Israeli Military Confessions: West Bank a Scene of 'Open Killing' and Systemic Discrimination in Favor of Settlers

Hebrew press reports, based on internal statements by military officials, revealed that the occupied West Bank has moved beyond traditional security tension to become a stage for implementing a new model of absolute control. Three dangerous trends intersect in this reality: lenient rules of engagement towards Palestinians, judicial leniency with settler terrorism, alongside a systematic economic strangulation policy aimed at undermining the Palestinian Authority.

In a rare confession reflecting the depth of racial discrimination, Major General Avi Balot, commander of the Central Command in the occupation army, admitted to double standards in dealing with stone-throwers based on their national identity. Balot explained that his army hesitates to open fire on settlers due to what he described as 'serious social repercussions,' while Palestinians are treated as immediate military targets.

Leaked data indicates that the criterion for danger in the West Bank is no longer linked to the act committed, but to the identity of the perpetrator; a Palestinian who throws a stone may face death by soldiers' bullets. In contrast, settler attacks are dealt with within complex political and social calculations that often ensure their protection and impunity.

The military commander revealed strict instructions implemented near friction zones, where soldiers are allowed to shoot and injure suspected Palestinians in their lower extremities. Balot boasted about the existence of what he described as 'memorials' for Palestinian workers who tried to infiltrate to work inside the Green Line and were shot by soldiers, considering it a field deterrent.

The confessions culminated in Balot's statement, in which he confirmed that killing rates in the West Bank have reached levels not seen in the region since 1967. He indicated that the army killed about 1500 Palestinians during the last three years, claiming that a very small percentage of them were 'innocent,' in an attempt to justify the expanded use of lethal force.

In a related context, reports showed that in 2025 alone, 42 Palestinians were killed by occupation forces on the pretext of throwing stones at settlement roads. Stone-throwing has transformed from a popular protest act into a legal and military justification for preemptive killing, making the West Bank an open arena for constant targeting without the need for political or legal cover.

Regarding settler terrorism, media sources quoted Balot describing their attacks as 'Jewish terrorism,' especially after three Palestinian villages were burned for three consecutive nights. Despite the gravity of these crimes, which included burning homes and vehicles, the occupation authorities arrested only a very limited number of participants and released them on flimsy guarantees.

This security and judicial impasse is exacerbated by political decisions taken by Defense Minister Yisrael Katz, who halted the use of administrative detention against settlers involved in acts of violence. This decision significantly restricted the security agencies' tools in dealing with extremist settler groups, giving them a green light to continue their systematic attacks against Palestinian villages.

Military complicity was not limited to turning a blind eye to violence but extended to supporting field settlement expansion through the establishment of 150 settlement farms in coordination with the army. Military commanders considered these farms a strategic tool to prevent what they described as 'illegal Palestinian construction' in Area C, thus entrenching the reality of creeping annexation.

Economically, the occupation authorities continue their financial strangulation policy by withholding huge sums of Palestinian clearance funds, estimated at about 14 billion shekels. These confiscated amounts are increasing at a rate of 400 million shekels per month, placing the Palestinian Authority in a suffocating liquidity crisis that threatens its ability to meet its basic obligations towards citizens.

These financial policies, in addition to preventing thousands of workers from reaching their workplaces, have led to a sharp deterioration in living conditions in the West Bank. Since October 2023, the number of Palestinian workers in the occupied interior has sharply decreased, depriving the Palestinian economy of cash flows that exceeded one billion shekels per month.

International data indicates that economic pressures have pushed workers to risk their lives through rugged smuggling routes, leading to dozens of deaths and injuries by occupation forces. Here, financial policy converges with military orders to create a hostile and deadly environment for Palestinians, where the search for a livelihood becomes an adventure that may end in death.

For their part, Israeli analysts believe that what is happening in the West Bank is a 'decisive project' that seeks to radically and permanently change the face of the region away from the spotlight. This project, led by the religious nationalist right, aims to impose full Israeli sovereignty and transform political shocks into opportunities to displace Palestinians or subjugate them to a new reality.

The reports conclude that Israel no longer manages the West Bank with a temporary security logic, but according to a comprehensive vision that reshapes the relationship with the land and its inhabitants. In this context, the Palestinian is treated as a constant threat that must be neutralized, while the violent settler is seen as part of the social fabric that must be contained, placing the entire region on the verge of an imminent explosion.

We are killing as we have not killed since 1967; the West Bank is no longer just a scene of tension but has become a laboratory for a deeper transformation in the structure of Israeli control.