Military Advocate-General Maj.-Gen. Itay Offir was recently embedded with soldiers in Gaza, the IDF reported Wednesday.
His visit, accompanied by OC Southern Command Maj.-Gen. Yaniv Asur and other senior commanders, took place on Tuesday but was only reported on Wednesday.
Offir expressed his appreciation to the commanders and soldiers he encountered, the IDF said.
“It was important to me, immediately after entering office, to get up close to the reality, complexities, and challenges that our soldiers and commanders confront on the southern front of conflict,” he said. “A central piece of the IDF legal division is to formulate solutions, according to the law, to assist the military in fulfilling its mission and to win wars.”
Multiple photos distributed by the IDF show Offir, decked out in a flak jacket and helmet, observing Asur and other troops describe to him various operations in the field.
Although IDF legal officers visit many bases within Israeli territory, the IDF’s chief lawyer does not frequently visit hostile territories, such as Gaza.
Offir's Gaza visit opens a door for communication
It was unclear when was the last time an Israeli legal officer of Offir’s stature made such a visit. The IDF said it was reviewing its records in response to an inquiry from The Jerusalem Post.
There is an ongoing debate in Israel and the international community about the IDF’s rules of engagement and targeting choices.
On November 27, Offir was sworn in and given the rank of major-general in a closed ceremony.
The Post was the first media outlet to report when the ceremony would be held, and that it would be closed.
At the ceremony, Defense Minister Israel Katz said it was Offir’s role to fire other top legal officers, keep the legal division from interfering with the government’s or commanders’ policies, and to close the Sde Teiman case, which centered on an alleged beating of a Palestinian detainee at the IDF detention camp.
The case and the leaking of a video relating to it by Offir’s predecessor, Yifat Tomer Yerushalmi, was a terrible “blood libel,” he said.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir said he expected Offir to defend IDF soldiers from wrongful allegations but also to uphold the IDF’s values, including following rules that limit the use of force.
Zamir made no comments about closing the Sde Teiman case, but he did call on Offir to do whatever is needed to restore public faith in the IDF legal division, leaving that question more open-ended.
The decision regarding the Sde Teiman case will require Offir to weigh the complex evidence, including a medical report and the hotly debated video, and the view of the Israeli legal community and most of the international community that it must go to trial, versus various coalition ministers and MKs who want the case to be closed.
In his first official speech, Offir steered clear of the controversy, saying only that he would uphold the law, wherever that would take him.
Typically, the swearing-in ceremonies of senior officers joining IDF high command are large celebratory events with significant media coverage.
Given the circumstances surrounding Offir’s taking office in the shadow of his predecessor’s resignation under the cloud of a criminal probe, the IDF kept the ceremony closed.