IDF probing repeated misconduct allegations against Paratroopers Brigade chief
Several senior reserve officers reportedly allege that Col. Ami Biton fell asleep on duty, humiliated subordinates, risked troops’ lives unnecessarily
A senior Israel Defense Forces officer has been appointed to investigate allegations of repeated misconduct by the commander of the Paratroopers Brigade, Col. Ami Biton, the military announced on Wednesday, amid Hebrew media reports detailing a series of complaints by senior reserve officers.
Several senior reserve officers in the brigade reportedly filed letters to Biton’s former superior Maj. Gen. Dan Goldfus — who commanded the 98th Division — complaining about his conduct amid the war.
The letters were said to detail allegations including that Biton did not engage during the fighting and on one occasion fell asleep in command headquarters during an assault. They also said that he unnecessarily risked the lives of his soldiers, treated his subordinates in a humiliating way, and spent a significant amount of time alongside female soldiers and officers.
The Paratroopers Brigade has operated in the Gaza Strip, as well as in Lebanon and Syria, since war erupted after the Hamas terror group’s October 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel.
One reserve officer called Biton “the worst officer in the army,” in a letter cited by the Kan broadcaster on Wednesday. The report noted that some of the officers who wrote the letters had recently finished their military service or were soon due to be released.
Another officer who spoke out was quoted as saying, “I felt like a battered woman whose husband raped her every day — and I’m not exaggerating.”
Some of the officers were quoted as saying that while the battalion was in Gaza, Biton would remain in the command headquarters, wearing “hetzi bet [half combat fatigues consisting of a plain T-shirt and military-issued trousers, against IDF regulations] — and flip-flops.”
“How could he not be ashamed to walk around like that in public?” one of the officers wrote to Goldfus, according to Kan.
The officers also reportedly claimed that Biton gave women in the brigade preferential treatment, exchanging phone numbers with female officers and soldiers, calling them pet names and “chuckling with them endlessly.”
At the beginning of the war, parents of soldiers in the brigade complained that Biton did not allow troops out of the Gaza Strip even for a brief furlough to see their families for some three months straight, while every other brigade had at least one short break during that time.
They also said that soldiers serving under Biton had not been allowed to shower or even take their shoes off for over a month, according to Channel 12.
Responding to the reports, the IDF said, “These are claims that were received several months ago and were examined in the past, but in light of their return, are being examined again now.”
IDF Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth has appointed an unnamed brigadier general to investigate the claims made by the reservists and present him with conclusions as soon as possible, the military said.
The IDF statement added that Biton “led the Paratroopers Brigade throughout the war with significant achievements on all fronts” over the past year.
Biton’s term is scheduled to end soon, though Defense Minister Israel Katz has yet to approve the replacement announced by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi last month.
