Israeli army rebukes colonel for meeting with Ben-Gvir without permission

ANKARA

The Israeli army rebuked a senior army officer Thursday for holding a meeting with far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir without obtaining permission from his commander.

The army said in a statement that Colonel Avinoam Emunah, the commander of a tactical command college within the army, was reprimanded by his senior commander after holding the meeting with Ben-Gvir "without coordination or prior permission as is needed."

The statement added that the officer's conduct violated "the ban on direct contact between the army and senior politicians."

According to the Times of Israel newspaper, Emunah is a leading candidate to head Ben-Gvir's controversial national guard force approved by the Israeli government last year.

Ben-Gvir's force was slammed by many Israeli opposition groups as a militia that will implement his extremist agenda.

Emunah also created another controversy as he appeared in a film in 2014 inciting Israeli soldiers to kill Arabs (Palestinians) -- even while they were fleeing -- ahead of an Israeli offensive against Gaza.