Deputy minister promotes IDF officer cleared in Palestinian’s death

Deputy Defense Minister Eli Ben Dahan conferred the rank of first lieutenant Thursday on an IDF reserve officer who was recently cleared by the army in the death of a Palestinian man during a West Bank riot two years ago.

In a ceremony held in Ben Dahan’s office in the Kirya army base in Tel Aviv, the deputy minister cited the need to “back up IDF commanders and soldiers and fight those who seek to sully them.” He placed the two bars denoting a first lieutenant on the shoulders of Aviv Morag, a reservist who had served in the Lavi Battalion of the IDF’s Kfir Brigade.

“In an age when many people slander the IDF and its soldiers — even thought the IDF is the most moral army in the world — it is upon us to declare loudly that you all are our heroes, that we won’t allow organizations like Breaking the Silence, B’Tselem and others to release their libelous claims in Israel and abroad,” said Ben Dahan, a member of the Orthodox nationalist Jewish Home party.

Ben Dahan’s attempt to link Morag’s case to attempts to “slander” soldiers seemed tenuous. The investigation into the 2013 death of Muatazz Idreis Sharawnah was carried out not by Breaking the Silence or B’Tselem, but by the army itself.

Usually, army commanders rather than government officials present soldiers and officers with their new ranks, and only the IDF chief of staff is presented with his rank by the prime minister. But while fighting the case, Morag’s attorney, Eyal Paltek, reached out to the deputy defense minister, who took an immediate interest in the story, an aide to Ben Dahan said.

After meeting with Morag and his family, the deputy minister agreed to have his office organize the ceremony.

The case against Morag

In the early hours of July 2, 2013, during a particularly violent riot in the Palestinian village of Dura outside of Hebron, Morag and seven soldiers were sent in a large, armored vehicle, known as a Ze’ev, into the thick of the commotion.

Sharawnah, 19, climbed onto their vehicle, broke its side mirrors and attached a Palestinian flag to it, before trying to open the rear door of the Ze’ev. The soldiers inside grasped the door handle to prevent him from entering the vehicle and attacking them, but Sharawnah persisted.

Eventually, Morag exited the Ze’ev and fired a warning shot in the air and used other non-lethal riot control methods to scare him away from the vehicle. When Sharawnah still attempted to enter the armored car, Morag shot him. Though he apparently intended only to injure the Palestinian man, the gunshot proved to be fatal, and Sharawnah died later that day.

“I don’t for a second regret what I did. I don’t even want to think about what would have happened had I not acted the way that I acted,” Morag said during the ceremony.

As a result of the incident, the Military Police’s investigation unit opened a case against Morag to determine whether he had followed the army’s rules of engagement.

For unclear reasons, that case dragged on for over two years. Morag was cleared of all criminal charges in October.

In the interim, between July 2013 and October 2015, Morag was stuck in limbo. He was removed from his combat soldier status and his advancement in the army, in terms of both rank and position, was impeded. IDF second lieutenants generally rise to the rank of first lieutenant within a few months.

Morag had intended to carry on in the army, and was in line for an administrative role. But after the incident, he decided to cut his service short and leave the IDF.

“I am willing to pay the price of a prolonged judgment period, delay of my rank and my leaving the IDF in order to protect my soldiers and prevent injury to them,” he said at the time.