Strangely, in all this no one has wondered how it is possible that the IDF, the body charged with imposing the law on the West Bank, never lifted a finger against its officers who settled in an illegal outpost in the first place.
Moreover, how can an officer in the career army who breaks the law and ignores a court order serve as a model for his soldiers?
How should a private deal with an order to evacuate an illegal outpost from a colonel who has made his home in a similar community? And what can anyone expect of an officer who is squatting on property when his commander, who is himself a squatter, orders him to evacuate his own home?
After it emerged that dozens of career army officers are living in outposts, I sent these questions to the military spokesman. I wanted to know what the army's policy is with regard to officers who are living in outposts.
After a thorough clarification, according to the spokesman, with the Military Advocate General's Office, he sent the following response:
"In the unapproved outposts, for many years now thousands of citizens have been living, among them state employees including army people. As of today, to the best of our knowledge, there exists no general policy concerning state employees, including military people, living in the outposts."
Obviously the absence of a policy means a policy of tacit agreement. When they are in uniform, the officers are charged with enforcing the law. When they take off their uniforms, they are breaking the law.