Multiple defense officials sharply criticized the way IDF soldiers are left to deal with settler extremists in the West Bank, claiming that soldiers are often left to handle incidents of settler violence without support and sometimes without the appropriate tools, KAN News reported on Friday.
The officials said that global attention to the West Bank causes serious diplomatic damage to Israel, and that without enforcement by the police and other state authorities, the incidents are wearing down IDF forces on the ground as well as diverting them from fighting terrorism and protecting residents of the area.
Earlier on Friday, IDF soldiers were dispatched to the town of Sa’ir, near Hebron, after a security coordinator opened fire on a young adult, killing him, KAN News wrote.
The security official stated that the security coordinator believed his life to be in danger.
Clashes in Sa'ir area kill Palestinian teenager
The IDF said that Israeli civilians had gone into the area, which is designated as Area B, without authorization and were attacked by Palestinians throwing stones.
The IDF stated that Israeli civilians were injured as a result of the rocks thrown and that there were Palestinian casualties as a result of the shooting.
Following the attack, settlers started a fire in one of the village’s homes, according to Army Radio, with a 65-year-old Palestinian evacuated due to smoke inhalation.
Army Radio noted that the Palestinian village is located several hundred meters from an illegal settler outpost.