IDF dismisses masked soldier who threatened mutiny after investigation - report

A reserve soldier who hid his identity behind a mask and allegedly called for insurrection within the IDF was on Sunday barred from future service after an inquiry, the military said.

The man, whose identity has not been released, posted a video that went viral at the weekend. He was questioned by the IDF Military Police investigations branch (known by the Hebrew acronym Metzach).

The IDF investigated whether the suspect, a business owner from Herzliya and a known Likud activist, according to Israeli media, was on active duty when the video was filmed. Initial investigations suggested that the video was not filmed in Gaza but in an abandoned building somewhere in central Israel.

The video shows a masked soldier calling for a rebellion against IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this video is for you; we reservists do not intend to hand over the keys to any Palestinian Authority,” the masked soldier said. Think carefully to whom you intend to give the keys. Our brothers were not murdered or raped for nothing. We want a decisive victory. Whoever harmed the people of Israel and our brothers, we want to destroy him, and you, Mr. Gallant, cannot do that. Change your approach, or we’ll just go with the prime minister. You wanted a military coup – we’ll show you what decisiveness is and what victory is, how real Jews win.

Soldiers are forbidden from using phones or posting anything related to the soldiers’ actions on social media but as the war dragged on, the phenomenon became more prevalent, making it harder for the army to keep enforcing the rules.

The video was shared via Telegram by Yair Netanyahu, the prime minister’s son.

In a previous social media post, the man called Gallant a “traitor.”

חייל מילואים מאיים בסרטון שמופץ בשעות האחרונות במרד במפקדי הצבא ומודיע שיבצע פשעי מלחמה. יש אנשים שחייבים לעצור ומהר. pic.twitter.com/MshXI2zYLr

— Tommy טומי ️ (@tommym2001) May 24, 2024

The Prime Minister’s Office said on Saturday night that the Prime Minister “rejects any calls for recalcitrance.”

לשכת ראש הממשלה:ראש הממשלה הזהיר פעמים רבות מפני הסכנות שבתופעת הסרבנות והגישה המתירנית כלפיה. ראש הממשלה עקבי בעמדתו זו, הוא דוחה על הסף כל גילוי של סרבנות מצד כלשהו, ומצפה מכל המערכות לטפל בהם באופן שוויוני.

— ראש ממשלת ישראל (@IsraeliPM_heb) May 25, 2024

IDF reprimands behavior in viral soldier video

Military leadership called an interdepartmental meeting soon after, and the IDF spokesman added that “the behavior documented in the video is a serious violation of IDF orders and IDF values and constitutes a suspicion of criminal offenses.”

Minister-without-portfolio and war cabinet member MK Benny Gantz wrote Saturday night that “the IDF, as a people’s army, includes every part of Israeli society, in all its broad varieties of opinions and faiths – but there is only one top commanding figure, the chief-of-staff.”

1/2 סרטוני ההמרדה המסיתים שרצים ברשת ביממה האחרונה הם מסוכנים והרי אסון, בין אם הם אמיתיים או מבויימים כדי לעורר מהומה. העובדה שמכונת הרעל והשופרות של נתניהו מהדהדים בהתלהבות סרטונים הקוראים למלחמת אחים ולפירוק הצבא היא עוד ניסיון לבריחה מאחריות >>

— יאיר לפיד - Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) May 25, 2024