We Are Doomed
4 months in jail for soldier who abused Palestinian detaineeGivati Brigade soldier convicted of slamming head of blindfolded detainee against pole also gets four-month probation, demoted from corporal to private. Court denounces defendant's 'deplorable actions'
Hanan Greenberg
Published: 01.09.08, 23:58 / Israel NewsThe Southern Command Military Court sentenced a Givati Brigade soldier to four and-a-half months in prison Wednesday, after he was convicted of abusing a handcuffed, blindfolded Palestinian detainee.
The defendant "brutally violated his duties as a human being, a citizen of the state and a soldier," the court said in the verdict.
"While another man, handcuffed and blindfolded, was under his custody, the defendant treated him badly, slamming his head against an iron pole and bruising his face.
"This harassment of a helpless person casts disgrace on the soldier and tarnishes the IDF and Israel's name," the judges stated.
The judges referred to an incident where the soldier, along with several of his peers, abused a man who was detained during an operation in Nablus, causing him to bang his head against a pole while he was blindfolded.
Soldier expresses remorseIt took the Military Police more than a month to track down the violent soldier, because the other soldiers who were present when the incident took place refused to name the culprit. The soldier himself initially denied the allegations against him in his interrogation.
In the trial, the defendant expressed his remorse and said that he wished he could "turn back the wheel." His defense attorney claimed that the incident was brief and unpremeditated, and that his client was an outstanding soldier and highly esteemed by his commanders.
In the verdict, the judges stressed that the defendant's actions were deplorable, but decided to take into account the soldier's personal record and his expression of remorse, and sentenced him to only four and-a-half months in prison, and a similar term. He was also demoted from corporal to private.
The actions of the military police and the judge in this case show that Israel has lost sight of the fact that we are at war for our survival.
War is brutal and actions that would not be normally condoned are the actions that must be taken by the soldier and the state to ensure their survival.
Lets be honest about the real suspect in this case, it is a Palestinian terrorist. A terrorist who while handcuffed and blindfolded more than likely told the soldier that he the terrorist had engaged in some kind of sexual act with the soldiers mother or sister.
The soldier who had just risk his life in a anti terror operation in Schem, lets please use the Hebrew name and not Nablus the Arab name for the town since it is a town from the time of the Torah. Was coming down off an adrenalin rush from being in danger and like most soldiers was also sleep deprived, smacked the terrorist head against a pole.
So what!
How can Israel win a war when we refuse to fight a war?
The other side is holding a soldier in Gaza, will they ever have a trial for the abuse of Gilad Shalit?
Did the other side ever have a trial for the Palestinians that murdered and then butchered the Israeli soldiers in Ramallah?
Between American pressure to create a terrorist state on our land and the leadership in Israel, I can say with out help from G-D.
Israel is doomed.
