The Israeli military has taken the unusual step of suspending an entire battalion after its soldiers were filmed assaulting a CNN news crew in the occupied West Bank last week.
The Netzah Yehuda battalion, known for its ultra-Orthodox composition and a history of alleged abuses against Palestinian civilians, was suspended from its current deployment, the army announced on Monday.
This marks a rare instance of disciplinary action for soldier misconduct within the Israeli forces. The Netzah Yehuda unit has previously been linked to serious incidents, including the 2022 death of a 78-year-old Palestinian American man following his detention by the battalion. That case prompted an outcry from the U.S. government, leading the Israeli military to call it "a grave and unfortunate event," reprimand one officer, and reassign two others before moving the unit out of the West Bank later that year.
Last week's incident occurred as a CNN team was preparing a report on surging settler violence in the West Bank village of Tayasir.
United Nations data indicates at least nine Palestinians have been killed by Israeli settlers this year, with punishment for such violence remaining uncommon.
Footage of the confrontation, which quickly went viral, showed soldiers from the Netzah Yehuda battalion approaching the news crew with raised weapons and yelling.
CNN correspondent Jeremy Diamond reported that a producer was placed in a chokehold. Diamond further detailed on CNN’s website that the soldiers detained the crew, alongside West Bank Palestinians, for two hours, during which they echoed settler ideology, asserting that the entire West Bank belongs to Israel and labeling Palestinians as terrorists.
The military stated that the battalion would resume service only after undergoing "a process aimed at reinforcing its professional and ethical foundations."
However, Rabbi Shaul Abdiel, who works with the Netzah Yehuda unit, criticized the military’s decision in a radio interview, calling it "too fast and too collective."
Human rights organizations have long contended that Israel rarely holds its soldiers accountable for Palestinian deaths.
The cases involving the Palestinian American man and the CNN crew appear to have garnered heightened attention due to the involvement of U.S. citizens and a prominent news organization.
Just weeks prior to the CNN incident, Israeli authorities announced an investigation into the killing of four Palestinians, including two children – one of whom was blind – by Israeli forces during a patrol in the nearby West Bank town of Tammun. To date, Israeli authorities have not announced any disciplinary measures against the officers involved in that case, with Israeli media reporting that the officers have not even been questioned.
