The fire and the cover-up: The outgoing Egoz commander, Lt. Col. A, could use sabotage during training in the north contrary to procedures and lied in the investigation.
"Israel Today" learned that the commander allowed his subordinates to use the measures in the Hermon region contrary to the express instructions intended to prevent the burning of natural forest.
As a result, a fire broke out in the area, and in retrospect it turned out that the officer knowingly lied in the investigation and claimed that his subordinates did not use explosive devices at the site.
In the middle of August, the commander of the unit changed.
The new commander, Lt. Col. M., entered the thick of the beam, and that's how Lt. Col. A's failure to tell the truth became clear.
Following Israel Hayom's appeal to the IDF spokesperson this week, the Chief Military Prosecutor decided to order the opening of an IDF investigation into the case.
A fire in the north in 2020. Following the incident, the procedures were sharpened, Photo: Archive/Eyal Margolin/Gini
It should be noted that the outgoing commander of Agoz also commanded the unit during the time when the tragic event occurred in which two platoon commanders in the unit were killed in January by their comrade's fire.
The Chief of Staff's decision not to depose him following the disaster was severely criticized.
The details of the incident, which is under review, indicate that the Agoz unit held a training session at the end of July in the area between Mount Dov and Mount Hermon.
The routine training was approved and coordinated with all the relevant authorities, with the express proviso of an absolute prohibition to use explosive materials in the field that could start fires.
This is a very explicit prohibition and a definite limitation of the IDF in training, especially at this time of the year. This, after about two years ago an IDF training led to a huge fire in the Hermon area, during which about 1,500 dunams caught fire.
Agoz unit activity in Mount Dov, photo: IDF Spokesman's Archive
As mentioned, contrary to the instructions, during the training at the end of July,
Nut fighters activated explosive devices that caused a fire in the training area.
As a result, inspectors arrived at the scene to investigate the circumstances of the fire.
During the investigation, the commander of the outgoing Egoz unit, Lt. Col. A. and his subordinates explicitly stated that during the training they did not use any means of sabotage contrary to orders.
India in retrospect
Sources privy to the details told "Israel Today" that Lt. Col. A also signed an internal investigation in the IDF, in which it was explicitly stated that his subordinates did not use means that could have caused a fire to be started at the site.
In the middle of August, Lt. Col. M. replaced Lt. Col. A. in command of the Nut unit.
Lt. Col. M. had an in-depth investigation, and commanders in the unit testified in retrospect that they did indeed use sabotage means at the scene, and that Lt. Col. A. was aware of this, and lied in the investigations on the subject.
We contacted the IDF with the information on Tuesday this week, and in the Indian Army, as part of that routine training, "an action was taken that does not comply with the procedures defined by the Northern Command and the Land Arm for training in the wild."
At first, the IDF spokesperson replied that an IDF investigation had not been opened on the issue, but following our inquiry and the new details that came to light as a result, the IDF announced yesterday that an IDF investigation would be opened on the issue.
Let's recall that Lt. Col. A is an officer who was decorated with two tsalaz for his heroism in Operation "Cast Lead" and Operation "Tzuk Eitan".
As mentioned, he commanded the Aguz unit last January as well, during the difficult event in which two of the unit's platoon commanders were killed - Major Ofek Aharon and the late Major Itamar Elharar.
The late Major Ofek Aharon,
The findings of the committee headed by Major General (Ret.) Noam Tivon, who investigated the incident, then presented a horrifying picture of a very problematic culture in the unit, deviation from orders and independent action by the forces to locate weapons stolen from the unit in Bedouin encampments in the area, and more.
Despite the harsh conclusions of the investigative committee, the Chief of Staff, Lt. Col. Aviv Kochavi, determined at the time that the commander of Agoz, Lt. Col. A, would not be removed from his position. Instead of removing the commander of the unit, the IDF then decided to remove the deputy commander of the unit, the commander of the fleet In the incident that survived, the team commander Lt. N. shot the commanders and the fighter who abandoned his personal equipment and night vision equipment that was stolen from the firing line a day before the fatal incident.
The late Major Itamar Alharr,
The army claimed at the time that Lt. Col. A himself suggested to the Chief of Staff that he end his position, although in retrospect some claim that he did not exactly suggest this explicitly.
Instead of being removed from his position, it was decided that Lt. Col. A will finish his position as planned, but his appointment as commander of a reserve brigade will be canceled, and he will not serve in a command position for about two years.
There were those who severely criticized the fact that Lt. Col. A was not removed from his post immediately, following the harsh conclusions and the omission that led to the death of the two promising young commanders of the cruises. These days Lt. Col. A. is supposed to take up his position in the Intelligence Division, and therefore even now it is still not possible Publish his full name.
Commando brigade exercise.
Nut unit will try to recover,
"He (Lt. Col. A) used sabotage in a place where it was not allowed to use it, he knew he was doing something contrary to orders, he burned the area, and in retrospect he also lied about doing it.
This is a very serious incident.
I will not be surprised if it turns out that he also lied in the investigation into the deaths of Ofek and Itamar, the late. The new unit commander (Lt. Col. M., L.S.) arrived, understood the things and simply turned the tables. Such things cannot happen in the IDF," he said "Israel Hayom" has the reason for the caveat in the details.
problematic relationships
Besides the death of the two commanders of the cruises, Lt. Col. A's tenure was accompanied by additional problems and his problematic relations with brigade commanders in the Judea and Samaria Division.
Against this background, there were brigades who avoided inviting the unit to operational activities in some sectors in the IOS and preferred to activate other units.
"He had quite a few personal problems that ruined the name of the unit. Now they are starting to restore it," said an official with the details.
The IDF said in response that "as part of a routine training exercise in the north, a sabotage practice took place.
The initial investigation reveals that an action was allegedly carried out that does not comply with the procedures and orders for outdoor training.
Following the allegations made, the Chief Military Prosecutor ordered a preliminary inspection by the Military Police, after which a decision would be made on how to handle the case.
The IDF works to protect the environment and apologizes for any damage caused
as a result of its activities."
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