TEL AVIV (Dispatches) – The occupying regime of Israel has given the green light for the use of armed drones to carry out assassinations against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, in an escalation in aggression by Zionist troops.

According to the Jerusalem Post, Israeli commanders will now be allowed to use the platforms not only as cover and intelligence gathering during operations but also to carry out strikes against Palestinians.

The order seemingly comes within the context of the Zionist regime’s attempts to police the Palestinian territories, especially since drones are a military instrument that can be used easily and without risk.

Army chief Aviv Kochavi gave his approval to use the armed drones for assassinations and “to carry out strikes” against Palestinian resistance groups that “pose an imminent threat to the Israeli military”, the media outlet said.

The Israeli army has evaluated the situation in the West Bank, said Kochavi on Wednesday, adding that the Zionist regime will keep preparing for every scenario to ensure what he described as “Israel’s security”.

According to the Jerusalem Post, the occupying regime is hoping that drones and remote-controlled weapons can keep its troops out of harm’s way in the West Bank for the time being. In the same context, it is noteworthy that the occupation forces recently installed a remote gun turret in a heavily populated area of Al-Khalil, after reportedly deploying facial recognition technology on the Palestinian territory last year.

The occupying regime of Israel has used Elbit’s Hermes 450 drones to carry out targeted assassinations in Gaza since 2008. According to reports, these drones have been in production since the late 1990s. However, establishing a full account of their usage is difficult, as Israel’s military censor had banned reports on their use until earlier this year.

In July, the Jerusalem Post reported on this note that the Zionist regime’s air force had been using attack drones for at least the past 20 years, and that it had been extensively documented in U.S. diplomatic cables as well as at international air shows. Zionist troops, however, never publicly disclosed the use of such platforms, and Israeli journalists who attempted to publish anything were blocked by the censor.

Also in September, the same source confirmed that Israeli occupation commanders had undergone training to prepare them for the possibility that they will use armed drones during counter-terrorism operations.  

The Tel Aviv regime follows in the footsteps of its number one ally, the United States, which has been conducting drone strikes for years.

In 2020, the U.S. carried out its notorious drone attack in which it assassinated commander of Iran’s Al-Quds Brigade, General Qassem Soleimani on Iraqi soil. 

Back then, Agnes Callamard, a UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, said, “There are no robust standards governing drones’ development, proliferation, export, or capability for use of force. No transparency. No effective oversight. No accountability.”

Similarly, using drone strikes allows the Israeli occupation to evade accountability the same way the U.S. has been for years.

Despite Israeli claims that the intelligence provided by drones makes it easier to target those Palestinians it has defined as “terrorists”, research shows civilians are the main victims.

In 2009, the total number of Gazan civilians killed by drone-launched missiles remains unclear. Human rights organizations including B’Tselem, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, and the Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights reported 42 drone attacks that killed 87 civilians in the 2008 war on Gaza.

Amnesty International told media outlets that it documented 48 civilian deaths from drones, and this does not represent the full number. In only six Israeli drone strikes back then, 29 Palestinian civilians were killed, 8 of them children.

According to statistics compiled by human rights groups in Gaza, civilians are the chief casualties of what the occupying regime of Israel refers to as “surgical” strikes from drones.

 

Drone Anxiety in Gaza

 

Psychiatrist Iman Hijjo, who treats Palestinians from conflict trauma triggered by the sound of Israeli drones, says “children suffer fear and anxiety as a direct result of the drones,” lamenting a lack of scientific research to determine longer-term impacts.

“When an insect moves around you, you can hit it, but not the drone,” Hijjo has said, adding that the situation leads to a “sense of powerlessness”.