UNRWA Chief Warns of Escalation of Israeli Violence Not Seen Before in West Bank

JAKARTA - The Commissioner General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) Philippe Lazzarini, said on Sunday, Israeli violence in the occupied West Bank has reached "record levels."

In a statement, Lazzarini said what was happening in the West Bank was a "silent war that has not received adequate coverage."

"An unprecedented level of violence has been witnessed in the occupied West Bank since October 2023, with more than 1,000 Palestinians killed, almost a quarter of them children," he said, as reported by WAFA (2/2).

Since the start of the war of extermination in the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, Israel, through its army and settlers, has increased its crimes in the West Bank, including murder, house demolition, expulsion of Palestinians, and expansion of settlements.

This escalation, which has been going on for more than two years, has resulted in the deaths of 1,110 Palestinians, injuries to around 11,500 others, and the arrest of more than 21,000 people.

"Israeli settler attacks continue unabated, while Palestinian communities continue to be subjected to intimidation, eviction from their land, and destruction of their livelihoods, all without punishment," Lazzarini said.

Some 770,000 Israeli settlers live in hundreds of settlements and outposts in the occupied West Bank, including 250,000 in East Jerusalem. They carry out daily attacks on Palestinians with the aim of forcing them to flee.

"Tens of thousands of people remain displaced a year after Israel launched Operation Cast Lead, its largest expulsion operation since 1967, and their homes are now being gradually demolished to prevent their return," Lazzarini said.

"Even as the world's attention is focused on Gaza, the blatant disregard for international humanitarian law in the West Bank has become the norm," the UNRWA chief said.