Officer who hit activist likely to be removed from his post

Lt. Col. Shalom Eisner, the deputy commander of the Jordan Valley brigade who struck a Danish pro-Palestinian activist in the face with his rifle butt on Saturday, is likely to be removed from his post but not discharged from the IDF, military sources said Tuesday.

An IDF investigation was launched into the incident on Sunday, and is set to present its findings in the coming days. It is assumed that IDF Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz will adopt the findings.

The incident has received broad coverage in the international media, and the president, prime minister, and defense minister have all weighed in on the matter, criticizing Eisner’s conduct and commending the army for its rapid suspension of the officer from his duties.

Very few IDF soldiers who have been investigated on charges of violence against Palestinians or protesters have been discharged from the army, or prosecuted for criminal charges.

An officer involved with the investigation was quoted Tuesday by Walla news as criticizing Eisner, who has asserted that he felt himself to be in danger when he hit the activist, Andreas Ayas: “If he [Eisner] felt that his life was threatened, and therefore behaved defensively, why was he not wearing a helmet and a flak jacket?” The officer continued, “He had to show restraint, or alternatively use riot dispersal methods.”

The initial findings of the Military Police investigation indicate that the soldiers Eisner was commanding at the scene of the incident were not adequately prepared for the episode. Eisner decided not to use crowd control measures, even though they were at his disposal. The Border Police contingent that was summoned to assist Eisner and his men did not arrive because it was dealing with another incident. One of Eisner’s soldiers was supposed to record the incident, but the battery in his camera died before the flare-up began. And the activists committed minor violence against the soldiers.

During the course of the investigation, Eisner repeated his claim that he was attacked and wounded by one of the protesters. He said he had been hit from behind and had two fingers broken, and he “thought” Ayas had been his attacker, but admitted that his response was wrong.

Ayas, who required stitches for a split lip, said that the suggestion that he had broken the officer’s fingers was “a direct lie.” Activists said Eisner also hit another protester and two Palestinians.