Major-General Avi Bluth, the Israeli commander responsible for the occupied West Bank, has revealed a disturbing double standard in Israeli military policy, admitting that Israeli forces are instructed to avoid firing at Israeli settlers engaging in violence, while readily targeting Palestinians for similar actions. Bluth claimed the army has been "killing like we haven’t killed since 1967" and is "turning villages into conflict zones," having killed 42 Palestinian stone-throwers in 2025, a stark contrast to the avoidance of repercussions for settlers. This revelation aligns with a broader trend within Israel's increasingly nationalistic society, where politicians openly celebrate anti-Palestinian policies, and legal frameworks, such as the death penalty for Palestinians and separate legal regimes, entrench a system of apartheid. Human rights groups view these statements as a candid admission of long-standing policies, now openly embraced by leadership due to perceived international inaction.