Yedioth Ahronoth: Israel Changed Rules of Engagement Against Palestinians in the West Bank

Translation by SadaNews - A report published in the Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth confirmed on Friday that the Israeli army and special units of its police have changed the rules of engagement concerning Palestinians after October 7, 2023.

According to the newspaper, as translated by SadaNews, previously, the shooting at stone throwers and Molotov cocktail throwers was ignored except in cases of genuine danger to the lives of soldiers or settlers, but this rule has changed in another direction.

According to the newspaper, soldiers and police officers have been authorized to open fire on Palestinians attempting to throw stones and Molotov cocktails.

The newspaper revealed that the Israeli army decided not to punish its soldiers who killed Palestinians, including a sanitation worker, and another who was in a car, evidencing through a video that he did not plan any act of running over as the soldiers initially reported, about two weeks ago in Hebron, south of the West Bank.

It indicated that the Israeli military command in the West Bank has assured its soldiers that "any terrorist attempting to inflict harm must be killed, even if they are throwing stones," as translated by SadaNews.

The Israeli army claimed that as a result of this strict policy, deterrence among Palestinians has increased, allowing its forces to raid refugee camps in the West Bank, such as Balata camp, even in broad daylight, without soldiers facing any gunfire, noting that before October 7, 2023, every entry into a refugee camp was accompanied by gunfire at its forces.

Despite this, the Israeli army is concerned about the increasing number of stones and Molotov cocktails being thrown by Palestinians at Israeli vehicles on the roads of the West Bank, prompting it to intensify efforts to thwart their plans by setting ambushes at vulnerable points, the Hebrew newspaper says.

It noted that the Israeli army identifies areas in the West Bank that witness dozens of attacks weekly through stone throwing or Molotov cocktails, granting its forces in those areas the freedom to kill anyone attempting to carry out attacks.