Ya’alon to MKs: Soldier who shot disarmed attacker is not a hero

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon lays into MKs supporting the soldier who shot a disarmed Palestinian attacker in the head after the stabbing of a fellow soldier in Hebron last week.

“There was an initial investigation already on Thursday whose bottom line was that this is a case of a soldier gone bad, not a hero,” Ya’alon tells the Knesset.

“The brigade commander called for a criminal investigation before the video [of the shooting] was published. Since then there has been a Military Police investigation. It is important to state that this is how the IDF chief and the defense minister and the prime minister immediately viewed the incident. We are not like the other side.”

The former military leader also slams “all the fervor and false information and manipulation and attacks on the IDF chief.”

“Do you want a brutalized army that has lost its moral backbone?” he demands. “I am proud of the company commander who pointed out that this was an irregular event. I regret that the coalition includes a minister who instead of calling the defense minister before going the media, called to encourage and support [the soldier].”

This is an apparent reference to right-wing Education Minister Naftali Bennett, who has called the family of the soldier.

Ya’alon continues with a warning to MKs: “Someone who is corrupted has be held accountable. I am asking you not to intervene in these matters… We will see if there is a connection between online incitement and various statements by politicians about a soldier who made the decision to carry out an act that violates the law and our moral values.”