“Northern Command worked to coordinate the relocation of the statue from the moment it received a report of the incident,” says the Army, adding that “it expresses deep regret for what happened and is working to ensure that it does not happen again in the future.”
A military investigation into the incident in the Christian village of Debel found that, in addition to the soldier who damaged the statue and the soldier who photographed it, six other soldiers were “present at the scene and did not act to prevent the incident or report it.”
“The investigation concluded that the soldiers’ conduct completely deviated from the orders and values of the IDF”says the Army.
The conclusions of the investigation were presented on the evening of Monday, April 20, to the commander of the 162nd Division, Brigadier General Sagiv Dahan, responsible for the sector where the incident occurred and Dahan accepted the conclusions and recommendations of the commanders.
Consequently, the person responsible decided to remove the two soldiers involved from combat service, sending them to military prison for 30 days.
“The remaining soldiers who remained at the scene were called to provide clarifications that will be carried out later, after which other command measures will be determined”reported the Army.
The IDF stated that “procedures relating to conduct with religious institutions and symbols were reinforced with troops prior to their entry into the areas in question and will be reinforced again for all troops in the area following the incident”.
The IDF Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, “condemned the incident and stated that it constitutes unacceptable conduct and a moral failure, which far exceeds any acceptable standard and contradicts the values of the Israel Defense Forces and the conduct expected of its troops”, according to a military statement.
