GENEVA, Sunday, July 27, 2026 (WAFA) – Ambassador Ibrahim Khraishi, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), circulated on Monday an urgent letter to UN bodies, international organizations and States calling for concrete action to end Israel’s settlement enterprise and the escalating colonist terrorism in the occupied West Bank.
The letter was also sent to the High Commissioner for Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), OHCHR Special Procedures Branch, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), OHCHR Treaty Bodies Division, Implementation Support Unit of the Arms Trade Treaty, and the Permanent Mission of Switzerland in its capacity as Depositary of the Geneva Conventions.
Israel continues to wage a genocidal war on the Palestinian people throughout the occupied Palestinian territory, bombing, killing, wounding, terrorizing, and destroying on a mass scale, while simultaneously deepening its unlawful settler-colonial enterprise in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the letter said.
On 24 July, four Palestinians were killed and at least four wounded after armed colonist militias opened fire on residents attempting to defend their homes in the town of al-Tal, near Nablus. Israeli occupying forces joined the assault, opening fire alongside the colonists.
The letter added that the Prime Minister of the occupying Power then declared a series of steps including the demolition of homes, forcible transfer, imposing more checkpoints and movement restrictions, and so-called "legalization" of more outposts throughout the West Bank.
Furthermore, Israeli officials have intensified their incitement against Palestinians. Extremist National Security Minister Ben-Gvir called for West Bank towns to be "treated the same way" as the devastated Gaza town of Beit Hanoun.
Colonist attacks in the West Bank demonstrate that these terrorist militias are not a by-product of occupation but a central instrument of it, the letter said, adding that the Israeli political shielding of colonists has intensified attacks on Palestinian civilians, homes, agricultural lands, and communities, creating coercive conditions aimed at forcible transfer and annexation.
Palestinian children, women and men, mothers and fathers, families, humanitarians and medics all continue to be systematically targeted by Israel in utter disrespect for the sanctity of human life and in grave breach of international law.
"It has become ever more clear: these fanatical Israeli colonists are waging war on our people hand in hand with the Israeli government and occupying forces, in a coordinated, premeditated scheme to uproot and corral Palestinians into ever-shrinking spaces, forcing their ghettoization or outright expulsion, in a frenetic drive to settle and annex Palestinian land," the letter said.
It added that the Israeli government has actively led a campaign to arm colonists and loosen firearm-licensing rules, leading colonists to become equipped with military-grade weapons, including M16 rifles, pistols, and drones.
The ICJ Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024 confirmed that Israel's continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful and that all States have an obligation neither to recognize nor assist in maintaining this illegal situation. These findings require concrete action to ensure that no political, military, financial, or commercial support contributes to its continuation.
In his letter, Khraishi called upon the international community to ensure that the occupying Power fully respects its obligations under international law, including through the urgent and concrete implementation of the ICJ Advisory Opinions and all relevant UN resolutions.
He stressed that this must entail bringing an end to the unlawful occupation and the evacuation of all colonists from the occupied Palestinian territory, while supporting accountability efforts, in accordance with domestic and international law, against dual nationals involved in colonist terrorism.
He also called for ending all economic and other forms of support to the Israeli settlement enterprise, including prohibiting trade with settlements and adopting appropriate regulatory, financial, and legal measures to ensure that companies under States' jurisdiction do not contribute, directly or indirectly, to settlement construction, land appropriation, resource exploitation, surveillance, or demolitions.
Khraishi also highlighted the Human Rights Council-mandated database as a concrete accountability tool for identifying corporate involvement in the settlement enterprise.
He further called for ceasing the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and military equipment to Israel, affirming that States must also take all necessary measures to prevent the diversion or provision of weapons and related equipment to Israeli colonist militias.
Khraishi also urged support for and strengthening of efforts to monitor and document violations in the occupied Palestinian territory through empowering the presence of international organizations on the ground.
He further called on States to press Israel to grant full and unimpeded access to the Commission of Inquiry, the Special Rapporteur and the ICRC, while strengthening international protection for Palestinian civilians through concrete measures aimed at preventing further violations and ensuring accountability.
A.D./ K.F.
