The Military Police and Department of Internal Police Investigations have opened an investigation following a serious incident that occurred on Monday night near the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, when a grenade exploded at a joint guard post of the IDF and the Military Police.
Kan News reported that a preliminary investigation revealed that a female Military Police fighter, who was on guard duty in the Cave of the Patriarchs, came to the post where the IDF soldiers were and asked one of the soldiers to see the grenade he was holding. Believing that it was a dummy or practice grenade, she pulled out the safety catch and dropped it to the floor.
The soldiers immediately shouted "grenade" and took cover behind a nearby wall and inside the guard post. A few seconds later, the grenade exploded and the female fighter was injured by shrapnel. Her condition is now listed as light.
The IDF defined the incident as "arms play" and emphasized that it could have ended in a major disaster.
Following the incident, all Military Police commanders were instructed to give their soldiers safety lessons, with an emphasis on the use of weapons during routine, training and operational activities.