A senior Israeli commander has said Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank are killing Palestinians at levels “not seen since 1967,”.
Maj Gen Avi Bluth, head of Israel’s Central Command in the West Bank, reportedly defended expanded open-fire rules during a closed military meeting.
Bluth said Israeli troops had killed 42 Palestinian stone-throwers over the past year, describing them as terrorists, while acknowledging that Jewish settlers involved in similar acts were not treated the same because of “serious societal consequences.”
Bluth also reportedly said soldiers could shoot Palestinians in the legs near the separation barrier, referring to injured people in villages as “limping monuments,”. The comments have intensified criticism of Israel’s conduct in the West Bank, where UN figures say Israeli forces and settlers killed 230 Palestinians in 2025.
