IDF officer convicted of sexual assault, bribery and endangering national security
Officer arrested and in prison since early 2016; most of the case details under gag order.
By ANNA AHRONHEIMUpdated: DECEMBER 22, 2016 23:09Soldiers keep guard at checkpoint near Qalandia (photo credit: REUTERS)
An IDF officer serving in the army’s Civil Administration, which oversees civilian activity in the West Bank, has been convicted of several serious offenses, including taking bribes, fraud, sexual assault and endangering national security.The case is mostly under gag order, but according to the army, the officer, a major, was arrested and indicted in early 2016 and has been in prison ever since.On Sunday, he was convicted of most of the counts which he faced, including issuing entry permits to Palestinians who weren’t allowed to enter Israel, exceeding his authority to an extent that endangered national security.His sentence will be handed down at a later date.There have been similar cases in the past, including when Maj. Yosef Yazid was sentenced in January to five years in jail, fined NIS 30,000 and demoted to private after he was convicted of taking bribes in the sum of around NIS 250,000, helping Palestinians enter Israel illegally, fraud and forging documents which endangered state security.
