IDF Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth has ordered the military to stop notifying Palestinian Authority security forces before troops enter Palestinian Authority-controlled villages to carry out arrest operations, search for weapons, and conduct security sweeps, according to a report in Makor Rishon. The decision was made following concerns raised by personnel in the field that information provided to PA security officials was being passed on to terrorists, helping them evade arrest and conceal weapons stockpiles.
According to the report, the IDF has observed an increase in the number of weapons seized during military operations since it stopped providing advance notifications to the Palestinian security forces. The military's decision follows an Arutz Sheva report revealing that information about planned IDF operations had been reaching terrorists as a result of the coordination mechanism that remained in place until recently. Hilltop activist Elisha Yered, a resident of Ramat Migron, warned about the procedure, which he said could endanger IDF soldiers and undermine their ability to surprise terrorists during operations in Judea and Samaria.
He described how details of planned military operations were passed to Palestinian security forces in advance and then appeared within minutes on Arabic-language Telegram channels that monitor IDF movements. The IDF denied the allegations following the original report, but it now appears that the advance notifications, which had been provided in accordance with directives from the political leadership, have been discontinued entirely.
Arutz Sheva drops the attribution in its headline, so a single Makor Rishon report and its stated motive read as settled fact. It also states in its own voice that information 'had been reaching terrorists', a claim its own last sentence says the army denied. It describes raids into Palestinian villages as 'security sweeps' and uses 'Judea and Samaria', and never says the West Bank is occupied.
Headline goes beyond the article
Serious
“Fearing leaks to terrorists, IDF stops informing PA about arrest operations”
Why this matters
The headline states, with no attribution, both that the army has stopped informing the PA and that it did so 'fearing leaks to terrorists'.
The impression it gives
A reader believes the decision and its motive are confirmed facts announced by the army.
The context
The body rests everything on 'a report in Makor Rishon' and on 'concerns raised by personnel in the field'. Its final sentence only says the change 'now appears' to have happened. The headline drops all of that hedging.
How we know
Elsewhere in the article“according to a report in Makor Rishon”
Elsewhere in the article“it now appears that the advance notifications”
Elsewhere in the article“following concerns raised by personnel in the field”
Israeli army reportedly stops notifying PA before raids, Makor Rishon says.
States one side's claim as fact
Serious
“revealing that information about planned IDF operations had been reaching terrorists”
Why this matters
Arutz Sheva says its own earlier report was 'revealing' that information 'had been reaching terrorists'. That presents the allegation as proven, and it labels the unnamed Palestinians targeted for arrest as terrorists in the outlet's own voice.
The impression it gives
A reader believes it is established that the coordination leaked to armed men, and that the people sought in these raids are terrorists.
The context
The article's own closing sentence says the army denied these allegations. The only named source for the leak claim is a settler activist. The claim is contested, and the article offers no evidence that anyone arrested is what the outlet calls them.
How we know
Elsewhere in the article“The IDF denied the allegations following the original report”
Elsewhere in the article“warned about the procedure, which he said could endanger”
Arutz Sheva describes armed incursions into Palestinian villages as 'security sweeps' and 'arrest operations'. These are the army's own terms.
The impression it gives
A reader believes these are routine policing actions rather than raids by an occupying force into Palestinian villages.
The context
These are raids by Israeli occupation forces into Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank, an occupation the ICJ has ruled unlawful. The article never uses the word occupied or raid.
How we know
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)
Checked against the whole articleIt never uses the words “occupied”, “occupation” and “raid”.
Arutz Sheva paraphrases the activist without quotation marks and uses the term 'Judea and Samaria' for the occupied West Bank in its own sentence.
The impression it gives
A reader is given the settler movement's name for the territory as a neutral place name, with no sign that it is occupied.
The context
The territory is the occupied West Bank. The ICJ found the occupation unlawful and the settlements illegal. Nowhere does the article name the West Bank or the occupation.
How we know
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)
Troops will no longer notify Palestinian Authority security forces before raiding villages in the occupied West Bank to make arrests and search for weapons.