Israeli Central Command Chief Avi Bluth Says Israel Is Killing Palestinians Like Since 1967

Avi Bluth, head of the Israeli army’s Central Command, said in a closed forum that Israel is “killing like we haven’t since 1967,” defending looser rules of engagement for firing at Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. The Guardian reported that Bluth said troops were permitted to detain people at the separation barrier by shooting “at the knee or below,” and that he justified the approach as “barrier awareness.” In parallel, AP described an Israeli military raid in the West Bank city of Nablus on Sunday in which one Palestinian man was killed and four others were seriously wounded, with the Palestinian Red Crescent saying five people were hit by gunfire. AP identified the man as Nayef Firas Ziad Samaro, 26, and said his body was brought to the hospital where his wife was in labor.

“Nablus, occupied West Bank – Islam Madani says families and young people from the Askar refugee camp would once congregate beneath the olive trees on the slopes of Tel Askar, a hilly area in the north of the occupied West Bank which is home to the camp”

Al Jazeera

Haaretz framed the risk of escalation in its May 04, 2026 editorial, warning that “The IDF's West Bank Chief Could Spark a Third Intifada,” as it described Avi Bluth’s worldview as “distorted and unbridled.” In the same reporting stream, Truthout said Bluth defended loosening rules of engagement and quoted him saying that Israel is “killing like we haven’t since 1967.” The Guardian also reported Bluth’s admission that “Yes, it involves discrimination,” after he said the army did not shoot Jewish settler militants for throwing stones at army forces. Meanwhile, Al Jazeera reported that in Nablus and the Askar refugee camp, Islam Madani said soldiers “shoot to kill, or cause disability,” and added, “We are animals to them,” describing a pattern of killings and disabilities since October 7, 2023.

The consequences of Bluth’s approach were described through the lens of ongoing violence and the scale of deaths in the West Bank, where multiple outlets tied his remarks to the broader war since October 7, 2023. The Guardian reported that Bluth said the army shot 42 Palestinian stone-throwers on West Bank roads last year and that he portrayed the policy as targeting “a “potential terrorist”,” while Truthout cited OCHA figures that Israeli forces and settlers have killed over 1,080 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since October 7, 2023, including at least 235 children. In Nablus, Al Jazeera described how Amir Othman, shot in the leg last January at Tel Askar, underwent four operations and said, “But none of that is possible now,” after soldiers blocked ambulances from reaching him. As the fighting continues, AP reported that the raid in Nablus occurred as schools were letting out, in an area crowded with civilians, and said Israel’s military responded to a confrontation in which “terrorists” threw rocks toward soldiers.

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Haaretz