GENEVA, Friday, November 3, 2023 (WAFA) — The United Nations rights office has described the situation in the occupied West Bank as "alarming," saying armed Israeli settler militias have been acting with the acquiescence and collaboration of Israeli forces.
"While much attention has been on the attacks inside Israel and the escalation of hostilities in Gaza since the 7th of October, the situation in the occupied West Bank, including east Jerusalem, is alarming and urgent," said Liz Throssell, spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
She added that at least 132 Palestinians, including 41 children, were killed in the West Bank, 124 of those by Israeli forces and some eight by settlers, since October 7.
"Settler violence, which was already at record levels, has also escalated dramatically, averaging seven attacks a day," Throssell said, adding that in more than a third of these attacks, firearms were used.
The human rights office documented that settlers were seen with members of the Israeli forces or were attired in uniforms and armed with rifles in numerous cases.
"Along with the near total impunity for settler violence, we are concerned that armed settlers have been acting with the acquiescence and collaboration of Israeli forces and authorities," the spokesperson said.
Noting that nearly 1,000 Palestinians have been forced from their homes since Oct. 7, Trossell said: "In these circumstances, settler violence may amount to the forcible transfer of a population - a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention."
“Israel, as the Occupying Power, has the obligation to ensure the safety and protection of the occupied population under international human rights law and international humanitarian law,” she underscored.
"In repeated incidents, armed settlers have given Palestinian communities ultimatums to leave their homes or be killed," Trossell added.
She said Israeli forces have reportedly arrested only two settlers despite hundreds of settlers being involved in this daily violence since Oct. 7.
During this same period, the spokesperson said, almost 2,000 Palestinians have been arrested by Israeli occupation forces.
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