The rules of engagement changed in Israel Armed Forces in December 2021, said the head of the Media Center for Human Rights and Democracy, Omar Rahal.

New orders were issued that allow to open fire, even though Palestinians turn their backs and run after throwing stones, he expressed in statements to the Safa news agency.

The new strategy is related to the elections held last month and “the use of Palestinian blood as an electoral card,” he stressed.

Rahal criticized military impunity,pointing out that when a soldier kills in cold blood, no one punishes him legally, which, in turn, leads to more fatalities among Palestinians.

Following this complaint, the director of the Independent Human Rights Commission, Ammar Dweik, described the instructions to open fire indiscriminately as dangerous. “The aim is to give legal protection to the soldiers [occupants] and cover up their crimes against the Palestinian people,” he said.

Dweik explained that the rules of engagement essentially allow soldiers to “shoot and use deadly force whenener they sense the slightest suspicion.” Since then there has been an escalation of killings and executions, he stressed, and assured that the majority of the Palestinians killed did not represent any threat to the lives of the soldiers at the time of their murder.

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