Border Guard commanders were suspended after a female Border Police officer was apparently mistakenly left alone in the Arab village of Al-Ram, near Ramallah, on Tuesday.

A video that circulated on social media shows the Border Police officer walking alone on a street in the village following an operation in which Border Guard forces arrested three Palestinian suspects. According to regulations, Border Police officers must always operate in pairs.

Following the circulation of the video, a statement from a Border Guard spokesperson claimed that “in the video circulated on social media, it appears that the Border Guard officer is alone in the field. We note that according to a preliminary investigation that Border Guard forces were nearby and in eye contact with her.”

However, Border Guard Chief Superintendent Amir Cohen decided to suspend the commanders and forces involved in the incident until the end of the investigation. Additionally, he ordered a suspension of training and operational activities in all Border Guard units.

A notice was sent on Tuesday evening to all Border Guard officers and forces stating that “the Border Police commander ordered the execution of several actions: the completion of the investigation in a thorough and foundational manner in order to prevent the recurrence of a similar case; the suspension of those involved from operational/command activity until a final investigation of the incident; the cessation of operational activity in the morning for a briefing of all forces in the corps with an emphasis on the execution of missions, and training curfew at the military school for two hours during which the trainees will study and memorize methods of arrests and activities in operational areas. The issuing of a file of operational instructions relevant to the event is the responsibility of the Special Operations Command.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)