IDF battalion that detained, allegedly assaulted CNN crew returns to West Bank

By Emanuel Fabian

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30 April 2026, 5:48 pm

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Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

A masked soldier, identified as Meir, looks at the camera as he opens the door of the car where CNN correspondent Jeremy Diamond, left, sits detained in the northern West Bank village of Tayasir, March 26, 2026. (Screen capture: CNN)

A reservist battalion that was removed from the West Bank following an incident last month in which its soldiers detained and allegedly assaulted a CNN crew has returned to the territory.

In late March, the military said that the Menashe Regional Brigade’s 941st “Netzah Israel” Battalion — a reserve unit made up mostly of several hundred former soldiers of the Kfir Brigade’s ultra-Orthodox Netzah Yehuda Battalion — was sent for a training and learning seminar aimed at “strengthening its professional and ethical foundations.”

The unit has not yet been fully redeployed to the West Bank but is currently serving as a “reserve force” for various missions within the Central Command.

Earlier this week, the battalion conducted a raid in the Qalandia refugee camp, and it is expected to conduct additional missions in the coming days, according to Army Radio.

The battalion will only return to full activity in the West Bank with the approval of Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, the military said.