The IDF has decided to implement a new, more stringent policy regarding the investigation of incidents in which Arab residents are killed by IDF fire in the Judea and Samaria regions.
The State notified the Supreme Court of the changes on Wednesday. The IDF Military Advocate-General, Maj.-Gen. Avihai Mandelblit, decided to change the policy which had been in place since the year 2000.
According to the previous policy, the decision to initiate an investigation by the Criminal Investigations Division of the IDF Military Police Corps was determined by a fact-gathering inquiry conducted in the field.
The new policy requires that every case in which uninvolved Palestinian Authority Arabs are killed by IDF fire be investigated immediately by the Criminal Investigation Division. An exception will be made if the incident had clear elements of combat, such as an exchange of fire.
Mandelblit and his office discussed this policy change over recent months first with then-IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, and then with his successor Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz, as well as with GOC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Avi Mizrahi and commanders of the Judea and Samaria Division and Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein.
The IDF reports that due to its own efforts as well as those of the other security forces, IDF combat activity in Judea and Samaria has been reduced. The new policy, it was announced, reflects these changes; it does not apply to incidents in the Gaza Strip, where IDF activity entails clear elements of combat.