Israeli forces kill, wound and arrest many Palestinians every day during numerous raids into the occupied territory.
The United Nations has renewed its call to end violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
Volker Turk said in a statement released Tuesday that in addition to the death toll in the Gaza Strip, “the people of the occupied West Bank are also being subjected day after day to unprecedented bloodshed.” The UN human rights chief's words came as the Israeli army and settlers carried out new attacks on the territory.
“Widespread impunity for such crimes has been common for too long in the occupied West Bank,” he said, adding that this has created an environment for more “unlawful killings” by Israeli forces.
According to Turk, Israeli forces shot and killed 16-year-old Ahmed Ashraf Hamidat on June 1 and seriously wounded 17-year-old Mohammed Musa al-Bitar, who died a day later near the Aqabat refugee camp. Jaber in Jericho.
They were shot in the back at a distance of about 70 meters as they fled after throwing stones or Molotov cocktails at a military post in the occupied Palestinian territory, he said.
The war in Gaza has led to a wave of violence and arrests in the West Bank. At least 505 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank since the October 7 attacks on Israel, according to data confirmed by the UN. The data shows that 24 Israelis have been killed.
A count by the Palestinian Prisoners Society records the detention of 9,025 people in the same period, including 300 women and 635 children. Many of those who have been released have reported being tortured and abused during their detention.
Renewed violence
When Turk's statement was released, reports of new violence and arrests were emerging in the West Bank.
Al Jazeera journalists on the ground confirmed that Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinian men from Tulkarem on Tuesday, and the army claimed they were about to carry out an armed attack.
Three more Palestinians were killed in an Israeli attack in Nablus.
The Wafa news agency reported Tuesday afternoon that 22 Palestinians, including former detainees, had been arrested since dawn.
The arrests, which were accompanied by raids and threats against the families of those detained, were carried out in Ramallah, Bethlehem, Nablus, Salfit, Tubas, Jericho and East Jerusalem.
For the second day in a row, Israeli forces have also imposed a blockade on Jericho.
Meanwhile, in Ein Samiya, east of Ramallah, Israeli settlers stole 120 sheep belonging to a Palestinian citizen in the latest attack on farmers, according to a Wafa report citing a security source.
