The military police expanded on Tuesday its investigation of “Operation Hot Winter”, which was carried out by IDF forces in Nablus about two months ago.
The investigation aims at establishing whether or not IDF troops used Palestinian civilians as human shields during the operation, and will reveal whether senior officers approved the use of "the neighbor procedure" despite their knowledge that the IDF forbade it.
The investigation was prompted following the release of a video filmed by a news agency, showing soldiers leading a Palestinian man to a house at gun-point.
The military’s criminal investigation division will examine the directions given by senior officers, as well as what was done to make sure the "the neighbor procedure" was not being used.
Commander of the Judea and Samaria Division, Brigadier General Yair Golan, who may testify about the operation as part of the investigation, has recently been mentioned as a possible candidate for the prime minister’s military secretary.
If Golan is indeed to be part of the investigation, his candidacy could be affected. IDF sources said that any decision regarding him would be taken by the Military Advocate General and the army chief.
As a rule, the promotion of officers who are involved in a criminal investigation is in the hands of the Military Advocate General, who issues a legal recommendation on the matter. Although some officers have been promoted in the past despite criminal investigations that were being carried out against them, the IDF usually refrains from doing so until the probe is completed.