Israel Expands Rules of Engagement in the West Bank, Making It Easier to Kill Palestinian Civilians

While the Israeli occupation army claimed that “there has been no change in the rules of engagement,” a senior security source, who remained unnamed, told the newspaper that the change was initiated by senior officers in the Central Command. The security establishment estimates that “the large number of uninvolved individuals who have been killed recently is exceptional.”

According to Haaretz, Israeli commanders and soldiers stated that Blot authorized occupation forces to shoot to kill anyone “tampering with the ground” (meaning watching or intending to place an explosive device) without needing to carry out an arrest in such cases.

The new rules, according to Israeli claims, are meant to “prevent operatives in terrorist organizations” (referring to resistance groups) in the West Bank from planting explosive devices on roads used by Israeli military forces. However, sources involved in the fighting stated that these broad rules have made soldiers in the field more trigger-happy.

Occupation soldiers are also implementing another change in the rules of engagement, based on the directives of West Bank Division commander Yaki Dolf. Haaretz reported, citing its sources, that since the beginning of the current Israeli assault in the northern occupied West Bank on January 21, the Israeli army has allowed residents of areas where it operates to evacuate, even using vehicles.

However, Israeli commanders and soldiers told the newspaper that Brigadier General Dolf instructed troops that they are allowed to open live fire on any vehicle coming from a combat zone toward checkpoints, to force the driver to stop before reaching the checkpoint.

Israeli commanders and soldiers participating in the assault on the occupied West Bank highlighted some of the difficult cases resulting from the expansion of the rules of engagement by the Central Command. One of the occupation’s crimes occurred on Sunday when soldiers opened fire on a man and a woman who was eight months pregnant as they arrived in their car at a military checkpoint in the Tulkarm area.

The initial investigation revealed that the man was shot inside the car without attempting to bypass the checkpoint or posing any threat to the soldiers. Meanwhile, his pregnant wife, 23-year-old Sundus Shalabi, managed to exit the vehicle but was shot three times in the chest, leading to her martyrdom and the failed attempt to save her unborn baby. According to the initial Israeli army investigation, soldiers claimed the pregnant woman “looked suspiciously at the ground,” despite the fact that she was unarmed and no weapons or explosives were found in her vicinity.

Copying Tactics Used in Gaza to the West Bank

The newspaper quoted a military source involved in the West Bank assault, who remained anonymous, saying: “Anyone killed today in the West Bank is considered someone ‘tampering with the ground,’ even if they weren’t digging at that moment or carrying a weapon that would indicate an intent to plant an explosive device.”

According to commanders and soldiers in the field, the Central Command of the Israeli army decided to copy tactics previously used in Gaza to the West Bank. A field officer told Haaretz: “Jabalia has turned into an operational capability that is being brought into every arena” (referring to its replication), adding that “the Central Command was not part of the war in Gaza, and they are trying to make up for that.”

Another young woman, 21-year-old Rahaf Al-Ashqar, was martyred on Sunday by Israeli occupation gunfire. Soldiers and commanders who spoke to the Hebrew newspaper attributed her killing to the new lenient approach to using deadly force. Al-Ashqar was killed by an explosive device planted by Israeli soldiers at the door of her home in the Noor Shams refugee camp near Tulkarm.

The initial Israeli army investigation revealed that forces operating in the area decided to plant an explosive device at the door to breach the house. According to the Israeli army’s claims, the force had intelligence that a “suspect” was residing in the house.

The Israeli occupation army claimed that “before the raid, the forces called on the residents to leave the house, and when no one exited, the troops breached the door using explosives.” However, sources familiar with the details of the investigation told Haaretz that the forces did not inform the residents of their intention to storm the building before planting the explosive device at the entrance. After placing it, Al-Ashqar opened the door, causing the explosive to detonate and resulting in her martyrdom.

According to testimonies from sources familiar with the incident, after the explosion, the Israeli forces carried out a procedure involving the use of “uninvolved civilians” to inspect buildings, similar to practices in Gaza—essentially using them as human shields. In this case, the Israeli army randomly selected a resident from the refugee camp and forced him to approach Al-Ashqar’s body to document the site and ensure no additional explosives were present.

Two days earlier, seven-year-old child Saddam Hussein Iyad Rajab succumbed to his wounds after being shot by the Israeli occupation army about ten days ago while he was in his grandfather’s house in the Tulkarm refugee camp. His shooting was documented in a video, which shows him collapsing to the ground and screaming in pain. Initially, the Israeli army claimed that the forces suspected Rajab of “tampering with the ground” in a suspicious manner, which led them to shoot him.

This is not the first time that the Israeli occupation army has shot children for allegedly looking at or “tampering with” the ground. Last month, eight-year-old Reda and ten-year-old Hamza Bisharat, along with their 23-year-old cousin Adam Bisharat, were killed in a drone strike. A military source told Haaretz that the field force mistakenly believed the three were planting explosive devices. The request to attack them was escalated up the chain of command until it was approved by Central Command leader Avi Blot.