The IDF today (Wednesday) published the findings of the command investigation into the attack that occurred about two weeks ago on the outskirts of the village of Tel-Lid near Havat Gilad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Major Yuval Ezra and Captain (retd.) Benayahu Melat, a regional defense fighter and a member of the readiness squad in Havat Gilad, were killed in the attack. The security coordinator of the Havat Gilad settlement and other civilians who were hit by stone pelting were also injured in the attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The investigation was presented to Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir by the Commander of the Central Command, Major General Avi Balut, and the Commander of the Judea and Samaria Division, Brigadier General Kobi Heller. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Chief of Staff adopted the conclusions of the investigation and ordered the lessons to be implemented immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The investigation shows that the group of travelers set out on a trip without coordination and approval from security officials, as required. It was also reported that several hours before the departure, the Samaria Brigade received advance information about the trip, and attempts were made to locate additional details about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The incident began after female observers spotted stones being thrown at the group of hikers. The first IDF force was rushed to the scene, joined the hikers, and began escorting them, as the group was spread out over a wide area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Later, additional forces arrived at the scene under the command of Yuval Ezra, along with the security coordinator of Havat Gilad and a member of the readiness squad, Benyahu Melat, who were called to the scene and worked to separate the Palestinians from the travelers and repel the attackers towards the village.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The IDF notes that after the security coordinator's weapon was stolen, the three fighters acted courageously with the aim of saving the lives of civilians and harming the terrorists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The investigation shows that Major Ezra charged toward one of the terrorists, attempted to engage and eliminate him, but was killed during the fight. It was also determined that all of the terrorists who participated in the attack were eliminated, two additional terrorists were wounded, and all those involved were arrested. The remaining terrorists were eliminated by a platoon commander who arrived at the scene and two hikers, IDF soldiers who were on vacation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regarding the fall of Benayahu the 14th, the investigation determines that it cannot be decided unequivocally whether he was hit by a terrorist's gunfire or by an incidental shot fired during the fighting to neutralize the terrorists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The issue was examined as part of the investigation, but no unequivocal conclusion was reached.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The investigation also points to a series of operational failures. It was determined that the force that arrived at the scene was small in relation to the scope of the incident, the number of travelers, and the number of attackers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition, it was found that the other forces operating in the area were unable to form a complete picture of the situation in time, did not deploy additional forces quickly enough, and did not deploy medical forces in time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The IDF emphasized that one of the most serious failures occurred during the evacuation of Yuval Ezra. According to the investigation, Melat remained wounded in the field for many minutes, being treated by a civilian medic and without the presence of military forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The IDF defined this as: "A failure that is inconsistent with the IDF's values \u200b\u200band the ethical and professional obligation according to which the security and well-being of citizens take precedence over those of IDF service members.".<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was also reported that hours after the attack, security forces raided a hospital in Nablus, where two terrorists who were injured during the attack were arrested. The Chief of Staff positively commented on the operation, which he described as professional and quick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the recommendation of the head of the Human Resources Department, the Chief of Staff approved the promotion of Benyahu Melat to the rank of res. captain after his fall. The IDF noted that he was in the midst of the officer training process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maj. Gen. Balut said that the incident illustrates the heroism of Yuval and Benyahu, who chose to charge at the terrorists and keep the danger away from the travelers. According to him, their determined action prevented wider harm to civilians. He added that incidents of this type, which occur in open areas and on the outskirts of villages, are on the rise, and therefore we must prepare for them as a reasonable operational scenario and assimilate the lessons of the investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The investigation also reveals that Major Ezra Y.D. jumped to the sector after the battalion commander raised the alert level the day before, following attacks that occurred in the sector, in which an Israeli citizen and an IDF soldier were injured, and according to a situation assessment that determined that the security situation was explosive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eyal Zamir:<\/strong> \""This is a serious terrorist attack in which we lost two valuable fighters - a member of the alert platoon who sought contact and an outstanding company commander who stormed in a remarkable manner. This is a terrorist attack carried out by terrorists during which a weapon was seized from the security center. We will not accept a situation in which civilian lives are in danger; IDF forces have a duty to protect Israeli citizens everywhere and at all times. Yuval and Benyahu z"l sought contact, demonstrated fighting prowess and prevented more serious harm to travelers. We will continue to investigate each incident professionally in order to improve and strengthen our readiness. This is how the IDF operates and this is how we will continue to operate.".<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u05e6\u05d4\"\u05dc \u05e4\u05e8\u05e1\u05dd \u05d4\u05d9\u05d5\u05dd (\u05e8\u05d1\u05d9\u05e2\u05d9) \u05d0\u05ea \u05de\u05de\u05e6\u05d0\u05d9 \u05d4\u05ea\u05d7\u05e7\u05d9\u05e8 \u05d4\u05e4\u05d9\u05e7\u05d5\u05d3\u05d9 \u05e9\u05dc \u05d4\u05e4\u05d9\u05d2\u05d5\u05e2 \u05e9\u05d0\u05d9\u05e8\u05e2 \u05dc\u05e4\u05e0\u05d9 \u05db\u05e9\u05d1\u05d5\u05e2\u05d9\u05d9\u05dd \u05d1\u05e4\u05d0\u05ea\u05d9 \u05d4\u05db\u05e4\u05e8 \u05ea\u05dc - \u05dc\u05d9\u05d3 \u05d7\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d2\u05dc\u05e2\u05d3. \u05d1\u05e4\u05d9\u05d2\u05d5\u05e2 \u05e0\u05e4\u05dc\u05d5 \u05e8\u05d1-\u05e1\u05e8\u05df \u05d9\u05d5\u05d1\u05dc \u05e2\u05d6\u05e8\u05d0 \u05d4\u05d9\"\u05d3 \u05d5\u05e1\u05e8\u05df \u05de\u05d9\u05dc' \u05d1\u05e0\u05d9\u05d4\u05d5 \u05de\u05dc\u05d8 \u05d4\u05d9\"\u05d3, \u05dc\u05d5\u05d7\u05dd \u05d4\u05d4\u05d2\u05e0\u05d4 \u05d4\u05de\u05e8\u05d7\u05d1\u05d9\u05ea, \u05d7\u05d1\u05e8 \u05db\u05d9\u05ea\u05ea \u05d4\u05db\u05d5\u05e0\u05e0\u05d5\u05ea \u05d1\u05d7\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d2\u05dc\u05e2\u05d3. \u05d1\u05e4\u05d9\u05d2\u05d5\u05e2 \u05e0\u05e4\u05e6\u05e2\u05d5 \u05d2\u05dd \u05e8\u05db\u05d6 \u05d4\u05d1\u05d9\u05d8\u05d7\u05d5\u05df \u05e9\u05dc \u05d4\u05d9\u05d9\u05e9\u05d5\u05d1 \u05d7\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d2\u05dc\u05e2\u05d3 \u05d5\u05d0\u05d6\u05e8\u05d7\u05d9\u05dd \u05e0\u05d5\u05e1\u05e4\u05d9\u05dd \u05e9\u05e0\u05e4\u05d2\u05e2\u05d5 \u05de\u05d9\u05d9\u05d3\u05d5\u05d9 \u05d0\u05d1\u05e0\u05d9\u05dd. \u05d4\u05ea\u05d7\u05e7\u05d9\u05e8 \u05d4\u05d5\u05e6\u05d2 […]","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":1060727,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[66185,66186,66187],"class_list":["post-1060726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-24","tag-66185","tag-66186","tag-66187"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n