Continuing settler attacks in the West Bank, and a call to hold those involved accountable

The office’s spokesman, Thameen Al-Khitan, stated at the press conference of the United Nations agencies in Geneva that the office confirmed that from October 7, 2023 until November 5, 2025, Israeli security forces and settlers killed 1,010 Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and this number included 215 children.

Al-Khitan said: “We have witnessed an increase in attacks recently, especially with the olive harvest season. These attacks must stop, and there must be accountability.”.

He explained that 757 attacks were recorded in the first half of 2025 alone, a number 13% higher than the same period last year.

He referred to the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice regarding the illegality of the Israeli presence in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Respect the rights of Palestinians

A spokesman for the Human Rights Office also said: “It is very important, in any process for the future of Gaza and all of the Palestinian territories, that the Palestinian people are involved, and that the rights of Palestinians to self-determination are respected.”.

In answer to a question about the proposal of what is known as the “stabilization force in Gaza,” Al-Khitan stressed that any force that operates or will operate in the future must respect international law and international humanitarian law.

He pointed out that the United Nations Human Rights Office does not monitor the parties’ compliance with the ceasefire in Gaza. But he stressed that “Whether there is a ceasefire or not, international human rights law and international humanitarian law must be respected and civilians protected. The rights of Palestinians do not change whether there is a ceasefire or not.”.

Mass demolition orders

In the same vein, the United Nations Office for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory called for an immediate halt to the mass demolition orders issued on October 28, targeting 11 homes and vital community infrastructure in the Umm al-Khair Bedouin community in the South Hebron Hills.

The office said in a statement issued today, Friday, that the demolition orders threaten a new wave of forced displacement of residents of the Umm al-Khair community, which includes 35 extended families who have lived there since they were expelled from their lands in the Negev during the mass forced displacement of Palestinians during the Nakba in the period between 1948 and 1949.

He reported that over the years, the Israeli authorities have subjected Umm al-Khair residents to discriminatory land planning rules imposed by the Israeli Civil Administration, while Israeli settlers are allowed to expand settlements and build new settlement outposts linked to the neighboring Karmiel settlement.

He explained that in September, settlers established a settlement outpost in the center of Umm al-Khair, and intensified their harassment of the Palestinian residents to force them to leave. He added that impunity extends to unaccountable settler violence.

Ajith Songai, director of the office, said: “The case of Umm al-Khair represents an example of a rising wave of Israeli steps aimed at consolidating its annexation of the West Bank, especially Area C, in violation of international law.”.

He added: “Time is running out. The international community must apply pressure to protect the people of Umm al-Khair from the imminent threat of forced displacement, and from any further violence or dispossession of their property.”.