IDF: Soldiers' fatal accidents may be result of violations in procedure
By Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz Correspondent
The two fatal and separate accidents that claimed the lives of two Israeli soldiers last week may have both been the result of violations in procedure, according to the investigators probing the incidents.
Sgt. Or Hadad, 20, from Beit Dagan, was killed late Thursday when an errant bullet, fired accidentally, hit him in the back on a military base in the central Golan Heights.
An initial investigation of the incident shows the bullet was discharged from another soldier's gun, while the two of them were in a tent together. The probe currently focuses on whether the weapon was discharged through misuse, or in the course of permissible handling of it. Another issue being investigated is why the gun was being handled with a bullet in the chamber.
The two fatal and separate accidents that claimed the lives of two Israeli soldiers last week may have both been the result of violations in procedure, according to the investigators probing the incidents.
Sgt. Or Hadad, 20, from Beit Dagan, was killed late Thursday when an errant bullet, fired accidentally, hit him in the back on a military base in the central Golan Heights.
An initial investigation of the incident shows the bullet was discharged from another soldier's gun, while the two of them were in a tent together. The probe currently focuses on whether the weapon was discharged through misuse, or in the course of permissible handling of it. Another issue being investigated is why the gun was being handled with a bullet in the chamber.
Meanwhile, Israel Defense Forces officials are also investigating the accident in which Sgt. Uriel Liwerant, 21, was killed Wednesday during a training exercise in the Golan Heights. Investigators believe it was caused by human error that occurred while crossing a bridge.
The Merkava Mark III tank driver was receiving directions from a soldier outside the tank. Investigators believe a miscommunication ended with that tank falling off a 12-meter bridge, erected by Engineering Corps troops, into an antitank ditch. The three other crew members inside were slightly injured, but Liwerant was ejected from the tank and crushed underneath it, dying instantly.
The incident occurred during an early-morning exercise in the Tel Shifon area in the southern Golan, in a course for company and battalion commanders. As is common during such drills, Liwerant was surveying the terrain, with part of his body protruding from the tank's turret. However, according to army regulations, while crossing a bridge commanders are supposed to keep their bodies inside the tank with only their head sticking out, allowing them to retreat into the tank's interior in case the vehicle overturns. The incident's investigators are examining whether Liwerant had his entire upper body out of the tank, and whether this practice - which goes against regulations - has become commonplace among tank commanders.
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The Merkava Mark III tank driver was receiving directions from a soldier outside the tank. Investigators believe a miscommunication ended with that tank falling off a 12-meter bridge, erected by Engineering Corps troops, into an antitank ditch. The three other crew members inside were slightly injured, but Liwerant was ejected from the tank and crushed underneath it, dying instantly.
The incident occurred during an early-morning exercise in the Tel Shifon area in the southern Golan, in a course for company and battalion commanders. As is common during such drills, Liwerant was surveying the terrain, with part of his body protruding from the tank's turret. However, according to army regulations, while crossing a bridge commanders are supposed to keep their bodies inside the tank with only their head sticking out, allowing them to retreat into the tank's interior in case the vehicle overturns. The incident's investigators are examining whether Liwerant had his entire upper body out of the tank, and whether this practice - which goes against regulations - has become commonplace among tank commanders.
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