Northern Command Chief Major-General Gadi Eisenkot ordered Battalion 71 Commander Lieutenant-Colonel Omri to go on a 10-day leave of absence Tuesday following the incident in the West Bank Palestinian village of Naalin, in which a soldier under his command fired a rubber bullet at a bound Palestinian detainee during an anti-fence rally.
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| Na'alin officer fails polygraph test / Hanan Greenberg |
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Staff Sgt. filmed shooting rubber bullet towards bound Palestinian detainee found to have testified truthfully about in second lie detector test. But his commander, whom he accuses of ordering him to shoot, found to have lied |
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Major-General Eisenkot noted that the incident indicated a severe lapse in judgment and a "moral and authoritative failure" on the commander's part.
The Lt. Col. continues to maintain that the soldier acted independently, however Ynet has learned that he recently failed the polygraph test he was subjected to.
The soldier told
military investigators that Lieutenant-Colonel Omri gave him a direct order to shoot one of the Palestinians, whose arms and legs were bound.
A video
of the incident was circulated by B'Tselem and was aired first on Ynet.
On Tuesday morning materials pertaining to the case compiled were handed over to the Military Prosecution, which is expected to decide on the next legal steps against the commander and soldier.
Sources familiar with the investigation said indictments may be filed in the affair, but added that a final decision has yet to be reached.
Meanwhile, the IDF received another complaint from a Palestinian who claimed that Lieutenant-Colonel Omri and another officer physically assaulted him. The complaint was filed through B'Tselem.
_a.jpg "Photo: Eli Elgart")
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