Incident in the Jordan Valley sparked confrontation after officers and female soldiers were initially denied entry to base hosting the Charedi Netzah Yehuda unit

An unusual confrontation occurred this week at Camp Tirzah in the Jordan Valley after officers and female reservists from a combat reserve battalion were initially denied entry to the base, where soldiers from the Chareidi Netzach Yehuda Battalion were present. The incident took place while the area was under ongoing rocket and missile alerts, according to Channel 12.

The reserve battalion had been ordered to redeploy to the Jordan Valley. After hours of gathering equipment and moving the force, the first troops arrived at the base gate and were told that female officers and reservists with the battalion headquarters could not enter. About seven women were in the unit.

According to officials involved in the incident, attempts by the battalion’s deputy commander and battalion commander to clarify the decision and reverse it were unsuccessful. A heated argument developed between the incoming battalion leadership and the base command. At one stage the gate was closed, and the verbal confrontation nearly escalated into a physical altercation.

The IDF said the incident was due to a coordination failure during a rapid redeployment. “Following a situational assessment, a rapid force rotation was carried out in the sector. Due to time constraints, the battalion’s arrival at Camp Tirzah was not properly coordinated, and entry to the camp was initially allowed only for the company whose arrival had been coordinated in advance.”

The military said the battalion had been directed to the base by its brigade but that the headquarters personnel were initially blocked due to the lack of coordination. “After discussions between commanders on the ground, which included an explanation of defensive procedures and sleeping arrangements on the base, entry was permitted for the headquarters personnel, both male and female, while maintaining the lifestyle of all soldiers stationed at the base,” the IDF said, adding that lessons would be learned from the incident.