UN warns of Israeli violence and mass displacement in West Bank

The United Nations Human Rights Office has condemned Israel’s escalating military assault in the northern occupied West Bank, warning of a surge in violence and widespread forced displacement.

“[Israeli forces] have so far killed 44 Palestinians, many of them unarmed and posing no imminent threat to life or serious injury, since the operation began on 21 January, affecting Jenin, Tulkarem, and Tubas governorates, as well as four refugee camps,” the Unhrc stated.

Among the victims were five children, including 10-year-old Saddam Hussein Rajab, who was shot in the chest by Israeli forces while standing in front of a building in Tulkarem.

The UN described Israel’s actions as part of a “systematic pattern of unlawful use of force” in an area where no active hostilities exist.

It reported that nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced since the assault began, a scale of displacement not seen in decades.

Displaced Palestinians have detailed a common pattern: Israeli forces and drones forcing them from their homes under the threat of violence, snipers positioned on rooftops, and their neighbourhoods turned into Israeli military posts.