IN PHOTOS: IDF battalion ends deployment with one last trek
After 10-and-a-half months of operations in the West Bank, in which an officer was seriously wounded and a female soldier neutralized a terrorist, the IDF's Ram battalion takes a break from active duty as it goes into training.
The Ram Battalion of the IDF’s Search and Rescue Brigade has just completed six weeks of operational deployment in the West Bank's Binyamin region.
During it's time in the area, the battalion helped prevent multiple terror attacks in addition to making arrests and seizing illegal arms. But for now, their assignments have come to an end.
Among other areas, the troops were partially responsible for securing the greater Jerusalem area and protecting route 443 that leads to the capital.
“My fighters, both men and women, worked around the clock to reduce the number of terror incidents in the area, particularly on route 443. We carried out this mission successfully,” said the battalion commander, Lt.-Col. Yair Pinto.
During their time in the field, the battalion was faced with many incidents, such as the one at the Bell checkpoint, when a female soldier in the battalion, Corporal Peleg Hillel, neutralized a female terrorist who tried to stab the soldiers stationed there.
In another incident, which happened as recently as two weeks ago, the division commander, Second Lieutenant Shahar Roditi was seriously wounded when four pipe bombs exploded in Hizma on the night of Remembrance Day. Despite his injuries, the battalion’s efforts probably prevented a much larger attack.
“At the moment, we're heading into a two-month training period. We're going to work on search-and-rescue drills, CBRN defense, and infantry skills," added Pinto. “After this, we will return to the Binyamin region for another significant period of time to continue our work and to implement our central mission: protecting the communities and the roads in the area using all resources at our disposal.”
