Questions Arise About Soldiers’ ‘Reluctance’ to Shoot Sunday’s Terrorist

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A tour guide accompanying the group of IDF soldiers targeted in Sunday afternoon’s truck-ramming attack in Yerushalayim — who shot at the terrorist driving the vehicle — expressed dismay that the armed military men and women at the scene were “reluctant” to use their weapons, Israel’s Channel 2 reported.

In an interview with the news outlet after being treated at the hospital for injuries to his hand, leg and face, Eitan Rund called it “sad” that none of the dozens of IDF officers’ course cadets behaved similarly — though an initial IDF investigation revealed that two soldiers actually did neutralize and kill the terrorist.

Rund recounted running towards the truck, standing in front of it, drawing his pistol and opening fire. At that point, he said, he was hit by the truck and fell to the ground, but continued to shoot, until he ran out of bullets.

Rund said that even though he had emptied his magazine, the terrorist continued to drive. “If I’d had a second to think, I would have taken one of the [soldier’s] rifles…To tell you the truth, it’s really lucky that [my injuries] didn’t hurt at the time the way they do now.”

Giving his take on the soldiers’ alleged hesitance, Rund told the Hebrew news site nrg that he can’t help thinking it was connected to the case of Sgt. Elor Azaria, convicted Wednesday of manslaughter and unbecoming behavior for the March 24 shooting of a subdued Palestinian terrorist near Hebron in the West Bank.

“There were dozens of soldiers with M-16s there and nevertheless, they paused,” he said. “They waited for me to shoot first, and only then did some follow suit.”

He said he thought they acted this way out of fear of indictment. “The only thing they keep hearing is to be careful. There is no doubt that at least some of them were influenced by Azaria, and it pains me to say that some of those who were seriously wounded [ended up that way] because the terrorist was able to reverse [the truck] and hit them again. It could be that if the [response of the soldiers had been different], the situation would have been better. Soldiers are scared today; it’s not a pleasant sight.”

As The Algemeiner reported in November, an outcry erupted in the Israeli defense establishment following reports in the press about a new video instructing soldiers serving in the West Bank to avoid shooting female Palestinian terrorists – and opt for using krav maga instead.

Some called the tutorial clip “insane” and “delusional,” claiming that it is extremely dangerous for soldiers to come in physical contact with terrorists of any gender, as they might be carrying explosives or other weapons on their bodies.

One officer in the reserves said, “We are liable to pay a heavy price for formulating such directives.” He said that many soldiers have complained about being faced with nuances in calculations about when to shoot and when to engage in martial arts during real-time attacks. This, they told him, will make it unclear what is expected of them.

In Sunday’s attack, which took place at approximately 1:30 pm, at least four Israeli cadets in their early 20s, three female and one male, were killed and another 15 were wounded — some seriously — when an attacker rammed a truck into them at the Armon Hanatziv promenade in Jerusalem.

The victims — part of a group from an officers’ training course on an educational tour — had just gotten off a bus, and the terrorist sped up his vehicle and ran them over, then put the truck in reverse and tried to cause further damage.

The perpetrator, a resident of the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber, was killed by Rund and apparently two soldiers at the scene. Reports from Gaza and the Palestinian Authority identified the terrorist as 28-year-old Fadi al-Qanbar, who had served time in an Israeli jail.

This is the worst terrorist attack that has happened in several months, amid a lull in the surge in Palestinian terrorism — known familiarly as the “lone-wolf intifada” — which began a year ago in September.

(c) 2016 The Algemeiner Journal

{Matzav.com}


9 COMMENTS

  1. I am sorry that it did not occur to this gentleman, that reluctance arises from the fact that anyone, and certainly a Yid, is reluctant to shoot at a human being, unless it is completely clear that it’s the only option. A driver can lose control of the vehicle, and it can happen to us, to our parents, our children. It was not even obvious to me that an arab was at the wheel. Even so, there are lots of arabs i can think of, who are not exactly a model of road safety, and perhaps their drivers’ licence should be questioned, but they don’t deserve bullets in their heads before they even realize.
    There are no easy answers, not until Moshiach.

    • Seems like you forget a basic halacha “haba lihargecha hashkem vihargo” kill him first. Maybe we have exclusions for “peace loving” arabs.

      • I am the anonymous above. Was it immediately obvious to you that it was a terrorist attack? May be I am dumb, or maybe hindsight is 100%.

        The terrorist was neutralized as soon as it became clear what he was doing.

  2. If the “secular”Usraeli Government would understand that the Torah explicitly says”if someone comes to kill you, kill him first, we wouldn’t have calculations, mixed messages, hesitation and the like.
    One RULE of engagement and that is MAKE SURE YOU STAY ALIVE!
    With bleeding heart liberals defending criminals, we have entered a new world sick order.Lets just wait and see that one of their own get struck down and boooo…tears of change may follow.
    Who ever heard of protecting the enemy in war…THIS IS WAR…recognize your enemy…and spare your pity for your own blood and flesh…you morons….

  3. An obvious result of the crooked military justice- of having soldiers putting their LIFE in the line by having to debate in their minds whether to neutralize a dangerous terrorist or face charges. Crucial to pardon the soldier charged- not to enhance this absurd calamity!

  4. the Zionists values are not just not Torah values they are anti-Torah values so that is why they see the life of a soldier as equal to that of a terrorist.

  5. when a person holds any sort of weapon as a protection. Even if it’s pepper spray on nightly runs… it gives him a sense of empowerment and confidence in what he’s doing and to act if something comes up. When these soldiers learnt that in order for them to shoot they have to not rely on their quick thinking intuition and vision rather evaluate and remember the consequences if you make a mistake then that weapon isn’t anymore something that gives them the confidence to act and so we saw it here. they all ran instead of acting cus they have no confidence in acting.. only once the truck backed up did a few of them realize that its crazy that theyre not doing anything.

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