Israeli Soldier Who Disobeyed Gaza Pullout Orders Gets Jail

A U.S.-born Israeli soldier has been sentenced to 56 days in jail for refusing orders to take part in an operation to demolish empty buildings in the Gaza Strip before Israel withdraws from the territory this summer, an army spokesman said Tuesday.

The sentence was unusually harsh for a disciplinary hearing, and Israeli military officials said Cpl. Avi Bieber’s case was meant to send a message to soldiers who have said they would refuse to follow orders to carry out the Gaza withdrawal.

Bieber, of Passaic, N.J., has become a hero among opponents of the government plan to evacuate all 21 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip after he refused to take part in the demolition Sunday, when soldiers had to remove settlers who tried to interfere.

Pictures of Bieber being dragged away from the demolition operation by fellow soldiers appeared on the front pages of Israeli newspapers Monday.

The army feared that the buildings would be turned into a base of opposition by the settlers. Bieber said he was motivated by his religious belief that Jews were given the land by God.

Bieber was convicted in a disciplinary hearing of disobeying orders and threatening a commander, the army spokesman said. The military refused his request for a court-martial.

“The Israel Defense Forces will continue to act decisively against any political statements made by IDF soldiers and against any refusal to carry out orders,” the army said in a statement on the sentencing. “Soldiers can under no circumstances choose their own missions.”

Bieber will appeal the conviction, Israel’s Army Radio reported.

Israeli authorities fear that hundreds of soldiers could disobey evacuation orders, seriously disrupting the pullout, which is set to begin in August.

Bieber immigrated to Israel with his family in 1996 and lives in the West Bank settlement of Tekoa.