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Kafir Brigade ( Brigade 900 )

The Kafir Brigade ( Brigade 900 ) is a regular infantry brigade in the IDF . The Kafir Brigade was under the command of the Idan formation and in September 2020 the brigade was subordinated to the Bezeq formation while being converted into an infantry-fire brigade. "Kfir" is the largest brigade among the infantry brigades. The brigade consists of four battalions and a patrol , which specialize in small-scale warfare and counter-terrorism , with an emphasis on built-up and complex areas The brigade maneuvers in all sectors and has unique capabilities for fighting terrorism. The soldiers of the brigade wear a beret in camouflage colors (speckled) with the infantry insignia.

The origin of the brigade is in the dedicated infantry battalions that were established starting in the 90s of the 20th century as forces whose role is to accompany armored forces ( mechanized infantry ). Some of the battalions were formed on the basis of Hormash ( armored infantry ) companies that operated as part of brigades spatially (such as Shimshon and Harob) or on the basis of existing independent special units (such as Dokifat), and some of the battalions were established from the ground up later.

During the second intifada , it was decided to convert them into battalions dedicated to fighting terrorism in the cities of Judea and Samaria. In 2003 , after the disbandment of the 500th Brigade of the Armored Corps (also called "Kfir"), most of its soldiers were converted to infantry fighters and an old company called "Operational" was added to each battalion. Before the official establishment of the brigade, the "90th Brigades" were united under one roof called the "Egged 900" which was under the command of Col. Eyal Nosovsky who served until October 23, 2005 as the commander of the brigade. On December 6 , 2005, the 900th Brigade was united into an Regular infantry brigade under the command of the commander of the second brigade, Lt. Col. David Menachem , who became the first commander of the brigade that has since been called the "Kfir Brigade".

The fighters of the brigade undergo rifle training 07 . Until the establishment of the brigade, the dedicated infantry fighters carried out their training at the Adam facility in the center of the country, after which the training moved to Peles Camp in the Jordan Valley , which serves as the brigade's training base, next to the Bekaot Camp , which is used for the advanced training part (in the past, the Sling Camp in the Golan Heights was used for this purpose ).

With the establishment of the brigade, its soldiers were awarded unique identification items - a spotted brigade beret , which replaced the black beret worn by most of the brigade's soldiers, and a new warrior pin, which is awarded to warriors who have completed a course. The previous warrior pin became a regimental pin that the warrior receives at the end of infantry training. The badges of the various regiments were united into a uniform brigade badge, consisting of a sword, symbolizing the fighting and the mission, and wings symbolizing the morality required in it. In addition, a new brigade flag was announced: half white and half dark camouflage colors.

The brigade did not participate in the Second Lebanon War , with the exception of the Netzah Yehuda Battalion , which was sent back from leave to reinforce the northern border sector shortly after the kidnapping incident that started the war , but was returned to its usual place a few days later.

In February 2007, for the first time in Tel Hadid, there was a ceremony at the end of a divisional route common to all battalions. In July of the same year, the first memorial service was held for the martyrs of the Kfir Brigade at Yad Labanim in Afula , and a cornerstone laying ceremony was held for the Kfir Brigade monument near Afula. The city of Afula was announced as the adoptive city of the Kfir Brigade and on September 7, 2010 the brigade memorial site was inaugurated in front of the Emek Hospital in Afula.

In the summer of 2007, an affair was revealed in which soldiers from the Lavi Battalion, under the command of an officer, hijacked a Palestinian taxi in Dahariya , forced the driver, drove around the town and finally shot an unarmed passerby and seriously wounded him. Afterwards, during the IDF investigation, the soldiers lied about the details of the incident[3]. In February 2008 , the TV program " Ovda " revealed evidence of a series of cases in which soldiers from the Kafir Brigade mistreated Palestinians. In Operation Cast Lead, the brigade did not participate, with the exception of the Haruv Battalion, which after the outbreak of the operation was brought down to the border of the Gaza Strip. During the fighting, the commander of the company supporting the battalion was killed. For his action in the operation of First Sergeant Menachem Tsik, a medic in the battalion, he was awarded the rank of colonel in September 2009 by the commander of the Southern Command , Yoav Galant.

In October 2009, the brigade made headlines when a number of recruits from the Shimshon Battalion waved banners against the evacuation of settlements during their swearing-in ceremony. Two similar events occurred in the following days in the brigade and provoked a public debate that revolved around the issue of refusal , the evacuation of settlements by the IDF and the status of settlement meetings. The soldiers were treated harshly by the commander of the brigade, sent to prison and dismissed from the brigade.

In May 2010, the brigade carried out the first brigade exercise in its history, and for the first time a battalion from the Nachshon brigade carried out an operational activity on the Lebanese border . In June 2011, the brigade carried out a brigade fire exercise in the northern contour. In June 2010 it was announced that the brigade carried out approximately 70% of the arrests in Judea and Samaria in the first five years of the establishment of the brigade, alongside additional activity of detecting weapons and thwarting terrorist attacks in general.

In 2012 , for the first time a battalion from the brigade, Haruv , occupied a line at the border of the Gaza Strip . At the same time, the brigade officially became a maneuvering infantry brigade and the first full brigade exercise was held, in the Golan Heights , with the participation of four battalions, Dokifat, Shimshon, Netzach Yehuda, and Lavi (the Harob Battalion occupied a line in Gaza and the Nachshon Battalion carried out operational activity in the Iosh). In the midst of the divisional exercise, Operation Pillar of Defense began , and it was decided to take the Lavi Battalion out of the exercise and bring it down to the Gaza Strip sector, and attach it to the Harob Battalion which occupied a line in the aforementioned sector, in preparation for ground military activity, which ultimately did not take place.

During the return of brothers operation in the summer of 2014 , the entire brigade was jumped from an exercise in the Golan Heights to Judea and Samaria to participate in the search for the three kidnapped boys. However, the brigade did not participate in Operation Rock Ethan which began shortly after with the exception of the 94th Dokifat Battalion which went down [clarification needed] to occupy a sector in Gaza, the Erez Pass sector to prepare for integration into the ground entrance. . After that, another divisional exercise was held with the participation of four battalions.

In September 2014, the brigade came under Idan Design.

In the first years of the brigade, as a continuation of the tradition of the 90th battalions before they were combined into a brigade, and in order to specialize in a permanent sector of action, the brigade's battalions were routinely subordinated to a number of regional brigades (Hatmar) in the Ivash division ( Judea and Samaria area ), and in fact constituted a force Organic infantry of these spatial divisions:

Nachshon Battalion (90) - under the command of the Ephraim Regional Brigade , they were deployed on the sector of the cities of Tulkarm and Kalkilia Shimshon Battalion (92) - under the command of the Etzion Regional Brigade , they were deployed in the Gush Etzion area . Carob Patrol (93) - under the command of the Samaria regional brigade , they were deployed in the sector of the city of Nablus . Dokifat Battalion (94) - under the command of Binyamin Regional Brigade , they were deployed in the Ramallah sector . Lavi Battalion (96) - under the command of the Yehuda Regional Brigade , they were deployed on the Hebron Mountain sector . Netzah Yehuda Battalion (97) - under the command of the Menasha regional brigade , they were deployed in the area of northern Samaria and the sector of the city of Jenin .

Since the beginning of 2008, the battalions have become mobile, like the infantry brigades, and they no longer belong to a specific sector of operation, but perform a regular rotation in different sectors in Iush, the Gaza Strip and the northern border.