The investigation of the severe incident earlier this month in which a terrorist infiltrated Israeli territory at the Egyptian border and murdered three IDF soldiers was completed this week.

The investigation revealed that the main lapses which led to the incident were the security passage in the fence, which was hidden but not locked, as well as poor implementation of security at the border, including prioritizing the prevention of drug smuggling incidents over security despite the fact that several terrorist attacks were attempted over the past decade.

Not only was the security passage unlocked (it was purposely designed to be easily accessible in case of emergencies) but its existence was known only to officers and not to the soldiers at the nearby guardpost.

The investigation found that the two fallen IDF soldiers, H’yd, at the border, who were manning a long 12-hour shift, were not sleeping at the time of the incident but did not fire their weapons at the terrorist, which meant that they were caught completely by surprise. The IDF has already implemented relevant changes, sealing the security passage, reducing the shifts to eight hours, and increasing the number of soldiers on each shift to four rather than two.

In the wake of the findings of the investigation, disciplinary measures will be taken against three senior officers, including transferring the commander of the Paran Brigade to a different position due to his “overall responsibility for the incident,” and officially censuring two other officers, including delaying the promotion of one officer for five years.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)