Meir (Miko) Ben Shitrit is one of the most well-known fighters in the Judea region, because he has quite a few encounters and security incidents behind him. In 2002, he was one of the members of the Kiryat Arba alert squad that entered the route of worshippers, and two years ago he killed a terrorist at the entrance to the community from his window.
But now he is at the center of a storm when, according to him, after he released a harsh video in which he attacked the IDF for allegedly losing its fighting spirit, he was shown the way out of the reserves. On Thursday morning, a few hours after the video posted online went viral, he had a difficult conversation with Judea Brigade commander Yishai Rosilio, in which he said it was implied that he would not be called up to reserve duty again.
A video posted online shows Ben Shitrit in uniform as part of an operational activity by the Kiryat Arba Staff Division in the Binyamin sector. "I am currently a reserve combat soldier in the Binyamin sector. I want to say things from the bottom of my heart. I went through a lot, from Lebanon, Hebron, battles, dead, buried friends, were killed next to friends. Yesterday, I went through the terrible attack. Minutes after the attack, I went into Hummus Eliyahu and saw the dead on the floor, the horrific pictures, and I ask myself what happened to us. How did the great IDF of the 1967 and 1973 wars, which strike at the enemy, the Lehi, the Irgun, who established the army, who carried out reprisals – how did we fold like that?"
"Every shooting," Ben Shitrit argued, "needs approval from the upper echelons. Everything happens in the decline of means. First gas, then shock, rubber. Then we'll move on to firing live ammunition if you happen to crash your face and you have a way to justify it. We are threatened as reservists who give their souls, that everyone is ready to be fighters. Something happened to our command, this wonderful command that works night and day, elite people, who give their souls to the country. Razor sharp."
Reservists (archive), photo: Dudu Greenspan
"We have a virus inside of the feature-less to run forward, to charge forward. of closing the story, of addressing the problem. We're constantly trending backwards, so they won't say what the world will say. Why can't we enter with Negev and Mag, with the rifle force of a machine gun, into a place full of terrorists? Two days ago, all the terrorists were standing there, 150 terrorists. Why don't we raise a helicopter into the air and spray them all, and go in and collect a quantity of weapons in one fell swoop. Why do we grovel to the enemy? Why Master of the Universe? I ask the IDF, the people of Israel to wake up. They murder us, they slaughter us. I didn't sleep at night from the sights."
In a conversation with Israel Hayom, Ben Shitrit was furious. He said: "They showed me the way out. Both the battalion commander and the brigade commander don't want me because of the video. After the worshippers route, they took my weapon, I killed a terrorist and they took my weapon, and now they have thrown me out of reserve. They prefer *********** soldiers to fighters who charge. They prefer the PLC rather than fighters who charge."
He said he had a difficult conversation with Brigade Commander Yehuda Yishai Rosilio. "I told him inside, you're a sick system." He said: "I don't regret the video. I served in the IDF from 1997 to 2023, fighting in battles, encounters with terrorists, dead, wounded. I killed four terrorists, I have 4 Xs. If the system is sick – good luck."
An IDF spokesperson did not respond and will be published when received.
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