The UN on Thursday warned that Israeli occupier attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are occurring at a pace “higher than any year on record,” averaging six incidents per day, causing casualties or property damage, Anadolu reports.
Citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at a news conference that “the number of settler attacks causing casualties or property damage this year in the West Bank has now surpassed 1,000.”
“These attacks have affected more than 230 communities across all parts of the West Bank,” he said, adding that “more than 2,200 Palestinians have been displaced this year due to settler violence or other access restrictions, alongside hundreds more who have been displaced due to home demolitions by Israeli authorities.”
Dujarric said that “just last week, settler attacks resulted in the injury of more than 30 Palestinians and widespread damage to property and central infrastructure, as well as livelihoods.”
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“The current pace of settler attacks, causing casualties or property damage, an average of six incidents per day, is higher than any year on record,” he said.
Palestinian authorities have for decades called on the international community to pressure Israel to halt settlement construction in the occupied West Bank, which the United Nations considers illegal under international law.
Since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023, Palestinian officials say Israeli measures aimed at annexing the West Bank have intensified, including home demolitions, forced displacement, and settlement expansion.
About 500,000 illegal Israeli settlers live in illegal settlements across the West Bank, while another 250,000 live in settlements built on Palestinian land in occupied East Jerusalem, according to Peace Now.
Israeli forces and occupiers have killed at least 1,169 Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, injured more than 12,600, and detained around 23,000 since October 2023, Palestinian figures showed.
In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
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