IDF spokesman slams settler rampage in Turmus Ayya: ‘Creates terror’

The military’s top spokesman denounces yesterday’s settler rampage in the West Bank town of Turmus Ayya, during which a Palestinian man was killed in unclear circumstances.

Speaking with Army Radio, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari acknowledges the Israel Defense Forces had “failed to prevent” the rioting, which he describes as “very grave.”

“This is an incident that creates terror and escalation, and takes the population that isn’t involved in terror and pushes it there, while preventing the IDF from fighting terror in operational activities,” he says.

Hagari adds that the military was probing the matter internally and vowed it would learn from the incident.

“We will improve,” he says.