The development follows “at least four” airstrikes by the Israeli Security Forces (ISF) in the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem on Monday night, which left five people dead: three Palestinian men and two boys aged 13 and 15.
“Three of the fatalities, including the two boys, were killed as they walked past the targeted house, who was in one of the small and crowded alleys in the camp,” OHCHR said in a statement, citing multiple sources.
The UN office warned that the situation in the occupied West Bank “could dramatically worsen if ISF continues to systematically use unlawful lethal force and ignore the violence of settlers”.
The latest confirmed death toll from the UN Human Rights Office indicates that 628 Palestinians killed in the West Bank between October 7 – the date of the Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel that sparked the war – and August 27.
“Of these, 609 Palestinians were killed by ISF, 11 killed by settlers and eight by ISF or settlers in joint attacks. However, 159 of the dead, including 29 boys and three women, died as a result of airstrikes,” OHCHR said in an update.
The OHCHR condemned the “increasingly militarized response” of Israeli forces in the West Bank, saying its operations violated international humanitarian law.
“The use of airstrikes and other military weapons and tactics by the ISF violates these norms and results in extrajudicial executions and other unlawful killings and the destruction of Palestinian homes and infrastructure,” the statement said.
Multiple raids, violence by settlers
Palestinians have also been targeted elsewhere in the West Bank, including late Monday night when dozens of armed Israeli settlers attacked the village of Wadi Rahal in Bethlehem.
One of the victims of the violence, 37-year-old Khalil Salem Khlawi, was “shot in the back and killed” – reportedly by armed settlers or army reservists.
Settlers also reportedly shot and wounded three other Palestinian men and prevented Palestinian ambulances from reaching the wounded, the OHCHR said.
Sources were quoted as saying that the ISF “watched until the man was killed, and only later dispersed the settlers, without arresting any of themAccording to Israeli media, the ISF said its reservists opened fire, hitting several Palestinians.
The killing of Khlawi “is not an isolated incident and is a direct consequence of Israel’s policy of colonisation of the occupied West Bank, in violation of international law, coupled with the complicity of the ISF and the prevailing atmosphere of impunity,” the OHCHR stressed.
As part of its work in the Palestinian Territories, the UN Human Rights Office documents daily attacks by settlers on Palestinians, “including settlers physically attacking Palestinians, burning or damaging their property and crops, stealing sheep, denying them access to their land, water and grazing areas, and forcing them to leave their homes and lands.”
OHCHR noted that the long-standing trend of settler attacks on Palestinians has “drastically escalated” since October 7 with the support of “the highest levels” of the government.
“Despite the announcement of investigations into several cases of settler violence, and the sporadic arrests of alleged perpetrators, Since October 7, no settler has been charged with any violent acts committed by settlers.according to the UN Human Rights Office.
According to the UN Aid Coordination Office, OCHA, as of October 7, 2023, 259 Palestinian households (1,547 persons), including 753 childrenhave been forcibly displaced due to incidents involving Israeli settlers.
East Jerusalem not sacred
According to the OHCHR, Israeli authorities in East Jerusalem continue to implement discriminatory zoning laws and demolish Palestinian homes, in violation of international law.
In Silwan, “thousands of Palestinians are at risk of forced eviction,” the UN office said, citing the case of the Odeh family in Al Bustan, whose home was bulldozed by Israeli forces on August 27, displacing 10 Palestinians, including two children.
Since October 7, six more Palestinian homes have been demolished in the same area, the OHCHR said. Israeli authorities have threatened to demolish the neighborhood, home to 1,550 Palestinians, to make way for a “green area.”
In Gaza people don’t know where to go
Meanwhile, UN aid teams in Gaza confirmed they were continuing to provide humanitarian assistance “where possible and in the most difficult circumstances,” despite the upheaval caused to civilians and aid teams by repeated Israeli evacuation orders and military maneuvers.
“It’s just catastrophic,” said Louise Waterridgesenior spokesperson for UNRWAthe UN agency for Palestinian refugees, which reports from the central Gaza Strip. Ms. Wateridge indicated that the level of disruption and violence has increased significantly in recent weeks, saying on X that “Hundreds of thousands of people are forced to move every day….What we are seeing now is families, mothers, children, carrying their belongings. Most people are moving on foot. There is now very limited access to any form of vehicles for this kind of movement, and people just don’t know where to go.”
After a series of recent Israeli evacuation orders and only 11 percent of the Gaza Strip unaffected by these measures, the UNRWA official insisted Gazans had only a “minimal” space left to shelter.There are tanks in areas that used to be considered safe areas. This is further proof that there is no safe place in the Gaza Strip.“
