March 9, 2023

Inquiries Into the Recent Events that Took Place in the Central Command

Yesterday (Wednesday), the Commanding Officer of the Central Command, MG Yehuda Fox, presented the Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi, with the findings of the inquiries into the recent operational events that took place in Judea and Samaria.

The Chief of the General Staff commended the soldiers for the complex operational counterterrorism activities that they conducted in recent weeks.

The operation that took place in Nablus on Wednesday, February 22, 2023, was conducted to apprehend three terrorists who were involved in carrying out shooting attacks, including the assailant who planned the attack in which the late IDF Staff Sergeant Ido Baruch was killed.

During an arrest conducted by security forces in Jenin this week (Tuesday), the individual suspected of killing the late Staff Sergeant Hillel Menachem Yaniv and Yagel Yaakov Yaniv was killed. His two sons, suspected of assisting in the attacks, were apprehended in Nablus.

Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi:
“These complex operations send terrorists a clear message: we will settle the score with each terrorist. We will apprehend or harm every terrorist in any place.”

In addition, LTG Halevi was presented with the findings of the inquiry into the violent incidents in Huwara, during which hundreds of Israeli civilians participated in riots. Simultaneously, many dozens of Israeli civilians vandalized Palestinian property, set vehicles and houses on fire, hurled stones and attacked Palestinians.

The inquiries indicate that this was an extremely severe incident that should have been prevented. It was found that the scale and intensity of the violence were exceptional in comparison to past incidents. Therefore, there was an insufficient number of soldiers in the area to continue the pursuit of the terrorist, conduct counterterrorism activities and prevent the violent riots.

Lessons were drawn regarding the cooperation between the different security institutions - the IDF, the ISA, the Israel Police and the Israel Border Police. Lessons were also drawn regarding the changes required to ensure a faster dispatch of reinforcements when there is suspicion of such a severe incident recurring.
The violent riots instigated by Israeli civilians against the Israeli security forces and the Palestinians are being investigated by the Israel Police to the fullest extent of the law.

Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi:
"This is a severe incident that took place under our responsibility and should not have happened. The chain of command correctly prioritized the different missions but erred in the allocation of the soldiers and in the control of the event. Every soldier, both in active and reserve duty, is expected and trained to act professionally and ethically and to prevent incidents like these in accordance with the IDF’s values. We will draw the necessary lessons and study them to prevent similar events from reoccurring in the future."