The vehicle of the head of the Commando Brigade, Colonel Avi Balut, was broken into on Thursday during a trip by brigade commanders in the Judea and Samaria region, and military documents were stolen from him, journalist Yossi Yehoshua reported in Yediot Aharonot this morning, Sunday.
Military Police and the Shin Bet opened an investigation in an attempt to locate the materials.
The grave incident may affect the course of the promotion of the officer, who was summoned just several days before by the prime minister to interview for the position of military secretary.
Balut, a graduate of the pre-military academy in Eli, has, for the past year, commanded the IDF’s commando brigade. Before that, he was commander of the 101st paratroopers brigade and was wounded during Operation Cast Lead. Later, he served as commander of the elite Maglan unit and as commander of the Hevron Brigade until he was appointed commander of the Commando Brigade.
On Friday, Balut was unexpectedly summoned by Prime Minister Netanyahu for an interview to be his military secretary instead of Brigadier General Eliezer Toledano. For a long time now, Netanyahu has been looking for a military secretary, and so far he has interviewed Brig. Gen. Tal Kalman, former head of the Air Force headquarters, the commander of the Gaza Division, Brigadier General Yehuda Fuchs, and Brigadier General Itai Virov, who was interviewed three weeks ago.
It should be recalled that in the past, the military computer of former IDF Chief of Staff Major-General Hagai Topolansky was stolen, and after it became clear that he had not maintained information security procedures, it was decided to terminate his service in the IDF.
The IDF Spokesperson's Office said in response: "Last week, the vehicle of the head of the Commando Brigade was broken into and his personal file stolen. The matter is being investigated and a Military Police investigation has been opened."