Several soldiers in an IDF combat battalion left their base without authorization Thursday afternoon, after their battalion commander ordered the removal of signs related to a non-normative unit tradition involving 'veteran young women,' the military said. The IDF spokesperson stated the incident is under investigation and is being handled by commanders, calling it inconsistent with IDF values.
The IDF confirmed Thursday afternoon that several soldiers in a combat battalion left their base without authorization after their battalion commander ordered the removal of signs related to a non-normative unit tradition involving "veteran young women" ("צעירות ותיקות"). The military stated the incident is under investigation and being handled by commanders, calling it inconsistent with IDF values. The IDF has not disclosed the unit's identity or the soldiers' status.
The incident follows a larger, more severe event earlier Thursday at the Sde Teiman base, where over 100 soldiers and commanders from the Givati Brigade's Tzabar battalion abandoned their weapons and went AWOL after their battalion commander destroyed the unit's morale plaques with a sledgehammer, as The Zioneer reported at 13:30 Jerusalem. In that case, initial unverified reports were followed by soldier accounts to Walla and journalist Lidor Sultan's reporting, confirming the scale and catalyst. The current incident involves regular conscript soldiers in a different, undisclosed battalion, and appears to be a separate but related discipline crisis.
The events add to a series of recent discipline-related incidents within the IDF. As The Zioneer reported on July 29, the military has been formulating a new discipline document in response to ethical problems identified among troops in the field. Earlier in July, a senior commander at the Nabi Musa base ordered reserve soldiers to leave his base, causing a commotion. Separately, a reserve battalion commander warned in late July that a 30% manpower cut was undermining his unit's mission, and troops have voiced growing criticism over operational restrictions, as The Zioneer reported on June 22.
It remains unclear whether the two Thursday incidents — the Givati AWOL at Sde Teiman and the unauthorized departure in the undisclosed battalion — are directly connected or reflect a broader breakdown in command discipline. The IDF has not commented on the soldiers' current whereabouts or any disciplinary measures taken.
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