Israeli Military Worries Some Troops May Be Trigger-Happy
By Joel Greenberg
Jerusalem, Jan. 16 — With a rising toll of killings of Palestinians by Israeli soldiers, senior army officers are expressing concern that discipline is eroding in certain units after months of confrontation with Palestinian protesters and gunmen.
As the Palestinian uprising has shifted from mass street protests to armed attacks, some Israeli soldiers seem to be firing more readily. In a few cases army investigations have found that the firing was unjustified.
The daily deaths have provoked Palestinian accusations that Israeli Army commanders have failed to halt unrestrained gunfire by their troops. The charges mirror accusations by Israeli officials, who assert that Yasir Arafat, the Palestinian leader, has failed to rein in gunmen and bombers.
The uprising, now in its fourth month, has claimed more than 350 lives, most of them Palestinian.
"I think there is a danger of troops being worn out, and that's why we're calling up reserve forces," Brig. Gen. Benny Gantz, the commander of Israeli troops in the West Bank, said in a recent interview on Army Radio.
The army is taking recent questionable shootings by soldiers "very seriously," the general added.
[Full text: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/17/world/17ARMY.html]
Carl
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