The soldiers ‘didn’t do anything to stop the pogrom,’ a senior defense official said, ‘they just stood there next to them, saw all of it [take place] and did nothing.’ The body of the Palestinian who was killed was taken for autopsy, but the results are inconclusive as to who shot him
IDF reservists stood idly by as Jewish settlers in the West Bank descended upon a Palestinian village, burning buildings and vehicles and attacking local residents, according to a preliminary investigation by Israel.
According to the findings of the investigation, members of the Havat Gilad security squad were also present during the incident in Git on Thursday, in addition to the IDF reservists.
A senior defense official said the soldiers “didn’t do anything to stop the pogrom,” despite witnessing the acts. “They just stood there next to them, saw all of it [take place] and did nothing.” Defense officials also stressed that the Shin Bet and IDF didn’t have intelligence on the incident prior to it taking place.
Dozens of masked settlers took part in the village raid, most of which came from Havat Gilad outpost area and the settlement of Shilo. The settlers entered Git in cars, set fire to vehicles, vandalized property, and attacked residents, one of whom was shot dead.
The body of the Palestinian who was killed was transferred to the West Bank city of Nablus to undergo an autopsy. The Palestinians refused to transfer the body to Israel. The autopsy showed that a bullet entered and exited the Palestinian’s body, making it difficult to determine what was the cause of death.
According to the investigation, shortly after the raid started IDF reservists, most likely from the Home Front Command who were in the vicinity, arrived in the village. Security sources say the settler raid took place ‘right in front’ of the reservists, who could see what was taking place. However, none of the lawbreakers – estimated to have amounted to about 50-100 – were arrested. Later on, armed members of the Havat Gilad security squad arrived on the scene.
The investigation shows that the soldiers and security squad members opened fire during the raids and, according to them, shot only in the air. Bullet cartridges from several types of weapons were found on the ground in the village.
During the raid border control forces also arrived on the scene, but were mainly active in dispersing the settlers and made no arrests – other than one man, who was arrested for disturbing a police officer outside the village territory, and was later released. A senior security official criticized the conduct of the forces at the raid. “We will deal with the lawbreakers, but the army forces were supposed to arrest people in real-time on Thursday,” he said.
In contrast to the claims that the group of settlers entered the village to get revenge for stones that were thrown at a car near the West Bank settlement of Shavei Shomron – according to a security source, the army did not receive any reports of stone throwing at Israeli vehicles prior to the raid.
- Photo: Destroyed property after the settler raid in the Palestinian village of Git, on Friday.Credit: Nasser Nasser/AP