IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot on Tuesday ordered a series of measures to address the command failures that led to the accidental deaths of 20-year-old Sgt. Shlomo Rindenow and 24-year-old Staff Sgt. Husam Tapash in July, following an inquiry that determined the grenade explosion that killed them was the result of a game. Rindenow and Tapash were killed at approximately 7 a.m. on July 17 after a grenade exploded inside an army patrol jeep at the Majdal checkpoint in the northern Hermon region. Three other soldiers were wounded in the incident, one of them seriously. According to Eizenkot's directive, Engineering Corps 601 Battalion commander Lt. Col. Ziv Nimni is to be reprimanded for the incident. The company commander, who completed his military service about one week after the accident occurred, will be barred from serving in a command position in the reserves for three years, and the platoon commander will also be reprimanded. The army's fact-finding committee determined that the explosion occurred because Tapash had been playing with the grenade and had removed its safety pin. According to the investigation, the grenade remained in the jeep overnight after a shift change, and was found in the morning by one of the soldiers. Eizenkot determined that within two weeks, the findings of the inquiry and the lessons learned will be disseminated to all IDF troops on operational duty. "On one hand, soldiers are required to take grenades [with them while operating] in the various sectors. On the other, extra caution is needed when handling this type of munition," a senior IDF officer said on Tuesday. A Military Police investigation was ongoing. Rindenow was a lone soldier from New Jersey, who was living with a host family on Kibbutz Sde Yoav. He moved to Israel two years ago, first living in Netzer Hazani, volunteering as a caregiver for rescue dogs in the Samaria community of Tapuach and then joining the IDF, following in the footsteps of his five brothers. According to one account of the incident, the jeep pulled over to the checkpoint, about a meter in front of a concrete wall. Tapash, who was driving, stepped out holding a grenade and walked toward the wall, where Rindenow was standing. A preliminary investigation found that the two soldiers were speaking about the grenade when it exploded, killing both of them. Because the jeep door was open, the three soldiers inside were wounded. GOC Northern Command Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi and Ground Forces Commander Maj. Gen. Guy Tzur established a committee to investigate the blast, headed by Col. Yoav Yarom, the commander of the Third Reserves Brigade. The IDF questioned the two less seriously wounded soldiers. The army also examined why Tapash, a military driver, was holding a grenade in the first place, as drivers do not carry grenades in their packs. Investigators explored the possibility that Tapash found the grenade in the vehicle and was trying to remove it.
