Unarmed soldiers sent to stop suspected intrusion on Jordanian border

IDF cites ‘reasons of time and distance’ for scrambling troops who had no guns because they were about to go home; first force sent to scene had entered a suspected minefield

Israeli soldiers were ordered this week to stop a suspected intrusion on the Jordanian border — without guns.

According to a Channel 12 news report Saturday, Israeli troops initially dispatched to the border fence accidentally entered a suspected minefield and had to be rescued by military engineers.

The Israel Defense Forces then sent another group of soldiers observing from afar to deal with the suspected intrusion, but they were without their rifles. The soldiers had returned their guns to the armory, as they had been set to be given home leave, the network said.

“The operational force that was scrambled had weapons,” the military said in response. “[Intelligence] gathering forces that were also scrambled to the position arrived without guns, for reasons of time and distance, and were guarded by battalion forces that were at the position.”

The IDF added that the incident would be investigated “and dealt with accordingly,” without further elaborating.