IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot has reportedly ordered all combat soldiers to carry their weapons with them on leave, hours after the army said it was investigating why a soldier killed at a supermarket was made to leave his rifle on the base.
The order will stay in effect until further notice, Channel 10 news reports.
Many soldiers in the standing army are told to leave their weapons on base when they go home for regular leave, a move implemented following the 2006 Second Lebanon War in order to cut down on troop suicides.
Israeli soldier are generally given leave once every couple of weekends.
Tuvai Yanai Weissman, an infantry soldier, was stabbed to death while shopping with his wife and child in a West Bank supermarket on Thursday.
Earlier on Monday, the army said it would investigate why he was told he could not carry his weapon off base, and would also probe whether to change rules for soldiers carrying weapons, given a wave of attacks over recent months.
Last year, the Public Security Ministry loosened rules allowing guards and other armed professionals to carry weapons while off duty.
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From the Liveblog of
Monday, February 22, 2016
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