Video footage emerged Thursday of an IDF battalion commander forcibly preventing a soldier from abandoning an army outpost in Judea and Samaria.
In the video, the commander of the Givati infantry brigade's reconnaissance battalion can be seen pinning a soldier to the ground.
The video was filmed after three soldiers, who serve as cooks in the battalion, tried deserting their base last Thursday.
The three soldiers had made their way to the nearest bus stop outside the base, and – after consulting with the Military Police and the battalion's senior NCO – the battalion commander followed them in an attempt to convince them to stay.
As the commander tried preventing the soldiers from boarding the bus, one of the soldiers filmed him holding his comrade forcibly with his face to the ground.
The commander reported the incident to his superiors after the incident. Military Police investigators decided it wasn't a criminal matter, but the battalion commander received a court-martial and was reprimanded by the division commander.
"We are aware of the incident and it was reported by the battalion commander immediately after it occurred," the military said in a statement.
"The division commander investigated the incident and the officer was reprimanded."
