A United Nations report, released on Thursday, urged Israeli authorities to stop their aggression against the Palestinian population in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, denouncing what it called a “rapid deterioration” of human rights in that region.
According to a study released by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), since October 7, when Israel began its brutal war on Palestine, 300 Palestinians have died in the West Bank.
The majority of the deaths in the West Bank were during Israeli security forces’ operations or during conflicts with them.
Israeli activities including airstrikes or other military techniques in refugee camps or other densely populated areas may have resulted in at least 105 deaths. It stated that Jewish settlers killed at least eight individuals.
An official from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, Tal Heinrich, called the report “quite ridiculous”.
She referred to the West Bank by its Hebrew biblical titles, saying, “It completely belittles the major security threats to Israelis emerging from Judea and Samaria.”
“Yes, we arrested hundreds of terror suspects in that area and we will continue to do whatever it takes to maintain our security.”
“Extremely troubling” was the word used to describe the use of disproportionate or needless force against Palestinians in the West Bank by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk.
I urge Israel to look into all violent occurrences involving settlers and Israeli security forces, to take prompt, decisive, and practical action to stop settler aggression against the Palestinian people.
