Opinion | Four months too many: The delay in submitting the investigation into the death of Sgt. Hadaria Shmueli only contributes to the lack of trust in the IDF | Israel today

More than four months have passed since the death of the late Barel Hadaria Shmueli on the Gaza Strip border, and only now, after pleas and threats from his family, has the IDF found it appropriate to present the full investigative findings to the family and the public.

Every sane person understands that this is too long a time for research, especially when it comes to a hot potato in public.

Factually, the interrogation presented to the fighter's family yesterday is not much retold, and in practice anchors the conclusions of the initial interrogation presented after the incident.

Even now, as near the incident, the IDF admits tactical errors on the ground, while adhering to its decision not to take command measures against the commanders in charge.

The army was late in realizing the profound public impact of the late Hadaria Shmueli affair. The harsh words of the late Barel's mother, which joined the sense of severe humiliation that emerged from the filming of the incident - in which the terrorist was seen firing his pistol through the crack in the wall. To the one that undermines the public's trust in the army.

The late Sgt. Barel Hadaria Shmueli, Photo: Border Police spokeswoman

When the IDF leadership understood the magnitude of the incident, the chief of staff explained that a company that does not back its fighters - will find that there is no one to fight for it.

The chief of staff is given the credit for being the army commander, and as someone who knows the investigation by heart, he made the right decision in this regard from all aspects. The mind.

The delay in completing the investigation, as well as the family's claim that the army does not maintain continuous contact with it, is very disturbing, and is part of a series of other problems that undermine public confidence in the IDF. ), Regarding the problems of transportation to and from the bases (which have been greatly improved) and regarding the poor food in many IDF bases (which the army promised to "win" in the near future).

Although these issues will be or will be resolved in the near future, other issues - such as the harsh public criticism regarding the army's economic and budgetary conduct and recent sexual harassment cases in the IDF, and especially the case of Lt. Col. Dan Sharoni who photographed dozens of female soldiers - have suffered an image defeat.

In view of these issues and the disturbing trend of undermining public trust in the army, the IDF leadership will do well to conduct a real home inspection, since the problems are so deep that no explanation, good as it may be, can cover them.

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