At least 20 Palestinian families have been forced to start leaving Mughayir Al Dir, the last remaining herding community in eastern periphery of Ramallah after Israeli settlers planted an outpost next to their homes last Thursday evening. This follows the forcible transfer of seven other communities in this area as a result of settler violence and harassment coupled with Israeli authorities’ inaction or support. Palestinians have now been completely pushed out of these areas, enabling Israeli settlement expansion and consolidation of annexation of the occupied West Bank.

Also on Thursday night, mobs of settlers torched dozens of Palestinian homes and vehicles and terrorised the town of Bruqin, Salfit. No settler was arrested by Israeli security forces, despite the fact they have been deployed in the town during the past week conducting searches, arrests, and demolitions.

OHCHR calls Israeli authorities and other countries with influence to stop this trend and for steps to be taken to facilitate the safe return Palestinians to their homes. As the ICJ ruled in its Advisory Opinion in July last year, Israel is under an obligation to bring an end to its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible, and must cease immediately all new settlement activities, and evacuate all settlers from the Occupied Palestinian Territory. 

Israel must take immediate steps to end the apparent collective punishment of Palestinians in the West Bank. Following the killing of a pregnant Israeli woman by armed Palestinians on 14 May near Brukhin settlement, Salfit, Israeli security forces closed all entrances to the Palestinian villages of Kafr Al-Dik and Bruqin, placed all residents under curfew denying them access to supplies, schools and critical health services, carried out mass arrests accompanied by physical assault, and confiscated and damaged land and property including schools. On 15 May, an Israeli minister publicly called on Israel to “flatten” the two Palestinian communities and make them look like “Shja'iya and Tel Sultan” in Gaza.

Israeli settlers went on a rampage against Palestinian communities. During multiple attacks against Palestinians across the West Bank in the past days, which were often carried out in the presence of Israeli security forces, settlers reportedly set fire to at least one Palestinian home and 15 vehicles in Salfit governorate alone, threw stones and damaged several Palestinian vehicles on the Huwwara and Za’tara roads, Nablus, and raided Palestinian herding communities north of Jericho.

On 15 May, in the South Hebron Hills, settlers closed the northern entrance to Masafer Yatta for at least six hours, effectively blocking access to several villages, and on 19 May destroyed the wind turbine used to generate electricity in Qawawis, leaving the entire village without power.

According to information received by the UN Human Rights office OPT, on 18 May, after arresting several men in the town, Israeli security forces shot and killed a 36-year-old man from Bruqin. The deceased was reportedly arrested and detained for more than an hour before being killed while in IF custody, although ISF say that he was killed while running at them with an unidentified object. Israeli security forces is reportedly using as a military post the house where the killed man lived with his wife and children along with other homes in Bruqin.

In parallel, settler groups also called for revenge and escalated attacks against Palestinians, taking advantage of the situation to establish new outposts, in their continued efforts to forcibly displace increasing numbers of Palestinians and take over their land.

Since 16 May, Israeli bulldozers have been uprooting trees in the area in Bruqin after the Israeli army seized, under military orders, land belonging to the village, purportedly to improve security for settlers. On 19 May, the head of settlements regional council announced establishing an office in Bruqin, where groups of settlers have set up several tents and toilets, and called for demolition of Palestinian property and the establishment of a new settlement in the area. Also on 19 May,Israeli security forces demolished a three-story Palestinian home in the town, citing a lack of Israeli building permit.

In an another extremely concerning development, on 18 May, settlers brought dozens of sheep and started building animal pens and other structures for the establishment of a new outpost in close proximity to Palestinian homes in Mughayyir Al-Dir, Ramallah, with concerns that the move is aimed at forcibly displacing the last Palestinian herding community remaining in the area.

The Office is deeply concerned that such actions are directed at displacing Palestinians from their land and consolidating Israel's presence in and transfer of its population into the occupied territory. As the ICJ found in its Advisory Opinion in July last year, Israel is under an obligation to bring to an end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible. It must cease immediately all new settlement activities and evacuate all settlers from the Occupied Palestinian Territory. 

The UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory calls for an end to the senseless killings in the occupied West Bank. Israel must stop all extrajudicial executions and other unlawful use of force in the occupied West Bank. Over the last two weeks, Israeli security forces have killed two Palestinian men in planned summary executions, while seven Palestinians were killed in conditions that raise concerns of the use of unnecessary or disproportionate lethal force. An Israeli woman was shot and killed on a highway in the occupied West Bank by as yet unidentified assailants. Israel must ensure that all those responsible for unlawful killings are brought to justice in fair trials.

On 8 May, Israeli undercover forces appear to have summarily executed a 30-year-old “wanted” Palestinian man in the old city of Nablus. CCTV footage suggests that an undercover officer killed the man while he tried to surrender and then shot him again as he lay on the ground injured and incapacitated, seemingly to “confirm the killing”. Claims from Israeli security forces that the man was armed and posing a threat to them appear to be contradicted by this video evidence. On 2 May, disguised Israeli security forces chased and killed a 39-year-old “wanted” Palestinian man in Balata refugee camp in Nablus. Although Israeli security forces claimed that they found a gun and cartridges in his car, they made no claim that he posed a threat to life at the moment he was shot. On 14 May, Israeli security forces reportedly fired live ammunition and injured a young Palestinian man in his thigh near the Qalandiya Refugee Camp, Jerusalem. A video shows two Israeli soldiers repeatedly kicking the man in the head, while he lay injured on the floor. The soldiers then walked away, without carrying out an arrest or providing medical assistance to the man who, in addition to live ammunition injury, reportedly incurred head hemorrhage due to the Israeli soldiers’ kicking.

Meanwhile, also on 15 May, armed Palestinians reportedly shot and killed a pregnant 30-year-old Israeli woman on the highway near Brukhin settlement, west of Salfit, also injuring her husband. Following the incident, Israeli security forces closed several checkpoints in the northern and central West Bank and imposed severe movement restrictions particularly around Burqin, and Salfit, while an Israeli minister called for “flattening” Palestinian villages in response. Israeli security forces must ensure that measures adopted following the attack complies with international law, including the prohibition of collective punishment. 

The UN human rights office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is alarmed by reports that the Israeli security cabinet on 11 May decided to resume land registration in Area C of the occupied West Bank. The registration, which was suspended in 1968, appears to be the latest tool used by Israel to acquire Palestinian land and consolidate the unlawful annexation of the West Bank.

The process of land registration or settlement of land title, under which Israel purportedly seeks to definitively establish land ownership registration in favour of Israeli settlers, represents an exercise of sovereignty prohibited in occupied territory. The office has in the past raised concerns that the settlement of title in East Jerusalem, ongoing since 2018, has been conducted in a discriminatory manner and has resulted in the seizure of Palestinian lands and property for the establishment of Israeli settlements, while placing Palestinians at risk of evictions. Similar concerns arise with any process of settlement of title in Area C of the occupied West Bank.

The announcement by the Israeli government cannot be separated from recent legislative initiatives to further extend Israeli sovereignty, including through allowing Israeli individuals to purchase land in the West Bank, which Israel, as the Occupying Power should hold in trust for the Palestinian population, the dramatic intensification of violent and discriminatory practices against Palestinians such as demolitions and movement restrictions, and the continued expansion of settlements and settlement infrastructure. These policies have been accelerated in the shadow of the escalation of hostilities in Gaza and have, along with relentless settler attacks, led to the forcible transfer of thousands of Palestinians, particularly from Area C, and are changing the geography and demography of the West Bank.

If pursued, land registration by the occupying power would likely result in further expropriation of Palestinian land and natural resources in violation of the property rights of Palestinians, as well as other rights such as the rights to housing and shelter, food, and the benefit of Israeli settlers and settlements.

