An Israeli brigade commander removed from office for the death of three soldiers in the Negev

June 29 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Israeli military command has removed from his position a commander at the head of the regional brigade in southern Israel who was in charge of the operation to neutralize an Egyptian policeman who shot dead three soldiers in the Negev desert.

“We must move on, learn from the incident and improve from it,” Colonel Ido Saad, who is leaving the brigade to take up another position in the Defense Forces and will be replaced by Colonel Shemer Raviv, said during a farewell speech.

Despite this, Saad has stated that he is “proud” of his work at the head of the body. “I know that the brigade members will improve to fulfill the task of protecting the Negev in the best possible way,” he added, according to the newspaper ‘The Times of Israel’.

The event, which occurred between the mountains of Sagi and Harif, in the Negev desert, included two episodes: one in which the assailant, an Egyptian policeman, shot dead two Israeli soldiers who were guarding a checkpoint and a subsequent shooting in which the attacker died along with another Israeli soldier.

The Israel-Egypt border has been a relatively peaceful place since the two countries signed a peace agreement in 1979. Over the past decade, Israel has built a large barrier along the border, largely intended to keep out African immigrants and Islamic terrorists operating in Egypt’s Sinai.

However, there are frequent attempts to smuggle drugs through Israel’s high fence. In recent years there have been several incidents of shooting between smugglers and Israeli soldiers. The Egyptian Army also frequently fires at drug traffickers as well as jihadist groups in the North Sinai desert, sometimes resulting in accidental cross-border shooting.