The Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday said it dismantled a platoon of reservists and dismissed several officers on Tuesday for vandalizing Palestinian property during a raid in the Deheisha refugee camp near Bethlehem the week prior.

During a counter-terror raid in the West Bank camp on April 2, soldiers “graffitied slogans on buildings in the village, as well as vandalized equipment, in a way that exceeds the procedures and commands given before the operation,” the IDF said.

The graffiti images included Stars of David over Arabic slogans, which were photographed by Palestinian residents.

The operation was halted, the graffiti covered up, and an investigation was launched by the commander of the West Bank Division, Brig. Gen. Yaki Dolf, together with the commander of the Etzion Regional Brigade, Col. Gal Rich.

The findings were submitted to IDF Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, who said the “grave” incident “contradicts the level of professionalism and values expected of IDF soldiers.”

As a result, the IDF said that the commander of the battalion whose troops were involved was formally reprimanded — a note that will remain on his permanent record; a company commander present during the incident was dismissed from his position; another company commander was reprimanded; and two additional commanders, along with several soldiers, were dismissed.

The platoon involved in the vandalism was also dissolved.

The IDF said that the disciplinary action was taken “in accordance with the findings of the investigation” and in line with the policy of the new IDF Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, under which such cases are “treated with severity.”

The Israeli military’s crackdown on misconduct has been an ongoing trend in recent weeks.

In a similar case last month, the IDF said it disciplined several officers and troops for vandalizing Palestinian property during an unauthorized search in the southern West Bank village of Jinba.

Following that incident, the commander of the Judea Regional Brigade, Col. Shahar Barkai, was reprimanded; the battalion commander received a formal censure to be added to his record; a company commander was dismissed and jailed for a week; another company commander was ordered to remain on base for an extended period; and two soldiers involved were also jailed for a week.

Zamir had personally visited Jinba to investigate the incident.

Earlier in March, the IDF punished several troops and commanders over another disciplinary breach — this time in the Gaza Strip — after reservists fired shots during the reading of the Megillah on the Purim holiday.

The company commander in that incident was reprimanded, the platoon commander was removed from his position, and nine reservists were removed from combat service and sentenced to 28 days of base confinement.

Over the course of the Gaza war, soldiers have, on various occasions, been disciplined and investigated over problematic behavior that the military said was unbecoming of servicemen. However, multiple instances have apparently occurred without censure.