The IDF on Wednesday published the conclusions of its inquiry into last week's friendly fire incident, during which troops from the Duvdevan Unit fired at a different group of soldiers from the unit during an arrest operation in the Old City of Nablus. There were no casualties as a result of the incident.
After misidentifying the other group as armed enemies on a rooftop, the soldiers, who were operating under the Samaria Regional Brigade, opened fire on them.
The inquiry, which was launched immediately after the incident and was examined by all ranks up to the Commander of the Central Command, Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth found that the incident stemmed from a navigation failure, which led the force into an area of operation belonging to the neighboring company, as it also conducted an operation. The troops only fired at the area of the building, and no additional attack means were used.
In light of the findings, several command measures were taken: the commander and sergeant of the squad that conducted the gunfire, which violated procedures, will be dismissed from their posts.
The unit’s deputy commander, the company commander, the deputy company commander, another squad commander, and a soldier will receive command reprimands from their direct superiors.
Maj. Gen. Bluth noted that "the Duvdevan Unit is an excellent counterterrorism unit which has been operating for many years to counter terrorism in Judea and Samaria, and has conducted hundreds of successful counterterrorism operations during the war. It will learn from the incident and improve the quality of its operations."
The IDF stated that the Duvdevan Unit will conduct a comprehensive review of all lessons learned and refine its operational procedures. In the week following the incident, the unit’s activities were scaled down temporarily until the required measures are completed.