clear

Creating new perspectives since 2009

24% rise in sexual harassment claims in Israel army

February 16, 2021 at 1:09 pm

Israeli soldiers from the mixed-gender Lions of the Jordan battalion on 28 February 2017, near the West Bank village of Bardale, east of Jenin. [JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images]

The number of sexual harassment claims reported by female Israeli soldiers to the military police has increased over the past few years, the Shehab news agency reported yesterday.

According to the news site, Israeli sources revealed details of a report prepared by the Gender Affairs Adviser to the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army, Brigadier General Yifat Yerushalmi which showed that 1,542 sexual harassment claims had been raised to the military police in 2020 – an increase of 24 per cent from the previous year.

Different Israeli media sources said that the number of reported incidents has increased every year since 2012, but fewer women are pursuing legal action.

A spokesman for the Israeli army said that this issue is “worrying and dangerous”, noting that the Israeli army would start working to deal with it.

READ: Journalist arrested after exposing the plight of Palestinians in Israeli prisons