IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi this week summarized the findings of the committee of experts appointed to examine the command aspects regarding the circumstances of the death of Staff Sergeant Yonatan Granot, who was killed as a result of gunfire on February 23, 2021 by a soldier in his unit.
In his opening remarks, the Chief of Staff stated that this was a very serious and unfortunate incident, which must be learned from and from in depth. . The findings highlighted a number of gaps in the areas of discipline, professionalism and culture in the preparation of training and in the company routine.
The chief of staff stated that gun crime is a serious phenomenon that must be eradicated in order to prevent the recurrence of such cases. He also emphasized the value of 'the person is paramount', and the duty of all soldiers, and commanders in particular, to act to maintain a culture of professionalism, safety and organizational in order to realize this value.
The Chief of Staff instructed the completion of the "Sederi Bereishit" program - a program that regulates a series of norms and procedures for the management of routines in IDF units and for the prevention of gun crime.
The committee found faults and errors in the conduct of the unit and the commanders during the incident. First, the unloading of weapons by the platoon commander was done in a manner inconsistent with the professional and safety instructions. Second, the decision to leave the weapon with the company guard was wrong and the commander did not carry out his duty by not preventing the soldier from taking the weapon and firing through it. In addition, the chain of reporting to the commanding and professional bodies at the time of the incident was not reliable and fast enough.
On the recommendation of the Commander of the 'Steel Formation', Brigadier General Nadav Lotan and the Commander of the Southern Command, Major General Eliezer Toledano, and in view of the committee's serious conclusions, the Chief of Staff decided on a series of command measures.
The battalion commander at the time of the incident, an officer with the rank of lieutenant colonel, and his deputy at the time of the incident, an officer with the rank of major, were reprimanded in command by the commander of the 'Steel Formation.'
The company commander at the time of the incident, now a reservist, was disciplinary prosecuted for non-compliance with binding provisions, sentenced to severe reprimand by the 'Steel Formation' commander and dismissed from command positions permanently, including in the reserve service.
In the case of the platoon commander at the time of the incident, now a reservist, it was decided to undertake a procedure for his dismissal from permanent command positions, including in the reserve service.
It was also decided to undertake a permanent dismissal procedure, including in the reserve service, of the four soldiers who were in the company compound where the weapons were placed, who did not stop the incident and did not report it as expected.
The commander of the Loter unit, an officer with the rank of lieutenant colonel, was reprimanded by the commander of the ground forces at the time, Major General Yoel Strick, and the sniper's sergeant major, an officer with the rank of major, was removed from his post due to their professional responsibility for the training that is being conducted on the use of weapons.
In addition to the committee of experts, an IDF investigation was conducted in connection with the incident, at the end of which an indictment was filed in the military court against the soldier who shot and killed Yonatan Granot, attributing to him the offense of manslaughter. The legal proceedings in the soldier's case are still ongoing.
The Chief of Staff assumed that the lessons of the Committee of Experts would be learned and assimilated into all IDF units. The committee's findings and conclusions were presented by the commanders to the Granot family.