The IDF and Israel Police are at odds over the findings uncovered during a raid on Qalqilya on Wednesday night. The police doubled down on Thursday on its report that a "tunnel" was uncovered during the raid, hours after the IDF denied it and even publicly criticized the report.
The dispute began after the police announced that a tunnel was located during a raid in Qalqilya. Later, the IDF stated that two shafts were located, but an inspection ruled out the existence of a tunnel route.
The IDF voiced unusual criticism of the police's statement: "Contrary to official and irresponsible announcements on the matter, following the inspection of the shafts, the existence of a tunnel was ruled out, and the shafts were not near the seamline zone."
Later in the day, the police issued an additional detailed statement, in which it does not back down from its use of the word "tunnel." The statement also included footage of a police officer in the deep shaft that was uncovered during the operation.
According to the police, four suspects were arrested in the Judea and Samaria District and Border Police operation in Qalqilya. A court extended the detentions of two of them, Israeli Arabs, and the other two suspects are expected to be brought before a military court.
The police stressed that the operation was launched after the Samaria Crime Fighting Unit received intelligence on the matter and that the IDF approved the operation plan. It further claimed that the statement released after the operation was "accurate and based on reliable facts."
The IDF then responded to the police's statement with a video of its own, showing the inspection of the scene, and claimed that the "shaft" was approximately 12 meters deep.
A., the unit’s intelligence coordinator, said that he personally entered the site that was uncovered: “We located a large tunnel entrance covered with burlap and monitored by closed-circuit cameras. I personally entered the tunnel to assess its characteristics and size as far as possible."
“Among the findings at the scene, various weapons, other weaponry and a sack of potassium fertilizer, a material used, among other things, to manufacture explosive devices, were located and seized," he added.
The police continued to refer to the site as a “tunnel" later in their statement and noted that after the operation, IDF professionals arrived with specialized equipment to handle the findings.
Judea and Samaria District commander Deputy Commissioner Moshe Pinchi emphasized the cooperation with the military while standing by the police statements.
“Cooperation between the Israel Police, particularly the Judea and Samaria District, and the IDF and Central Command is very good. That has been the case and will continue to be the case. Naturally, professional disagreements sometimes arise, all in pursuit of our shared objective: protecting the public in Judea and Samaria and throughout the country through prevention efforts and precise offensive operations."
Pinchi concluded with a message that appeared to respond directly to the IDF’s criticism: “At the same time, I am confident that every report issued on our behalf is accurate and fact-based."