Outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi blasted incoming government coalition leaders for attempting to politicise the sentencing of a soldier in the Givati battalion to military prison over how he dealt with left-wing activists in the West Bank.
The IDF soldier in question was accused last week of taunting left-wing activists in Hebron and sentenced to ten days in military prison on Tuesday by the commander of the battalion Lt. Col Aviran Alfasi.
The soldier had reportedly confronted an activist and boasted that there would soon be a new sheriff in town when far-right Otzma Yehudit chief Itamar Ben-Gvir becomes national security minister.
Among other things, the soldier reportedly said: “Ben-Gvir will create order here,” and “I decide what the law is and you are acting against the law.”
Commanding officer Lt. Col. Alfasi saw a barrage of comments and threats made against him for his decision to imprison the soldier.
Mr Ben-Gvir slammed the IDF for the punishment of the soldier, saying: “It cannot be that anarchists [left-wing activists] curse, spit and attack our heroic soldiers,
“You can take [soldiers] aside and reexamine their reactions but to send them to prison for ten days? That’s unreasonable, disproportionate and simply incorrect.”
Members of incoming prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party also criticised the jailing of the soldier.
IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi however called commander Alfasi to show his support for the decision and encouraged him against criticism.
Mr Kohavi apparently made clear that “any political interference in commanders’ decisions is unacceptable.”
He said: “Slandering commanders on political grounds is a slippery slope that we as a society must not slide down.”
Mr Kohavi further said that while troops and commanders deal with complex situations every day, their actions and mistakes should be handled within the army, free of external political considerations.
In response, Mr Ben-Gvir said he wished Mr Kohavi would “practice what he preached”, and, “I would expect from the chief of staff that just as he demanded that a soldier not express himself politically, he himself would refrain from political statements.”
Prime Minister Yair Lapid strongly condemned the “wild incitement” from members of the incoming coalition.
He said on Twitter: “The new government has not yet taken office and its ministers are already inciting the IDF soldiers against their commanders,
“The wild incitement led by the [incoming] ministers and MKs against the chief of staff, the battalion commander Lt. Col. Avivan Alfasi, is dangerous and destructive and is at the head of the new government.”
הממשלה החדשה עוד לא נכנסה לתפקידה וכבר שריה מסיתים את חיילי צה״ל נגד המפקדים שלהם.
— יאיר לפיד - Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) November 30, 2022
ההסתה הפרועה שמובילים השרים והח״כים נגד הרמטכ״ל, אלוף הפיקוד ונגד המג״ד, סגן-אלוף אבירן אלפסי, היא מסוכנת והרסנית והיא על ראשה של הממשלה החדשה.
Mr Lapid said that IDF troops “cannot get approval from ministers and MKs to violate the orders of their commanders.
“Their lives and ours depend on having a strong military with a clear chain of command and battle discipline. This incitement, disguised as support, is dangerous, irresponsible, and erodes the strength of the IDF.”
On Wednesday Benjamin Netanyahu weighed in on the domestic controversy, saying on Twitter: “The IDF is the people’s army. I call on everyone, right and left, to leave it out of any political argument.”
צה״ל הוא צבא העם, אני קורא לכולם, מימין ומשמאל, להשאיר אותו מחוץ לכל ויכוח פוליטי.
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) November 30, 2022
The jailed soldier meanwhile has sent a letter to his regional commanders apologising for his choice of words and asked that his sentence be dismissed or reduced.
Another similar incident involving the Givati brigade in Hebron occurred last week when an IDF soldier, now suspended, allegedly tackled an activist to the ground and punched him in the face.
Regarding that incident, the IDF said the soldier “acted out of poor judgement and against what is expected of them”, adding that soldiers are “not permitted to express [themselves] in a belligerent manner while expressing a political affiliation.”
Former IDF deputy chief of staff Max. Gen. Yair Golan said the offending soldiers had “committed a grave sin” by letting personal opinions prevail over their professional commitment, and of “using unjustified violence against citizens - the citizens they swore to protect.”
Further, Mr Golan accused Mr Ben-Gvir of being a “serial flamethrower” who “immediately jumped at the opportunity”.
