UN rights office condemns continuing Israeli military operation in West Bank

The UN human rights office, OHCHR, condemned the intensifying Israeli military operation in the northern West Bank, warning that nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been displaced already amid an “alarming wave” of violence and destruction.

Since the start of the offensive on 21 January, Israeli forces have killed at least 44 Palestinians, including five children and two women, in Jenin, Tulkarem and Tubas governorates, and four refugee camps in those areas, according to OHCHR.

Many of those killed were unarmed and posed no imminent threat, said the UN rights office, calling the killings “part of an expanding pattern of Israel’s unlawful use of force in the West Bank where there are no active hostilities.”

‘Unprecedented’ displacement

OHCHR also highlighted an unprecedented scale of mass displacement not seen in decades in the occupied West Bank.

It cited reports from displaced residents of a pattern where they were led out of their homes by Israeli security forces and drones under the threat of violence.

“They are then forced out of their towns with snipers positioned on rooftops around them and houses in their neighbourhoods used as posts by Israeli security forces,” the office said.

Testimonies collected by OHCHR describe Israeli forces threatening residents who were told they would never be allowed to return. One woman, who fled barefoot carrying her two young children, said she was denied permission to retrieve heart medication for her baby.

In Jenin refugee camp, bulldozed roads were photographed with new street signs reportedly now written in Hebrew.

“In this regard, we reiterate that any forcible transfer in or deportation of people from occupied territory is strictly prohibited and amounts to a crime under international law,” OHCHR stated.

Legal obligations

The office stressed that displaced Palestinians must be allowed to return to their homes and called for immediate, transparent investigations into the killings.

“Military commanders and other superiors may be held responsible for the crimes committed by their subordinates if they fail to take all necessary and reasonable measures to prevent or punish unlawful killings,” it stated.

OHCHR also reiterated Israel’s obligations under international law, including ending its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible and evacuating all West Bank settlements immediately.

“In the meantime, as the occupying power, Israel must ensure the protection of Palestinians, the provision of basic services and needs, and the respect of Palestinians’ full range of human rights,” the office said.

Humanitarian update

Meanwhile in Gaza, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) reported on Friday it had reached more than 860,000 men, women and children with food parcels, hot meals, bread and cash assistance since the start of the fragile ceasefire.

UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists at a regular news briefing in New York that over 19,000 metric tonnes of WFP food have entered Gaza.

The agency has also distributed nutrition packs to some 85,000 people, including children under five, and pregnant and breastfeeding women, and provided more than 90,000 people with cash assistance in the past two weeks.

“Efforts are also underway to establish more food distribution points, especially in North Gaza, to reduce travel distances, transport costs and protection risks for families,” Mr. Dujarric said.

Fuel deliveries, schools reopening

In addition, the World Health Organization (WHO) distributed 100,000 litres of fuel to hospitals in Gaza City on Friday, having delivered about 5,000 litres of fuel to Al Awda Hospital, in North Gaza governorate the day before.

In southern Gaza, education partners in Rafah are preparing for the reopening of at least a dozen schools as displaced families return to their home areas, Mr. Dujarric said.

“As you know, schools across the Strip had been used as shelters for Palestinians displaced during 15 months of hostilities. In Khan Younis and Deir al Balah, partners are providing cleaning materials to restart learning activities,” he added.