Israel killing Palestinians ‘like we haven't since 1967’, top commander says

“Israel killing Palestinians ‘like we haven't since 1967’, top commander says Submitted by Nadav Rapaport on Mon, 05/04/2026 - 13:41 West Bank commander boasts about high death toll and defends looser rules of engagement, including firing at unarmed Palestinians An Israeli soldier stands on guard during an army raid at a cafe in the Rafidia neighbourhood of Nablus in the occupied West Bank on 23 April 2026 (Nasser Ishtayeh / SOPA Images via Reuters) Off Israel ’s top commander in the occupied West Bank has said the army is killing Palestinians at levels “not seen since 1967”, according to Haaretz . Avi Bluth, head of the Israeli army’s Central Command, made the remarks in a closed forum, where he also defended looser rules of engagement allowing troops to fire at unarmed Palestinians. He acknowledged a discriminatory approach whereby Jewish Israeli stone-throwers are not targeted while Palestinians carrying out similar acts are fired at. "In three years, we have killed 1,500 terrorists," he said, referring to Palestinians. "So how is there no intifada? Why aren’t they taking to the streets? Why is the Palestinian public indifferent? Why are there no disturbances?" Bulth, a settler who has been the Israeli army commander in the West Bank since 2024, added. "The Arabs understand that ‘if someone rises to kill you, kill him first’ is part of the rules of the Middle East, and therefore we are killing like we have not killed since 1967." According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha), since 7 October 2023, Israel has killed 1,081 Palestinians in the West Bank and the occupied East Jerusalem, including at least 235 children. Bluth attributed the high number of Palestinian deaths to orders he gave, which made it easier for Israeli soldiers to open fire at civilians. He said troops are permitted to shoot, from the knee down, at Palestinians attempting to cross the West Bank separation barrier. "Today, there are many ‘limping memorials’ in Palestinian villages of those who tried to infiltrate and got hit, so there is a price that is paid," Bluth said, according to Haaretz. Preferential treatment for settlers Bluth admitted that his subordinates do not shoot Israelis who throw stones at army forces because of "sociological implications," while they kill Palestinians who do the same. He added that in 2025, Israeli forces killed 42 Palestinians accused of stone-throwing, which he described as terrorism. When shown footage of settlers throwing stones at troops, he cited an incident in which two masked Israelis were shot, noting it caused a public outcry. Bluth's remarks come amid growing discontent about his actions among hilltop youth, the settler militias who terrorise Palestinians communities in the West Bank, who view him as yielding to left-wing and international pressure. Ex-Mossad chief says Israeli settler violence reminds him of the Holocaust Read More » Last week, Haaretz reported that Bluth labelled the growing numbers of settler attacks as "terror," and criticised hilltop youth who establish outposts without coordinating it first with the army's command. Bluth added that the army, with the coordination of the settlers, established some 150 outposts in Area C in the West Bank in recent years, which he alleged helped prevent Palestinian “terror” and building expansion. Last week, Knesset Member Limor Son Har-Melech, a vocal supporter of the settler militias, called Israel Defence Minister Israel Katz to immediately fire Bluth from his post over his remarks. Meanwhile, the Israeli NGO Peace Now reported on Sunday that the Israeli government assigned some 130 million shekels to those same settler groups under the guise of curbing settler violence. The funds were allocated towards “reducing risk situations and expanding positive responses for youth in the Judea and Samaria area,” using the Israeli name for the West Bank. Peace Now said the funds will, in practice, be used to strengthen the settlements and “channel millions” to their regional councils. "The government uses every excuse to justify pouring more and more millions into settlements. This is a programme to expand settlements under the guise of combating violence," Peace Now statement said. "The government is directing a significant portion of the funds to the same actors and activities that currently serve as the main supporters of the outposts and farms from which the violence originates," the NGO added, calling on the government to stop the funds and the army and police to stop the violent acts. Israel's genocide in Gaza Tel Aviv, Israel News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

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