A hearing will take place Thursday for deputy battalion commander, Lt.-Colonel Omri Bruberg, who failed a second polygraph exam in which authorities attempted to ascertain if he gave the order for a subordinate to fire a rubber bullet at the legs of a bound prisoner in a recent Na’alin violent protest.

Originally, the commander insisted he did not give the order, explaining he did tell the soldier to chamber a bullet to instill fear in the prisoner, but the soldier misunderstood. He passed a first polygraph exam, but failed the second, now admitting to what apparently really occurred, supporting the statement of the soldier, that he was indeed following orders.

The lt.-colonel is now on a 10-day leave which was forced upon him by IDF Northern District Commander Major-General Gadi Eisenkott, pending the outcome of the investigation. Eisenkott originally had harsh words regarding the case, calling it a “serious command failure.”

In a big boost to his case, on Wednesday, Eisenkott announced that he stands behind Bruberg, who he labeled an exemplary officer. This actually may be enough to make the difference between Bruberg’s career coming to an abrupt end and being able to continue, albeit with the major stain on his record.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)