The Israeli army said Monday it is rolling out a new technological system to regulate movement in the occupied West Bank for Israelis and Palestinians, a step Israeli media reported comes amid growing concerns over escalating settler violence.
The decision allows security forces "to install a technological monitoring device on individuals subject to an administrative order restricting their movement within the (West Bank)," the army said in a statement.
The system would allow for monitoring of "violations of these restriction orders accordingly," it added.
The measure was adopted after a request by the head of the domestic Shin Bet security agency David Zini, in response to rising violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, Israel's Channel 12 reported.
The monitoring devices used will be electronic bracelets, according to the Israeli broadcaster.
In response to an AFP query, the army said the measure will be applied to Israelis and Palestinians alike.
Israel has occupied the Palestinian territory since 1967, and now more than 500,000 illegal Israeli settlers live there, along with about three million Palestinian residents.
The army said removing any monitoring device "constitutes an offense, for which criminal proceedings may be initiated."
Honenu, an Israeli legal aid organization that assists detainees from far-right illegal settler communities, slammed the decision and said it would appeal.
Administrative restrictive orders bar suspects residing in the West Bank from going to certain areas or communicating with certain people.
A more draconian measure, known as administrative detention, allowed Israeli security forces to detain West Bank suspects, both Israelis and Palestinians, for up to six months without charges.
Upon taking office in November 2024, Defence Minister Israel Katz abolished the use of that measure against Israelis, but it is still enforced against Palestinians.
Despite the delicate truce between Israel and Hamas that came into effect in October, the violence has not ceased.
Israeli troops and settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the territory, including dozens of civilians.
Almost none of the perpetrators of dozens of attacks carried out by settlers have been held to account by the Israeli authorities.
