Report: Initial probe of settler rampage reveals soldiers stood by and didn’t act

An initial probe into Thursday night’s settler rampage of the Palestinian village of Jit reportedly reveals that a unit of IDF reservists arrived at the scene shortly after the attack began but did not stop any of the perpetrators.

A senior security official tells Haaretz that “the soldiers did nothing to prevent the pogrom” even though they witnessed it unfold in real time. “They just stood by them, saw everything but did nothing.”

The soldiers were from a Home Front Command unit stationed nearby. The probe reveals that they were joined by a civilian security squad from the illegal outpost of Havat Gilad.

The security source says the IDF and Shin Bet did not have prior knowledge of the attack.

Bullet shells were found at Jit, but the forces claimed they only fired in the air. A 23-year-old Palestinian man was killed, raising questions about the accounts of the Israeli forces at the scene.

The security source adds that despite claims from settlers that Palestinians from the area had been hurling stones at Israeli cars prior to the rampage, there were no verified reports of such incidents.