TEL AVIV - A Druze soldier who had written the army chief a letter in protest of the scheduled disengagement from Gaza and parts of the West Bank was incarcerated because he had gone AWOL from his unit for a total of five weeks during the past two months, Ynet has learned Thursday.
Right-wing groups distributed a press release Thursday stating sergeant Timor Abdullah was sentenced to 35 days in jail, but they failed to mention the punishment was due to his repeated absenteeism from his IDF unit.
Recently it had been reported that the soldier was imprisoned for his refusal to participate in the evacuation of settlements, but as his unit is stationed in the north and is not supposed to participate in the pullout, it became clear that he was imprisoned for his unauthorized absence.
"When we will be ordered to participate in the operation against the people we are meant to protect, it will weigh on our conscience forever, and we will not be able to live knowing we have betrayed our oath to the army, which mainly calls for the protection of Israel and it's citizens from our enemies," Abdullah wrote in his anti-pullout letter about a week ago.
"It is important for us to stress that we are not disobedient soldiers, and we will carry out any military operation for the protection of the country's borders and citizens on every front, except for the territories slated for evacuation, as we will find it difficult to act against our own people," he wrote.
Letter stirs powerful public response
The letter evoked a powerful public response, and Abdullah's father, Nazim, a Likud Party branch chairman and anti-pullout activist, received a certificate of honor on behalf of his son during an officers' and reserve duty soldiers' conference titled, "Save the IDF from the expulsion's disgrace."
An IDF official told Ynet Abdullah went AWOL from his unit on several occasions this past year, and added that the soldier may have not written the anti-pullout letter.
