Officer who 'forgot' soldier stripped of command

Follows incident in which Lt.-Col. Moly Cohen left a soldier behind during an operation in Palestinian village Budrus.

IDF soldiers tank Mefalsim area_311 (photo credit: Reuters)
IDF soldiers tank Mefalsim area_311
(photo credit: Reuters)
IDF OC Northern Command Maj.-Gen. Yair Golan decided Monday to strip Lt.-Col. Moly Cohen of his role as commander of the 74th Armored Battalion. The decision came after Cohen was suspended by IDF Chief of staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz for leaving a soldier behind in a Palestinian village during an operation there last week.
The incident took place on Monday when the battalion entered the West Bank village of Budrus near Ramallah for a nighttime raid. Following the operation, the unit left the village but one soldier was accidentally left behind and was found by local Palestinians who brought him to the security barrier nearby and returned him to soldiers from the IDF regional brigade.
A military's probe into the incident revealed serious flaws with the way Cohen operated that night.
Cohen will be allowed to continue to serve in IDF in combat command positions.