Soldier's Facebook Post Derails Israeli Raid

Grunt who posted details on social network gets 10 days in jail
By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 4, 2010 1:26 PM CST
Soldier's Facebook Post Derails Israeli Raid
A jeep with Israeli soldiers drives past a group of Palestinians, after scuffles between Palestinians and Jewish settlers in the West Bank village of Beitillu near Ramallah.   (AP Photo)

A West Bank raid by the Israel Defense Forces had to be called off after a soldier posted details of the operation on his Facebook page. “On Wednesday,” the status update read, “we are cleaning out " a village, which the soldier named. “Today an arrest operation, tomorrow an arrest operation and then, please God, home.” The gabby grunt was booted from his elite unit and sent to jail for 10 days.

The posting of inappropriate or classified material by soldiers has become widespread enough that the IDF has launched an education campaign and is considering new regulations, the Jerusalem Post reports. An intelligence officer says information security is essential. “We see more activity among enemies on the Internet. All one needs is Internet access and to search for a few key words and begin collecting intelligence.” (More Facebook stories.)

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