TEL AVIV (Dispatches) -- 
Dozens of Israeli soldiers from the Givati Brigade’s Tzabar Battalion walked off their posts at the Sde Teiman military base without authorization Thursday, laying down their weapons and rendering their unit combat ineffective in what Israeli media is calling the “largest mutiny in the history of the Israeli army.”
The mass walkout—a remarkable breach of military discipline—was triggered not by the base’s grim reputation as a detention facility where Palestinian detainees face systematic abuse, but by a dispute over battalion traditions and the removal of symbolic signs.
According to Maariv, the soldiers abandoned their posts after commanders removed symbols tied to a longstanding battalion tradition that “embodies the bond between veteran and junior soldiers.” 
The battalion commander ordered the removal because the symbols had become associated with “irregular incidents” linked to the hazing of newer recruits, which involved “violence and humiliation.”
“I decided to break wooden signs of Satan, the Angel of Death, and more, signs that represent exactly these things,” the commander said.
The soldiers rejected this explanation entirely. In videos circulating on social media, troops are heard chanting obscene slogans at their commanding officers.
The mutiny unfolded at Sde Teiman—a facility that has become synonymous with Israeli brutality against Palestinians. The base houses a detention camp where former detainees and human rights organizations have documented horrifying abuses, including physical violence, medical neglect, and sexual assault of Palestinian prisoners.
Yet not a single soldier walked out over the torture of Palestinian detainees. Not one laid down their weapon in protest of the atrocities committed within the very walls of their base.
An Israeli military spokesperson confirmed the incident, stating: “A short time ago, soldiers from a combat battalion began leaving their base without their commanders’ authorization. The incident is being investigated and addressed by commanders. This conduct is inconsistent with what is expected of soldiers.”
Military sources described the walkout as “the largest mutiny in the history of the Israeli army”—a stunning collapse of discipline within a military that prides itself on cohesion and obedience.