Killing of a child by Palestinian security forces may amount to unlawful killing

Palestinian authorities must investigate the Palestinian security forces’ (PSF) killing of a 15-year-old boy and the critical injury of a five-year-old girl during the detention of their father, Samer Samara Bani Odeh, in Tubas, northern West Bank on 15 February. The incident raises concern about the unnecessary use of lethal force and may amount to unlawful killing.

Bani Odeh and his wife and children were reportedly driving at the Tammun-Tubas junction when undercover PSF members opened fire on the car, immediately killing 15-year-old Ali, and shooting 5-year-old Ronza in the head, who remains in critical condition. An eyewitness told the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OHCHR OPT) that there was no warning before the shots were fired. The third child, 17-year-old Yazen, was also injured with shrapnel. Beni Odeh himself was reportedly shot in the leg before he was detained and taken away by PSF.

Beni Odeh is also wanted by Israeli security forces which had arrested his wife multiple times in an apparent effort to force him to surrender, according to OHCHR OPT monitoring.

The incident recalls PSF’s security operation in the northern West Bank between December 2024 and January 2025 which preceded the Israeli security forces’ clearing of the Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps in the area. At the time, PSF killed nine Palestinians including four boys, with four others were killed by either PSF or armed Palestinians.

Despite PSF’s repeated statements at the time vowing to initiate investigations into killings and to hold perpetrators to account, there has been no available outcome of these reported investigations to date. Following the incident of 15 February, PSF again issued a statement declaring that an investigation is initiated.

PSF are bound by international human rights law which strictly limits the use of potentially lethal force in law enforcement to situations where it is necessary to protect life or prevent injury from an imminent threat. Palestinian authorities have an obligation to conduct prompt, thorough and transparent investigations into any use of lethal force by PSF, and, in the case of violations, hold perpetrators accountable.

Patterns of ill-treatment and coercion reported among Palestinians returning to Gaza

For the third consecutive day, Palestinians returning to Gaza through the newly reopened Rafah crossing have reported a consistent pattern of ill-treatment, abuse, and humiliation by Israeli military forces.

Palestinian returnees reported to the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory being escorted after crossing by armed Palestinians allegedly backed by the Israeli military, to an Israeli military checkpoint. Consistent accounts indicate that some of these armed Palestinians handcuffed and blindfolded returnees, conducted searches, threatened and intimidated, and stole personal belongings and money.

Upon arrival at the Israeli checkpoint, returnees described a pattern of violence, degrading interrogations, and invasive body searches, in some cases while blindfolded and handcuffed. They also reported that soldiers denied them access to medical care when needed, and access to bathrooms, resulting in extreme humiliation, including being forced to urinate in public.

Several returnees said they were asked whether they would accept money to return to Egypt with their families and never return. Some said that they were offered money to become informants for the Israeli military.

Taken together, these accounts point to a pattern of conduct that violates Palestinians’ rights to personal security, dignity, and freedom from torture, ill-treatment, and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.

The reported pattern of conduct towards returnees raises serious concerns of coercion, discouraging Palestinians from exercising their right to return to areas they were forced to leave, further contributing to the ethnic cleansing of Gaza.

“The international community has a responsibility to ensure that all measures affecting Gaza strictly comply with international law and fully respect Palestinians’ human rights,” said Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN Human Rights Office in the OPT. “After two years of utter devastation, being able to return to their families and what remains of their homes in safety and dignity is the bare minimum.”

Settler violence drives forced displacement in the West Bank

Across the West Bank, settler violence is clearing large swaths of Area C, the Jordan Valley, and parts of Area B, of Palestinians with the support and participation of Israeli security forces. Amid a push by Israeli authorities to prevent Palestinian statehood and consolidate annexation of the occupied West Bank, state-backed settler violence has become a key driver of forced displacement, chipping away at Palestinian presence in strategic locations.

Such settler-driven displacement, particularly in Bedouin and herding communities, usually follows the same pattern: an illegal outpost is erected near or inside a herding community, settlers restrict Palestinians’ access to water and grazing space, settlers repeatedly attack communities, destroy property, infrastructure and livestock, and injure or kill residents.

Such attacks have become almost a daily occurrence. Last night, around 300 Israeli settlers attacked Halawa and Al Fakheit villages in Msafer Yatta, Hebron, and injured several Palestinians, torched homes and property, stole livestock, and blocked ambulances that arrived to evacuate the injured.

Between 23 and 25 January, at least 10 serious Israeli settler attacks were recorded in Jerusalem, the central and northern West Bank, the Jordan Valley, and the South Hebron Hills. The attacks resulted in extensive property damage, arson attacks, injuries, and forcible displacement of Palestinian families, primarily affecting Bedouin and herding households.

One attack displaced four Bedouin families in Al Hadidiya area in the northern Jordan Valley on 23 January. A displaced resident told UN Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OHCHR OPT) that the attack was the last straw since the creation of an Israeli outpost in the area in November 2025. Since then, settlers intensified attacks and restricted grazing areas, while Israeli security forces repeatedly raided homes and detained shepherds. Once home to 17 Bedouin families, only 12 families remain in Al Hadidiya following the establishment of the outpost.

