Officers' reprimand / Why the delay?

The news of the reprimand handed down to the commander of the Gaza Division was published in Haaretz yesterday, six months after the disciplinary action in the matter - and it only came to light as part of Israel's response to the Goldstone report. Division commander Brig. Gen. Eyal Eisenberg and Givati Brigade commander Col. Ilan Malka were subjected to disciplinary action by the head of the Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Yoav Gallant, last July.

In April 2009, when the investigations ordered by Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi were completed, then-Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Harel presented the findings to the media in a briefing. Harel briefly described the attack on the UNRWA compound at Tel al-Hawa, which was investigated by two different groups as part of the examination of the damage to international institutions.

The affair for which Eisenberg and Malka were later reprimanded was not mentioned at the briefing - the matter of the unjustified artillery fire: the use of live ammunition to help rescue a Givati Brigade platoon from a situation in which they were under anti-tank missile fire from Hamas - even though the orders allowed firing only smoke shells. The investigation found that Malka exceeded his authority, but his orders did not cause the death of any innocent civilians. Division commander Eisenberg, who was not directly involved in the decision, requested to be tried too, so as not to abandon his brigade commander.

Harel, who is now on leave before his his retirement from the IDF, said yesterday that the affair was raised in general terms during the investigation, and it was determined that the matter would be investigated more deeply at a later date. Therefore, the artillery fire was not brought up at the April briefing, he said.

Harel said it was a mistake that the results of the disciplinary action were not announced in July, and said he thought the matter "fell between the cracks" between the General Staff and Southern Command, two bodies whose relations are in any case sensitive.

For months, journalists who asked whether additional disciplinary actions had been taken against senior officers as a result of Operation Cast Lead were told "no." Now it turns out that they were misled. Military sources said yesterday that the IDF spokesman's office only heard about the matter for the first time on Sunday evening, when journalists asked for a response.

That is quite surprising: Gallant is an experienced veteran of internal General Staff politics. When the previous Gaza Division commander, Moshe (Chico) Tamir, got into trouble, Gallant did not make a move without first coordinating with Ashkenazi and the military advocate general. The same thing must have certainly been the case this time, too, especially as the order to try Eisenberg and Malka came directly from Ashkenazi, who appointed the investigative teams.

So did someone intentionally keep the matter from the IDF spokesman, or was it just an innocent mistake? That is a question the IDF must answer. Not providing an answer will only damage the IDF: After all, it was the IDF that investigated and tried. Why not publicize on time and prove that Israel dealt with such matters promptly, as it claims?