The IDF Spokesman updated that an investigation into the thwarting of violent smuggling in the area of the Paran Brigade, in which two border fighters were lightly wounded, was presented today (Friday) to Chief of General Staff Aviv Kochavi by the commander of the Edom formation, sub- Major General Itzik Cohen and Commander of the Southern Command, Major General Eliezer Toledano.
In view of the conclusions of the investigation, the commander of the Southern Command decided on Taking action to dismiss the deputy commander of the Karkal Battalion, an officer with the rank of major, from his post. This, after the conclusions revealed that the deputy commander of the battalion erred in several aspects, including lack of coordination with the HMS force, positioning his vehicle dangerously on a civilian axis, and firing in violation of instructions.
The investigation revealed that on the day of the incident, forces from the Paran Brigade thwarted attempts to smuggle drugs from Sinai into Israeli territory, in a number of hotspots in the red section. During the counterterrorism operation, the drug smugglers from the Egyptian side opened massive fire from several points toward Israeli territory. Our forces returned accurate fire at the firing points and thwarted an attempt to smuggle about 400 kg of drugs with an estimated value of about NIS 8 million.
The command investigation shows that the command squad of the deputy commander of the Karkal Battalion was stationed on the travel route between Nitzana and Ezuz in order to stop the smugglers. At the same time, the YMS force, which operated under the battalion’s command at the incident, made its way to the scene with the aim of blocking the smugglers’ expected escape route.
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The company’s headquarters, which was moving on the same axis, passed the HMS fighter vehicle and estimated that it was the smugglers’ vehicle. The headquarters informed the deputy commander of the battalion that the smuggling vehicle had passed her and was traveling in his direction.
The battalion’s deputy commander decided to block the civilian axis with his vehicle, and the force opened fire on the vehicle, which identified him as a suspect. The CBS fighters in the vehicle identified the shooting at them and carried out a number of actions in order to identify themselves. As a result of these actions the shooting stopped. The two fighters who were wounded during the shooting were evacuated to Soroka Hospital lightly.
The investigation shows that this was a shooting incident on our forces as a result of a misidentification during an operational activity. The battalion’s deputy commander erred in a number of respects, including a lack of coordination with the CBS force, the dangerous position of his vehicle on a civilian axis, and the shooting in violation of instructions.
Following the investigation, the division commander instructed on the deepening of the order of operations required in the connection of special or small forces for tasks under battalion command, and on the implementation of a full “learning stop” for Southern YSH fighters to regulate the full grouping exercises.
The commander of the Southern Command emphasized that the violent smuggling on the Egyptian border constitutes a criminal incident with security aspects. The treatment of smuggling in this area is characterized by great complexity that requires complete coordination between all those involved. In addition, the general noted that the “red” design, in cooperation with the security forces in the area, thwarted and prevented about 220 smuggling on the Egyptian border in the past year and significantly reduced the number of smuggling. The commander-in-chief concluded by saying that he considered this incident a “flagship investigation”, from which a work plan for learning and learning was required to be implemented.
The chief of staff, Major General Aviv Kochavi, accepted the conclusions of the investigation as presented and said: “This is a serious and unnecessary incident that should have been avoided. It was negligence in discretion and discipline that caused the fire to be opened in an unnecessary and unprofessional manner.” The Chief of Staff praised the sharp and professional investigation and instructed to assimilate the conclusions and lessons learned, while examining necessary improvements to prevent similar incidents in the future.