UN: Violence seen in the West Bank is 'extremely alarming'
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UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that the surge in violence in the occupied West Bank, triggered by Israeli operations and settlers that are actively targeting Palestinians, is profoundly concerning.
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Friends and relatives attend the funeral of Palestinians killed during an Israeli military raid on the Fara'a refugee camp in the West Bank on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023. (AP)
UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement on Friday that the surge in violence in the occupied West Bank, triggered by Israeli security operations and settlers that are actively targeting Palestinians, is profoundly concerning.
“The escalating violence in the occupied West Bank, including intensified Israeli security forces operations, high numbers of fatalities, settler violence, and attacks on Israelis by Palestinians, is extremely alarming,” the statement read.
Palestinians aren’t safe in Gaza. Palestinians aren't safe in the Occupied West Bank. Palestinians aren't safe anywhere. pic.twitter.com/5U1PumYBXq
— Khalissee (@Kahlissee) December 29, 2023
This comes after the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a report describing the worsening safety conditions Palestinians in the West Bank and Occupied al-Quds have been subjected to by the Israeli occupation since its monstrous war on Gaza on October 7.
Subsequently, the UN has urged "Israel" to "end the unlawful killings" of Palestinians under the badge of human rights, which have deteriorated into nothingness as a result of brutal settler and military violence.
Read more: 'Israel' arrested 4,695 Palestinians in the West Bank in two months
The IOF and Israeli settlers: two sides of the same coin
The report revealed that 300 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank and East al Quds, including 79 children. Out of the 300, 291 were killed by the IOF and 8 were killed by Israeli settlers, while one Palestinian could have been killed by either.
“The use of military tactics and weapons in law enforcement contexts, the use of unnecessary or disproportionate force, and the enforcement of broad, arbitrary, and discriminatory movement restrictions that affect Palestinians are extremely troubling,” UN rights chief Volker Turk stated.
“The dehumanization of Palestinians that characterizes 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,” adding that “The dehumanization of Palestinians that characterizes 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.”
Moreover, Turk stressed the need to protect Palestinians from Israeli occupation forces and Israeli settlers alike, following investigations that will scrutinize the attacks witnessed in occupied territories and a safe return of communities that have been terrorized into forced displacements by settlers to their own lands.
Read more: Israeli occupation forces steal $2.76 mln from West Bank shops, Banks
The UN also raised concerns about the aftermath of attacks by Resistance groups in Syria and Iraq, mainly on a US military basis, as well as the Yemeni Armed Forces' conduct in the Red Sea.
