Five Israeli soldiers refused military orders concerning the government’s decision to close the Gaza Strip to Israeli civilians prior to next month’s scheduled evacuation of settlers, an Israeli military source reported on Wednesday.
Dan Hariel, Israeli army commander in the southern Gaza Strip, said the five soldiers will be prosecuted in a military court.
The soldiers are members of a yeshiva, or Jewish religious college, in Alon Moreh settlement, near the West Bank city of Nablus.
They were ordered to remain in a military base and guard it instead of participating in closing the Gaza Strip.
Israeli army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Dan Halutz said the army will not tolerate such incidents, and that the five soldiers will be tried, but he ruled out the possibility of charging them with mutiny.
This incident marks the third time soldiers opposed to the Israeli government’s Gaza disengagement plan have refused orders in recent weeks.
