IDF soldier
IDF soldierIDF Spokesperson

Soldiers serving on one of the fronts in Judea and Samaria received a document containing instructions limiting their ability to eliminate terrorists who throw stones at Israelis and IDF soldiers.

According to reports received by the Torat Lehima organization from junior officers in the different battalions of the Central Command, the instructions state that as a general rule there is "no shooting" at stone-throwing terrorists and that the soldiers should favor ambushing the terrorists to detain them or chasing them using "Uncovered forces, including the use of riot dispersal equipment," this instead of eliminating them through an ambush.

If live fire is necessary to prevent loss of life, it shall be "Precise fire at the ankles, if shots are necessary," and not at the terrorist's head or center of mass, which lowers the soldier's ability to hit a moving target, and allows the terrorist to escape alive, in many cases.

The instructions to both active duty and reserve soldiers warn of a situation in which a terrorist is killed, explaining that their mass funeral would incite more terrorism: "A dead stone-thrower incites riots", this negates the policy according to which terrorists' bodies are collected and used as future bargaining chips with the terror organizations, as a way to prevent mass funerals.

Torat Lehima blames the situation on the outgoing Defense Minister: "Benny Gantz is leaving a spirit of softness, submission to terror, and understanding the enemy. Someone forgot the military's task, the field is flooded with terrorists who, at almost all hours, stone men, women, and children on all roads in Judea and Samaria. And these crazy instructions reach the soldiers, tie their hands and prevent them from carrying out their moral and vital mission: eliminating terrorists. Is the life of a Jewish child, who can be harmed at any moment by these animals who throw stones, so worthless in the eyes of whoever put out these instructions?

This is Benny Gantz's spirit, and the incoming government and the incoming Defense Minister Yoav Galent's obligation is to turn the policy around 180 degrees, and allow the IDF to defeat the Arab terror"

IDF Spokesperson commented: "The rules of engagement are adjusted to the operational needs and instruct IDF soldiers while operating to remove different threats. The rules are passed on clearly to the soldiers who follow them at their discretion. Stone-throwing is a serious and dangerous occurrence, and the IDF works in various ways to stop it and catch suspects."