Israeli military probe finds unauthorized settler ‘hike’ preceded deadly Tell clash
LONDON: An Israeli military probe has found that an unauthorized settler “hike” preceded July’s deadly clash in the occupied West Bank village of Tell, southwest of Nablus, and that too few troops were deployed to respond to the violence.
The investigation also said it could not rule out the possibility that Israeli forces shot one of the two Israelis killed. Amid the chaos, a member of a nearby settlement's civil defense squad rushed to the scene but was fatally shot, The Times of Israel reported.
The army’s Samaria Regional Brigade learned of the July 24 hike the night before but could not determine its route or contact its organizers. A military official said it would not have been approved because it crossed Areas A and B of the West Bank, including a Palestinian village. Israeli police are investigating the organizers.
Israeli activist Aviv Tatarsky said settler hikes through Palestinian villages are “not very rare.”
