United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said on Tuesday that it was “inconceivable” that more than 500 Palestinians had been killed in the West Bank since October 7.
“As if the tragic events in Israel and then Gaza over the past eight months were not enough, the people of the occupied West Bank are also being subjected to day-after-day of unprecedented bloodshed,” he said in a statement.
“It is unfathomable that so many lives have been taken in such a wanton fashion,” he added.
As recently as Tuesday morning, the Israel Defense Forces said troops had killed two Palestinians near the West Bank city of Tulkarem across the security barrier, following several recent settlers violent attacks.
Earlier, on Monday, the Israel Police said undercover Border Police officers had killed a Palestinian in the West Bank city of Nablus.
Turk cited a case over the weekend in which Israeli forces shot dead a teenager and critically injured another who later died near the Aqabat Jabr refugee camp near Jericho.
He said CCTV footage indicated that the boys were shot at a distance of 70 meters while running away after throwing stones and/or Molotov cocktails toward a military post.
IDF kills ‘as first resort,’ Turk charges
Turk said that the Israeli military had often used lethal force “as a first resort against Palestinian protesters… in cases where those shot clearly did not represent an imminent threat to life.”
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He cited a “prevalence of Palestinians who died after being shot in the upper part of the body, along with a pattern of the denial of medical assistance to those injured.”
This pattern “suggests intent to kill in violation of the right to life, rather than a graduated application of force and an attempt to de-escalate tense situations,” the statement said.
“The killing, destruction and widespread human rights violations are unacceptable, and must cease immediately,” Turk said in his statement.
“Israel must not only adopt, but enforce rules of engagement that are fully in line with applicable human rights norms and standards,” he said, demanding accountability for all alleged unlawful killings.
