Wednesday, October 30, 2019 16:05 On the morning of Tuesday, October 29, Honenu Attorney Chai Haber, who is representing one of the soldiers from the Netzach Yehuda battalion who were detained on suspicion of participating in an altercation at a gas station in the southern region of Israel, leveled strong criticism at the military police for not investigating the complaint by the soldiers that the Bedouins and not the detained soldiers, were the assailants and had threatened the soldiers: “The [Yaffo Military] Court’s decision to detain the soldiers was known in advance, unfortunately. Again and again we encounter exactly the same behavior. First they detain, then they investigate. It is not clear to me why the soldiers’ complaint about violence and threats on the part of the Bedouins has not yet been investigated.
“But again, the failure to investigate the Bedouins and to genuinely seek the truth, is also conduct characteristic of the army. We have seen this throughout all of the incidents, and it is a shame. It only undermines the credibility of the system and the trust people have in it. A soldier needs to know that he has backing. If he does something prohibited, he will be penalized, but everything will be done in accordance with the law.
“It cannot be that while in the civil legal system it is doubtful that incidents such as this would be investigated, and if an investigation were opened the detainees definitely would not be held for so long, but in the military legal system everything always starts with a detention and then a prolonged remand.”
Honenu Attorney Chai Haber, Video credit: Honenu
On Monday, October 28, at the Yaffo Military Court, the Military Advocate General demanded a three-day extension on the soldiers’ remand. Late at night, after a lengthy deliberation, the military court partially accepted the demand and extended the remand of most of the soldiers by two days. Honenu Attorney Chai Haber is representing one of the soldiers, military defense attorneys are representing others, and Attorney Itamar Ben-Gvir is representing one soldier and the squad commander.
Today (Wednesday), the father of one of the soldiers called on the IDF to release his son from remand: “We are the parents of one of the Netzach Yehuda soldiers who is currently detained over the altercation at a gas station. We regard army service as a mission for the sake of the People of Israel, and for the sake of the State of Israel. Since the day he enlisted our son has been sent by the IDF to the most dangerous places, endangering his life to capture terrorists. He acted in this incident exactly as the IDF trained him and taught him, and apparently if he had not done so he would have been penalized for it.
“Why have a soldier and his friends been detained for eight days already? Our son is fully cooperating with the investigators. We expect the IDF not to throw such a soldier to the dogs.”
This afternoon the Military Court in Yaffo is expected to hold a deliberation in the case.
Father of detained soldier, Video credit: Free use