Israel Matzav

It's come to this: IDF soldiers need permission from 'legal adviser' to defend themselves when their lives are endangered

I used to wonder why Shakespeare wrote that the first thing we do is 'kill all the lawyers.' I think I'm beginning to find the answer. We have now reached the point where IDF soldiers whose lives are endangered need permission from a 'legal adviser' to defend themselves. At least they have gotten it. Sort of....

The Legal Advisor for the IDF's Judea and Samaria Division, Colonel Doron Ben Barak, has given soldiers permission to use live fire against rioters who attack them with fireworks, if the fireworks endanger their lives.

"There are circumstances in which aiming a firework directly at a soldier from close range may create a real and immediate danger to his life, efficient defense against which may certainly require opening live fire against the person who fired the fireworks,” determined the advisor.

Even when there is no direct danger to the soldiers' life – when he is inside a pillbox position or when the fireworks are not aimed directly at him – he may, from now on, carry out the Procedure for Arresting a Suspect. This involves shouting out a warning, firing in the air and then firing at the suspect.

According to IDF weekly Bamahane, the decision reflects a change in the IDF's attitude toward fireworks, which were treated as being in the same weapon category as rocks until now.

Yeah, and after all rocks don't endanger anyone, do they?

Labels: IDF, open fire rules, Palestinian riots, stone throwers

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:04 AM