Liberman in West Bank says he won’t punish innocent Palestinians

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman visits the IDF’s Central Command, meeting with military commanders and representatives from the Civil Administration.

IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot and Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Roni Numa accompany Liberman on his visit through the West Bank’s regional brigades.

During his meetings with commanders, Liberman “instructed [them] to carry out a policy of differentiation,” his office says in a statement, referring to the strategy of trying to only punish the people and communities directly involved in criminal activity, while leaving innocent Palestinians alone.

“That way everyone knows there are consequences for both ways of acting,” the minister says in a statement.

Liberman’s announcement of this differentiation policy, championed by predecessor Moshe Ya’alon, comes just a few weeks after his ministry revoked the travel permits for 83,000 West Bank Palestinians during the month of Ramadan in response to the Sarona terror attack on June 8. The move was decried internationally as a form of collective punishment against Palestinians.

Liberman, who lives in the Nokdim settlement in the West Bank, also extended a personal thank you to the IDF commanders for their work protecting settlers.

“As a resident of the Judea region, who has lived for years in the area and traveled on the highways and byways of Judea and Samaria, I thank you for the great effort you have invested and are investing in providing security for the residents,” Liberman says, using the biblical name for the West Bank.

— Judah Ari Gross