Since 7 October 2023, six entire communities comprising 112 families have been forcibly displaced in the northern Jordan Valley under similar conditions, as recorded by OHCHR OPT. In the same period, 4,037 Palestinians have been displaced due to settler violence across the West Bank. This includes the recent displacement of the largest and last standing Bedouin community in the central Jordan Valley, Ras Ein Al Auja, after two years of settler violence and harassment. While most displacements are concentrated in Area C and the Jordan Valley, the pace of forcible displacement and settlement expansion in Area B is worryingly increasing, with four outposts built in Area B in 2025.

In the meantime, avenues of protection and accountability are increasingly inaccessible to Palestinians, as Israeli security forces fail to protect them, frequently act alongside settlers, and detain or expel international activists providing protective presence.

On 24 January, settlers attacked a 62-year-old woman and her 35-year-old son who confronted settlers for trespassing on their land and vandalizing trees on the outskirts of Birzeit village in Ramallah. When Israeli security forces arrived, they detained the son and two more men from the family and ill-treated all three. As of 28 January, the 35-year-old man remains detained. The two other family members were reportedly released, both with multiple fractures suffered while they were detained.

Also on 24 January, Israeli security forces raided the Khallet As Sidra Bedouin community near Mikhmas, Jerusalem — a community that came under repeated settler attacks in recent months. Israeli security forces then delivered orders declaring the area a closed military zone for a year applicable to anyone who is not a resident, and forcibly expelled Israeli and international protective presence activists.

On 25 January, Israeli settlers assaulted and injured Palestinian herders in Rajoum A’li area in the South Hebron Hills and ran over a 13-year-old Palestinian boy with a tractor, fracturing his leg. Israeli security forces were present during the attack but fired tear gas and stun grenades towards the Palestinian residents.

“The law is clear here: Israel must end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, halt settlement expansion, and evacuate all settlers. Forcible transfer of Palestinians within the occupied West Bank is a war crime and may amount to a crime against humanity. Israeli security forces’ unnecessary use of force against Palestinians violates their right to life, safety, and dignity,” said Ajith Sunghay, Head of OHCHR OPT. “And accountability must be ensured for past and ongoing violations of Palestinians’ rights under international law.”

UN Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) is horrified by the continued killing of civilians in Israeli attacks in Gaza including at least 11 Palestinians killed in a series of attacks on 21 January, amid a broader pattern of post-ceasefire violence and the enduring effects of two years of devastation.

The 21 January attacks included an Israeli strike on a car which killed three Palestinian journalists near Netzarim area in central Gaza after conducting a photography assignment for the Egyptian Relief Committee. The killing of Anas Ghneim, Abdel Raof Shaat, and Muhammad Salah Qishta brings the number of journalists killed in Israeli attacks since 7 October 2023 to 292, as verified by UN Human Rights in OPT.

Israeli ground forces reportedly opened fire and carried out artillery shelling in three incidents on 21 January in the vicinity of their deployment line, known as the “yellow line”, which remains not clearly marked on the ground. The attacks reportedly killed a 13-year-old boy east of Khan Younis, and three family members including a father and his 13-year-old son in Middle Gaza. Israeli shelling also reportedly killed three Palestinian brothers northeast of Al Bureij camp in Middle Gaza.

Trends documented by UN Human Rights in the OPT since the ceasefire came into effect on 11 October 2025 include the continued killing of civilians in Israeli aerial attacks, shelling, and gunfire across all five governorates of Gaza, including incidents both far from and in the vicinity of the “yellow line”. Overall, 477 Palestinians were reportedly killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since the ceasefire according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, most appear to be civilian.

Since the ceasefire until 21 January 2026, UN Human Rights in the OPT recorded the killing of at least 216 Palestinians, including at least 46 children and 28 women, in Israeli attacks far from the so-called “yellow line”, mainly on shelters of internally displaced persons and residential buildings. This included 126 reported attacks by Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) across Gaza resulting in the killing of at least 87 Palestinians, including 12 children and seven women.

In the same period, at least 167 Palestinians were reportedly killed in the vicinity of the “yellow line”, including 26 children and 17 women. Repeated Israeli military operations into areas west of the redeployment line have also led to the displacement of civilians and the demolition of residential buildings in those areas.

More civilians are dying due to the dire human-made humanitarian conditions, including at least nine children who died of hypothermia since the ceasefire.

UN Human Rights in the OPT has also recorded at least 80 reported killings of Palestinians by Hamas since the ceasefire, mostly in clashes with rival families and in summary executions. Hamas must respect international human rights law protections of persons under its control and must prevent and repress any violation of these rights committed by its members.

The persistent stream of civilian casualties raises concern that the Israeli military continues to disregard its obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law, including the right to life. The killings around the so-called “yellow line” also appear to involve the targeting of civilians not directly participating in hostilities on the sole basis of their proximity to deployment lines, which would constitute a war crime.

