Israeli settlers are expressing growing outrage at the existence of “rules of engagement” within the Israeli occupations forces in the West Bank that seek to limit the use of live fire against Palestinians as much as possible.
The settlers have organized protest marches, with plans of marching around Palestinian villages and refugee camps demanding that the military “restore deterrence” by easing those rules and making it easier for troops to open fire.
Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon has rejected the calls, which have been echoed by pro-settler MPs. Alon insists that proportionality and limiting the number of casualties are driving the policy.
That’s very much the point for the settlers though, who openly call for dramatically disproportionate violence and want troops to shoot Palestinians in retaliation for throwing stones, and for “terrorist attacks” against settlers’ property.
From the military perspective that’s simply not reasonable, as prison abuse and other government policies pretty much constantly leave the Palestinians on the brink of open revolt in the West Bank at any given time, and their top priority is preventing another intifada.
They want to lift "rules of engagement" in order to accelerate ethnic cleansing.
The settlers will be the undoing of the Israeli state. It is no secret that the settlers advocate the complete removal of the Palestinians and the confiscation of the remaining West Bank territories. The number of violent settler vs Palestinian incidents are growing – and they are getting more violent – though the American press seldom report on it. The settlers "security groups" (like the militia groups here in the US) are more and more instigating confrontations where the military won't. Eventually, the settlers will cross the line even the Israeli government won't be able to ignore. And they'll have another intifada – which they really seem to want.