Following the release of a report by the ‘Israeli’ occupation military investigating the heroic operation by an Egyptian police officer which killed three Zionist soldiers dead at the border last month, the ‘Israel occupation military chief Herzl Halevi decided to dismiss and officially reprimand a number of commanders for failings which, according to the report, led to the soldiers’ deaths.
Two of the soldiers, Sgt. Lia Ben-Nun and Staff Sgt. Ori Yitzhak Illouz was the first to be killed by an Egyptian policeman who crossed into the ‘Israeli-occupied territories on June 3. During a firefight with the Egyptian hero, who has been identified as 23-year-old Muhammad Salah from Cairo, a third soldier, Staff Sgt. OH ad Dohan, was also killed.
Brig. Gen. Yitzhak Cohen, the commander of the 80th Division, which is responsible for the border area in which the incident occurred, is to be reprimanded for his overall command responsibility and for failing to verify that procedures were followed. Col. Ido Sa’ar, the commander of the Paran brigade, will be reassigned to another position due to a finding of his overall responsibility and the manner in which operations were handled in his sector. The commander of the Bardelas battalion, Lt. Col. Ivan Kon, will be reprimanded for how his forces were deployed. He will also be barred from being promoted in rank for five years.
The investigation uncovered multiple failings. First, the operation was made possible by the fact that an emergency security passage in the fence had been closed but not locked, and that the soldiers at the guard post – Ben Nun and Illouz – weren’t aware of the opening.
Second, there was insufficient security and inadequate protective gear. Guard duty was split into two 12-hour shifts, but this “should have been considered and carried out differently,” the report claimed. In addition, the force that assaulted the perpetrator didn’t have enough protective gear, in violation of regulations.
The report found no fault with the performance of the soldiers who were killed.
But for two hours after their bodies were found, neither air force vessels nor special forces were sent to the area. Senior air force officers alleged there were weather problems that made it impossible to send drones, while its helicopter fleet was grounded at the time because one helicopter had a technical problem. But these considerations shouldn’t have been decisive in an active operational situation, the report claimed.
As a result of the inquiry, the Zionist military decided that several changes should be made immediately. These include sealing the security passages in the fence, reducing the length of guard duty shifts along the border and raising the minimum number of soldiers needed to staff a guard post.
