JERUSALEM – Several Israeli police officers, on various levels of command, were dismissed from their positions, some of them may be fired as well, following the police’s blunder regarding their handing of a phone call which came from one of the three abducted boys a short while after they were abducted. One of them called the police and whispered “I’ve been kidnapped, I’ve been kidnapped.” The young policeman who received the call passed the information to a veteran policewoman, who decided to disregard it. As a result, valuable time was lost. It was not until several hours later that the IDF was notified of the abduction.

An Inquiry committee was appointed by the Chief of Police Yochanan Danino, led by police Brigadier General Moshe Barkat, to check the police’s handling of the early stages of the kidnapping, with an emphasis on the treatment of the phone call. Today, the committee presented its findings and recommendations to the commissioner. The Inquiry committee found that the conduct of the police call center was seriously faulty. Policemen at all levels were found to have conducted themselves unprofessionally. Subsequently the Committee’s findings include personal conclusions and systemic conclusions, regarding the conduct of the police.

The families of the abducted boys were updated personally by the chairman of the review committee on the findings of the report.

Commissioner Danino, after reviewing the report by the committee, has decided to adopt the major recommendations and even worsen some of the personal recommendations made by the committee.

Chief of Police Danino stressed in his decision that: “This is a very serious failure, relating to incorrect handling of a distress call from a man who turned to the police hotline, and a failure of this kind must not happen.”

By Aryeh Savir

Tazpit News Agency