Major General (res.): 'The incident at Havat Gilad is not a terror attack - the settlers provoked the friction'
Avi Mizrahi, former commander of the Central Command, warned in an interview with 103fm about the explosive situation in Judea and Samaria and harshly criticized the confrontation in the village of Tel where Binyahu Malet was killed.
Major General (res.) Avi Mizrahi, former commander of the Central Command, spoke today with 103fm about the situation in the sector he once commanded, in light of the explosive tension in Judea and Samaria. This follows the events in the village of Tel that led to the death of an IDF officer and member of the standby squad, Binyahu Malet, from Havat Gilad, which has sparked great concern and anger regarding developments in the region.
Mizrahi expressed his concern about the explosive situation: "I will say things that will not be pleasant to the ears of many, but I am describing the reality on the ground as it is. The reality in Judea and Samaria is a daily routine of 'trips' whose sole purpose is to create friction. IDF forces are then forced to arrive, and in this way, the provocateurs achieve their goal."
"It is a daily occurrence; our forces are exhausted from chasing this friction instead of dealing with the real task of thwarting terror and providing security to everyone living in Judea and Samaria," he testified. "Even the media does not always understand the concepts and tries to be politically correct."
Mizrahi claimed there was no coordination with the IDF before entering the village of Tel, which is in Area A: "This trip was not coordinated with the IDF. They sent a screenshot of a correspondence with a territorial defense officer, but that is not coordination with the IDF. A 'trip' in Area A requires approval signed by the Major General. This did not happen. Dozens of people from the Bracha area, including small children, arrived at 5:30 AM. In the media, they call it a terror attack, but gentlemen, this is not a terror attack. Settlers entered the settlement, demanded friction, and now there are deaths."
"There are dozens of examples where weapons in the hands of Israelis fired and killed," Mizrahi clarified. "Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of 2026 in Judea and Samaria, not as a result of terrorist activity or IDF operations. You can close your eyes, but this will reach us. If these settlers hadn't arrived in the village of Tel, would there have been a terror attack?"
The Major General (res.) warned against a slippery slope: "I am not a supporter of the Palestinians, terror is terror, period. It must be fought. The Central Command is doing an excellent job against Palestinian terror. However, I am for us not becoming brutal and not doing things that we don't believe are in line with our values as Israelis and Jews."
Finally, he described the difficulties during clashes: "The forces facing the Israelis are helpless for many reasons. We are the IDF, we are Jews like them, and when you arrive at friction between Palestinians and Jews, you are always on the Jewish side. That is our DNA. When I was the Command Major General, I had the Shin Bet, the Judea and Samaria District, and the Civil Administration as checks and balances. Today, the Command Major General does not have that."
