IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot on Monday addressed the controversy caused by the investigations being conducted into the actions of two IDF officers in two separate incidents, one during last summer's Gaza war and the other earlier this month. "It is our duty to support our commanders who were in battle and made difficult decisions in battle under operational circumstances," Eizenkot said at a meeting of the IDF General Staff Forum. "At the same time, the IDF has investigative institutions, and we must allow them to do their professional work and to investigate every suspect without pressure. Every commander will receive support in the event that there are no instances of negligence or criminal activity found." Lt. Col. Nerya Yeshurun, who commanded an armored corps battalion during last year's Operation Protective Edge in Gaza, was summoned for questioning by the military police's internal investigations unit recently for having ordered his soldiers to shell a medical clinic in the Gaza neighborhood of Shujaiyya a day after a sniper in that clinic shot and killed one of his soldiers, Capt. Dmitri (Dima) Levitas. The shelling, which followed an emotional eulogy Yeshurun delivered over the troops' communication system, was reportedly done as a tribute to the fallen soldier. Yeshurun's attorney, Shlomo Zipori, said that although Yeshurun "made the decision in the field to characterize the shelling as a barrage of honor and a salute [to Levitas] to raise morale among the troops who had lost their commander," it was actually an operational necessity. Yeshurun was questioned for five hours by the military police in Beersheba on Monday. Afterward, Zipori told Israel Hayom, "There were no surprises in the investigation, which was carried out in the presence of the Military Advocate General Corps. "The commander repeated his statement that there was operational necessity for the shelling. The building, described as a medical clinic, continued to present a threat to the soldiers searching for the tunnel. The [eulogy] made by the commander over the communication system was done to boost morale among the soldiers who lost their commander the day before. "We have no doubt that after the Military Advocate General Corps reads all the facts, no wrong will be found in [the commander's] actions." Meanwhile, Binyamin Brigade commander Col. Yisrael Shomer, who shot dead 17-year-old Palestinian stone thrower Mohammed Hani al-Kosba after being attacked earlier this month, is being investigated under caution in light of new evidence revealed by human rights organization B'Tselem. The organization asserts that Shomer killed the Palestinian as he was fleeing, while a military source said the commander was attacked and felt his life was in danger. Shomer is continuing his duties as a commander while the investigation is carried out.
