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Israel-Palestine | ||
Israeli soldier jailed over Gaza disobedience | ||
2005-06-29 | ||
JERUSALEM - A young Israeli soldier who disobeyed orders to take part in demolitions of deserted buildings in a Jewish settlement in Gaza was sentenced on Tuesday to 56 days in jail, the army said. The sentence handed down at a military disciplinary hearing against Corporal Avi Bieber was seen as setting a precedent for punishment of soldiers who balk at orders to remove settlers during a pullout from occupied Gaza due to begin in August. A senior army officer convicted Bieber, 19, on three counts of refusing to carry out an order, threatening and insulting a commander and giving media interviews against army regulations, an army spokeswoman said. âI didnât come to Israel to beat up Jews,â Bieber shouted at reporters on Sunday as fellow soldiers scuffled with rightist Jews trying to prevent a bulldozing of abandoned bungalows his engineering unit had been ordered to demolish.
Israeli authorities fear that a recent influx of ultranationalist supporters into settler enclaves could make evacuations more difficult and increase the chance of violence. Bieberâs attorney, Shai Galili, said before the verdict was read that his client âwill not get a fair trialâ because the army wanted to use him as an example to try to dissuade other soldiers from refusing to evacuate settlers. âThey want to convict Avi at any price,â Galili told Army Radio.
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Posted by:Steve White |