WEST BANK — Maj Gen Avi Bluth, head of the Israeli army's central command, outlined and defended new rules of engagement permitting lethal force against Palestinians in the West Bank. He said troops under his command shot 42 Palestinian stone-throwers on West Bank roads last year.

"If someone comes to kill you, kill them first is the norm in the Middle East, so we're killing like we haven't killed since 1967," Bluth said. The 1967 war against Arab states resulted in the permanent occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.

Describing procedures along the separation barrier, he said it is currently permitted to detain a suspect by shooting him at the knee or below to create what he called "barrier awareness." He added that there are a lot of "limping monuments" in Palestinian villages of those who tried to cross the barrier. He justified the rules of engagement by saying that each illegal Palestinian worker was a "potential terrorist." Palestinians in the West Bank are subject to military law and extended detention without trial, while Israelis are judged by civilian courts.

He said the army did not shoot Jewish settler militants for throwing stones at motorists, and that on one occasion when a settler was wounded by army gunfire there was a public "ruckus." Referring to settler attackers, he said, "These people don't see Arabs as human beings and think it's possible to burn people alive, to burn houses down with their occupants inside, and unfortunately, they do this frequently."

Since 7 October 2023, Israeli settlers have conducted a campaign of violent intimidation of Palestinians in the West Bank aimed at driving them off their land, routinely abetted by the Israeli army, which is increasingly made up of soldiers and officers drawn from settlements. According to UN figures, 230 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces and settlers in 2025.

He warned of the possibility of a West Bank uprising. Thousands of Palestinians were killed in the second intifada from 2000 to 2005.