Israel Suspends Reserves After ‘Revenge’ Comment
Abir Sultan/Pool via AP
Israel has removed an entire reserve battalion from duty in the occupied West Bank after a soldier was filmed detaining CNN journalists, claiming they were seeking “revenge” against Palestinians, according to the New York Times. The CNN team was reporting on an illegal settler outpost near the village of Tayasir when the incident occurred. During the encounter, a cameraman was placed in a chokehold, and the journalists were detained for roughly two hours. Footage from the scene also captured a soldier saying the West Bank was “for the Jews” and connecting their actions to the death of an Israeli teenager in a March 21 car accident involving a Palestinian driver.
On Monday, Israel’s military announced the battalion would be temporarily withdrawn for additional training. Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir described the event as a “grave ethical” violation. “Weapons are to be used solely for the purpose of carrying out the mission, and never for revenge,” he said. The battalion largely consists of veterans from the ultra-Orthodox Netzah Yehuda Battalion, a unit long criticized for its treatment of Palestinians and previously reviewed—but not sanctioned—under the U.S. Leahy Law, which prohibits training for foreign troops accused of human rights abuses. The Israeli military said it had issued an apology to the CNN journalists involved.
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