UN Warns West Bank Violence and Annexation Intensifying, Calls for Urgent Action
Two years after the International Court of Justice declared Israel's occupation of the West Bank unlawful, the United Nations has reported that settler violence and territorial annexation are worsening. The UN human rights office stated on Wednesday that attacks by Israeli settlers and the establishment of outposts have reached unprecedented levels, demanding international action to end the occupation.
“We are alarmed by the Israeli government’s announcement to further increase the number of settlements and outposts, and open calls by Israeli leaders for revenge and collective punishment against Palestinian communities, accompanied by threats to turn the West Bank into another Gaza,” said Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN human rights office.
The International Court of Justice issued a non-binding advisory opinion in July 2024, stating that Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian territory is illegal. Judge Nawaf Salam emphasized that Israel is obligated to end its unlawful presence as rapidly as possible.
Violence in the West Bank has surged since the Gaza war began following Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The region has experienced near-daily attacks by Israeli settlers and frequent raids on Palestinian villages by Israeli forces.
Shamdasani reported that since July 23, 2026, eight Palestinians, including a boy, and two Israeli soldiers have been killed in the West Bank, which has been under Israeli occupation since 1967. “Settlers and Israeli security forces, often acting together, have attacked local communities, assaulting families, destroying and confiscating property, and burning mosques,” she said. “Movement restrictions are now tighter, blocking Palestinians from reaching essential services.”
On July 24, deadly clashes erupted between Israeli settlers and Palestinians in the village of Tell, resulting in four Palestinian and two Israeli deaths. In response, the Israeli military raided the city of Nablus and surrounding towns, arresting dozens of Palestinians as part of what it called a “counter-terrorism” operation.
Palestinian officials reported that on the night of July 26, Israeli settlers set fire to two mosques. Shamdasani urged third states to act urgently and collectively to halt the killing and dispossession of Palestinians and to end the Israeli occupation.
The warning followed a statement by Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN deputy special coordinator for the West Asia peace process, who told the Security Council on July 28 that the situation in the West Bank was “rapidly deteriorating.”
Since the start of the Gaza war, at least 1,097 Palestinians, including militants, have been killed by Israeli troops or settlers, according to Palestinian figures. Official Israeli data indicates that at least 48 Israelis, both civilians and security personnel, have died in attacks by Palestinians or during military operations.
Excluding annexed east Jerusalem, about three million Palestinians live in the West Bank alongside more than 500,000 Israelis residing in settlements considered illegal under international law.
