Israel Army Calls Soldier a Coward

A military court has charged an army private with “fleeing in the face of the enemy,” allowing an Arab commando to burst into a northern base in a shooting spree that left six soldiers dead, a military spokesman said Wednesday.

The chief army prosecutor brought charges against Pvt. Roni Almog, 19, a gate guard who allegedly fled his post Nov. 25 when a lone guerrilla sailed into Israel from Lebanon on a motorized hang glider.

The commando threw grenades and opened up with machine-gun fire, killing six soldiers and wounding seven others before he was killed.

If convicted of the cowardice charge, Almog could be sentenced to 22 years in prison.

The army prosecutor also has accused Capt. Ofer Ben-Eliezer, the duty officer on base at the time of the attack, with “negligence of duties and conduct unbecoming of an officer.”

Following an internal inquiry, the army took a series of disciplinary actions, including the transfer of a brigade commander and reprimands against three officers and five enlisted men.