ISRAELI SOLDIERS COMMITTED SUICIDE INCREASING OVER THE YEARS?

The Israeli ministry for military affairs reported that the number of Israeli soldiers who committed suicide exceeds that of those killed in battles.

It was mentioned last year, that at least 237 Israeli soldiers have committed suicide over the past ten years and the numbers increasing gradually, a report says.

According to report, it was found out that the real number of suicides in the Israeli army had been much greater than what the official data show.

University of Tel Aviv and Haifa University, headed by Dr. Avi Bleich found that Israeli soldiers suffer emotional, psychological disorders and trauma after the war with the Palestinians.

Avi Bliech said, the Israeli troops engaged in military operations against the Palestinians suffered harassment guilt, unhappy, self hate and regret not sure if they are on the right side.

It is estimated that half of the troops along the border sorry for being violent against civilians, a third of them confessed to the crime, while 17.4 percent are aware of their shameful behavior. Above all they are sorry they had to attack and kill civilians without reason, he added.
Despite long leave Palestine, most soldiers are still traumatized and do not seek psychological help, Avi Bleich said.

However, reported August this year, 37 percent of the male and female IDF soldiers who committed suicide over the past six years were not native-born Israelis, but new immigrants. 

• The report’s data only included country of origin; it is possible that more comprehensive data, including that of Israeli-born soldiers of Ethiopian or Russian origin, would produce higher figures.
• The number of suicides among new immigrants from the former Soviet Union was double the corresponding figure for non-immigrant Israelis and the number of suicides among new immigrants from Ethiopia was five to ten times higher, depending on age bracket, according to statistics presented to the Knesset committee in 2011. The 15-24 age group is where the gap is the greatest.
• According to the figures for 2012 that appear in the Knesset report on IDF suicides, four soldiers committed suicide last year; two of them were born in the Soviet Union, one in Ethiopia and the fourth was defined as “other” (that is, someone who was not born in Israel and was the native of a country other than the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and Ethiopia).
• In 2011, seven IDF soldiers committed suicide; two of them were born in the Soviet Union, one in Ethiopia and four were defined as “other.” In 2010, 11 new immigrant soldiers committed suicide; five of them were born in the Soviet Union or Eastern Europe, three in Ethiopia and three were born in other countries.

According to secret data released by the Israeli military, an average of 24 troops decide to take their own lives every year with an annual average of 40 Israeli army forces also killed themselves between 1990 and 2000, reported by Israeli daily Haaretz.
The Israeli newspaper Maariv published an article in 2003, saying that suicide had been the number one cause of death in the Israeli army.

Compared with suicides in the US Army, it was found that there is almost no historical data on suicides by Israeli troops. 
Israeli war ministry had refused to supply information on the phenomenon.

Source: Agencies