Israel to vote on allowing police to shoot Palestinian protesters

Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel's far-right national security minister, will put forward a vote on Sunday proposing to relax the rules of engagement and allow police to open fire on Palestinian protesters in Israel. 

The legislation will allow district commanders to give permission to open live fire during protests held by Palestinian citizens of Israel "when the operational need will be of the highest value", according to a report in Maariv. 

It would apply to "emergencies", including the ongoing war. 

The new measure would further disregard recommendations made by the 2003 Or Commission, which found "the use of live ammunition is not a means for dispersing a crowd" and that Israeli authorities were discriminating against Palestinian citizens. 

"This is a dramatic and critical change as part of the continuation of the war effort, which will give our police officers the ability to provide an immediate response," said Ben-Gvir. 

"This is alongside the other significant moves we are promoting... [including] the distribution of weapons, and the significant change we announced in the tests required to issue a weapons licence."