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Israeli military sat on distress calls about settler attacks for two hours, report says

By · Via Middle East Eye · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The Israeli military sat on distress calls about settler attacks for two hours, resulting in a deadly attack on diplomats and civilians. Activists reported threats from settlers in the occupied West Bank, but the military took no action until the attack on diplomats and others was over. The report said that Israeli military operations room received reports about the threats and calls for help as early as 1 pm on Saturday, yet the Civil Administration and troops on the ground were informed of the attack only around 3 pm, after the attacks had ended. The military has opened a special probe into the sequence of events and why no action was taken in real time to prevent the violence. Israeli ri…

Key points

  • The military's failure to respond to distress calls about settler attacks highlights its…: The military's failure to respond to distress calls about settler attacks highlights its inability to prevent violence.
  • The delay in action has led to multiple deadly attacks in the occupied West Bank.: The delay in action has led to multiple deadly attacks in the occupied West Bank.
  • The report indicates that the military has documented 377 incidents of settler and soldie…: The report indicates that the military has documented 377 incidents of settler and soldier violence against Palestinians from 27 September to 10 October.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

The Israeli military sat on distress calls for nearly two hours as activists reported threats from settlers in the occupied West Bank, but took no action until the attack on diplomats and others was over, the Haaretz daily reports.

The report said that Israeli military operations room received reports about the threats and calls for help as early as 1 pm on Saturday. Yet the Civil Administration and troops on the ground were informed of the attack only around 3 pm, after the attacks had ended.

One activist accompanying local Palestinians reportedly sent the army a video and the exact location of the incident, warning: “At least seven masked settlers armed with clubs. Come quickly, very scary. They stole bags of olives from Palestinians.”

The military has opened a special probe into the sequence of events and why no action was taken in real time to prevent the violence, Haaretz reports.

Israeli rights group, Yesh Din, has said that it documented 377 incidents of settler and soldier violence against Palestinians from 27 September to 10 October, adding an average of approximately 27 incidents of violence occurred per day across 162 Palestinian communities in the West Bank.

Of these incidents, 174 were directly related to the olive harvest, and soldiers were present in 25 percent of the cases.

"The lack of law enforcement against violent settlers and soldiers who attack Palestinian olive harvesters, damage olive trees, and steal the harvest indicates that the obstruction of the olive harvest is part of a broader, systematic Israeli policy aimed at inflicting economic and cultural harm on Palestinians and displacing them from their land," Yesh Din said in a statement on X.

A Morning of Severe Violence Across the West Bank During the Olive Harvest. Yesh Din new data: 486 incidents of settler and soldier violence over 18 days, September 27- October 14, including 234 directly related to the olive harvest. Soldiers were documented as present in at least 62 incidents (26.5% of all incidents of violence directly related to the olive harvest). Video from the village of Turmusaya this morning shows one of the injured Palestinian farmers, a vehicle set on fire, and soldiers at the scene firing crowd-control weapons at Palestinian farmers. Footage credit: Turmusaya Municipality / Yesh Din

— Yesh Din ييش دين יש דין (@Yesh_Din) October 16, 2026

Original source: www.middleeasteye.net

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