UN says Israeli settler violence, unlawful killings continue in West Bank
The UN human rights office has said “high levels of settler violence against Palestinians continue in the occupied West Bank, causing death, injuries and loss of property and undermining Palestinian lives and livelihoods in many areas”.
A statement by the office presented several recent incidents, documenting the ongoing violence in the illegally occupied territory. It added that the Israeli forces “continued the practice of unlawful killings and large-scale operations in northern West Bank”.
“Over the past week, Israeli security forces killed three Palestinians who were throwing stones, including two children,” the agency said. It added: “This raised 192 the number of children killed by Israeli security forces in the West Bank since 7 October 2023.”
Remains of Gaza’s critical life-saving infrastructure collapsing: UN
The UN human rights office says Israel’s attacks on Palestinians have accelerated since the collapse of the ceasefire in Gaza in March and during the past week in particular.
A statement by the agency stressed that attacks killed countless civilians and further risked the complete destruction of what little infrastructure remains in the enclave.
It issued a reminder that Israel’s complete closure of Gaza, preventing lifesaving assistance from reaching civilians – including food and fuel – has entered its eighth week.
“Persistent Israeli military attacks on civilians and civilian objects have continued throughout Gaza in violation of the core principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack required by international humanitarian law,” the agency stressed.
It added: “Extremely high civilian casualties over 18 months do not appear to have prompted any changes in Israeli targeting practices and policies, a pattern indicating at the very least a complete disregard for the lives of civilians in Gaza.”
Syria urges UN to press Israel on withdrawal from its territory
Syria’s foreign minister called on the UN Security Council to “pressure” Israel to withdraw from its territory following the toppling of Bashar al-Assad.
“We have repeatedly announced our commitment that Syria will not constitute any threat to any of the neighbouring countries or any country around the world, including to Israel,” Assaad al-Chaibani said in his first address at UN headquarters in New York.
Following al-Assad’s fall, Israel launched air strikes and ground incursions.
Since coming to power, President Ahmed al-Sharaa has maintained that he and his government do not want to fight Israel and that he will not allow Syria to be used by external parties as a launching pad for attacks.
He has condemned Israel’s attacks on Syria and its creeping expansion beyond the already occupied Golan Heights.
