Dubai: Three Israeli occupation soldiers who fought in the regime’s devastating war on Gaza between July and August have committed suicide in a case that has received widespread coverage in Israeli media.
Israel’s Ynet news site said that the army was investigating whether there was a connection between the suicides and “the traumatic experiences the soldiers had during the war”.
The three soldiers, all serving in the army’s Givati Brigade, ended their lives within days of each other. Israeli media reported that they used their army-issued weapons to take their lives.
Israeli society is heavily militarised. A majority of its Jewish population is conscripted to the army after high school, and most continue their affiliation with the army as reservists thereafter. Additionally, Jewish civilian colonists in occupied Palestinian towns and villages are allowed to carry weapons under the pretext of self defence from Palestinian attacks.
A regime army source told the Jerusalem Post that the army’s mental health department led an effort during the war to boost the mental fortitude of soldiers. Israel killed more than 2,000 Palestinians during the war, mostly civilians, and lost 72 people on its own side, 66 of whom were occupation soldiers.
The source told the Jerusalem Post that suicide prevention among soldiers was a “top priority” for the regime.
The Palestinians accuse Israel of committing war crimes during the war and have threatened to take the regime to the International Criminal Court.
In an apparent move to prevent further cases of suicide, the Israeli army in recent days sent text messages to conscript soldiers who took part in the war, informing them of the option to receive psychological help should they need it from the mental health officer in their unit, according to Ynet.
