National Defense

IDF Reportedly Ignores Hotline For Settler Violence

IDF soldiers (IDF Telegram/Wikimedia Commons)

The Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) hotline intended for addressing instances of Israeli settler violence in the West Bank has been reportedly rendered nonfunctional.

Civilians, including journalists and diplomats have no reliable way to report settler violence, Israeli outlet Haaretz reported Monday. The issue was discussed by the High Court of Justice last Thursday, following a petition from the legal aid group Yesh Din.

Before the group of European diplomats were attacked by masked settlers on Saturday, a report concerning a violent group of Israeli settlers reached the operations room of the West Bank based Benjamin Brigade. However, the brigade did not respond, according to Haaretz. The Thursday petition came just days before settlers violently attacked both European diplomats and an American female journalist in the span of two days.

The operations room “is intended to receive reports from security personnel only, not civilians. It responds only to authorized personnel, who are not civilians”, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit told Haaretz, “there are other centers designated to receive complaints from civilians.”

The Israeli government did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

However, civilians allege there is not a functional mechanism for reporting settler violence.

Previously, Palestinians could contact the Civil Administration’s “humanitarian cell,” before its discontinuation. Yesh Din and other legal aid organizations were told to direct urgent requests to the District Coordination and Liaison Office or IDF’s regional operations rooms, Haaretz reported. Soon after the 2023 Israel-Hamas War began, regional operations rooms began telling callers that they could not receive information from civilians. The Civil Administration hotline and the public inquiries officer of Central Command — two other military channels, operate for only several hours per day, open only Sunday through Thursday.

One of these hotlines directs callers to an email address. The other sparsely replies and its replies often amount to callers being told the hotline is unable to help. Palestinian phone numbers cannot call the police emergency hotline at 100, and there are often no Arabic speakers available, the outlet reported.

Additionally, police require IDF escorts into the areas with the heaviest concentration of settler violence. The Palestinian police force has no authority to address the issue, according to Haaretz.

After the High Court intervened in 2024, a hotline staffed by a single operator was established. However, the phone number was not made public to Palestinians. The state claimed it was working to improve its communication and response system. However, some military hotlines now play a voicemail saying they have been disconnected, Yesh Din alleges.

“The military commander found no reason to change the existing channels for reporting emergency incidents or to establish an additional way to contact a military official directly,” the state responded to the High Court per Haaretz.

The IDF is responsible for responding to reports from both settlers and Palestinians. However, without a feasible manner for them to receive complaints from non-settlers or security officials, they are only able to operate on the settlers’ accounts.

“The reason the distress calls from activists in the village of Taybeh were ignored is that the army’s operations room is willing to receive information about emergencies and respond to them only when settlers call,” Yesh Din attorney Roni Peli told Haaretz. “Palestinians, activists, journalists and diplomats have no way to call for help, and the army refuses to take responsibility for their security.”