Ex-Israel PM admits new open-fire policy allows killing more Palestinians

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett admitted yesterday that he had ordered a change in the open-fire regulations against Palestinians while in office.

He did not issue these instructions publicly or speak through the media or to the officers directly, but rather went himself secretly to one of the military bases and met with the soldiers and officers after the killing of Israeli officer Noam Raz in Jenin, and demanded that they change the shooting instructions, Channel 7 reported citing statements he made to a radio station.

These measures resulted in the killing of a large number of “terrorists” during his tenure as prime minister, he added,

He also said that after the series of attacks in Beersheba, Hadera, Bnei Brak and Elad, he began Operation Breaking Waves, during which successful operations were carried out against the “terrorist nests”.

Israeli officials refer to Palestinians fighting against the illegal occupation and what rights groups have described as Israel’s apartheid policies as “terrorists”.

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