The Hebrew-language website Walla reported an increase in the number of fugitive soldiers serving in the Israeli army.
According to Pak Sahafat news agency, quoting the Palestinian news agency “Sama”, the Hebrew-language website Walla reported that this year the number of Bedouin soldiers (Israeli soldiers who are Israeli citizens but are discriminated against because they are originally Arabs) in the Israeli army has decreased and the number of fugitive soldiers has increased.
The Hebrew-language site quoted officials from the occupying regime’s army as saying that the reason for this was the increase in provocative actions on social media sites against the Arabic-speaking soldiers of the Israeli army who are serving in the army.
The Walla website also claimed that the development of provocative campaigns by Hamas and the Palestinian side, as well as after the “Hars al-Aswar” operation and the events in the cities inside the occupied territories last May, reduced the number of Arabic-speaking soldiers in the Zionist army.
On the other hand, reports indicate that the phenomenon of “suicide” in the absence of war is the leading cause of death among soldiers of the Zionist regime, and contrary to the officials of the regime, the reason for suicide is not only mental disorders in soldiers, but also in the shadow of long wars. They are worried about their future and this leads to stress in them.
Al-Jazeera wrote in a report on suicide among the forces and soldiers of the Israeli army: One study found that many suicides in the Israeli army were not associated with mental disorders, but that most of the soldiers who committed suicide suffered from anxiety about the future for a long time and lived in a state of extreme despair and confusion.
Official statistics from the Knesset Research Center show that Israel registers 500 suicides a year, of which 100 are among young people aged 15 to 24.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death among Sunni groups in their mid-twenties who join the occupying regime’s army as soldiers or members.
Statistics show that suicide is still the leading cause of death among Israeli soldiers, as it has intensified despite the decline in 2020 during the Corona epidemic, with the Israeli army claiming that 9 out of 28 registered soldiers committed suicide.
But the number of suicides seems to be higher in the ranks of the Israeli army, because in some cases suicides are recorded accidentally during training or road accidents, etc., and the actual number of suicides is deliberately kept secret.
The causes of suicide in the ranks of the Israeli army are due to the spread of this phenomenon in Israeli society and among Jews of different sects, age groups and social classes, for psychological, social and economic reasons, especially with high unemployment and poverty.
The phenomenon of suicide among soldiers cannot be separated from the spread of this phenomenon in Israeli society, this is because official statistics released by the regime’s Ministry of Health show that 6215 suicide attempts were registered during 2020, which is a decrease of 9% compared to 2019, during which 6861 suicide attempts were registered.
This decrease is due to the closure and quarantine of Israel during the corona epidemic and the allocation of clinics and hospitals in this regime for the treatment of corona patients.
From 2010 to 2020, there were 5,380 suicides in Israeli society at a rate of approximately 500 suicides per year, of which 100 suicides per year were among Israeli soldiers.
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The data show that 80% of suicides are registered among men and 20% among women, and 60% of suicides are in the age group from high school to 26 years old; Periods during which enlistment in the army or compulsory military service are discussed.
Reasons for soldiers’ suicide
From the information provided by the Israeli Army Manpower Department and the Mental Health Unit in the Army, it is inferred that the increase in mental disorders in soldiers due to psychological, social and security pressures, as well as the ongoing fighting is the main reason for suicide.
But one study found that many suicides in the Israeli army were not associated with mental disorders, but that most of the soldiers who committed suicide suffered from anxiety about the future for a long time and lived in a state of extreme despair.
The data show that during 2020, 1,710 requests were made by soldiers for psychological services, and 26 soldiers were classified as at high risk of suicide and survived suicide.
Recruitment and conscription lead to the separation of the conscript from the environment he knows and cause great disruption in his life. And military service is one of the main causes of stress due to the security situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the risk to the lives of soldiers.
Another reason that drives Israeli soldiers to suicide is the feeling of alienation and lack of dependence on the military framework.
Estimates in Israeli society show that the Israeli army’s manpower unit deliberately conceals the facts surrounding the spread of suicide and does not disclose the official number of soldiers who commit suicide each year, and that suicide remains a major cause of death in the army if it does not occur.
Another reason for this secrecy is to keep young people motivated to enroll in conscription, as well as to preserve the sentiments of religious and conservative Jewish communities.