receive basic rights, there are no orderly queues. It's no surprise that it ends with a kick, a punch and slaps. B. is the victim of the system."
B.'s attorney, Shlomi Zipori, explained that B. was filmed voluntarily by education corps troops, and that he explained to them that if he did not use force at the barricade he would not be able to accomplish his duty and prevent terrorists from entering Israel.
Said Yaniv Katzenelson, another soldier: "This is not an unusual incident. As barricade commander, one must exercise judgment and sometimes make mistakes. It's hard to control 5,000 or 10,000 who want to go through. All the responsibility falls on the commander."
The soldiers said the shifts are eight hours long, with eight hours rest between them, a schedule which wears the soldiers down. In addition, various aid organizations interfere and pressure them to let Palestinians through for all kinds of reasons, mainly medical.
"Riots develop easily, they throw rocks at the soldiers. There's a white line there which the Palestinians are not allowed to cross, and if they do we demand they go back two steps. Sometimes they are pushed and people fall. Once we wanted to handcuff someone who resisted, so a few soldiers pushed him to the ground and cuffed him by force. To an onlooker it looks bad. But a moment earlier that Palestinian threw rocks or was planning a demonstration," said one of the protesters.
He added that sometimes the soldiers "`dry up' the Palestinians. We don't beat them, we `dry them up' - make them sit on the side."
B.'s colleagues said he had asked his commanders to relieve him of his duty at the barricade because he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, but he was refused.
The northern local authority where B. was involved in youth activities was shocked.
"He was a delicate young man with ideals," said the council's youth coordinator. "It is rare for a Bedouin to take part in our activity, and he pioneered many joint Jewish-Arab activities."
A senior official in the Moshavim Movement said B. was "a model to the youngsters in his region. This is what occupation does to people, even the best of them."
A senior Central Command officer said yesterday that the army was aware of the pressure the soldiers were under, but that it denounces the incident in which B. was involved.
The IDF rejected the soldiers' claim that it had abandoned B., and said B.'s commanders intended to be character witnesses at his trial and testify about the complexity of the service at the barricades.
The source said that barricade commanders undergo training before their posting, including simulation games of various situations. In addition, an Arabic-speaking officer is posted at the barricades to prevent friction and misunderstandings between the soldiers and the Palestinians.
