Daily Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank have more than doubled since Hamas launched its attack on Israel on 7 October, UN figures show.
“With regard to the West Bank, I would like to express France’s strongest condemnation of the violence committed by settlers against Palestinians,” French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre told a news conference.
Israeli troops in the West Bank. Photo: Reuters
“The violence has a clear goal of forcibly displacing Palestinians and that is a policy of terrorism,” she added, adding that the Israeli government must take necessary measures to protect Palestinians and warning that settlement policy would undermine the two-state solution.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk echoed her sentiment. Speaking in Geneva on Thursday, Mr Turk said he was deeply concerned about the increase in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. He said it was clear that the Israeli occupation must end.
This year has been the deadliest in 15 years for West Bank residents, with about 200 Palestinians and 26 Israelis killed, according to United Nations data. But in the three weeks since the October 7 attack, more than 120 Palestinians have died in the West Bank. Clashes with Israeli soldiers have caused most of the deaths.
Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war and has been occupying the area ever since, with Israeli settlements steadily expanding. Palestinians claim the West Bank as part of a future independent state that would include Gaza and East Jerusalem.
Ms Legendre also said that about half of the 100 tonnes of aid France sent to Gaza had entered the enclave. She added that Israel had no right to decide on the governance of Gaza, which she said should be part of a future Palestinian state.
Mai Anh (according to Reuters)
Source
Comment (0)