Last update - 00:00 27/02/2007
Lieut. Colonel reprimanded, denied promotion for hitting Palestinian
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
A former battalion commander at the Israel Defense Forces was reprimanded and denied promotion over an incident in which he slapped a Palestinian suspected of planning a terror attack, Haaretz has learned recently.
As a result, the Military Advocate General withheld the officer's promotion from the rank of Lieutenant Colonel to Colonel and from becoming a brigade commander.
The officer is now serving in a different position in the army.
The incident took place in September 2003, when a force under the officer's command arrested a Palestinian suspected of planning a shooting attack for that same day. The battalion commander questioned the suspect at the scene of the arrest and slapped him in the face during the interrogation.
The suspect later gave away the location of two rifles and ammunition he hid away nearby. He was later indicted at a military court for illegal arms dealing.
But military police launched a concurrent investigation of a complaint against the officer for slapping the Palestinian suspect. Military Advocate General, Brigadier General Avihai Mandelblit, recommended at the conclusion of the investigation to initiate a disciplinary hearing procedure against the officer.
Ground Forces Commander Major General Benny Gantz reprimanded the officer in line with the advocate general's recommendation. Gantz also ruled that the officer's promotion would be reevaluated in January 2008, but refrained from disqualifying the officer from serving in a commanding position in the future.