Politics UN office: Israel's war-like tactics in the West Bank

According to the UN, the situation for Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is steadily worsening.

"Israeli forces have used deadly, war-like tactics in the West Bank. This raises serious concerns about the excessive use of force and exacerbates the humanitarian needs of the people," said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN's emergency relief agency OCHA, in Geneva. "We call on Israel, as the occupying power, to protect Palestinians from attacks, violence and intimidation."

On Thursday, a Palestinian woman was reportedly killed while harvesting olives in Jenin, Laerke said. In total, residents of the illegal Israeli settlements there had attacked Palestinians who were harvesting their olives 32 times since the beginning of October. Hundreds of olive trees and seedlings had been destroyed, sawn down or stolen. The information came from local and international aid organizations on the ground, which have been reliable partners for years.

In the past twelve months, 728 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, mostly by soldiers, but at least twelve by settlers, Laerke said. Palestinians had killed 32 army personnel and seven settlers in the same period. According to Israel, it targets Palestinians who attack Israelis.

SDA