IDF confirms soldiers numbered Palestinian suspects in West Bank op., says 'lessons were drawn'

IDF soldiers wrote numbers on the bodies of Palestinian suspects during a Monday operation in the West Bank village of Kabatiya near Jenin, Army Radio reported on Tuesday morning.

In response, the IDF told Army Radio that "security forces marked suspects who were being interrogated as part of the operation."

Following this, the commanders explained, "the seriousness of the act was explained to the soldiers, and lessons were drawn from the matter."

On Monday, the IDF announced that it had detained two terrorists and raided more than 100 houses in the area of Kabatiya.

The two terrorists are suspected of planning and promoting terrorist plots to harm the citizens of the State of Israel and the IDF, the military said.

The IDF has come under heavy scrutiny for its actions in the Palestinian village of Kusra near Nablus. 

West Bank civilian enforcement to transfer from IDF to police

Also on Monday, Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that the military will present a plan for the transfer within the next two weeks, after initially announcing its intention to transfer the authority on Friday. 

“We will not allow violence or unauthorized parties to take the law into their own hands,” Katz said.

In his response, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir hailed Katz's decision, noting it to be a "significant step toward [implementing] Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank.

Ben-Gvir said he had requested that all responsibility for the area be transferred from the IDF to the Israel Police, including handing over responsibility for the Border Police's Judea and Samaria Division from the military to the police, "in accordance with the coalition agreement that has so far been violated."