JERUSALEM — Israel’s armed forces have taken the unusual step of suspending an entire military battalion after its soldiers attacked a CNN news team in the occupied West Bank, marking an uncommon instance of disciplinary action for troop misconduct.
Military officials announced Monday they were pulling the Netzah Yehuda battalion from active duty following last week’s filmed assault on the television crew.
The Netzah Yehuda unit, composed primarily of ultra-Orthodox troops, has previously been connected to mistreatment of Palestinian residents, including a 2022 incident that resulted in the death of a 78-year-old Palestinian American following his arrest by battalion members.
Following U.S. government protests over that earlier case, Israeli military leadership described the event as “a grave and unfortunate event,” issued a reprimand to one commanding officer, and transferred two additional personnel. Israel subsequently relocated the entire unit away from West Bank operations later that year.
During last week’s confrontation, CNN staff members were working on a story about settler attacks in the West Bank community of Tayasir. Violence by Israeli settlers in the region has escalated dramatically, with United Nations statistics showing at least nine Palestinian fatalities at settler hands this year. Israeli authorities seldom prosecute settlers for violent acts against Palestinians.
Video footage of the encounter shows battalion troops advancing on the news team with weapons drawn while shouting commands. CNN correspondent Jeremy Diamond reported that military personnel placed a producer in a chokehold during the confrontation. The recording quickly spread across social media platforms.
According to Diamond’s account published on CNN’s platform, soldiers held the journalism team and local Palestinians for two hours while expressing settler viewpoints, claiming Israeli ownership of all West Bank territory and labeling Palestinians as terrorists.
Military leadership stated Monday that Netzah Yehuda would remain suspended from current operations and could only return to service following “a process aimed at reinforcing its professional and ethical foundations.”
Rabbi Shaul Abdiel, who maintains ties with the Netzah Yehuda battalion, condemned the military’s disciplinary response during a radio appearance, describing the punishment as “too fast and too collective.”
Advocacy organizations focused on human rights have consistently maintained that Israeli forces face minimal accountability for Palestinian casualties. The situations involving the Palestinian American citizen and the CNN team seem to have drawn heightened scrutiny due to their connection to American individuals and a prominent media outlet.
Several weeks prior to the CNN confrontation, Israeli officials announced they had opened an inquiry into the shooting deaths of four Palestinians, including two minors, one with visual disabilities, during an Israeli military patrol in the neighboring West Bank community of Tammun.
No disciplinary actions have been revealed by Israeli authorities regarding the officers involved in that incident. Local media reports indicate those personnel have not been interviewed as part of any investigation.
