Israel jails soldiers
2009-11-17 12:30
Jerusalem - Four Israeli soldiers were sentenced to prison and other punitive measures on Tuesday for refusing orders to evacuate a wildcat Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, army radio said.
One of the soldiers of the Nachshon battalion was sentenced to 21 days in prison, another to 14 days in prison and two others have been confined to their base for four weeks, it said.
On Monday, two of the soldiers from the same battalion were sentenced to 30 days in jail after they "refused to follow orders" and held up a sign opposing the operation to evacuate an outpost near the West Bank city of Hebron.
General Avi Benyahu told army radio on Tuesday that "in the past we have been confronted with the same type of situation and reason won out in the end".
Last week, 25 Israeli reservists, including some officers, signed a petition asking that they not have to take part in any evacuation of Jewish settlements.
On October 22, two Kfir Brigade conscripts held up banners expressing solidarity with Jewish settlers in the West Bank during their swearing-in ceremony in Jerusalem.
A military court sentenced them to 20 days in prison.
The issue of Jewish settlements is one of the thorniest in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the main stumbling block in stalled US efforts to restart peace negotiations.
Settlement outposts built without government authorisation are considered illegal under Israeli law. The international community considers all Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land illegal.
- SAPA