TEL AVIV - A military probe into the killing of two IDF soldiers by Hizbullah snipers on the northern Israel-Lebanon border in 2004, will not be carried out, Chief Military Prosecutor Avichai Mandelblit said Monday.  

This decision was made despite a series of apparent command and training lapses that led to the incident.

The bereaved parents claim the decision is an attempt to cover up evidence.

They are demanding military police investigate what they say are contradictory accounts given by those involved in the incident.

An IDF spokesman said the incident had been under comprehensive investigation and that steps were taken against several officers.

He said the option of launching a military probe had also been weighed.

Killed by sniper fire

The incident occurred eight months ago when Sergeant Etai Iluz, an Afula resident serving as a communications technician, and First-Sergeant Avishai Kiritzky from Nazareth, a communications and electronic warfare technician, were killed by Hizbullah snipers.

They were repairing an antenna on the roof of the “Nurit" outpost on July 20th 2004.

As the whereabouts of the two soldiers was unknown at the time, the two were found unconscious over an hour later.

 Attempts to revive them failed and the two soldiers died of their wounds.

A month after the incident Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon said the incident had involved a chain of serious command and training lapses. Two officers were relieved of their duties.

On Monday, the chief prosecutor decided not to press any further charges and closed the case, despite parents' claim of a cover up.