The demolition orders threaten a new wave of forced displacement of Umm Al Khair residents—a community of 35 extended families who have lived there since their expulsion from their lands in Negev during the mass forcible displacement of Palestinians in 1948-1949, known as the Nakba.  For years, Israeli authorities have subjected Umm Al Khair residents to persistent discriminatory land regulations enforced by the Israeli Civil Administration, as well as several rounds of systematic Israeli demolitions of Palestinian structures and associated displacements. Similar to other Palestinian villages in the South Hebron Hills and nearby Masafer Yatta, the Israeli authorities consider most Palestinian structures in Umm Al Khair to be illegal for lacking Israeli building permits, which are almost impossible for Palestinians to obtain.  In the meantime, Israeli settlers have been allowed to expand settlements and to build new outposts connected to the nearby Carmel settlement. In September, settlers erected an outpost in the centre of Umm Al Khair and intensified harassment of the Palestinian residents to force them to leave. Despite a temporary injunction order issued by the Jerusalem District Court to stop construction and bar settlers from entering the outpost, authorities have taken no action to enforce the order, in stark contrast to the frequent and swift demolitions of Palestinian structures. The impunity extends to unchecked settler violence, which has surged since 7 October 2023. On 28 July 2025, a well-known Israeli settler shot and killed Palestinian rights defender Owdeh Hathaleen during a protest against the construction of a new settlement road on the community land. Hathaleen recorded his own shooting, and a video filmed by another resident clearly identified the shooter. But the accused was detained on house arrest for three days and then released with no further consequences. In 2024, the International Court of Justice concluded that Israel’s expansion of settlements, demolition of Palestinian homes and property, movement restrictions, and discriminatory zoning measures have created a coercive environment compelling the displacement of Palestinians, which constitutes forcible transfer and amounts to a war crime.  “The case of Umm Al Khair is emblematic of an ever-escalating wave of Israeli steps to consolidate its annexation of the West Bank, particularly Area C, in violation of international law,” said Ajith Sunghay, Head of the UN Human Rights office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. “Time is ticking. The international community must exercise pressure to protect Umm Al Khair residents from the imminent threat of forced displacement, and from any further violence and dispossession.” 

The olive harvestOn 24 October, a video verified by the UN Human Rights office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory shows an Israeli settler, joined by Israeli security forces, together severely assaulting a 58-year-old olive farmer in Nahhalin, Bethlehem.The Israeli military said the incident is being investigated. However, settlers and Israeli security forces have so far enjoyed complete impunity for attacks against Palestinians, even deadly ones. Attacks against Bedouin communitiesSettler violence is escalating far beyond the olive harvest season, making life impossible for Palestinians in many communities across the occupied West Bank and leaving them with no genuine choice but to leave their homes.In another grave incident on Saturday, 25 October, a mob of masked Israeli settlers first attacked Palestinians picking olives in Mikhmas, then set fire to six Palestinian homes in the nearby Khallet As Sidra, a Bedouin Palestinian community northeast of occupied East Jerusalem.According to monitoring by the UN Human Rights office, the community, like many others in the West Bank, has been repeatedly attacked by Israeli settlers over the past two years to force residents to leave and expand illegal outposts in the area. Recently, all Palestinian women and children relocated from Khillet As Sidra for safety reasons, and the men stayed to prevent seizure of their homes by settlers. The Saturday arson reportedly engulfed several of the homes held by the remaining men. During the attack, settlers also injured five Palestinian men and two Israeli women solidarity activists. As Israel escalates its campaign of forced transfer to clear large swaths of the occupied West Bank from Palestinian residents, entire Bedouin communities have been displaced over the past two years. According to the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), about 3,200 Palestinians from dozens of Bedouin and herding communities have been forcibly displaced by settler violence and movement restrictions since 7 October 2023, mostly from Area C. Consolidating annexationOver the past year, there have been 84 new settler outposts compared to 49 the year before, according to data from the Israeli NGO Peace Now. This marks a rapid escalation compared to the yearly average of eight outposts in the past decade. In association, settler violence is also surging with 757 attacks recorded in the first half of 2025 alone- 13 per cent higher than the same period last year. Most attacks have been recorded in Area C, which is increasingly being emptied of Palestinians. However, the UN Human Rights office has also been increasingly documenting attacks in Area B, indicating an ever-shrinking space for Palestinians. The International Court of Justice concluded that the occupation must end, and Israel must withdraw from all the Occupied Palestinian Territory, both the West Bank and Gaza. This includes immediately dismantling all settlements and evacuating all settlers.

