JAKARTA – UN human rights chief Volker called for an end to the deadly violence in the West Bank that has increased since October, urging accountability for the killing of more than 500 Palestinians by Israeli soldiers and settlers .
The latest conflict in the Gaza Strip, which has erupted since the Hamas-led militant group’s attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, has also had an impact on conditions in the West Bank.
“As if the tragic events in Israel and then Gaza over the past eight months were not enough, residents of the occupied West Bank have also become targets of unprecedented bloodshed every day. We cannot understand so many lives have been taken in such a cruel way,” Turk was quoted as saying by the Palestinian news agency WaFA on May 4.
“The killing, destruction and widespread human rights violations are unacceptable and must be stopped immediately. Israel must not only adopt, but also apply rules of involvement that are fully consistent with applicable human rights norms and standards,” he said.
“Every alleged killing that violates the law must be thoroughly and independently investigated, those responsible must be held accountable,” Turk said.
The number of killings of Palestinians by Israeli forces, which reached a record high in the first nine months of 2023, has increased sharply since last October.
Since the start of 2024, nearly 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, compared to 113 and 50 people killed in the same period in 2023 and 2022.
“Widespread impunity for these crimes has become commonplace for too long in the occupied West Bank. Such legal immunity has created an environment that allows unlawful killings by Israeli forces. International law must be respected and enforced, and accountability must be ensured,” Turk said.
“The verification of deaths and in-depth monitoring of more than 80 cases by the United Nations Office on Human Rights shows that persistent violations of international human rights law are linked to the use of violence by Israeli forces through the use of unnecessary and disproportionate lethal force. and an increase in murders that appear to be planned in a directive manner,” Mr. Pebak said.
“They also showed a systematic rejection or delay of medical assistance for those who are seriously injured,” he continued.
“Violence committed by Israeli forces and Israeli settlers, against the backdrop of a continuing scale of killing and destruction in Gaza, has sparked fear and insecurity among Palestinians in the occupied West Bank,” Turk said.
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