More than 37,000 Palestinians displaced last year in occupied West Bank in all-time high: UN
More than 37,000 Palestinians were displaced in the occupied West Bank in 2025, a record high amid unprecedented levels of Israeli settler violence, the United Nations warned, citing new figures from its humanitarian office.
The Palestinian territory “saw record levels of displacement and settler violence”, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at a news conference, pointing to a new publication by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Noting that “last year, more than 37,000 Palestinians were displaced over the course of 2025”, Dujarric said this was mostkt due to “operations carried out in refugee camps”.
“Across the northern governance of the West Bank, OCHA also reports that over 1,800 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians,” that caused casualties, damage or both in 2025, he added.
The UN spokesperson further noted that this was “the highest annual figure on record by the United Nations, and marks the ninth consecutive annual increase”.
Rome protests after gendarmerie officers allegedly threatened by Israeli settler
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has summoned the Israeli ambassador to Italy to seek clarification and convey Rome’s strong protest after two gendarmerie officers were threatened by a person, believed to be an armed settler, in the occupied West Bank, according to a statement.
“The two carabinieri [gendarmerie] were stopped in Palestinian territory, near Ramallah, likely by a settler at gunpoint,” the Foreign Ministry said.
The statement noted that the two military personnel were on a site-inspection visit on Sunday to prepare for a mission of European Union ambassadors to a village near Ramallah.
“The military personnel were threatened by an armed man in civilian clothes, presumably an Israeli settler, who pointed a rifle at them,” said the ministry.
“The soldiers [who had diplomatic passports and cards, and a car with diplomatic licence plates] were ‘interrogated’ by the civilian,” the ministry noted.
The statement added that the officers did not respond to the initial threats with violence.
