The UN chief on Monday expressed alarm at rising Israeli settler violence in the West Bank and calls for annexation after Israel announced expanded military operations in the Palestinian territory, Times of Israel reports.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said human rights were being “strangled” around the world, lashing out at voices of division and anger who see them as an obstacle to their quest for power and profit.
“I am gravely concerned by the rising violence in the occupied West Bank by Israeli settlers and other violations, as well as calls for annexation.”
His remarks came a day after Israeli settlers reportedly set fire to several buildings in a Bedouin village near Jaba, a Palestinian town in the central West Bank. Later, two young Israelis were injured in a Palestinian attack, also in the central West Bank.
Violence in the West Bank has risen sharply since the Gaza war began with a deadly Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 that killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Thousands of Hamas-led militants also kidnapped 251 people into Gaza as hostages.
On Monday, Guterres stressed the importance of the fragile ceasefire in place in Gaza since January 19. He said:
“We are witnessing a precarious ceasefire. We must avoid at all costs a resumption of hostilities. The people in Gaza have already suffered too much. It’s time for a permanent ceasefire, the dignified release of all remaining hostages, irreversible progress towards a two-state solution, an end to the occupation, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, with Gaza as an integral part.”
The military launched a massive operation against Palestinian terrorists in the northern West Bank a month ago, just after a truce went into effect in the Gaza Strip, a separate Palestinian territory.
The West Bank offensive has gradually expanded to include numerous refugee camps near the towns of Jenin, Tulkarem and Tubas.
Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday that he had instructed the IDF to remain in West Bank refugee camps that have been cleared of militants and civilians for at least the next year, and to prevent some 40,000 displaced Palestinians from returning.
On the same day, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana called for annexation of the West Bank while touring the northern part of the territory, saying settlements were the only way for Israel to achieve peace.
The annexation of the territory, which Palestinians want to give up for a future state along with East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, has long been a fantasy of the Israeli right. But the idea has become more real since US President Donald Trump took office, talking of liberating war-torn Gaza of its 2 million residents so the US can occupy it and turn it into a “riviera.”
