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It is rare to get a glimpse of a conversation between the senior officer in charge of the Judea and Samaria region, division commander Brigadier General Avi Belot, and residents – in the midst of the escalation. In an exclusive recording of the charged conversation, which was published this evening (Wednesday) on the evening news at Kan 11, the residents hurled accusations at Belot On the contrary, the commander of the division admitted: the separation fence was neglected for about a decade, the IDF did not have enough freedom of action in the Kasbah of Nablus and the refugee camp in Jenin.
Belot said that the IDF had already predicted the escalation at the end of last year, but noted that they were surprised that the attacks did not start in Judea and Samaria, but from ISIS cells. Afterwards, the division commander explained the attempts to curb the escalation by doubling the number of battalions in the sectors.
The conversation took place about two and a half weeks ago, at the end of a day when two shooting attacks took place just a few kilometers apart. The conversation also raised the claim that fighters are afraid to shoot Palestinians who throw stones at Israeli vehicles on the roads.
At the end of the conversation, Blot said that if the number of attacks does not decrease, the IDF will launch a wider operation, but it will not look like a “Protective Wall” operation.