In this context, such a land registration exercise would also be in violation of Israel’s obligations as an occupying power, as it would not only be exceeding its limited legislative powers but would further entrench 50 years of unlawful transfer by the occupying power of its population into the occupied territory. 

We are alarmed at the rapidly increasing displacement of Palestinians and the destruction of homes in refugee camps in the northern West Bank. On 1 May alone, Israeli forces issued demolition notices for 106 Palestinian-owned structures in Tulkarm camp and NurShams camp for "military purposes", ordering Palestinians to leave or file an objection within 24 hours. Tens of thousands of Palestinians remain forcibly displaced across the northern West Bank with little prospect of return, constituting mass forcible transfer. We are concerned that the additional demolitions are intended to force the displacement of Palestinians and are a form of collective punishment of the civilian population. A strengthened Israeli presence in the camps contravenes Israel’s legal obligation, affirmed by the ICJ, to end its unlawful presence in the OPT as rapidly as possible. 

For the past 18 months, hostilities in Gaza and severe restrictions on humanitarian assistance, which now include a complete blockade, have devastated the lives of 2.2 million Palestinians, and nearly all essential infrastructure that civilians depend on for survival has been destroyed. Since the collapse of the ceasefire, and during the past week in particular, Israeli attacks on Palestinians have accelerated, claiming the lives of countless civilians and further risking the complete destruction of what little infrastructure remains. The dire conditions for civilians have been further exacerbated by displacement orders and Israel’s renewed complete blockade of the Gaza Strip that has stopped the flow of life saving, critical assistance from reaching increasingly desperate civilians.

In parallel, rampant settler violence and operations conducted by Israeli security forces in the West Bank are continuing to kill or injure Palestinians and are resulting in the forced displacement of Palestinians from their homes or shelters in many areas.

Attacks in Gaza

What little remains of Gaza’s critical life-saving infrastructure is collapsing under the conditions inflicted by Israel. Israel’s complete closure of Gaza, preventing lifesaving assistance from reaching civilians - including food and fuel - has now entered its eighth week. Bakeries have stopped functioning due to the lack of flour and cooking fuel; the prices of basic food items are soaring; and Israeli attacks at sea continue to decimate Gaza’s fishing industry. With food aid halted, remaining stocks in Gaza are rapidly depleting, rendering the strip’s population, especially vulnerable groups and children, at growing risk of starvation.

As the population becomes increasingly desperate due to the scarcity of food and other vital provisions, social unrest is deepening further, with frequent reports of disputes breaking out within the community involving the use of firearms. This takes place in an environment where the law enforcement and justice system has been systematically dismantled by Israeli attacks and the targeting of civilian officials of the local administration.

The Israeli military also continues targeting civilian objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population. Between 21 and 22 April, the Israeli military conducted deliberate and coordinated attacks across three governorates in Gaza, resulting in the destruction of 36 heavy machines, including excavators, water trucks, and sewer suction tanks. These were being used by Gaza municipalities for humanitarian relief operations, such as rubble removal, water distribution, and maintenance of vital sanitation systems. The destruction of these vehicles is likely to significantly hinder rescue operations, including retrieval of the injured and killed from under the rubble, clearance of debris to allow the movement of ambulances, as well as delivery of safe drinking water, solid waste collection, and the operation of sewage systems – further risking outbreaks of disease. Intentional attacks on civilian objects, that is, objects that are not used for military action and whose destruction does not offer a definite military advantage at the moment of the attack, are unlawful and constitute a war crime under international humanitarian law.

