NABLUS, Palestinian territories – The United Nations has expressed serious concerns over the escalating violence in the West Bank, urging Israeli security forces to immediately cease their support of settler attacks on Palestinians in the occupied territory. This statement comes in the wake of two Palestinian men being killed by Israeli settlers in a northern village south of Nablus, marking another violent incident in the tense region.
According to Palestinian accounts, the violence stemmed from a confrontation when settlers entered Palestinian-owned land and assaulted residents. Settlers, on the other hand, claimed the incident began with an attack on a Jewish person. The situation in the West Bank has been rapidly deteriorating since the tragic killing of a 14-year-old boy from a settler family over the weekend.
The recent violence has resulted in the deaths of eight Palestinians at the hands of Israeli forces or armed settlers since Friday. There have been reports of an increasing number of attacks by settlers across the West Bank, with Palestinian witnesses and video footage suggesting the presence of Israeli security forces at some of the incidents.
The mayor of Aqraba, a town near Nablus, witnessed Monday’s settler attack and reported that about 50 armed settlers assaulted members of his community, resulting in the deaths of two Palestinian youths. The Palestine Red Crescent Society claimed that Israeli soldiers hindered their ambulances from reaching the wounded in the area, while the Israeli military stated they were investigating the incident.
In a statement, the UN’s human rights office highlighted the escalating violence in the West Bank over the past few days, emphasizing the need for Israeli security forces to end their active support for settler attacks on Palestinians. The office called for those responsible for criminal acts to be brought to justice through a transparent and impartial investigation that adheres to international human rights standards.
The West Bank, under Israeli occupation since 1967, has witnessed a surge in violence, with at least 468 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces or settlers across the region since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The situation has prompted the US and the UK to impose sanctions on violent settlers attempting to displace Palestinian communities from their land amidst the ongoing conflict.