Last update - 00:00 10/11/2006
Senior IDF officer to face dismissal for July kidnappings
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
Major General (res.) Doron Almog, head of the team investigating Hezbollah's abduction of Israel Defense Forces soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, is expected to recommend on Sunday that Brigadier General Gal Hirsch be dismissed from the IDF over his responsibility for the incident.
Hirsch, commander of Division 91, is contesting the recommendation, which states that the abduction was a serious operational failure for which he was responsible due to shortcomings that allowed Hezbollah to carry out the operation from its planning through to its implementation.
Other team members say rather than dismissing Hirsch from the service, he should not be allowed to serve in field commands in the coming years.
Almog called Hirsch a few days ago to inform him of his intentions. Since then, major generals at the General Staff have called on Almog to change his dismissal recommendation to one barring Hirsch from serving in a field command, so ostensibly he could retain his new posting.
The divided opinions are more significant in light of the disagreement between Chief of Staff Dan Halutz and Defense Minister Amir Peretz over appointments in the IDF.
In a series of appointments Halutz announced 10 days ago, none of the four division commanders who took part in the fighting of Lebanon will be dismissed. Hirsch himself was appointed commander of the strategic brigade in the planning division of the General Staff.
Peretz has frozen the appointments until the investigation of the war is completed.
A decision by Almog to go through with his recommendation will be seen as justifying Peretz' decision to freeze the appointments.
Hirsch met with his division commanders Wednesday and told them he was a scapegoat and would fight to clear his name.