 Gaza, 22 October 2025 - Amidst critical humanitarian needs, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), in partnership with the Palestinian Housing Council (PHC) and with generous funding from the Government of Japan, has launched a vital initiative to rehabilitate partially damaged homes in the Gaza Strip. Implemented under the project “Urgent Early Recovery and Resilience Building Towards Reconstruction in the Gaza Strip,” this intervention supports immediate relief efforts while empowering affected families to rebuild their homes with dignity. By adopting a self-help approach, the project empowers affected communities to take an active role in repairing and rehabilitating their own homes, fostering a sense of ownership, resilience, and recovery.As winter approaches in Gaza, and in light of the recent positive developments following the announcement of a ceasefire, this intervention comes at a crucial moment. The initiative is critical for the well-being of families who lost their homes and have been enduring dire living conditions. This community-driven model not only addresses urgent shelter needs but also contributes to alleviating the broader humanitarian crisis. It provides emotional and social support by helping families return to their original homes, restoring a sense of stability and normalcy in their lives.Ms. Rania Hedeya, Regional Director of UN-Habitat, highlighted that “the importance of this initiative goes beyond addressing the immediate and urgent needs of affected families. Its true value lies in its scalability and sustainability, as it offers a replicable model that strengthens community engagement, promotes livelihood opportunities, and ensures cost-effective and efficient implementation. Through the self-help approach, this model can be expanded across multiple neighbourhoods in the Gaza Strip, empowering communities to actively participate in the recovery and reconstruction process.” On the work methodology and implementation on the ground, Chairman of the PHC, Dr. Samih Al Abed, explained that PHC implements a locally led, area-based self-help model: “we begin with rapid structural-safety assessments, prioritize households through dynamic maps, issue clear technical guidance and standardized materials lists, and disburse targeted grants on payments linked with the achievement under mutual-commitment agreements. Then we verify quality through field visits and digital monitoring to ensure safe, dignified, and cost-effective repairs that accelerate families’ return home.”Ambassador for the Palestinian Affairs and Representative of Japan to Palestine Mr. ARAIKE Katsuhiko stated: “Japan remains steadfast in its support for the Palestinian people facing dire situation through various projects including this which is implemented by UN-Habitat to help rebuild lives and strengthen communities through community-led housing rehabilitation. Japan continues to be committed to working hand in hand with our partners in the Palestinian government, civil society, and the private sector to improve the humanitarian and economic situation in Gaza Strip and West Bank, and strengthen the bonds of friendship and cooperation between Japan and Palestine.”

