UN Human Rights Chief: The Situation In The West Bank Is Drastically Worsening

Israeli army operations in the West Bank. (Source: Israel Defense Forces)

JAKARTA - The UN human rights chief said on Tuesday Palestinians in the occupied West Bank of Israel and East Jerusalem suffered a drastically deteriorating human rights environment, along with "unacceptable deaths and suffering" in the Gaza Strip.

"The situation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has drastically worsened," the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said at the opening session of the UN Human Rights Council.

The West Bank, where internationally recognized Palestinian Authority runs its own limited government under Israeli occupation, has been experiencing the worst riots for decades, along with the war in the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by Hamas.

Turk said that since the start of the Gaza war in October to mid-June, 528 Palestinians, 133 of whom were children, had been killed by Israeli security forces or settlers in the West Bank, in some cases raising "serious concerns about illegal killings".

Meanwhile, twenty-three Israelis were killed in the West Bank and Israel in clashes or attacks by Palestinians, he said.

In Gaza, Turk said he was "shocked by the neglect of international human rights and humanitarian law" by those involved in the war.

"Israel's intense attack on Gaza has caused tremendous suffering and widespread damage, and the arbitrary resistance and barriers to humanitarian aid continue," Turk said.

"Israel continues to arbitrarily detain thousands of Palestinians. This should not continue," he criticized.

He added that Palestinian armed groups continue to take hostage, including in populated areas, which endanger hostages and civilians.

Separately, Israel's permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva accused Turk of "completely ignoring the atrocities and barbarity of terrorism" in a speech at the UN Human Rights Council.

"The hostilities in Gaza are a direct result of Hamas terrorism, decades of rocket attacks and incitement against Jews and the State of Israel, culminating in its brutal attack on Israel on October 7," the diplomatic mission said in a statement.

It is known that a Palestinian militant group led by Hamas stormed southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and holding more than 250 people hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

That was in response to a blockade, airstrikes and ground operations by Israel. In its announcement Tuesday, Palestinian medical authorities said the death toll of Palestinians in Gaza since the latest conflict broke out had reached 3,372 people. While the injured reached 85,452 people. Most of the victims were children and women, quoted from WAFA.