The head of the IDF unit that operated in two high-profile incidents in the South Hebron Hills in September will not be promoted for a three-year period, and cannot attend any command or staff courses during that time, the army said on Sunday.
While stressing that “this is a valued officer who has been acting professionally and responsibly for years,” the army said that the IDF major’s “conduct in both incidents indicates a deviation from the professional norms and standards expected in such incidents.”
The army released its statement after investigating the two incidents. In one, an IDF unit operated against a march by the left-wing NGO Combatants for Peace near the Avigayil outpost on September 17. In the other, the same unit responded to a September 28 attack by settler and Jewish extremists against the Palestinian village of Khirbet al-Mufaqarah.
The IDF statement did not include a full investigation into the overall causes of either incident, and also did not address the stoning attack by settler and Jewish extremists on the Hamamdeh family home, in which three-year-old Muhammed suffered a head injury, was hospitalized and released.
The investigation instead focused primarily on incidents of excessive force by the unit’s commanding officer, which was caught on video, and the operational management of the incidents.
The IDF commander in question had already been rebuked after the September 17 incident, in which he was shown violently shoving a left-wing Israeli protester. He was also taken to task for the use of stun grenades and the decision to blindfold one of the five Israeli detainees at the scene.
The IDF commander in question had already been rebuked after the September 17 incident, in which he was shown violently shoving a left-wing Israeli protester. He was also taken to task for the use of stun grenades and the decision to blindfold one of the five Israeli detainees at the scene.
On Sunday, the IDF reiterated that such actions had been “wrong,” and that the commander had also been wrong during the September 28 incident when he pushed a Palestinian who approached the scene.
The army said it took a particularly dim view of the commander’s actions in the second incident, particularly since he had just been reprimanded for his operational shortcomings.
As part of its report, the IDF reiterated its claims that left-wing activists had acted violently against the soldiers who responded to the September 17 incident. The protesters have rejected such claims. The military similarly spoke of Palestinian stone-throwing against its soldiers during the September 28 incident.
MK Mossi Raz (Meretz) charged that the IDF had been too lenient in evaluating the actions of the army major.
“A major who attacked and wounded Israelis and Palestinians has gone unpunished,” Raz said.
Instead of saying that “he will not be promoted,” Raz said that the army should have “promoted [him] straight to trial for assault and grievous bodily harm.”
MK Itamar Ben-Gvir (Religious Zionist Party) said the army should have presented the major with an award for defending the country instead of punishing him.
“It’s forbidden to tie the hands of soldiers” who are out there saving lives, Ben-Gvir said, calling for an urgent meeting of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee to address the issue.