Lieutenant Colonel (Res.) G., commander of Battalion 7114, the unit that operated last night to disperse settlers who entered a closed military area near Malak village and was attacked by them, addressed the incident, saying: "This is an ongoing incident, it didn't start yesterday." According to him, "We saw them choking one of the soldiers, I personally received punches, they stoned one of the vehicles, threatened our lives." He added: "They've brought us to a situation where 90% of our time in this place is spent preventing hilltop youth from setting areas on fire. Our mission is to protect residents and such friction events divert us."