Hilltop Youth were notified in advance about the evacuation of a hilltop encampment in Samaria, allowing them to prepare to block the forces' way and start a violent riot. Galei Tzahal reported on Tuesday that despite recurring incidents, the IDF refuses to answer whether it has opened investigations into how information about planned hilltop evacuations leaked. On Monday, security forces had to contend for hours with violent riots and road blocks while attempting to clear an illegal hilltop encampment in Samaria.
According to the report, the rioters knew in advance when the Border Police forces would depart and which base they would be leaving from. Using this information, they blocked roads with stones and burning tires at four locations ahead of time, in an effort to delay the forces. Additionally, approximately 150 people were called in to protest the evacuation and were already at the hilltop by the time the forces arrived. The report noted that this was not a one-off incident and that evacuation plans continuously leak from within the military and security forces, allowing opponents of the evacuation to prepare in advance.
Left out here: Leaves out what changes the picture
The article never says that 18 settlers were arrested on suspicion of assaulting security forces, or that weapons, incendiary materials and pepper spray were found in a seized vehicle. It describes the people at the hilltop as "called in to protest". Without these facts a reader may see an angry protest rather than a physical attack on the forces by armed settlers.
According to the report, the IDF's Information Security Department, charged with tracking down and preventing information leaks in the military, is unable to stop the phenomenon. Galei Tzahal contacted the IDF Spokesperson's Unit more than a month ago, seeking information on how many investigations had been opened in recent years following leaks concerning evacuation operations and what measures had been taken to prevent similar incidents from recurring.
However, despite repeated inquiries over more than a month, the IDF has not provided answers to the questions. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit also declined to comment on the report itself.
Arutz Sheva reports that settler Hilltop Youth were tipped off about the removal of an illegal outpost and blocked roads and rioted against the forces. It is frank that the riot was violent, but in its own voice it twice places the outpost in "Samaria", the occupation's name for the occupied West Bank, and calls the outpost a "hilltop encampment". It also never uses the word settler for the people who rioted.
Uses the occupation's words
Serious
“a hilltop encampment in Samaria”
Why this matters
In its opening sentence, in its own voice, Arutz Sheva places the outpost "in Samaria", the Israeli state's biblical name for the northern occupied West Bank.
The impression it gives
A reader takes the site to be in an Israeli region called Samaria, not in occupied Palestinian territory near the Palestinian town of Salfit.
The context
Other reports of the same event place the outpost near Salfit in the West Bank. The ICJ has found Israel's occupation of the West Bank unlawful and its settlements illegal. The article never names the West Bank or the occupation.
On the recordThe International Court of Justice's July 2024 advisory opinion found Israel's occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem unlawful.icj-cij.org (opens in a new tab)
On the recordThe International Court of Justice's July 2024 advisory opinion found Israel's settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal under international law.icj-cij.org (opens in a new tab)
Arutz Sheva repeats "in Samaria" in its own voice in the sentence that describes the operation itself. It calls the outpost illegal only in the sense of lacking Israeli authorisation.
The impression it gives
A reader understands the problem as one unauthorised camp inside Israeli-held land. They do not understand it as a settler outpost on occupied land, where every settlement is illegal under international law.
The context
Haaretz describes the same operations as removals of illegal settler outposts in the West Bank. The ICJ has found all Israel's settlements in the West Bank illegal.
On the recordThe International Court of Justice's July 2024 advisory opinion found Israel's settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal under international law.icj-cij.org (opens in a new tab)
Hilltop Youth settlers were notified in advance about the removal of an illegal settler outpost near Salfit in the occupied West Bank, which allowed them to block the forces' way and riot.
Uses a loaded word
Minor
“hilltop encampment”
Why this matters
Arutz Sheva calls the settler outpost a "hilltop encampment". The article never uses the word settler or outpost.
The impression it gives
A reader pictures a temporary camp of protesters on a hill, not settler construction on occupied land.
The context
The same day's reports call it an illegal outpost where settler construction was taking place inside a closed military zone, and they call the people arrested settlers.
The article never says that 18 settlers were arrested on suspicion of assaulting security forces, or that weapons, incendiary materials and pepper spray were found in a seized vehicle. It describes the people at the hilltop as "called in to protest". Without these facts a reader may see an angry protest rather than a physical attack on the forces by armed settlers.