Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Monday morning expressed his support for the Givati Brigade hesder soldiers who were sentenced to military prison after refusing to enter a Namer armored personnel carrier in which a female paramedic was present - in violation of the Joint Service Order.

"I support the Givati soldiers who insisted on their right and obligation to serve in the IDF while maintaining their values and beliefs and adhering to the praiseworthy Joint Service Order," Smotrich said.

"The soldiers have the full backing of the rabbis and administrators of the Hesder Yeshivas Association, who examined the matter thoroughly and with appropriate caution and stand behind the decision."

He added: "I prayed and hoped with all my being that the IDF would come to its senses and avoid the need for my intervention, but since that did not happen, as the leader of the Religious Zionist movement, I cannot sit idly by, and I will demand answers from the IDF on this matter."

"It is very unfortunate that there are those in the IDF who, through poor judgment, choose to confront head-on the sector that serves and contributes the most, in a manner that will only cause damage and undermine public trust in the IDF."

On Sunday night, the IDF announced that five Givati Brigade soldiers, yeshiva students serving in the Rotem Battalion, who refused over the weekend to board a Namer armored personnel carrier carrying a female paramedic, were sentenced Sunday evening by the battalion commander to 10 days in military prison. Another 11 soldiers were sentenced to five days of confinement.

The IDF said that two of the soldiers sentenced to 10 days in prison will undergo an evaluation committee before being allowed to return to combat.

The incident occurred last week in the Givati Brigade's Rotem Battalion, currently operating in the Gaza Strip, after three soldiers refused to board a Namer armored personnel carrier because a female medic was inside, claiming they were acting on instructions from their rabbis

According to sources familiar with the incident, after the three soldiers said they would not board the Namer, the remaining members of the platoon were asked whether anyone was willing to board the vehicle with the female medic. The soldiers said that none of the platoon members agreed to do so.

Arutz Sheva-Israel National learned that the brigade's rabbi was involved in the matter and permitted the soldiers to conduct the operation in the presence of the female paramedic due to its importance and urgency.