'Serious failure': IDF probe details mistakes in response to deadly West Bank terror attack

An Israel Defense Forces investigation into the deadly July 24 clash near the West Bank village of Tell has found that the Israeli settler hike that preceded the violence was conducted without the military's required coordination or approval, while also identifying significant operational failures during the response that left one wounded Israeli officer without military protection for several minutes.

The confrontation began when dozens of Israeli settlers entered the area near the Palestinian village of Tel, close to Nablus, for what participants described as a hike.

According to the IDF investigation, the outing had not been approved by security authorities, despite the Samaria Brigade receiving preliminary information about the planned trek several hours beforehand and attempting unsuccessfully to obtain further details.

As the group moved through the area, Palestinian residents confronted the hikers, with surveillance troops reporting that stones were being thrown at the Israelis. Initial IDF forces arrived to escort the hikers, but as the confrontation spread across a wide area, additional troops were dispatched, including Maj. Yuval Ezra, commander of a battery in the 411th Battalion, and local security team member Benayahu Mellet.

According to the investigation, the violence escalated dramatically after a Palestinian assailant managed to seize the weapon of the security coordinator from the nearby settlement of Havat Gilad. The attacker then opened fire, fatally wounding Ezra and Mellet and injuring two other Israelis.

The IDF said Ezra, Mellet and the local security coordinator placed themselves between the attackers and the civilians, engaging the gunmen in close combat to protect the hikers. Investigators found that Ezra charged one of the terrorists at close range and killed him before he was fatally wounded.

Israeli forces returned fire, ultimately killing the attackers. The IDF investigation said all terrorists involved in the shooting were either killed or apprehended, including two wounded suspects who were arrested hours later during a targeted operation at a hospital in Nablus where they had sought medical treatment.

The investigation identified what it described as a "serious failure" during the evacuation of the wounded. While soldiers evacuated Maj. Ezra from the scene, Mellet remained wounded on the ground for several minutes, receiving treatment only from a civilian medic without soldiers present.

Investigators also found that the responding military force was too small for the scale of the incident and that additional soldiers in the area failed to develop a comprehensive operational picture quickly enough, delaying reinforcements and medical support.

"This was a grave terrorist attack in which we lost two outstanding troops," Zamir said. "Yuval and Benayahu engaged the enemy with exceptional courage and prevented a far more serious attack on the hikers."