IDF probe of deadly clash finds Tell settler hike was unauthorized, too few troops responded

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

An investigation by the Israel Defense Forces into last month’s deadly clash in the West Bank village of Tell has found that the hike by Israeli settlers in the area was not coordinated with or authorized by the army, and that officers did not respond to an ensuing clash with Palestinians with sufficient manpower.

According to the probe, the military’s Samaria Regional Brigade learned of the July 24 hike the night before it took place but was unable to obtain details on the route or contact the organizers.

A military official said the hike would not have been approved anyway due to its route through areas A and B of the West Bank, including in a Palestinian village. The Israel Police was investigating the organizers of the unauthorized hike.

The hike began at 5:30 a.m., with dozens of settlers, including minors and two off-duty soldiers, setting off from Har Bracha, located in Area C of the West Bank, which is under full Israeli control.

The 1990s Oslo Accords split the West Bank into Area A, where the Palestinian Authority has security and civilian control; Area B, where Israel controls security and the PA controls civilian affairs; and Area C, where Israel controls both security and civilian matters.

The group entered Area B, briefly entered Area A — under Palestinian Authority control and off limits to Israelis — then returned to Area B as they headed toward the settlement of Havat Gilad.

IDF surveillance soldiers first spotted the Israelis walking inside Area B on the outskirts of Tell at 7:27 a.m. They dispatched a small number of troops of the 282nd Artillery Regiment’s 411th Battalion — who were stationed at an army outpost in the area — to the scene to escort the settlers out.

As the troops arrived, Palestinians hurled stones at the Israeli civilians, injuring one. The soldiers split up, with some dealing with the wounded Israeli, while a platoon commander worked alone to push back the Palestinians.

A short while later, artillery battery commander Maj. Yuval Ezra, 27, began heading to the scene, while also dispatching the security coordinator for Havat Gilad and his deputy, civil defense squad member Benayahu Mellet, 32.

The three arrived at the scene at around the same time, as the clashes on the edge of Tell between the Israelis and Palestinians spun out of control.

At around 8:16 a.m., the security coordinator and Mellet engaged in a physical confrontation with the Palestinians, during which the security coordinator was seen in footage taking his gun off his shoulder to push the Palestinians back.

The security coordinator’s gun was snatched out of his hands by Tell resident Farouk Ramadan, who opened fire on the Israelis.

Amid the chaos, which lasted around 90 seconds, Ezra, Mellet, the security coordinator, the platoon commander and the two off-duty soldiers — one of whom is a reservist — opened fire back at the Palestinians. The coordinator fired with his handgun after his rifle was stolen.

תיעוד מטורף מחטיפת הנשק והירי בפיגוע היום בכפר תל בשומרון pic.twitter.com/VbgkhFelVw

— Haim Goldich | חיים גולדיטש (@HGoldich) July 24, 2026

According to the probe, Ezra was shot in the head by Ramadan and killed, while Ramadan was fatally wounded by a shot from Ezra. Footage showed Ramadan stumbling for a short while before collapsing and dying.

Mellet, who was also killed, may have also been shot by Ramadan, although the military believes he was possibly hit by one of the soldiers. Neither scenario can be probed because his body was buried without an autopsy. “The issue was examined during the investigation, but no definitive conclusion was reached,” the military said.

The IDF said the platoon commander and two off-duty soldiers killed another three Palestinians. Two other Palestinians, brothers, who were seriously wounded during the clash, were captured by Israeli commandos at a hospital in Nablus hours after the incident.

The investigation also noted that the soldiers were authorized to use fire, but said the force that responded to the scene “was too small relative to the scale of the violent incident, the number of hikers, and the number of attackers.”

Forces in the area “did not act optimally to develop a complete situational picture, dispatch additional forces, and deploy medical teams as required,” the probe found.

The IDF said that the investigation also revealed a “serious failure” by the troops who left Mellet’s body at the scene “for many minutes.” Mellet was treated by a civilian medic without the presence of soldiers, and only later did backup troops arrive and evacuate his body.

Mellet, who was in the process of becoming an officer in the reserves and had served for hundreds of days during fighting in the Gaza Strip under the Jerusalem Brigade, was posthumously promoted to the rank of captain, the military said.

The chief of the Central Command, Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, praised Mellet and Ezra for “confronting the danger to protect civilians,” saying that “their determined actions prevented a broader attack.”

Bluth also noted that such “incidents” on the outskirts of Palestinian villages and in open areas “are becoming more frequent” and must therefore “be treated as realistic operational contingencies.”

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir also reviewed the investigation, saying that “this was a grave terror attack in which we lost two outstanding troops.”

“We will continue to investigate every incident professionally to improve and strengthen our readiness,” he added.

According to a military official, Zamir viewed the off-duty soldiers’ participation in the hike with severity, but the IDF did not plan to punish them.

Since the deadly incident, settlers have established 13 illegal outposts in the area, some close to Tell. The senior officer said that the military was currently being prevented by Israel’s political leadership from dismantling the outposts, which have placed a significant strain on the army.

The official said that the IDF hopes that in the coming days the policy will change and permit the military to dismantle the illegal outposts.

Last month, just after the deadly clash in Tell, the officer warned that settlement outposts, “especially the violent ones, are one of the most challenging issues” facing the IDF.

Settler violence has surged in the West Bank in recent months, with near-daily attacks, though arrests and indictments for the violence are rare. Critics have accused the government of condoning the attacks and doing too little to stop them.

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