The Israeli military also continues striking the shelters of Palestinians in Gaza. Between 18 March and 22 April, the UN Human Rights office for the Occupied Palestinian Territory recorded 229 attacks on residential buildings and 91 attacks on tents of internally displaced people (IDP) in Gaza, most resulting in fatalities, including many children and women. For instance, at around midnight on 18 April, the Israeli military is reported to have struck two residential buildings belonging to the Maqdad and the Nasio families in Tal Az-Za’atar, North Gaza, killing 13 Palestinians, including 8 children and a journalist, Tamer Maqdad, and injuring others. On 24 April, at around 0300 hours, the Israeli Air Force reportedly hit a house, in Ash Shaikh Redwan, Gaza City, killing two boys and a girl along with their parents. Among these attacks, 36 strikes on IDP tents were reported to have taken place in Al Mawasi area in southern Gaza in which the Israeli military has repeatedly ordered residents of other areas to relocate.

Persistent Israeli military attacks on civilians and civilian objects have continued throughout Gaza in violation of the core principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack required by international humanitarian law. Extremely high civilian casualties over 18 months do not appear to have prompted any changes in Israeli targeting practices and policies, a pattern indicating at the very least a complete disregard for the lives of civilians in Gaza. Matched with Israel’s policy of deliberately blocking life-saving assistance from entering the Gaza Strip, these policies appear to be aimed at punishing the civilian population of Gaza and inflicting on them conditions of life increasingly incompatible with their continued existence as a group in Gaza.

Third States must act according to their clear and unambiguous obligations under international law to ensure that such conduct ceases immediately and to search for and bring to justice perpetrators of crimes under international law.

Renewed wave of settler violence across the West Bank

In the West Bank, high levels of settler violence against Palestinians continue, causing death, injuries and loss of property and undermining Palestinian lives and livelihoods in many areas. On 23 April, Israeli settlers reportedly attacked Palestinians and their property in Khirbet al-Tell area of Sinjil village, Ramallah, resulting in the injury of eight young Palestinian men and the destruction of three agricultural structures. According to information gathered, Israeli security forces prevented emergency crews from reaching the wounded and extinguishing the fire. On 21 April, around 200 settlers burned three houses in the same community and stole sheep belonging to Palestinians, prompting confrontations with residents attempting to defend their properties.

Concerning incidents of settler violence resulting in Palestinian injuries and destruction of property were also recorded in other parts of the West Bank. In Bardala village in northern Jordan Valley, between 23 and 24 April, Israeli settlers reportedly injured seven Palestinians with live ammunition and set fire to residential tents and livestock shelters, while Israeli security forces delayed access of Palestinian ambulances to the area. On 17 April in Al-Rakeez village of Massafer Yatta, South Hebron Hills, a 60-year-old Palestinian man had his leg amputated after Israeli settlers shot him following an attempt to move a fence they had constructed around his land. Following the incident, Israeli security forces arrived at the scene and arrested the man’s 16-year-old son, claiming he had assaulted military personnel.

Israeli security forces continued the practice of unlawful killings and large-scale operations in the Northern West Bank

Over the past week, Israeli security forces killed three Palestinians who were throwing stones, including two children. This raised 192 the number of children killed by Israeli security forces in the West Bank since 7 October 2023. On 23 April, Israeli security forces opened fire at a group of children and killed a 12-year-old Palestinian boy with a bullet in the back after they threw stones at military armoured vehicles in Yamoun town, Jenin. On 17 April, Israeli security forces killed two Palestinians, including a 16-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man, who were throwing stones at a highway in Osarin village, Nablus.

Lethal force may only be used if it is strictly unavoidable to protect life; if other, less extreme measures could be used to achieve this objective, then the use of such lethal force constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of life.

Meanwhile, the large-scale operation in the northern West Bank entered its third month, with Israeli security forces continuing to prevent Palestinians from returning to their homes in the refugee camps of Jenin and Tulkarm, while carrying out widespread destruction coupled with the creation of pathways and barriers inside the camps and conducting daily raids on Palestinian towns and villages. With every day this operation continues, the prospect that Palestinians in affected camps will be able to return to their homes is diminishing, risking the permanent displacement of Palestinians from key West Bank population centres, amounting to forcible transfer.