A soldier from the Netzakh Yehuda Haredi battalion was sentenced to 17 days in military jail for cocking his weapon at a group of Arabs in the old city of Jerusalem, while on his way to the Western Wall last Shabbat. According to Israeli media, the soldier and two friends ran into two Arab youths who looked suspicious, and reported them to a Border Guard officer near Damascus Gate. A little later, they were confronted by a group of Arab youths, one of whom cursed them. The soldier, who felt threatened, cocked his weapon, as one of the Arabs was yelling, “You come over here, I’ll break your face.” The soldier reported that incident as well to Border Guard police, who, in response, detained him and called in Military Police investigators. The MPs drove the soldier, on Shabbat, despite his being religious, to an IDF base for interrogation. He was eventually convicted on illegal use of his IDF issued gun.
