Rights group highlights escalating violence by Israeli forces, illegal settlers in West Bank

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) – A major rights group on Friday highlighted the escalating violence by Israeli forces and illegal settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank.

In a statement, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) revealed that 228 Palestinians, including 51 children, were killed in attacks by Israeli forces or illegal settlers and over 1,000 were displaced during the first half of 2024.

Commenting on the findings, Ana Povrzenic, NRC’s country director in Palestine, said: “The data indicates that Israeli forces are deploying unwarranted use of lethal force against Palestinian civilians.”

“We cannot separate the worsening conditions in the West Bank from the actions of senior Israeli officials aimed to establish sovereignty over the West Bank, in violation of international law,” she emphasized.

Moreover, the number of search and arrest operations conducted by Israeli forces in the West Bank nearly doubled, rising to 3,384 in the first half of 2024 from 1,873 in the same period in 2023.

Attacks by illegal Israeli settlers in the West Bank also greatly increased during the period with 649 incidents, according to NRC.

"While some states have imposed sanctions against individual violent settlers, this has had limited impact in reducing rates of violence,” Povrzenic remarked.

She stressed that states must do more to hold Israel, including its central and local governments, and security forces, accountable for severe violations of international law.

Israeli troops have been entering various parts of the occupied West Bank regularly for the past few years, but their incursions have increased with the beginning of the war on the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023. Palestinians have also been violently attacked by illegal Israeli settlers.

Estimates indicate that around 700,000 Israeli settlers live in roughly 300 illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

All Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are considered illegal under international law.

Tensions have been running high across the West Bank since Israel launched a deadly military offensive against the Gaza Strip that killed nearly 38,800 people after an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year.​​​​​​​