UN denounces violence and confiscation of lands “without precedent” in the West Bank

A denunciation came from the UN Special Interim Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Ramiz Alakbarov, in a quarterly update to the Security Council on the implementation of a 2016 resolution requiring Israel to end all settlement-related activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.

However, during the period from 13 June to 18 September this year, activities associated with settlements and Israeli violence remained at high levels and, in some cases, reached “unprecedented” levels, the representative said.

During this period, the Israeli authorities advanced or approved the construction of some 4,570 housing units in West Bank Area C and 3,515 in East Jerusalem, while bidding notices were published for almost 2,240 additional units.

Demolitions and seizures of 536 Palestinian property structures displaced 736 people, including 347 children.

“The gradual annexation of the West Bank is illegal, has no legal effect and must stop,” said Ramiz Alakbarov.

Violence also persisted in the West Bank, but also in the Gaza Strip.

In the enclave, 360 Palestinians were killed and more than 1,600 were injured during the period under review, in full Israeli military operation and daily air raids.

No Israeli deaths have been reported in Gaza, Alakbarov said.

Already in the West Bank, 32 Palestinians, including nine children, were killed and 633 were injured by Israeli or colonist forces. Two members of the Israeli forces were killed by Palestinians, while 49 Israelis and four members of Israel's security forces were injured.

The UN coordinator warned that the violence of the settlers reached “unprecedented levels”, often occurring in the presence of Israeli forces.

More than 33,000 Palestinians remain displaced in the refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams, described as the largest and longest displacement in the West Bank since 1967.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza also “continues to be extremely serious,” said the representative, stressing that infectious diseases continue to proliferate in places where overcrowded displaced people are being welcomed.

“ Restrictions on the entry of essential humanitarian articles continue to prevent the extension of the humanitarian response, including preparations for winter,” he warned.

Ramiz Alakbarov also said that the Palestinian Authority's fiscal situation remains critical, as Israel retains around six billion dollars (EUR 5.28 billion) in customs revenue.

Today’s UN Security Council meeting was attended by two peace activists and co-directors of the InterAct International non-profit organization: Israeli Maoz Inon, whose parents were killed in the attacks of the Hamas extremist group of 7 October 2023, which triggered the war in the Gaza Strip, and Palestinian Aziz Abu Sarah.

Despite his personal impact, the Israeli said he made a “conscious choice to reject revenge.”.

While noting that the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas has committed “atrocious war crimes”, he considered that the Israeli Government exploited these atrocities to wage a war of revenge.

In this sense, it called for lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, built on a shared vision and an active partnership between popular movements, neighbouring countries of the region and members of the Council.

Aziz Abu Sarah recalled her childhood in the outskirts of Jerusalem and the direct experience with the expansion of settlements.

He told the Council that his brother “was arrested and beaten to death by Israeli soldiers” when the activist was only 10 years old.

At the session, it urged the Security Council to establish a civil protection mechanism, protect Palestinian farmers during the harvest of olives and impose specific sanctions on individuals and institutions supporting violence.

He also requested access by the Red Cross to Palestinians in Israeli custody and support for free and fair Palestinian elections.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, following the Six-Day War, also maintaining the annexation of East Jerusalem, not recognized by the international community.

Side by side with some three million Palestinians, more than 500,000 Israelis currently live in settlements in the West Bank, considered illegal by the United Nations in the light of international law.

The colonization policy has been maintained by successive Israeli governments since 1967, but intensified after the formation of the current executive led by Benjamin Netanyahu at the end of 2022, and gained new momentum following the attack of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on October 7, 2023.