Sergeant Y., 33, an infantry reservist, originally from France, was injured from rock throwing in Nebi Salach this winter. “I’m lying down and above me they’re throwing rocks. Not tennis ball-size rocks, cinder blocks, cement blocks, ceramic tiles – they each weigh as much as 50 lbs. And no one is responding. My buddies are saying, ‘We asked for permission.’ And I’m waiting -–and nothing happens.”
The IDF Spokesperson’s Office’s response reads like something written by a team of legal and psychological experts: “The IDF forces in Judea and Samaria are challenged daily by a complex reality requiring professionalism and determination together with judgment. The rules of engagement in Judea and Samaria facilitate an appropriate range of responses to a wide variety of threats faced by IDF forces and they are tested occasionally according to evaluations. It must be stressed that taking immediate action against violators of the public order and popular terror activists does not negate determined and effective action, and at its root lies the understanding that as small a number of injured as possible would help guard the security stability in the region.”
“Popular terror activists?”
These people are sick, honestly, they need help.
Minister of Industry and Commerce and Chairman of the Jewish Home party Naftali Bennett last week criticized the military and called to change the rules of engagement.
“The IDF must change the practices of engagement, to allow IDF fighters and citizens to protect themselves,” Bennett wrote on his Facebook page. “The IDF must allocate more forces and act more deeply if needed,” Bennett added. “I will work very hard to restore security to the residents of Judea and Samaria. Before it’s too late.”
It may require more than Facebook, though.
