Israeli army rabbi urges 'no mercy' in war

The Israeli Army's chief rabbi has called on military students to 'show no mercy' when they fight a war or they will be "damned."

"In times of war, whoever doesn't fight with all his heart and soul is damned, if he keeps his sword from bloodshed, if he shows mercy toward his enemy when no mercy should be shown," The Israeli daily Haaretz quoted Brig. Gen. Avichai Rontzki as saying at the Hesder yeshiva in the occupied West Bank.

"Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord with a slack hand, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood," added the rabbi.

Regarding the Israeli three week war on the Gaza Strip last December, the army rabbi hailed the military's performance which led to the death of at least 1,350 people including women and children.

"Everyone fought with all their heart and soul, and that includes bravery of course, but also fighting with all the resources one has, to fight as if to truly determine the mission," he reiterated.

Rontzki, who had also sanctioned the killing of Palestinian civilians during the Gaza war, drew harsh criticism from human rights groups.

During the war, some other leading rabbis also issued rulings that gave free hands to Israeli commanders to attack the civilian population in Gaza.