Israeli Soldier Is Sentenced for Cowardice

A 19-year-old Israeli soldier was sentenced here Sunday to three years in jail for cowardice during a suicide attack by a Palestinian guerrilla flying a motorized hang glider.

The Tel Aviv court-martial found that the “shameful behavior” of Roni Almog led to the deaths of six Israeli soldiers. Almog was on sentry duty in the early hours of Nov. 25, 1987, at the gate of an army base in northern Israel when the guerrilla attacked.

Almog admitted that he ran away from his post when he saw the guerrilla coming. The court said, “Instead of stopping the terrorist, he abandoned his duty and his post.”