“The crisis in Gaza is nowhere near over. People are dying every day, both in Israeli attacks and as a result of continued Israeli restrictions on the entry of humanitarian assistance, in particular shelter, leading to deaths from the cold and under collapsing buildings. Palestinian journalists are killed, and international journalists are still barred from entering Gaza,” said Ajith Sunghay, Head of UN Human Rights in the OPT.

“This is a time for the international community to intensify support and pressure to stop the bloodshed and advance a rights-based approach to recovery and reconstruction.”

East Jerusalem: Forced displacement and territorial fragmentation 
 

Israel must immediately halt measures that fragment Palestinian territorial and demographic continuity, including in relation to forced displacement and settlement expansion in and around East Jerusalem.

The pace of forced displacement of Palestinians in East Jerusalem is accelerating, with demolitions and evictions in Silwan neighbourhood south of the Old City. Simultaneously, Israel is proceeding with the unlawful expansion of settlements in the so-called E1 area, which sits in the heart of three of the most significant Palestinian urban centres: East Jerusalem, Ramallah, and Bethlehem.

As confirmed by the International Court of Justice in July 2024, Israel’s policies in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including forced evictions and extensive house demolitions, are contrary to the prohibition of forcible transfer under the Fourth Geneva Convention. The Court called on Israel to bring to an end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including ceasing all new settlement activities immediately and evacuating all settlers from the territory.

Driven out of the Old City basin:

Last year, the Israeli High Court ruled against several claims by Palestinian residents of Batn Al Hawa neighbourhood in Silwan in favour of the settler organization “Ateret Cohanim” and denied Palestinians further avenues of legal appeal. This has since accelerated the eviction of Palestinians from their homes.

Last week, Israeli authorities handed final eviction notices to 32 more households, mostly from the Rajabi extended family, making the displacement of 250 Palestinians imminent. Many additional eviction proceedings are ongoing at the lower court level. Collectively, some 700 Palestinian residents continue to face the threat of eviction in Silwan.

“I am convinced that there is no hope anymore. In the past, sometimes the courts ruled in our favour. Now there is no chance,” said Zuhair Rajabi, a longtime community leader and organizer, and the designated spokesperson of more than 80 households in Silwan — all under threat of eviction. The imminent displacement of his family would be one of several generational displacements his ancestors have suffered since 1948.

Nasser Rajabi, another resident of Batn Al Hawa in Silwan, was evicted with his family in December 2025. He is now forced to pay expensive rent in another part of East Jerusalem to avoid “going behind the Wall” in other parts of the West Bank.

“I have family outside the Wall who never succeeded in visiting Jerusalem. If I relocate to the outer West Bank, I will lose my Jerusalem ID, my health insurance, and my access to Jerusalem,” he said to the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Evictions typically result in the transfer of Palestinian homes to Israeli settlers, further eroding Palestinian presence immediately adjacent to the Old City. Some homes are taken over by Israeli authorities to make way for settlement projects, which currently include a tourist park, with a cable car line that would connect West Jerusalem to the Old City.

“After 7 October 2023, things got worse, and there is a lot of fear. Even complaining is no longer possible. Now, we keep quiet,” Nasser Rajabi said.

Expanding settlements

While East Jerusalem’s historic neighbourhoods are being systematically emptied of Palestinians, settlement expansion around the city is deepening its isolation and disrupting the territorial continuity of Palestinian existence in the occupied West Bank.

On 10 December, Israeli authorities published tenders for the construction of 3,401 settlement units in the E1 area.

On 8 January, Israeli authorities announced the imminent construction of a road intended to reroute Palestinian traffic away from the E1 area, while exclusively reserving the main arterial Route 1 for Israeli traffic. Israeli authorities notified the Palestinian communities of Al Ezariyeh, Abu Dis, Sawahreh, Jabal Al-Baba, and Wadi Jemil that would be affected by the construction, and provided a 45-day window to submit objections. The project has been referred to by the Israeli government as the “sovereignty road” and the “fabric of life” road, while human rights and anti-occupation activists describe it as an “annexation” or apartheid” road.

The cumulative effect of settlement expansion and road rerouting would disastrously bar Palestinian access to the E1 area, sever East Jerusalem from the West Bank, fragment north-south continuity, deepen racial segregation, and force the displacement of 18 longstanding communities.

Cementing annexation

Senior Israeli officials have repeatedly made statements indicating that displacement and settlement expansion, particularly in the E1 area, reflect a stated policy to apply sovereignty over the West Bank, consolidate annexation and prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.

On 11 September 2025, in the signing ceremony for a framework agreement to expand the Ma’ale Adumim settlement into the E1 area, the Israeli Prime Minister said: “There will be no Palestinian state. This place is ours.”

“Across the occupied West Bank, we are seeing unprecedented rates of forced displacement, land seizures, settler violence, and settlement expansion, further entrenching annexation, and thwarting Palestinians’ right to self-determination,” said Ajith Sunghay, the Head of the UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. “The international community must act now to push for an end to these flagrant violations of international law, and to advance the realization of Palestinians’ human rights.”