Hiker Who Witnessed Terror Attack Near Gilad Farm Slams Media: "It's a Lie"

Roi Braun, an Ariel resident and teacher, appeared on the "The Patriots" program to voice the truth about the severe terror attack that occurred near the village of Tal. Braun, who was part of the group of hikers caught in the scene, reconstructed the sequence of events:

"We went out on a Friday morning to catch the cool hours. We started the trip and encountered the first incident: they threw stones at us and came at us with clubs."

According to him, the area was hostile, but the hikers tried to avoid friction as much as possible.

Braun rejected claims made in left-wing media that the hikers entered the village:

"We didn't see the houses themselves; we were outside. The reports that we were inside the village are a complete lie."

He explained that even when they identified dozens of Arabs waiting for them, they tried to communicate, but it did not help as stones were thrown from all directions.

The climax occurred when the situation deteriorated into a physical confrontation, in which Yuval Ezra and Benyahu Malet were murdered. Braun described the escalation:

"We identified that the village sheikh was grabbing a weapon. We heard shots. Another friend, a regular soldier in the Golani Brigade, identified that there were two guys on the security officer—one choking him and one trying to take his pistol. He hesitated to shoot because of the proximity, but in the end, he shot and took down both terrorists."

When asked by Yinon Magal why he did not shoot himself, Braun illustrated the complex reality for weapon carriers in Judea and Samaria:

"You asked the million-dollar question. When it is allowed to shoot is a very complicated matter. You know that even if it is justified, it will end in weapon confiscation and investigations. You are in a trap: you feel you are not in enough danger for the event to pass smoothly from a legal perspective, and when you reach the stage where it is clear that you must shoot, sometimes it is already too late."

After the shooting subsided, Braun and his friends began rescue operations under constant threat. He performed CPR on Benyahu until help arrived.

Braun referred with pain to the smear campaign directed against the hikers:

"I feel that we are in a smear campaign. People put themselves on the front line, and it is stressful, especially if you actually shot and are automatically marked as unjustified. It was important for me to clear our name. The tragic results happened because there is a side against us that wants us to die. If the open-fire policy had been different, the situation could have ended differently."

In conclusion, Braun shared his feelings after visiting the Ezra family's house of mourning:

"We went to offer condolences during the shiva for Yuval. We didn't know how they would receive us, but they opened their hearts. There is no substitute for personal acquaintance. We are one people, and if we understand that we are in this together and don't engage in accusations, we will be in a completely different place."