The UN Human Rights Office warned Thursday of a “rapidly deteriorating” human rights situation in the West Bank. In an emergency report, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called on Israel to “end unlawful killings and settler violence” against the Palestinian population.
“The report calls for an immediate end to the use of military weapons and means during law enforcement operations, an end to arbitrary detention and ill-treatment of Palestinians, and the lifting of discriminatory movement restrictions.”
According to the report, 300 Palestinians, including 79 children, were killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem between October 7 and December 27.
Of these, Israeli security forces killed at least 291 Palestinians, settlers killed eight, and one Palestinian was killed either by Israeli security forces or settlers.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, condemned “the use of military tactics means and weapons in law enforcement contexts” as well as the use of “disproportionate force.” He urged Israel to “take immediate clear and effective steps to put an end to settler violence” and to “investigate all incidents of violence by settlers and Israeli security forces.”
“The dehumanisation of Palestinians that characterises many of the settlers’ actions is very disturbing and must cease immediately. Israeli authorities should strongly censure and prevent settler violence and prosecute both its instigators and perpetrators.”
According to the report, more than 4,700 Palestinians, including some 40 journalists, were arrested and ill-treated by Israeli security forces in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
The report recalled that, since October 7, the Israeli authorities had imposed strict and systematic restrictions on the movement of Palestinians throughout the West Bank.
The report reiterates our calls for a halt to measures that lead to the creation of a coercive environment and concerns regarding forcible transfer, in addition to the continued lack of accountability for settler and Israeli security forces violence.
Israel retaliated against the Gaza Strip following the October 7 attack by Hamas, killing at least 21,110 Palestinians and injuring 55,243, according to local health authorities.
Some 1,139 Israelis are believed to have been killed as a result of the Hamas attack.
