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Liberman: Probe left-wing group for urging IDF troops to disobey Gaza orders

Liberman asked the attorney general to probe the B’Tselem organization after it urged IDF soldiers to refuse orders and not to fire on violent Palestinian rioters.

By: World Israel News Staff

Israeli Minister of Defense Avigdor Liberman called on Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit to probe the B’Tselem organization over its call urging IDF soldiers to refuse orders and not to fire on Palestinian rioters breaching Israel’s border.

B’Tselem on Wednesday called on the forces to disobey open-fire orders unless Gaza protesters posed an imminent threat to the soldiers’ lives.

“As long as soldiers in the field continue to receive orders to use live fire against unarmed civilians, they are duty-bound to refuse to comply,” the extreme left-wing group stated.

In his letter to Mandelblit, Liberman wrote Sunday that he views the call “which is intended to sow fear and dissension” among IDF forces during a time when troops are defending Israel’s southern border from “acts of terrorism and provocations organized by Hamas.”

He called on Mandelblit to probe whether B’Tselem was involved in inciting insubordination.

“Even in the most complex scenarios, IDF soldiers and their commanders operate in an ethical and legal fashion. This attempt to undermine the military system and direct the soldiers to operate otherwise is extremely grave,” Liberman added.

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“This subversive organization, together with the haters of Israel and the international media, are trying to delegitimize our soldiers who are acting in a legal and moral manner in a very complicated situation,” he tweeted Sunday. “We will put an end to this.”

The IDF is the Israel’s most respected institution, and such criticism is considered by the majority of the public to be tantamount to sedition.

Following B’Tselem’s call last week, Liberman tweeted that he had a “practical suggestion” for the organization’s CEO: Liberman invited him to convince the thousands of Gazans protesting on Israel’s border on Friday to “stop placing bombs on the border roads, shooting at soldiers, violating Israel’s sovereignty and to go home peacefully. If that does not work, it appears we will need the IDF.”