Commander of Tzabar battalion hit with a wave of threats following the sentencing of Givati soldiers over Hebron incident.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen.Aviv Kohavi and outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid blasted the incoming government led by Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday for attempting to interfere with command decisions and for turning IDF soldiers against their commanders.
Addressing the criticism of the punishment given to a Givati soldier in Hebron who attacked a left-wing protester over the weekend, Lapid said that “the new government has yet to take office and its ministers are already turning IDF soldiers against their commanders.”
“The wild incitement spearheaded by [future government] ministers and MKs against the Chief of Staff, the commanding general and against Maj. Aviran Alfasi, is dangerous and destructive and is the new government’s responsibility,” he continued.
Referring to the conduct of national security minister-designate Itamar Ben-Gvir, Lapid stressed that “our soldiers cannot be told by ministers and MKs to violate army orders. Their lives and our lives depend on having a strong army with a clear chain of command and combat discipline. This incitement, masquerading as ‘backup’ is dangerous, irresponsible and gnaws at the strength of the IDF.”
Kohavi, who spoke to the commander of the Givati Brigade Col. Eliad Moati and the commander of the Sabar Battalion Lt.-Col Aviran Alfasi, backed up the actions taken by the commanders and made it clear that any political interference in the decisions made by the commanders was wrong.
“The commanders, and only the commanders, determine the norms and the manner of handling incidents in their units,” he said according to a statement released by the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.
Kohavi said that while troops and commanders deal with complex situations, their actions and mistakes should be handled within the army and be free of any political considerations.
“We will not allow any politician, neither from the right nor from the left, to interfere in command decisions and use the army to promote a political agenda. Political interference in the IDF directly harms the army’s ability to carry out its tasks, and its legitimacy,” Kohavi warned.
“Slandering commanders on political grounds is a slippery slope that we as a society must not slide down. The soldiers, commanders and also their family members have rights, and they should stay out of any political discourse.”
The comments by Lapid and Kohavi come as Alfasi has been highly criticized for the punishment he gave to 5 Givati soldiers who beat and cursed at left-wing activists in Hebron on Friday.
Givati soldiers assault activists
One soldier was seen on film placing the activist in a chokehold before striking him, and another was filmed swearing at the activist. The second soldier was convicted to ten days on Tuesday after he confessed to his actions.
“[Otzma Yehudit head Itamar] Ben-Gvir will create order here. You’ve lost it. All you do here is finished, the whole brothel you make here,” the soldier was filmed saying. “You do everything against the law. I decide what the law is and you are acting against the law.
All soldiers were suspended from operational duty pending an investigation by the Military Police and Israel Police. The findings will be forwarded to the Military Attorney General’s office.
The soldier seen cursing in the video later sent a letter to Central Command Head Maj.-Gen. Yehuda Fuchs and Givati commander Eliad Maor asking that his sentence be dismissed or lessened.
“I said a few words without any intention of humiliating the IDF or committing an offense and I now find myself going to jail. I was under a lot of pressure during the incident and I only request consideration of everything going on there,” he said, adding that “I ask for forgiveness. I understand my mistake.”
Ben-Gvir attack sentencing of soldiers
Following the judgment given to the troops, Ben Gvir said that it crossed a red line.
“It cannot be that anarchists curse, spit, and attack our heroic soldiers. The warriors responded to these attacks. You can take them aside and reexamine their reactions but to send them to prison for ten days? That’s unreasonable, disproportionate, and simply incorrect.”
The IDF has given its support to Alfasi, with senior officers like Fuchs calling him a “warrior and an excellent commander.”
Alfasi was awarded a commendation medal for his work in 2014 Operation Protective Edge for volunteering at his own personal risk to enter a terror tunnel in Gaza and try to find the body of missing IDF soldier Hadar Goldin and his squad.
Abuse and threats against IDF commander
Following the punishment given to the troops, right-wing activists launched an online assault against him as well as sending threats to his cellphone.
צה״ל הוא צבא העם, אני קורא לכולם, מימין ומשמאל, להשאיר אותו מחוץ לכל ויכוח פוליטי.
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) November 30, 2022
Backing the troops and officers, Fuchs said that “I expect my soldiers to behave appropriately despite pressure and provocations. Unnecessary physical or verbal violence-this is not our way.”
“The behavior of the soldiers is an unusual and serious case, a soldier must not behave and express himself in a way that contradicts the values of the IDF with an emphasis on the value of statehood and the purity of weapons. I support the soldiers of the IDF, in any use of force required to remove a threat, at the same time we will not accept incidents in which soldiers will go beyond and use their force and authority unnecessarily,” he added.
Former IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Yair Golan said that Alfasi has served in the “most difficult and most complex” arenas and positions “with faith and great talent while demonstrating exceptional courage and leadership. I have no doubt that he is an excellent military officer, and in one of the most difficult, most complex, most ungrateful places – Hebron.”
Golan said that the troops in question “committed a grave sin against the statehood of the army” by letting their personal opinions prevail over their professional commitment and “turned their unit into a body serving a political faction, while using unjustified violence against citizens – the citizens they swore to protect.
According to Golan, the punishment given to the soldiers was too light, yet “the serial flamethrower, the designated minister who never served in the IDF, the convicted felon who harassed IDF soldiers endlessly for his provocative actions, he immediately jumped at the opportunity.”
The supporters of Netanyahu and Ben Gvir, he continued, “want a frightened police force and a terror-ridden state that serves personalities from a defined and distinct political camp – their camp. They harm the State’s Holy of Holies – the IDF. They are the most dangerous enemy of Israel. They endanger our ability to live with each other. They will always prefer sectoral consideration over national consideration.”
As reported by The Jerusalem Post