Days after a team of journalists was detained and attacked in the West Bank, Israel’s army chief of staff said on Monday that they were suspending the operational activities of the reserve battalion involved in the incident.
In a post on X, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that the Chief of General Staff had conducted an investigation into the conduct of soldiers towards journalists “while securing the area during the evacuation of an illegal base in Area A of Judea and Samaria”.
Here is why the troops are being withdrawn
The development came days after a team of CNN journalists reported from the Palestinian village of Tayasir, where their report focused on the aftermath of an attack by settlers who had set up an illegal base. During the incident, which occurred on March 26, soldiers detained the team while one of the soldiers put a photojournalist named Cyril Theophilos in a chokehold. The soldier’s movement forced the journalist to the ground and also damaged his camera, CNN reported.
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The report, citing a military official, said the attack on Theophilus would be investigated by the country’s military police. The response came nearly two days after the incident was first reported. Moreover, the incident in the West Bank region also appears to highlight the growing concerns of the Tel Aviv security establishment about escalating settler violence.
The soldiers immediately withdrew
Citing an Israeli military official, CNN reported that a reserve battalion of hundreds of soldiers who served in the ultra-Orthodox Netzah Yehuda battalion would be withdrawn from the West Bank immediately. These soldiers will be reassigned to training until further notice.
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The suspended battalion is a reserve unit of the Netzah Yehuda, an infantry unit created to integrate ultra-Orthodox Jews into the IDF while accommodating their religious practices, including gender segregation and strict observance. However, in recent years the battalion, primarily deployed in the West Bank, has drawn members from radical right-wing settler groups, including the “Hilltop Youth”.
Eyal Zamir’s remarks on the incident
The IDF, which shared Zamir’s remarks on the incident, noted: “This is a serious ethical incident that goes against the norms and values of the IDF. We all took a military oath upon enlistment – weapons are to be used solely for the purpose of carrying out a mission and never for revenge. We will not accept such incidents within the IDF.”
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This is not the first time the Netzah Yehuda battalion has made headlines. In 2024, during the administration of Joe Biden, the United States indicated its plan to impose sanctions on the battalion after 14 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank region.
Here’s everything you need to know about the battalion
According to a Reuters report, Netzah Yehuda is an IDF battalion that was created in 1999 to allow ultra-Orthodox Jewish and other religious nationalist recruits to serve while observing their religious practices.
It operated primarily in the occupied West Bank region and drew considerable criticism for allegations of human rights violations against Palestinians. Its creation was intended to make military service more accessible to these groups by accommodating religious needs, such as designated times for prayer and study, and limiting contact with female soldiers.
The Media Association condemns the attack
According to AFP, the International Media Association condemned the March 28 attack on CNN soldiers, calling it a “violent attack” by Israeli soldiers. The FPA, which called for an investigation into the incident, said: “This was not a misunderstanding… This was a violent attack on clearly identified journalists and a direct attack on press freedom.”
