Army thwarts call for ‘revenge unit’

Flyers with IDF logos found on base • Asking for response to Shevach murder

The IDF said on Tuesday that it had discovered printed flyers on a military base encouraging soldiers to join a unit devoted to acts of revenge against Palestinians for the murder of Rabbi Raziel Shevach in a terrorist attack last week.

The flyer bears IDF logos and has a header reading “Secret and classified,” with its title stating “Notice about the establishment of a special unit for pay-back actions.”

Reads the flyer: “In response to the terrible murder which happened in Havat Gilad, and in revenge for the spilling of the blood of the martyr Rabbi Raziel Shevach, may God avenge his blood, a pay-back actions unit is being restarted to restore national honor.

“With strength and power we will fight, we will strike hard, we will strike hard and we will win.”

The flyer provides a contact number for anyone interested in joining the unit, but says not to make contact through the IDF Intranet.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said that an investigation has been opened and a soldier already arrested on suspicion of having produced the leaflet and distributing it on a military base.

“The IDF sees any incident of violence and incitement very seriously and condemns it, and emphasizes that any action in this vein will be dealt with severely,” the army said. “The Military Police will continue to enforce any incident of violence or violation of the law, [military] order and discipline.”

Shevach was a resident of the Havat Gilad outpost in Samaria, whose residents are among the ideological hardcore of the settlement and Greater Israel movements.

During Shevach’s funeral, large numbers of mourners broke out into cries of “Vengeance” during a speech by Bayit Yehudi chairman Naftali Bennett.