Israeli General Leaks Dual Standard Policy: Shoot Palestinians, Spare Settlers

Israeli Major General Avi Bluth, commander of Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, boasted about the success of Israeli policies in the territory in leaked remarks published by Haaretz last week. He declared that the military is 'killing like never before since 1967' and turning villages into 'conflict zones.' Notably, Bluth admitted Israel enforces a dual-standard shooting policy: actively avoiding shooting at Israeli settlers who throw stones at Israeli forces, while freely shooting at Palestinians who do the same.

Bluth stated: 'Stone-throwing is terrorism, not popular terrorism or grassroots – only popular dancing is a thing.' He said the military killed 42 Palestinian stone-throwers in 2025. Regarding shooting at Israeli settlers, he argued it should be avoided due to 'profound social consequences.' Al Jazeera contacted Bluth but received no response.

This dual-standard policy surprises no one living in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, nor human rights organizations. However, in an Israeli society tilting sharply to the right and growing increasingly nationalist, remarks like Bluth's are becoming a source of pride, regardless of the human cost.

Context shows ministers like Itamar Ben-Gvir celebrating a death penalty law targeting Palestinians, or Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich describing an Israeli government with Palestinian members as 'a thousand times worse' than the October 7, 2023 attack. Orly Noy, editor of the Local Call outlet, argues this is the process of the Israeli far-right gradually taking over institutions. She cites a 2018 report by Breaking the Silence showing Israeli soldiers in Area C were unaware of their duty to protect Palestinians from settler violence, and the situation is now worse.

In March, Israel passed a law allowing the death penalty only for Palestinians in the West Bank. A month earlier, Israel faced global criticism over a law leading to 'de facto annexation' of occupied territory, entrenching a system of separate legal regimes. Yair Dvir from B'Tselem stated: 'This is not new – this policy is the foundation of Israel's apartheid regime. What is new is that such statements have become normalized in political, military, and media circles. The feeling is that the international community does not stop Israel, the US supports it, so there is no reason to hide apartheid and ethnic cleansing policies.'

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 12 Palestinians have been killed in settler attacks since February 28 – the date Israel and the US first attacked Iran. Hundreds more have been injured and displaced. Meanwhile, the same agency recorded 10 Palestinians killed by settlers in all of 2025; the Israeli military killed at least 226 Palestinians in the same period.

Member of Knesset Aida Touma-Sliman of the Hadash party described a visit to the village of Duma near Nablus, site of a 2015 attack that killed three Palestinians. She said: 'This time, like 11 years ago, I felt the same despair and understood that no one protects them, they will face the settlers alone.' She hopes Israel's elections later this year can remove 'the fascists' from government.