Occupied Palestine (QNN)- A senior Israeli military commander has openly acknowledged that Israeli forces apply different rules when dealing with Jewish and Palestinian stone-throwers in the occupied West Bank. The remarks, reported by Haaretz, expose further details about Israel’s routine killing of dozens of Palestinian children, often on accusations of stone-throwing.
According to the report, Major General Avi Bluth, head of Israel’s Central Command, admitted that soldiers do not immediately open fire on Jewish individuals who throw stones due to what he described as “sociological implications.” In contrast, native Palestinians face far harsher measures under the same circumstances.
Bluth made the comments during a closed forum, where he outlined recent changes to the army’s open-fire regulations. He said the military has expanded its authority to use live fire against native Palestinians, particularly those accused of attempting to cross the separation barrier. He said that soldiers can now carry out arrest procedures that include shooting at the lower body, specifically “from the knee down,” in order to create what he called a “deterrent consciousness.”
He pointed to the visible consequences of this policy in Palestinian cillages. “There are many ‘limping monuments’ in villages,” Bluth said, referring to Palestinians who sustained permanent injuries after being shot while allegedly trying to cross the barrier. He framed these injuries as a deliberate signal meant to impose a “price” on such actions.
Bluth went further by highlighting the scale of lethal force used by Israeli troops. “We are killing like we haven’t killed since 1967,” he said boasting, referencing the year of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank. His statement underscores a sharp escalation in the use of deadly force in recent months.
The remarks come amid mounting reports of rising Palestinian casualties. According to figures cited in the same context, Israeli forces killed at least 55 Palestinian children in the West Bank in 2025 alone, marking one of the deadliest years on record for children in the territory. Human rights groups have repeatedly warned that relaxed rules of engagement contribute directly to this surge.
Bluth’s statements provide rare insight into the internal logic guiding Israeli military operations in the West Bank. H words amount to a clear admission of institutional discrimination, where enforcement depends on identity rather than action. Legal experts say such policies may violate international law, which requires equal protection and prohibits excessive use of force against civilians.
