Israeli Central Command Chief Acknowledges Disparate Enforcement and High Lethal Force in West Bank

Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, commander of the IDF Central Command, told a closed forum that the army uses a suspect-arrest procedure in the West Bank’s seam zone that permits firing at the knee or below. He also noted that IDF forces have killed 1,500 individuals he classifies as terrorists over three years.

Times of Israel

The remarks come amid heightened settler violence, the establishment of roughly 150 outposts in Area C with army coordination, and a November 2024 decision by Defense Minister Israel Katz to end administrative detention for West Bank settlers. The government simultaneously earmarked 130 million shekels for settler councils under a “risk-reduction” program. These dynamics have intensified scrutiny of IDF rules of engagement.

Key figures include Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, Defense Minister Israel Katz, Knesset member Limor Son Har-Melech, the NGO Peace Now, Israeli settlers and roughly 4,000 Palestinian administrative detainees.

IDF reports 1,500 killed (96 % terrorists, 4 % non-terrorists; 70 % armed). There are 4,000 Palestinian administrative detainees, no Israeli equivalents, and 130 million shekels allocated to settlements. The outpost count is estimated at about 150 in Area C.

Times of Israel

Bluth framed the differentiated rules as a response to potential sociological fallout from lethal force against Israelis. Defense Minister Katz’s policy limits administrative detention to Palestinians. Peace Now condemned the settlement funding as a “programme to expand settlements under the guise of combating violence.” Knesset member Har-Melech urged Katz to dismiss Bluth. Bluth also warned that opening fire on Israeli stone-throwers could worsen tensions.

Peace Now and other NGOs argue the funds reinforce the settlements that generate violence. Har-Melech’s call for dismissal reflects parliamentary concern over Bluth’s public statements.

Source reliability varies; some outlets rate low reliability. Independent verification of the 1,500-kill figure and the suspect-arrest legal basis is absent.

The New Arab

• “We killed 1,500 terrorists over three years. So why is there no uprising? Why don’t they go out into the streets? Why is the Palestinian public indifferent? Why are there no disturbances?” — Avi Bluth, IDF Central Command chief

The New Arab

• “there is some discrimination” — Avi Bluth

Times of Israel

• “The government uses every excuse to justify pouring more and more millions into settlements. This is a programme to expand settlements under the guise of combating violence,” — Peace Now, spokesperson

• “The Arabs understand that ‘if someone rises to kill you, kill him first’ is part of the rules of the Middle East, and therefore we are killing like we have not killed since 1967.” — Avi Bluth

Parliamentary committees will examine Bluth’s statements and the settlement funding, potentially revising the suspect-arrest policy and detention rules.

Times of Israel