Israeli Army Expands Open-fire Orders in West Bank, Leading to Surge in Palestinian Civilian Deaths
The IDF Central Command has expanded its open-fire orders in the operation in the West Bank, resulting in a high number of deaths of Palestinian civilians, according to Israeli army sources.
The IDF responded that "There has been no change in the open-fire orders," and a defense source told Haaretz that it was merely an initiative by senior officers in the Central Command. The defense establishment believes that the recent large number of non-combatant deaths is an anomaly.
Commanders and soldiers who spoke to Haaretz say the commander of the army's Central Command, Maj.-Gen. Avi Bluth, and the commander of the Judea and Samaria Division, Brig.-Gen. Yaakov Dolf, issued the changes in orders.
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According to them, Maj.-Gen. Bluth ordered that IDF forces may shoot to kill anyone "messing with the ground" and that there is no need to apply the procedure for arresting a suspect in these cases. The order's objective is to prevent terrorists in the West Bank from planting explosive devices on roads where IDF forces operate, but combat sources say that the expanded order has made soldiers on the ground "trigger-happy."
Another change in the open-fire orders taking place on the ground was made by Brig.-Gen. Dolf. Since the start of the current operation in the northern West Bank on January 21, the IDF allows residents in areas where it is operating to evacuate by car from the combat zones. The army sources told Haaretz that Brig.-Gen. Dolf ordered that forces may fire live rounds at any vehicle coming toward a checkpoint from a combat zone to force the driver to stop before reaching it.
IDF Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi (right), alongside Judea and Samaria Division Commander Yaakov Dolf and Central Command Commander Avi Bluth in February.Credit: IDF Spokesperson's Unit
They say that the expanded open-fire orders by the Central Command have resulted in several serious incidents. In one incident on Sunday, soldiers shot to death a man and woman in her eighth month of pregnancy, when they drove in their car toward an IDF checkpoint near Tul Karm.
The IDF's preliminary investigation found that the man was shot and killed inside the car without trying to breach the checkpoint or threaten the soldiers. His pregnant wife, Sundus Shalabi, 23, was able to get out of the car and was shot three times in the chest. The Palestinian Health Ministry said rescue teams were unable to save the life of the fetus.
According to the investigation, the pregnant woman "looked suspiciously at the ground." She was unarmed, and no weapons were found near her that might have served as evidence she was trying to place an explosive device.
"Everyone who is killed today in Judea and Samaria is someone who is 'messing with the ground,' even if he's not standing there digging at that moment, or doesn't have a weapon on him that could lead to suspicion that he intends to plant an explosive device," an army source operating in the West Bank said.
The Israeli army sets off an explosive in the Nur al-Shams refugee camp on Sunday.Credit: Majdi Mohammed / AP
Commanders and soldiers on the ground say that the Central Command decided to copy operating methods used in Gaza in the West Bank. "Jabalya has become an operational capability that is brought to every front," an officer told Haaretz, "Central Command was not part of the fighting in Gaza, and they're trying to narrow the gaps."
Another young woman was killed by IDF fire on Sunday. The army sources say she was killed because of the new lenient approach to use of lethal force. Rahaf Al-Ashkar, 21, was killed by an explosive charge at the entrance to her home in the Nur A-Shams refugee camp near Tul Karm. The preliminary IDF investigation found that a force operating at the scene decided to place an explosive charge on the house's door in order to breach it. The IDF Spokesperson's Office said the force had intelligence that a suspected terrorist was inside.
The office said, "Before the breach, the forces told the house's residents to leave, and when no one left, they used an explosive charge to break down the door." But sources said the forces did not tell residents of the home of their intention to enter before placing the explosive charge on the door. After they placed the explosive, Al-Ashkar opened the door, which set off the device, killing her.
Sources familiar with the incident said, following the explosion, the force used a civilian to check the buildings, similar to the procedure in Gaza, which Haaretz disclosed in August. The soldiers selected at random a resident of the refugee camp to check the scene and make sure that no other explosive charge had been placed that the soldiers were unaware of.
On Saturday, Saddam Hussein Iyad Rajab, 7, died of his wounds from IDF fire ten days earlier at his grandfather's home in the Tul Karm refugee camp. The shooting was documented, with the video showing him falling to the ground screaming in pain. The IDF initially claimed that forces thought that Rajab "was messing with the ground" in a suspicious way, which was why the forces shot him. The Military Police is investigating the circumstances of the boy's death and the conduct of the forces in the incident.
Saddam Hussein Iyad Rajab
This is not the first time that IDF forces have shot dead minors suspected of "messing with the ground." In January, Reda and Hamza Basharat, aged 8 and 10, and their 23-year-old cousin were killed in a drone strike. After the strike, an army source told Haaretz the force on the ground mistakenly thought that they were planting an explosive device and their request for the strike went up the chain of command until Maj.-Gen. Bluth approved it.
Reda Basharat, left, and Hamza Basharat
The IDF investigation ruled, "On the basis of identification at the time of the incident, it was difficult to identify that these were minors." The Military Advocate General has not yet decided whether to open a Military Police investigation, and no command steps have been taken following the children's deaths.
The IDF Spokesperson's Office said in response that the forces in the West Bank are "operating as necessary against terrorists who are a threat, both by planting explosive devices and throwing explosive devices at the forces," and that the Central Command chief approved "the use of all the means available to the forces pursuant to the open-fire rules with respect to suspects in vehicles."
The office added, "So far as is known, there have been no casualties in the operation as the result of shooting of this kind." As mentioned above, two people, including a pregnant woman, were killed in such shooting on Sunday.