By allowing its soldiers to fire live ammunition at rock throwers or Molotov cocktails, even if they no longer pose an immediate threat, the IDF has considerably relaxed its firing rules in the Palestinian territories of the West Bank. The information, revealed by state broadcaster Kan on December 19, was confirmed by several military spokespersons on condition of anonymity. In its public statements, the military maintains a form of vagueness : “The operating procedures are regularly updated if necessary. Being classified as defense secret, they cannot be published. “
Until now, the rules have only allowed the use of lethal force to prevent an impending attack. But under this new procedure, soldiers could shoot and “Neutralize” a Palestinian civilian who would endanger the lives of Israeli civilians simply because of his presence in the “combat zone”. It does not concern Israeli civilians: the latter benefiting from the protection of the civilian justice system, whereas it is the military regime that applies to Palestinians in the West Bank.
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, who called the new rules “Execution policy”, called for the urgent intervention of the international community. In theory, this authorization to shoot would run counter to international law as well as the overall framework of Israeli law, which only formally authorizes its soldiers to use their weapons if they believe that a life is in danger. .
“Transposition of reality on the ground”
This new rule “Does not constitute a change, but rather a transposition of the reality on the ground”, criticizes human rights organization B’Tselem. “In fact, the situation is already catastrophic: we are continuously documenting cases of civilians killed, even children, when they did not constitute any danger”, denounces Yael Stein, research director of the NGO.
“The principles of the rules of engagement are very clear. We learn them by heart, we remind them before each operation, says Nadav Weiman, a former sniper who now militates with Breaking the Silence, an organization of former soldiers who testify to their service in the armed forces. But, on the ground, there is what is called “the spirit of the commander”. At the end of the day, we do what we want. Everything is based on the behavior of the officers. “ With few consequences – the Israeli soldiers implicated in indiscriminate shootings are only very rarely sanctioned in view of the facts. “The military authorities are protecting themselves behind pages and pages of opaque legal language, which no one understands”, add Mme Stein, from B’Tselem.
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