IDF general confronted by alleged rape victim

Military Police investigators arranged a confrontation on Tuesday between Brig. Gen. Ofek Buchris and a former female subordinate who is accusing him of raping her.

The general, considered a rising star in the army’s top ranks, is being investigated over accusations of rape, sodomy and sexual assault.

Buchris has taken at least two lie detector tests, with attorneys in the case challenging their results. In the first, commissioned by Buchris, he is seen telling the truth. The second test, performed by prosecutors, had “problematic” results for the general, investigators told the defense attorneys in the case.

Tuesday’s face-to-face meeting took place at a military police facility in northern Israel and lasted for two hours, according a report by the Ynet news site.

A second former subordinate has also leveled accusations against the general.

Buchris, 47, a highly decorated officer who was thought to be on the fast track to head the IDF, has vehemently denied the accusations by both women.

Buchris was set to be appointed head of the army’s Operations Division this month, but IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot rescinded the appointment over the ongoing investigation, telling Buchris the decision did not reflect any determination of his guilt, but that the position itself was too important to leave unmanned while the investigation continued.

The decision to cancel Buchris’s appointment was taken when the IDF’s top brass realized the investigation would take “not days, but months,” an IDF spokesperson said.

Raoul Wootliff contributed to this report.