Israel unlawfully killing Palestinians in the West Bank, says Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in its latest report that Israeli forces are unlawfully killing Palestinians in the West Bank, in cases that include executions of individuals who posed no apparent threat.

"Research into eight deaths in four incidents between July 2022 and October 2023 concluded that Israeli forces wrongfully fatally shot or deliberately executed Palestinians who posed no apparent security threat," the report says.

"According to the United Nations, Israeli security forces killed more than twice the number of Palestinians in the West Bank in 2023 than in any year since systematic data collection began in 2005, and the rate of killings was even higher during the first quarter of 2024."

Richard Weird, senior crisis and conflict researcher at HRW, said Israeli forces have been killing Palestinians in the West Bank "without a legal basis", adding that they are taking place in an environment with no precedent, in which Israeli soldiers "have no need to fear that their government will hold them accountable".

Israeli forces killed 492 Palestinians in the West Bank in 2023, including 120 children. While about 300 of them were killed after the 7 October Hamas-led attack on Israel, HRW says the increasing rate of killings dates back to 2022. 

In 2024, Between 1 January and 31 March, they have killed 131 Palestinians.