In a rare incident highlighting the complexities of military engagement protocols, Israeli security personnel opened fire on a fellow Israeli citizen within the occupied West Bank on Monday. The event transpired at a Kedumim settlement fuel station, adjacent to Qalqilya, after soldiers perceived the individual, a man in his early twenties, as an imminent threat poised to execute a knife assault.
Initial reports from Israeli media outlets, including Channel 14, indicate the settler was brandishing a knife toward troops, prompting a soldier to discharge their weapon to neutralize the perceived danger. The Israeli military confirmed the event, classifying it as an ‘attempted stabbing attack’ and stating the individual was ‘armed with a knife.’ They further noted that the precise circumstances surrounding the incident remain under official examination. Unverified accounts suggest the man may have been experiencing mental health difficulties.
This occurrence unfolds against a backdrop of intense criticism directed at the Israeli military’s open-fire regulations in the West Bank. Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem has characterized these policies as increasingly ‘permissive and reckless,’ particularly since October 2023. This framework frequently authorizes lethal force against Palestinians based solely on suspicion of an impending attack.
The gravity of these protocols is underscored by staggering statistics: over 1,000 Palestinians, among them 217 children, have lost their lives to Israeli forces in the West Bank in the subsequent period. Human rights advocates have persistently condemned what they label a systemic ‘shoot-to-kill’ practice targeting Palestinians.
A particularly grave incident last month in Jenin involved Israeli forces executing two unarmed Palestinians at point-blank range after they had surrendered, an act captured on video and described by the United Nations as a potential ‘summary execution’—a grave breach of the Geneva Convention and international law.