Dahariya incident to be taught in IDF courses
Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi says incident in which Israeli troops kidnapped a Palestinian taxi driver, shot a civilian bystander indicates line of military, operational and normative failures; orders conclusions of investigation to be taught to future soldiers
"There is a line of normative failures," IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi said after spending five hours reviewing the findings of the investigation of the Dahariya incident in which a Palestinian taxi driver was kidnapped and another civilian was shot by IDF troops.
Ashkenazi arrived on Tuesday at the Central Command where he was briefed on the investigation. The chief of staff said that the incident uncovered a line of normative failures that go against all of the "IDF spirit's" principles – harming human life, harming soldiers' credibility, lying during questioning and more.
According to the chief of staff, the incident indicated a culture of unusual norms and commands that should be treated deeply and thoroughly.
The investigation showed a line of failures in the professional and operational fields at the most basic levels of preparing the force for a mission and sending it out.
Following the investigation, Ashkenazi said, "A commander who does not prepare his men for the missions they are assigned to has no right to command them.
"This is the basic contract between us and our soldiers and the difference between transporting and leading forces and sending them out to a mission."
The investigation showed that prior preparation and identification of previous incidents could have prevented the Dahariya incident from taking place.
Ashkenazi also instructed head of the IDF Division of Human Resources Major-General Elazar Stern to prepare, with the help of the chief education officer, an education program on the matter which will be given in the relevant military classes.
The chief of staff also instructed the ground forces service to teach the points and conclusions of this investigation in courses in different levels.
In the near future, Ashkenazi will announce the steps he plans to take against those involved in the Dahariya incident.
