Soldier killed by suspected accidental discharge at base near Jerusalem
Internal Investigations Unit launches probe into deadly incident at Anatot Base late Monday; shot apparently came from comrade’s weapon; soldier named as Cpl. Baruch Kabarta, 19
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
An Israeli soldier was killed at a military base near Jerusalem due to a suspected accidental discharge from a weapon, the Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday morning.
The incident occurred at around midnight between Monday and Tuesday at the Anatot Base on the outskirts of East Jerusalem.
The military said the soldier was declared dead following resuscitation efforts.
The IDF said it suspected he was shot due to an accidental discharge, apparently from another soldier’s weapon.
The soldier who was suspected of accidentally discharging his weapon was detained.
The slain soldier was later named as Cpl. Baruch Kabarta, 19, from the central city of Petah Tikvah.
Kabarta served in the Military Police’s Erez Battalion, in the same company as Sgt. Noa Lazar, who was shot dead in an attack at a checkpoint in East Jerusalem in October.
He is to be buried at a military cemetery in his hometown later Tuesday.
The military said it was continuing to investigate the circumstances.
The head of the IDF’s Personnel Directorate, Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor, ordered to establish a panel of experts to investigate the circumstances of the incident. Asor appointed Col. Yaron Simsolo, the commander of the 646th Paratroopers Brigade, to lead the probe.
In addition to the experts’ investigation, the IDF’s Internal Investigations Unit also launched a probe into the incident, the findings of which will be given to military prosecutors to determine if criminal charges are warranted.
The Military Police’s Criminal Investigations Department, which usually investigates such incidents, cannot do so due to the soldier serving in a Military Police unit.
