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Itongadol.- Two Israel Defense Forces soldiers from Nahal\’s 50th Battalion were dismissed from their roles and have been summoned for a hearing with Brigade Commander Col. Yehuda Fuchs Friday after uploading photographs to Facebook in which they held signs saying they would not evacuate Jews from illegal outposts as ordered by the High Court.
It is likely the soldiers will be expelled from the ultra-Orthodox track in the IDF in which they serve and forced to serve three full years in the army, as opposed to the truncated service the track typically requires. The pair admitted their involvement in the social media protest.
The Nahal soldiers were only two of many who uploaded similar protest photos to Facebook. Photos were posted by soldiers from the Golani and Givati brigades, the 7th Division of the Armored Corps and Nahal\’s haredi Netzah Yehuda Battalion, among others.
Facebook photos published by news outlet 0404 show soldiers holding signs that read, "Nahal soldiers do not evacuate Jews," and "The 3rd Platoon Rifle Company will not evacuate Givat Asaf." In some photos, the signs appear alongside berets and army badges. Givat Asaf is one of three illegal outposts in Judea and Samaria that the High Court ruled to be razed.
An IDF official addressed the issue on Thursday, saying, "Using Facebook to protest is forbidden. It takes advantage of the anonymity of the Internet. Ultimately, it hurts democracy: Soldiers cannot hold protests. It will not change the chain of command. If someone has a problem, he should go to his commander."
The IDF Spokesperson\’s Unit released a statement saying, that "The use of social networks as a tool for protest is unacceptable, and harms the core values of the IDF."
An IDF official added that the two soldiers who admitted to posting the protest photos were not ordered to evacuate the outposts, and that soldiers generally only provide security to the Israel Police and Border Police as they carry out the evacuation.
Thursday\’s Facebook protest follows one in late April, when thousands of soldiers joined a page called "I too am with David from Nahal." The page was created to throw support behind David Adamov, the Nahal Brigade soldier who was filmed cocking a weapon and pointing it at a Palestinian teenage boy in Hebron. But the founders mistakenly set up the page based on an erroneous assumption that the soldier had been court-martialed for the Hebron incident, when in truth it was later revealed that the soldier had stood trial for assaulting one of his commanders. At the time, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz said that "Facebook is not a tool of command," adding that it is not a replacement for direct communication between soldiers and their commanders.
Ramat Gilad evacuation delayed
The High Court was petitioned for and approved a delay of the demolition of buildings on private land in the Ramat Gilad outpost for 60 days. The delay would allow Ramat Gilad residents to voluntarily evacuate their homes. Attorney Aner Hallman, who filed the petition for the delay, said that some residents have already begun to evacuate. The outpost is now scheduled to be razed on July 3.