Jerusalem, Jan. 2 — Several senior Israeli officials have urged soldiers and police to “shoot-to-kill” Palestinians since a wave of attacks began in Oct. 2015, the international Human Rights Watch denounced in a report published Monday.

According to the study, Israeli officials have encouraged soldiers and police to kill Palestinians suspected of attacking Israelis, even in cases where they pose no security threat.

In addition, calls for extrajudicial killings have increased, while other high-ranking officials have failed to condemn the excessive use of force, HRW added.

Since the beginning of the wave of Palestinian attacks on Israelis in October 2015, the NGO has documented “numerous” statements by ministers and politicians urging security forces to illegally “shoot-to-kill”.

“The Israeli government should issue clear directives to use force only in accordance with international law,” the human rights organization said.

According to HRW, since the wave began there have been more than 150 cases in which security forces have shot dead Palestinian adults and children suspected of attempting to stab, run over or shoot Israelis.

During the same period, Palestinian attackers have killed 33 Israelis.

HRW pointed out that international human rights law limits the use of lethal force “to circumstances in which it is strictly necessary to protect life, and in which no other, less extreme, option is viable,” and Israeli law only allows firing at the upper body or head when necessary to prevent a life threatening or serious injury.

“However, orders by officials over the past more than one year – and the apparent conduct of some soldiers and police – deviate from both international standards and Israeli rules of engagement,” detailed the report.

Public Safety Minister Gilad Erdan has stated that “if a terrorist has a knife or screwdriver in his hand, you should shoot to kill him without thinking twice.”

Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman also said publicly when he was a parliament member that “no attacker, male or female, should make it out of any attack alive.”

On the other hand, Israeli chief of staff, Gadi Eisenkot, noted that “A soldier can only unlock the safety catch if there is a threat to him or his fellow soldiers. I don’t want a soldier to empty a magazine on a girl holding scissors.”