Israel's military clarifies rules of engagement against stone-throwers

Head of the Israeli military's Central Command, Major General Yehuda Fuchs, clarified in a letter to the military on Monday the guidelines for open fire against Palestinian stone-throwers. 

The open-fire rules are strict and stipulate that there must be a "clear and immediate danger" to the officer before they can shoot. According to the guidelines outlined by Fuchs, Israeli soldiers will only be allowed to shoot in a “life-threatening situation.” 

In response to the letter, the military's spokesperson stated: "The rules of opening fire are adapted to the operational needs and guide the Israeli soldiers during their activities to remove various threats. The rules are communicated clearly to the fighters who act according to them while exercising discretion." 

"The document that was distributed emphasizes the importance of requiring the commanders and soldiers to act with precision and professionalism according to the purity of the weapon," the statement continued. 

"Throwing stones is a serious and dangerous phenomenon, and the Israeli military works against it with a variety of measures. Likewise, a fighter who detects a real and immediate danger to life may open fire. We will emphasize that this is a classified document.”

Leading up to the formation of the new government, Israel's new National Security Minister far-right lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir pushed for open-fire regulations to be relaxed to allow them to shoot anyone representing a "potential threat." In a December interview with Army Radio, the firebrand politician said that “whoever throws a Molotov cocktail needs to be shot,” adding that a” stone is murderous” too.

Prominent American lawyer Alan Dershowitz criticized the controversial initiative in a special interview with i24NEWS last month, saying, “Israel would be indicted and convicted” should Ben-Gvir’s goals become law.