More than 500 Palestinians killed in occupied West Bank, says UN human rights commissioner

Two of the youngest fatalities were 16-year-old Ahmed Ashraf Hamidat and 17-year-old Mohammed Musa Al Bitar, both shot “from a distance of about 70 meters while fleeing after throwing stones and/or Molotov cocktails at an (Israeli) military post outside a settlement near Aqabat Jaber, as shown by video surveillance footage,” the Office of the High Commissioner, OHCHR, said.

The deaths of the teenagers, along with the killing of four other Palestinians by the Israeli army on Monday, bring the number of Palestinian casualties to 505 since Hamas-led terror attacks in southern Israel sparked the war in the Gaza Strip, the OHCHR said.

During the same period, 24 Israelis, including eight members of the Israeli security forces, were killed in the West Bank and in Israel in clashes or suspected attacks by Palestinians from the West Bank.

“Unprecedented bloodshed”

As if the tragic events of the last eight months in Israel and then in the Gaza Strip were not enough, the people of the occupied West Bank are also exposed to unprecedented bloodshed every day. It is unbelievable that so many lives were taken in such a wanton manner,“ said the High Commissioner.

“The killing, destruction and widespread human rights violations are unacceptable and must stop immediately. Israel must not only adopt but also enforce rules of engagement that are fully consistent with applicable human rights norms and standards,” Türk continued. “Any allegation of unlawful killings must be thoroughly and independently investigated and Those responsible will be held accountable.”

Lethal force as a first resort

The UN human rights commissioner noted that the number of Palestinians killed had already reached a “record high” in the first nine months of last year. After the attacks by Hamas fighters on October 7, in which around 1,250 people were killed and over 250 taken hostage, this number only rose “sharply”.

“Since the beginning of 2024, nearly 200 Palestinians have been killed by the ISF, compared to 113 and 50 deaths in the same periods in 2023 and 2022, respectively,” the statement from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said.

And although there are no armed hostilities in the occupied West Bank, the ISF has carried out at least 29 operations “involving air strikes by unmanned aerial vehicles or aircraft and the firing of surface-to-surface missiles on refugee camps and other densely populated areas,” it said.

In these operations, 164 Palestinians were killed, including 35 childrensaid the OHCHR, which pointed to a “frequency” of Palestinian victims who had been shot in the upper body and denied medical attention.

This indicates “an intent to kill in violation of the right to life, rather than a gradual use of force and an attempt to de-escalate tense situations … in cases where those shot clearly did not pose an immediate threat to life,” the UN human rights office said.