Officer to be disciplined over wife's road accident
Military Advocacy decides former Galilee Division Commander Brigadier-General Imad Fares will only face disciplinary trial following incident in which his wife got into traffic accident while using military vehicle. Despite light punishment, chief of staff not likely to allow Fares back into IDF, says military source
A year and a half after admitting of lying to his commanders and retiring from military service, former Galilee Division Commander Brigadier-General Imad Fares will only be disciplined following the incident in which his wife got into a traffic accident while using a military vehicle that was assigned to him.
The Military Advocacy on Wednesday decided not to transfer Fares' case to the military court after it did not find any suspicion of a criminal act.
However, a military source told Ynet that despite the light punishment, it is not likely that the chief of staff will allow Fares to return to service in the Israel Defense Forces.
Sources close to Fares expressed satisfaction with the Military Advocacy's decision and said that he was interested in returning to military service and was convinced that he would be given the chance to do so.
"I deserve to return to the army," Fares told his associates. "I never retired, but took responsibility for my actions."
In a hearing that was held a few weeks ago and included the top officer's defense counsel, attorneys Avi Amiram and Rami Bublil, the military advocacy decided that Fares will face a disciplinary trial headed by Head of Technological and Logistics Directorate Major-General Dan Biton.
Fares will be tried for two offences – not carrying out orders by allowing his wife to drive a military vehicle despite it being forbidden, and for mishandling military documents by signing such a document without reading its content and verifying its accuracy.
Symbolic punishment
Fares, who retired from the IDF, is expected to request to return to military service. According to military sources, Fares will only receive a symbolic punishment and the final decision of whether to allow him to return to military service will be entrusted onto Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi.
Ashkenazi will then decide if Fares' offences are severe enough to put an end to the senior officer's long military career.
The chief of staff harshly criticized Fares after the case was first revealed; however because the military advocacy concluded that Fares' actions did not warrant a criminal case, Ashkenazi might change his original stance.
"Even when officers are not guilty of a criminal offense, but violate IDF norms by giving a false testimony, it is enough to warrant harsh actions against them," a military source told Ynet.
The source added that "the chief of staff can very well decide to stick to his original decision. We will all feel more at ease if Imad Fares is not tried in a military court for this case, however one must remember that he did lie to his commanders – and that cannot be overlooked."
