Following a series of incidents: IDF’s move against the haredi reserve battalion

Exclusive Report: IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has made a dramatic decision to remove the entire haredi reserve battalion “Netzach Yisrael” (941) – composed of veterans from the haredi “Netzach Yehuda” Battalion – from routine operational activity.

The decision was taken in the wake of a series of operational discipline violations and exceptional incidents that sparked international attention and sharp criticism of the forces’ conduct in the field.

At the heart of the affair is a confrontation that was documented by CNN cameras in northern Samaria. CNN correspondent Jeremy Diamond arrived at the site to cover the establishment of a hill in memory of Yehuda Sherman, who was murdered in a car-ramming terror attack.

In the footage, battalion fighters are seen pointing their weapons at the crew, ordering them to sit down, and one of the soldiers is even heard telling the reporter: “All of Judea and Samaria belongs to us. If they had murdered your brother – what would you do?” The network also claimed that one of the team members was physically assaulted.

An additional incident that effectively sealed the battalion’s fate was the vandalization of a monument to former Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Yasser Arafat. The IDF is not viewing these events as isolated failures, but rather as an accumulation of deficiencies that necessitate a complete pause in order to draw conclusions and tighten operational discipline.

The emerging plan is to pull the battalion off the line and transfer it to a series of training exercises and procedure refreshers immediately after Passover.

The decision has provoked anger among the fighters, who feel they have been abandoned by the senior command echelon. A soldier from the battalion told Arutz Sheva-Israel National News: “Instead of backing the soldiers who are dealing with a complex arena, they are simply sacrificing us to appease the world. This is a slap in the face to all the reservists who came to serve.”

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said on Sunday night that the findings of the inquiry into the incident that occurred near Tayasir were presented to Zamir.

“In light of the inquiry’s findings, the Chief of the General Staff decided to adopt the commanders’ recommendations. Accordingly, the operational deployment currently being carried out by the reserve battalion will be suspended.”

“The battalion will remain in reserve service and will undergo a process aimed at reinforcing its professional and ethical foundations. The battalion will resume operational activity upon completion of this process and subject to the decision of the Commander of the Central Command. Additional command measures will be implemented at a later stage,” said the IDF.

The statement indicated that further details regarding the full findings of the inquiry and the Chief of the General Staff’s summary will be presented to the public in the near future.