The United Nations condemns the widespread Israeli violations in the West Bank

Geneva (agencies)

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called for an end to the “unprecedented bloodshed” in the occupied West Bank, considering that the killing of more than 500 Palestinians there since October 7 is “illogical.”
Turk confirmed the killing of 505 Palestinians in the West Bank at the hands of the Israeli army and settlers since the war broke out in Gaza about eight months ago.
Palestinian officials spoke of a toll of at least 523 people.
He pointed out that 24 Israelis, including eight soldiers, were killed during the same period in confrontations or supposed attacks launched by Palestinians from the West Bank.
Turk said in a statement, “As if the tragic events that took place in Israel and then in Gaza over the past eight months were not enough, the residents of the occupied West Bank are being exposed day after day to unprecedented bloodshed.”
He added, “It is absolutely illogical that so many lives were claimed in this brutal way,” stressing that “killing, destruction, and widespread violations of human rights are unacceptable, and must stop immediately.”
He continued, “Israel must not only adopt rules of engagement that are fully consistent with applicable human rights rules and standards, but also strengthen their implementation,” calling for all those responsible for the supposed killings to be held accountable.
He denounced the fact that “impunity for such crimes has been common for a very long time in the West Bank,” which has been occupied by Israel since 1967 and witnessed an escalation in violence even before October 7.
He pointed out that over the weekend, Israeli forces killed a 16-year-old boy and seriously injured another, who subsequently died near the Aqabat Jabr refugee camp in Jericho.
He stated that surveillance cameras showed that they were shot from a distance of 70 meters while they were fleeing after throwing stones or Molotov bombs at a military site.
Threat to life
Turk’s statement stated that the Israeli army has traditionally “used lethal force as a first resort against Palestinian demonstrators, in cases where those shot did not represent an imminent threat to life.” He warned that “the violence practiced by Israeli security forces and Israeli settlers, against the backdrop of the ongoing scale of killing and destruction in Gaza, has sown fear and insecurity among Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.”
The UN High Commissioner said: “The norms and standards of the law of war were brutally violated in the Gaza Strip.”