IDF Defends Policy of Restraint Following Multiple Stone-Throwing Incidents
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IDF Hebron mob IDF Kafr Qaddum IDF protocol IDF restraint IDF senior officer IDF West Bank IDF West Bank Policy Israel Palestinians Operation Pillar of Defense Ynet IDF
Screen shot of mob attacking IDF soldiers. Photo: Youtube
The IDF continues to investigate two incidents in which IDF soldiers were forced to retreat from angry, stone-throwing mobs in the West Bank.
Both incidents took place within the past week. The first involved IDF soldiers in the city of Hebron who were forced to flee a crowd that included Palestinian police, and the second, which was caught on tape, involved IDF soldiers whose efforts to initially disperse a group of protestors in the small town of Kafr Qaddum backfired and forced them to return to their posts.
At a press briefing a senior IDF officer in the West Bank defended the army’s policy of restraint. “The policy has led to safer roads and fewer casualties. Had we fired indiscriminately during the many protests surrounding Operation Pillar of Defense and shot at every 13-year-old stone thrower, then we would have seen the operation spill over to the West Bank,” he said.
An initial inquiry into the Kafr Qaddum incident suggests that the soldiers failed to follow protocol by feeling and should have instead used crowd dispersal methods, Ynet reports.
A source also told Ynet that the two incidents are isolated events. He further added that the IDF has updated its guidelines for company commanders but that the rules of engagement are always under review.
The policy in the last decade has been that in life threatening situations, a soldier must decide himself whether to open fire at the suspect or fire warning shots.
“We had many cases, including in the past month, where soldiers opened fire at protesters who put their lives at risk and did the right thing,” the officer said.
Referring to the last two incidents he said, “The soldiers had the option of opening fire but felt they should not and in the Hebron case they did the right thing; they succeeded in preventing the hurling of stones at an Israeli community and no soldier was hurt.”
The officer explained that the policy of restraint has proven itself in that it has prevented retaliatory terrorist attacks and violent protests.
“All fire orders are based on the purity of arms. It is our duty to act proportionately and fire a weapon only as the last resort. We do not want to hurt noncombatants and fire indiscriminately.”
7:16 am
There has always been some ridiculous “misunderstandings and contradictions” about Tzahal’s “open fire-orders”. Not a single soldier in any foreign army whould have had any second thoughts about shooting at those bastards in such a situation..and they would never have to bother about inquiries etc. We are at war, restraint has no place in wars. Wars must be won and decisively there to as to force unconditional surrender upon our enemies …
2:54 am
What these non-jewish Jews perceives as a sign of strength, inappropriately applying character traits to warfare, the Arab world perceives as weakness, and such perception causes bloodshed, hence such policy is not only wrong in military terms, it is even immoral.
All those Ashkenazi elites, completely European in their deep outlook, should learn something about Arab mentality.
See:
http://elderofziyon.blogspot.it/2012/12/the-world-really-needs-to-understand.html
12:10 pm
IF ISRAEL STOOD TALL AND FINISHED LEBONON OR GAZA 2 TIMES, There would not be any stone throwing incidents.
The world was in awe fater 67′ war.
now they laugh.