The soldier who was convicted of accidentally shooting and killing the late Corporal Baruch Kabarta has been sentenced to three years in prison.
Binyamin Pentiyahu, 19, was convicted of recklessly causing death following the deadly friendly-fire incident in January 2024. The three-year sentence, which was reached as part of a plea deal, is considered unusually severe when compared to the sentences in similar cases, Ynet reported.
In previous friendly-fire cases, the soldier who fired the shot has usually served only two years in prison, and that is after a full trial with no plea bargain. The plea deal requires the approval of the military court to go forward.
Kabarta, a 19-year-old Petah Tikva native from the Erez Battalion in the Military Police, was fatally wounded by a gunshot at the Anatot base near Jerusalem on January 3.
The commission of inquiry into the incident also found a number of errors in the conduct of the unit and its commanders.
An IDF spokesperson stated that "the Chief of Staff accepted the recommendations of the investigative committee and determined that this was a serious incident of a weapons offense in which we lost a soldier with no enemy presence. He directed the implementation of the lessons of the investigation in a thorough manner and to carry out implementation efforts in all IDF units and in the command courses."
Although no direct responsibility was found for any of the commanding officers in the battalion, on the recommendation of the head of the Manpower Directorate, General Yaniv Asur, the Chief of Staff decided on a series of command measures due to the general responsibility of the commanders in the battalion for the incident, and therefore the battalion commander and his deputy were reprimanded by command.