The fatality brings the total number of Palestinian killed by ISF and settlers since 7 October 2023 in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, to 1001. One in five of the victims is a child including 206 boys and 7 girls. The number also includes 20 women and at least 7 persons with disabilities. This does not include Palestinians who died in Israeli detention during the same period.The figure represents 43 per cent of all Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank in the past 20 years.Since 7 October 2023, 59 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks or armed clashes in the West Bank and Israel, including 16 women and 5 children. Twenty-two of the Israeli fatalities were members of the Israeli security forces.Documentation by the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory attributes this staggering number of killings of Palestinians to the ISF’s systematic use of lethal force against Palestinians in the vast majority of cases, including live fire, airstrikes, and shoulder-fired missiles, in an unlawful, unnecessary, and disproportionate manner, with evident disregard for Palestinians’ right to life, including children.The youngest of the fatalities is two-year-old Laila Khatib, who was shot to death by ISF while in the bedroom of her house in As Shuhada, Jenin. Laila was killed on 25 January 2025 during the Israeli operation known as “Iron Wall,” which resulted in the emptying of three Palestinian refugee camps in Jenin and Tulkarem. In another recent example of child killings, on 8 September, Islam Majarmeh and Mohammad Musaqla, both aged 14, were killed by ISF while trying to get back into Jenin refugee camp, posing no threat whatsoever to soldiers.According to the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, among the 968 Palestinians killed by ISF, almost half (449) were unarmed, and not involved in any violence or confrontation at the time of their killing. One hundred and seventy-four Palestinians, including 71 children, were killed while throwing stones or Molotov cocktails, often at well-equipped and protected ISF or ISF vehicles. In both cases, the use of lethal force appears unnecessary and disproportionate.Seventy-nine Palestinians were killed in attacks and alleged attacks against Israelis, and 247 during exchange of fire with ISF following ISF incursions into Palestinian towns and villages. In many of these cases, the lethal force used appears either unnecessary or disproportionate, which requires full investigation, and where the ISF may be required to explain in what circumstances it became necessary to use lethal force, and what other measures were taken to protect the right to life.At least 331 of these killings raise serious concerns of extrajudicial executions, including the targeted killing of Palestinians accused of participating in or planning attacks against Israelis, as well as the intentional killing of Palestinians only perceived to pose a threat, or no longer posing a threat.Confirming consistent patterns of intentional killings, the UN Human Rights Office documented that among 640 Palestinians killed with live ammunition by ISF, at least in 55 per cent (or 355) were shot in the head or other upper part of the body. In at least 244 of the cases, ISF delayed or obstructed medical assistance to those injured.Despite the absence of hostilities in the occupied West Bank, ISF launched 108 airstrikes and used other weapons designated for warfare to mainly target refugee camps in Jenin, Tulkarem, Tubas, and Nablus. During these operations, ISF killed 445 Palestinians (361 men, 10 women, 70 boys, 4 girls), of whom 258 by airstrikes and 46 by shoulder-fired projectiles, destroyed large parts of the camps, and forcibly displaced between 30,000 and 40,000 Palestinians. While ISF claims that those killed were “terrorists” during such operations, the UN Human Rights Office has verified that the majority of them were unarmed, potentially indicating systematic unlawful killings.Many other cases appear to reflect a callous indifference to Palestinian life. In one of many similar cases, on 8 January 2025, ISF struck with an air-to-ground missile and killed two boys aged 8 and 10, Rida Ali Ahmed Bisharat and Hamza Ammar Ahmed Bisharat, respectively, and a 23-year-old man, Adam Khair Al-Deen Ahmed Bisharat, all unarmed and not posing any threat, while they were within their courtyard in Tammun, Tubas. ISF first stated they struck a possible terrorist cell but later admitted they had not taken sufficient steps to verify the identity of the victims.Following 7 October 2023, settler attacks against Palestinians also reached a new peak in scale and severity, enabled by Israeli policy to draft thousands of settlers into the army and to provide further weapons to settlers. This has led to the killing of 33 Palestinians, including 3 children, 19 of whom were killed by settlers, while 14 were killed by settlers and the army shooting side by side.International standards require Israel to ensure an independent and effective investigation of all incidents where individuals have been killed in violent or suspicious circumstances, including as a result of the use of force by agents of the State. However, Israeli authorities have only announced investigations into deaths following settler violence and the use of lethal force by Israeli security forces in extremely rare cases. In these few cases, there appears to have been no progress, maintaining the almost complete impunity for the use of unlawful force and the unlawful killing of Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The large numbers of Palestinians killed in this period, the prevalence of the unlawful use of force, the enabling and support for settler violence and the endemic impunity for crimes committed against Palestinians, all suggest that Israeli security forces use lethal and potentially lethal force as a tool to control and repress Palestinians, rather than as the last resort to restore and maintain public order and civil life for the Palestinians.