{"id":365696,"date":"2026-03-30T10:54:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T10:54:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/365696\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T10:54:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T10:54:17","slug":"idf-chief-detention-alleged-assault-of-cnn-crew-in-west-bank-grave-ethical-incident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/365696\/","title":{"rendered":"IDF chief: Detention, alleged assault of CNN crew in West Bank \u2018grave ethical incident\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said Monday that an incident last week<\/a> in which reservists detained and allegedly assaulted a CNN crew, while trumpeting far-right ideology, was a \u201cgrave ethical incident.\u201d<\/p>\n

The reservist who made the far-right remarks was expected to be dismissed. In an unprecedented move, the entire battalion, of several hundred soldiers, has been removed from operational duties <\/a>in the West Bank.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a grave ethical incident that is out of line with IDF norms and values. We all swore the soldier\u2019s oath upon enlistment, weapons are to be used solely for the purpose of carrying out the mission, and never for revenge,\u201d Zamir said in a statement published by the army.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will not accept such incidents within the ranks of the IDF,\u201d the military chief said.<\/p>\n

During the incident on Thursday, near the site of an illegal settler outpost near the Palestinian village of Tayasir \u2014 in area A of the West Bank,\u00a0territory which is supposedly under full civilian and security control of the Palestinian Authority \u2014 an Israeli soldier was caught on camera telling CNN reporter Jeremy Diamond that the entire West Bank belongs to Jews and that they were avenging the death of a settler.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tGet The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition
\n\t\t\tby email and never miss our top stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n

Two of the soldiers told the reporters they had been friends with 18-year-old Yehuda Sherman, whose death in a\u00a0suspected ramming attack<\/a> near Nablus earlier this month triggered a fresh wave of settler violence<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tIDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir speaks in a video statement, March 5, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)<\/p>\n

In\u00a0CNN\u2019s reportage<\/a>, a soldier identified as Meir could be heard telling Diamond that the soldiers were carrying out \u201crevenge\u201d for Sherman\u2019s death, adding: \u201cListen, at the end of the day, if the state doesn\u2019t address what they did \u2014 those who murdered the settler\u2026 what do you expect us to do?\u201d<\/p>\n

During the incident, Diamond said a soldier put his cameraman in a chokehold as troops tried to prevent them from filming.<\/p>\n

The soldier behind the alleged assault denies the allegations, which are currently being investigated by the Military Police.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe allegation regarding violence used by one of the soldiers will be further examined by the relevant authorities, and further action will be determined in accordance with the findings,\u201d the IDF said Monday.<\/p>\n

\u2018Inappropriate remarks\u2019<\/p>\n

The military said its investigation into the incident found \u201cseveral failures\u201d in the conduct of the soldiers toward the reporters.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the soldiers made inappropriate remarks that do not align with IDF values or with the mission of IDF soldiers in the area,\u201d the military said.<\/p>\n

However, contrary to the CNN report and what the reservist appeared to claim, the IDF denied that the soldiers were assisting the illegal outpost.<\/p>\n

Rather, they had been deployed to the area to dismantle it, the army said.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tCNN correspondent Jeremy Diamond reporting near the West Bank village of Tayasir shortly before being briefly detained by IDF troops, March 27, 2026. (Screen capture: CNN)<\/p>\n

Troops of Menashe Regional Brigade\u2019s 941st \u201cNetzah Israel\u201d Battalion, a reserve unit made up mostly of former soldiers of the Kfir Brigade\u2019s ultra-Orthodox Netzah Yehuda Battalion, were sent to the outpost to \u201cisolate\u201d the area and prevent clashes between the settlers and Palestinians, before Border Police officers arrived to dismantle it, according to the military.<\/p>\n

The outpost in question had already been evacuated twice before the incident with CNN, and was cleared again on Sunday night.<\/p>\n

The IDF said its investigation into the Thursday incident found that the soldiers \u201cwere operating to prevent confrontations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tSoldiers approach CNN journalists and Palestinians in the northern West Bank village of Tayasir on March 26, 2026. (Screen capture: CNN)<\/p>\n

\u201cA team of journalists arrived at the scene together with several Palestinians,\u201d the military said. \u201cThe soldiers operating in the area distinguished between the reporting team and the group of Palestinian individuals and conducted security checks on both groups.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regarding claims that Diamond and two of his colleagues were detained for about two hours, the IDF said that after the \u201csecurity screening,\u201d the team was released, with the exception of one team member who was set free later after he was confirmed to be a journalist.<\/p>\n

The IDF also denied any connection between the soldiers\u2019 conduct at the outpost and the injury of an elderly Palestinian man \u2014 allegedly by settlers in the area the night before \u2014 as seen in the CNN report.<\/p>\n

The military said it has found \u201cno indication that the elderly man was harmed by IDF soldiers\u201d and that it has been unable to verify claims that the man was injured by settlers.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tAbduallah Daraghmeh, right, sits bandaged in a hospital bed following a settler attack on the northern West Bank village of Tayasir on March 26, 2026. (Screen capture: CNN)<\/p>\n

The IDF concluded by saying it \u201crespects and enables freedom of the press in the area and regrets the incident.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt should be emphasized that during and after the event, direct contact was maintained with the reporters, including a personal apology regarding the circumstances,\u201d the army added.<\/p>\n

In the aftermath of the incident, Diamond and his colleagues wrote<\/a> on CNN, \u201cThe two hours we spent detained\u2026 laid bare the settler ideology motivating many of the soldiers who operate in the occupied West Bank \u2013 and the ways in which soldiers frequently act in service of the settler movement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rising settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank are reported daily but rarely prosecuted. In recent months, repeated attacks \u2014 often from wildcat settler outposts \u2014 have led dozens of Palestinian families to flee<\/a> the northern Jordan Valley, where the incident took place.<\/p>\n

Likud MK attacks Zamir<\/p>\n

Earlier Monday, the IDF announced that the Netzah Israel Battalion was being suspended from operational duties in the West Bank, but would remain in reserve service and \u201cundergo a process to reinforce its professional and normative foundations.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the approval of Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, the battalion would return to activity at the end of that process, the military said.<\/p>\n

In a public attack a short time after the announcement, the head of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Likud MK Boaz Bismuth, criticized Zamir\u2019s decision to suspend the battalion and demanded that it be reversed, saying that the military\u2019s senior command had undermined the troops and harmed their mission.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was astonished by the puzzling decision to suspend [the battalion] from operational activity,\u201d Bismuth wrote in a letter to Zamir that he posted on X.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tMK Boaz Bismuth leads a Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, February 24, 2026 (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe issue that requires investigation and treatment is not the conduct of the fighters carrying out their mission to maintain security, but rather the phenomenon of foreign elements being present at an operational event,\u201d Bismuth said.<\/p>\n

The Likud MK also claimed that \u201cthe senior command was expected to strengthen the fighters and stand behind them unreservedly, and not take a step against them that harms them and their mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bismuth charged that \u201cthe lack of support from the system undermines the fighters\u2019 trust in it, erodes their spirit and sows dangerous hesitation among fighters who are required to act at the moment of truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t