Palestinians react next to the bodies of Palestinians during their funeral, who were killed in a deadly shooting incident according to Israeli and Palestinian health officials, near the village of Tal, in Nablus, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 25, 2026. — Reuters
Geneva: Two years after the International Court of Justice said Israel’s occupation of the West Bank was unlawful, settler violence and territorial annexation is “only getting worse”, the UN said Wednesday.
The United Nations’ human rights office said that with attacks by Israeli settlers and the creation of outposts “hitting an all-time high”, countries had to act to end the occupation.
“We are alarmed by the Israeli government’s announcement to further increase the number of settlements and outposts, and open calls by Israeli leaders for revenge and collective punishment against Palestinian communities, accompanied by threats to turn the West Bank into another Gaza,” rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said in a statement.
In a sweeping, non-binding “advisory opinion” issued in July 2024, the UN’s top court said that Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian territory was “illegal”.
Israel is “under the obligation to bring to an end its unlawful presence as rapidly as possible”, presiding judge Nawaf Salam said.
Violence in the West Bank has surged since the Gaza war began with Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
The West Bank has seen near-daily attacks by Israeli settlers and regular raids on Palestinian villages.
Shamdasani said that since last Thursday, eight Palestinians, including a boy, as well as two members of the Israeli military had been killed in the West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967. “Settlers and Israeli security forces, often acting together, have attacked local communities, assaulting families, destroying and confiscating property, and burning mosques,” she said.
“Movement restrictions are now tighter, blocking Palestinians from reaching essential services.”
Last Friday, deadly clashes broke out last between Israeli settlers and Palestinians in the village of Tell that left four Palestinians and two Israelis dead. The Israeli military subsequently raided the city of Nablus and several nearby towns, announcing the arrest of dozens of Palestinians as it launched what it described as a “counter-terrorism” operation in the West Bank.