Israeli forces must stop Jewish settler attacks on Palestinians, UN human rights office says

The UN human rights office called on Israeli security forces to immediately end their active participation in and support for attacks by Jewish settlers on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

The statement yesterday follows a wave of settler attacks on Palestinian towns and villages in the West Bank triggered by the killing of a 14-year-old Israeli boy in what authorities say was a militant attack.

The Palestinian Health Ministry says seven Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers since the attacks began on Friday, and another 75 have been wounded. Israeli authorities have urged people not to resort to vigilante attacks as tensions soar. But rights groups have long accused Israeli forces of routinely ignoring settler attacks or even taking part in them.

Tensions in the region have ramped up since the start of the latest Israel-Hamas war on October 7, when Hamas carried out a devastating attack that killed 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250 others. Israel responded with an offensive in Gaza that has caused widespread devastation and killed over 33,800 people, according to local health officials.

World leaders have urged Israel not to retaliate after Iran launched hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles over the weekend in an unprecedented revenge mission that pushed the Middle East closer to a region-wide war.

The attack happened less than two weeks after a suspected Israeli strike in Syria killed seven people including two Iranian generals in an Iranian consular building. An Iranian official says his country will respond within “seconds” if Israel seeks to retaliate for its attack over the weekend.

Deputy foreign minister Ali Bagheri Kani said late on Monday that Israel will face a “resolute and hard response” if it takes further action against Iran.

With help from the US, the UK, Jordan and other countries, Israel managed to intercept nearly all the projectiles and prevent major casualties or damage. It was the first time Iran has launched a direct military strike on Israel after decades of enmity going back to Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Israel’s military chief, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, said on Monday that his country will respond to the Iranian attack without saying when or how.

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