The country and its military must condemn acts of revenge by Israelis against Palestinians and against IDF soldiers, IDF chief-of-staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said on Wednesday
Speaking to the IDF Navy commanders course graduates in Haifa, he congratulated them on their tremendous accomplishment of moving toward being naval commanders but noted that the ceremony was taking place in a complex time period.
First, he noted that Hallel Yaniv, killed only days ago by a Palestinian terrorist who is still at large, had been murdered only shortly after completing his service as a naval officer.
Next, he said that when the IDF tracks down such terrorists it does so "with professionalism and authority from the state."
Further, he said that the IDF succeeds in preventing many terror incidents that the country does not even always fully hear about.
Essentially, he apologized for failing to stop some of the recent terror incidents, but said, "we will not give up and not rest," in the fight against Palestinian terrorism.
Halevi condemns violence against Palestinians
He then moved on to recent attacks on Palestinians in Huwara and against IDF soldiers, saying, "wild lawlessness and violence against soldiers and harming [Palestinian] residents' and their property as acts of vengeance are items which we must condemn. These phenomena are invalid at their very foundations and distract IDF forces from fighting terror."
Halevi continued that such actions, "almost led this week to more injured persons in violent actions against soldiers from hilltop youth that were acting against them [the soldiers]. This is the hour to say things clearly and to set clear redlines for those who think that an unrestrained internal fight will improve our security."
The IDF chief said the military would continue to act in a determined fashion to bring all terrorists to justice and highlighted the need "to preserve ourselves as one nation against our many challenges."