Open an Investigation Against the Commander of the Central Command for War Crimes

Illustrative (archive): Uprooting trees in the West Bank in preparation for the construction of the separation fence. © Rrodrickbeiler | Dreamstime.com

During the night on Friday, August 22, 2025, the army uprooted 3,100 trees in the village of Al-Muayyir, following an attempted attack that occurred near the settlement of Adi Ad. Villagers reported that soldiers threw stones at cars and confiscated them, entered homes, and destroyed property.  

According to the army’s statement, the trees were uprooted as part of attempts to search for the attacker. However, statements made by Major General Avi Bluth, Commander of the Central Command, gave rise to the concern that the purpose was also collective punishment and deterrence: "Every village and every enemy must know that if they carry out an attack [...] they will pay a heavy price. The first mission is to hunt down, and stop the cell and the terrorist. The second mission is to create formative operations here...so that everyone will be deterred—by the way not just this village, but every village that tries to raise a hand against any of the residents." 

ACRI approached the Chief Military Prosecutor on August 24, 2025 with a demand to open a criminal investigation against Major General Bluth on the suspicion of committing war crimes. ACRI's legal advisor, Attorney Oded Feller, argued that uprooting trees is collective punishment, an act directed against a civilian population not participating in combat. He noted that collective punishment and acts of retaliation against protected civilians are prohibited under the Hague Regulations, the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and that it constitutes a serious violation of international humanitarian law that raises the suspicion of the commission of war crimes. 

The appeal states: "For long months the West Bank has been left to its own devices, and war crimes and crimes against humanity are a daily occurrence. However, it is not every day that the army admits this openly, and even takes pride in these actions. The destructive and vengeful doctrine of 'there are no innocents' that was implemented in the Gaza Strip has reached the West Bank and earned its own name: 'formative operations'." 

ACRI's appeal, August 24, 2025 (Heb) 

For articles in Hebrew about this case, see here.  

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