An Israeli soldier convicted of relaying secret information to far-right activists was sentenced to 45 months in prison Tuesday, after the court ruled his actions compromised national security. Cpl. Elad Sela, 26, a resident of the Gush Etzion community of Bat Ayin, was arrested last March after the Israel Defense Forces found he had given classified information to Jewish extremists implicated in "price-tag" attacks against Palestinians. Striking a plea bargain with the Military Prosecution, Sela was convicted of accessing classified databases without proper authorization and disclosing classified information to unauthorized individuals. He was sentenced to three years and nine months in jail and was demoted to the rank of private. A source familiar with the investigation said that because Sela's actions focused on getting information about potential investigations against Bat Ayin residents suspected of carrying out "price-tag" attacks, the military believes his actions were ideologically motivated. According to available details, the information Sela gave far-right activists allowed them to undermine security forces' efforts to thwart vandalism and harassment incidents against Palestinians in Judea and Samaria. "The verdict reflects the Military Prosecution's decision to take an uncompromising approach to such cases, with the aim of eradicating such incidents and severely punishing those who abuse the faith placed in them by the defense establishment and undermine security interests," the military said in a statement after the ruling. Sela, a married father of two, enlisted in the IDF as part of a special program integrating ultra-Orthodox men in the military. He was trained as an intelligence NCO and stationed at the Etzion Brigade base, not far from Bat Ayin. He was arrested on March 11 by the Judea and Samaria Subdistrict Police, after their intelligence suggested right-wing activists in the Samaria community were tipped off ahead of police raids in the area. Attorney Adi Keidar, from the right-wing Honenu legal aid organization, criticized the verdict, saying, "The initial suspicions linking him [Sela] to any kind of organization were refuted."
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Soldier jailed for leaking tip-offs to far-right activists
Elad Sela, from the Gush Etzion community of Bat Ayin, is convicted of compromising national security and sentenced to 45 months in prison • Prosecution says verdict reflects IDF's zero-tolerance approach for those who abuse the system's faith.