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Six Israeli soldiers were arrested, charged and convicted of assault related charges for physically abusing younger recruits, according to an Israeli military court.
The six soldiers, all from the Golani Brigade, were jailed this week for physically and mentally abusing the soldiers over the course of several months. All six were jailed for around 15 days.
According to testimony, the unit commander, a captain, often insulted and humiliated recruits. "He had a habit of swearing at soldiers," a soldier said. "He even threw rocks and hit a soldier in the back with a stick during one of the exercises," he said.
The commander was reprimanded by the Golani Brigade commander Col. Yaniv Hazor. The unit also punished a sergeant. Earlier this year, a sergeant was fired for using a stapler against a soldier.
According to witnesses, the soldiers were forced to swallow mustard while on duty, and were punished in the shower by having detergent and bleach thrown at them.
According to the testimonies of soldiers, the abuses were also related to seniority. New recruits were forced to follow special rules imposed by senior members of the unit. They were forbidden to eat certain foods, drink coffee, visit the clubhouse, watching television and sleeping on their backs.
The IDF spokesperson said: "These abuses contradict IDF values."
