Jono Maryono
Major-General Avi Bluth, the Israeli commander with responsibility for the occupied West Bank, had not known his comments would be leaked when he boasted of the success of Israel’s policies in the occupied territory. The army, he claimed in undated comments published by the Israeli liberal daily Haaretz last week, was “killing like we haven’t killed since 1967.” Israel, Bluth added, was “turning villages into conflict zones.” Critically, he also admitted to his audience what many had long known: that Israel was practicing a two-tier firing policy, actively avoiding firing at Israeli settlers throwing stones at Israeli forces, while freely firing at Palestinians doing the same.
“This [stone throwing] is terrorism, not popular or grassroots terrorism – there’s only popular [‘folk’] dancing,” Bluth said, adding that the military had killed 42 Palestinian stone-throwers in 2025. Firing at Israeli settlers, however, was to be avoided, he said, due to what he described as the “profound societal consequences” of doing so. Al Jazeera approached Bluth, via the Israeli authorities, for comment, but did not receive a reply at the time of writing.
Escalating Rhetoric Amidst Shifting Political Landscape
The stark admission of a bifurcated approach to violence in the occupied West Bank, as articulated by Major-General Avi Bluth, underscores a deeply entrenched system of differential treatment for Palestinians and Israeli settlers. While the existence of such a double standard has long been documented by human rights organizations and observed by residents of the occupied territories, Bluth’s public pronouncements, made with the apparent expectation of privacy, offer a rare glimpse into the mindset driving Israeli military policy. His statement that the army is "killing like we haven’t killed since 1967" suggests a significant escalation in lethal force deployed against Palestinians, a claim that warrants further scrutiny through independent data analysis and investigation.
The context of Bluth’s remarks is crucial. They emerge at a time when Israeli society, according to analysts, is undergoing a pronounced shift towards the right and an intensification of nationalistic sentiment. In this environment, comments that might have once been considered beyond the pale are increasingly being framed as indicators of strength and decisive action. This trend is mirrored in the public discourse and actions of senior government officials. For instance, Itamar Ben-Gvir, a prominent figure in the current Israeli government, has been reported to celebrate legislative advancements such as the passage of a death penalty law targeting Palestinians, with symbolic gestures that have drawn widespread criticism. Similarly, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has engaged in rhetoric that demonizes Palestinian participation in governance, drawing comparisons that many international observers have decried as inflammatory and dehumanizing.
Orly Noy, editor of the Hebrew-language publication Local Call, described this phenomenon as a process where the far-right has increasingly consolidated its influence over the country’s institutions. She stated, “This is nothing,” in reference to Bluth’s comments, suggesting that they are merely symptomatic of a broader and more pervasive ideological shift. Noy recalled a report published several years prior by the ex-soldier organization Breaking the Silence. This report, focusing on the experiences of Israeli soldiers in Area C of the West Bank – the portion under full Israeli civil and security control – revealed that many soldiers were unaware that a part of their duties involved protecting Palestinians from settler violence. The report indicated a disconnect between official military roles and the lived reality on the ground, and more importantly, a potential lack of awareness or concern among soldiers regarding the protection of Palestinian populations from settler aggression. Noy’s assertion that “People in Israel could live with it then; they really don’t care now” points to a significant erosion of public empathy or concern for the human rights implications of Israeli policies in the occupied territories, particularly in the aftermath of the events of October 7, 2023, and the subsequent military operations in Gaza.
Prejudice Embedded in Policy: A Legal Framework of Discrimination
The legal and policy landscape in the occupied West Bank has increasingly reflected and reinforced the discriminatory practices alluded to by Major-General Bluth. In March of the reported year, Israel enacted legislation that permits the imposition of the death penalty, a measure that, under its current application, exclusively targets Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. This legal development represents a stark departure from international norms and has been widely condemned as a tool of political repression.
Furthermore, a month prior to this, Israel introduced legislation that several countries characterized as ushering in the “de facto annexation” of the occupied territory. This move has been seen as a significant step in entrenching a bifurcated legal regime within the West Bank. Under this system, Palestinians, who have resided in the territory for generations, and Israeli settlers, who claim historical and religious ties to the land, are governed by separate and unequal legal frameworks. This institutionalization of separate legal systems for different populations within the same geographic area is a hallmark of apartheid, according to numerous human rights organizations and legal scholars.
Yair Dvir, representing the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, articulated this long-standing reality in an interview with Al Jazeera. He stated, “This isn’t new. These are the policies that have underpinned Israel’s apartheid for years.” Dvir highlighted that what has changed is the increasing normalization of such discriminatory sentiments and policies within mainstream Israeli discourse. He observed, “What’s new is that statements like this have become everyday comments for politicians, military leaders and those in the media.” This normalization, according to Dvir, stems from a perception that the international community’s response has been insufficient, and that unwavering support from the United States provides Israel with a degree of impunity. Consequently, he posited, “there is no longer any reason to hide the policies of apartheid and ethnic cleansing – on the contrary, it is something that leaders today are proud of.”
The Human Cost of Systemic Racism and Escalating Violence
The policies implemented in the occupied West Bank appear to be escalating further, with some analysts suggesting this intensification is occurring under the cover of the broader geopolitical context, including regional tensions and international conflicts. Official figures compiled by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) provide a stark illustration of the human cost of this escalating violence. Since February 28, coinciding with the initiation of strikes by Israel and the United States on Iran, 12 Palestinians have been killed in settler attacks in the West Bank. During the same period, hundreds of others have sustained injuries, and numerous families have been displaced from their homes due to settler aggression.
To contextualize this alarming figure, OCHA recorded a total of 10 Palestinian fatalities resulting from settler violence across the entirety of 2025. In stark contrast, during that same year, the Israeli military was responsible for the deaths of at least 226 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. This disparity in casualty figures between settler-perpetrated violence and state-sanctioned military operations highlights the complex and often intertwined nature of violence in the occupied territories.
Aida Touma-Sliman, a Member of Knesset representing the left-wing Hadash party, described a recent visit to the village of Duma, situated near Nablus in the occupied West Bank. Duma gained tragic notoriety in 2015 when a settler attack resulted in the deaths of three Palestinians, including the infant Ali Dawabsheh, who was burned alive in his home. Reflecting on her visit, Touma-Sliman stated, “I visited Duma after the attack 11 years ago, and I visited it this week. Both times, I felt the same sense of hopelessness and an understanding that nobody was there to defend them and they would face these settlers alone.” Her words encapsulate the profound sense of vulnerability and lack of protection experienced by Palestinian communities in the face of persistent settler violence.
While the ultimate aspiration for the Palestinian population in the West Bank remains the complete termination of the occupation, Touma-Sliman expressed a degree of cautious optimism rooted in the prospect of upcoming Israeli elections. She stated, “The only hope I have, and it’s a slight one, is that, in the elections later this year, we will finally vote these fascists out from government and perhaps begin cleaning up all of the mess they’ve made.” This sentiment reflects a desire for a political shift that could potentially alter the trajectory of Israeli policy and lead to a more just and equitable future for all inhabitants of the occupied territories. The upcoming electoral cycle, therefore, represents a critical juncture, with significant implications for the future of Israeli-Palestinian relations and the possibility of de-escalating the pervasive cycle of violence and discrimination.
