Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Monday shared a statement in support of religious Givati Brigade soldiers who refused to board a Namer armored personnel carrier with a female paramedic during an operational mission in the Gaza Strip, saying he would demand answers from the IDF over its handling of the incident.

“I support the Givati soldiers who insisted on their right and duty to serve in the IDF while preserving their values and faith and while adhering to the Joint Service Order,” Smotrich said.

The soldiers were prosecuted on Sunday by court-martial rather than criminally, an IDF source indirectly told The Jerusalem Post.

A second IDF source indirectly confirmed the disciplinary process to the Post, adding that the military is not pleased that the information was published before the verdicts were handed down.

Smotrich says cannot sit by as ‘leader of Religious Zionism’

“The soldiers have the full backing of the rabbis and directors of the Hesder Yeshivot Association, who examined the issue thoroughly and with the appropriate caution and stand behind the decision,” Smotrich said following the decision.

“I prayed and hoped with all my heart that the IDF would come to its senses and prevent the need for my intervention, but since that did not happen, as the leader of Religious Zionism, I cannot sit idly by, and I will demand answers from the IDF on the matter,” Smotrich said.

This post was originally published on here.