UN human rights office calls for accountability over latest ‘horrific’ killings in West Bank
Reiterating widespread condemnation worldwide and within Israel of the attack allegedly carried out by Israeli settlers in the village of Jit on Thursday that left a Palestinian man dead and about a dozen others injured, OHCHR Spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani described the incident as “horrific”.
She noted that Murder “not an isolated attack”alluded to years of violence against Palestinian communities by Israeli settlers, asserting that it was a “direct consequence” of Israel’s occupation policy.
Settler’s exemption
“Over the years we have reported on settlers attacking Palestinian communities on their own land in the West Bank with impunity and this is really the core of the problem, the impunity that those who carry out such actions are enjoying,” said Ms Shamdasani.
According to the latest monitoring by OHCHR, 609 Palestinians killed in the West Bank including East Jerusalem since Hamas led terrorist attacks on Israel on October 7.
This number includes 146 children, eight women and at least four disabled people.
“Clearly this needs to stop and the key to this will be accountability for the perpetrators,” the OHCHR spokesperson stressed.
“There have been attacks by settlers, by Israeli security forces as well as by Palestinians in the West Bank and generally we are seeing irresponsibility,” she continued.
“There are very few investigations but even in those cases, most investigations do not bring justice to either the victim or the perpetrator. There were reports of Israeli security forces being on standby as the attacks took place. There were even reports of weapons being distributed to settlers. So it is clear that the State has responsibility in this matter.”
‘Humanitarian zone’ is shrinking in Gaza
Meanwhile in Gaza, a new evacuation order from the Israeli army issued on Friday threatened to once again displace communities in eastern Deir al Balah, northern Khan Younis, western Gaza City and other areas, humanitarian organizations warned.
The Israel Defense Forces announced the latest orders via airborne leaflets and mobile phone messages, before taking action against Hamas activity in areas scheduled for evacuation, in response to rocket attacks on Israel.
Responding to the development on Friday, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWAsaid the evacuation order applied to areas “even inside so-called ‘humanitarian zones’ where people struggled to find shelter.
Gaza People “still trapped in an endless nightmare of death and destruction on an astonishing scale,” the UN agency said in an online post.
Relief out of reach
As mediators prepare to meet for a second day in Doha to push for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages kidnapped by October 7, UN aid groups have warned that Gazans continue to suffer from a severe shortage of aid.
“Continuous hostilities and evacuation orders are fuelling a seemingly endless cycle of displacement and making it increasingly difficult for people to access the humanitarian aid they need to survive after 10 months of war,” the UN aid coordination office said. OCHAin an update on the emergency situation.
Echoing reports that relatives of Gazans killed in the war have been unable to bury them properly, OCHA noted that Grieving families “have no time to mourn, because they themselves are faced with death, pain, hunger and thirsty Every day is described as a struggle for survival.”
A report from the inter-agency team that secured access to Khan Younis on Thursday detailed displaced families struggling to survive day to day.
“They have to make their own shelters out of whatever cloth, pieces of wood, cardboard they find. Children are attacked by rodents and insects at night due to poor shelter conditions.”
The assessment team also noted that in addition to difficulty accessing markets, along with food shortages and high prices, families reported that due to a lack of hygiene and cleaning products, “they suffered from skin infections, especially in children.”
