Israel's new 'shoot first' rules

Israel says the new rules are for self-defence

By the BBC's Barbara Plett in Jerusalem

The Israeli army has abandoned some of the restrictions on its troops who are battling the Palestinian uprising, making it easier for them to open fire on Palestinians.

The move is another step away from a two-month-old truce that is essentially dead in the water.

A spokesman for the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) said the new rules of engagement were meant to give soldiers a chance to defend themselves against a growing number of attacks rather than to escalate the conflict.

Dead Palestinians don't serve our interests

Israeli army officer

Israel first outlined stricter field rules under a unilateral ceasefire it declared in May.

These were later incorporated into a June truce brokered by the US Central Intelligence Agency director George Tenet.

Israeli soldiers were permitted to fire live rounds only if they were shot at first and could identify the source.

Now they can shoot at any Palestinians who appear to be preparing an attack, and respond to fire immediately even if they don't know exactly where it's coming from.

Israel says Palestinians have launched 1,000 attacks since the ceasefire was declared

Up to 700 people have been killed since violence erupted last September, three-quarters of them Palestinians.

Palestinian officials say the army's new rules of engagement will not make a difference on the ground, because Israeli soldiers never stopped shooting at Palestinians.

The change in regulations was reported in the Israeli daily newspaper Ha'aretz.

It said there had been more than 1,000 Palestinian attacks since the Tenet agreement was announced, with a sharp rise in the last week.

But a senior IDF officer told the newspaper that this did not necessarily mean a return to the massive Israeli fire seen at times during the intifadah.

"Dead Palestinians don't serve our interests," he said.

"If there's another escalation, it's important that it happen because of them and not because of us."