The United Nations on Wednesday condemned the escalation of settler violence and land annexation in the occupied West Bank, two years after the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of the territory unlawful.

Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office, said attacks by Israeli settlers and the establishment of settlements and outposts had reached their highest recorded levels.

She called on other countries to take urgent and coordinated action to stop the continuing killings and dispossession of Palestinians and bring the Israeli occupation to an end.

Warning Over Rapid Deterioration

A senior UN official warned the Security Council on Tuesday that conditions in the occupied West Bank were deteriorating rapidly, pointing to increasing violence against Palestinian communities.

Ramez Alakbarov, the UN deputy special coordinator for the Middle East, said the previous week’s violence had caused civilian casualties, displacement, property damage and growing insecurity within affected communities.

He said attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinian communities, homes, places of worship and civilian infrastructure were continuing at an alarming level.

Alakbarov called on Israel to take immediate and effective measures to prevent settler violence, protect Palestinian communities and ensure that those responsible were held accountable.

He also condemned attacks carried out by Palestinians against Israelis and called on Palestinians to reject violence unequivocally.

UN Warns of Wider Escalation

Alakbarov said the deterioration in the West Bank was further worsening an already alarming situation across the occupied Palestinian territories.

He warned that a broader escalation was becoming increasingly likely unless immediate measures were taken to reverse the current course.

The West Bank has experienced a sharp rise in violence since the outbreak of the war in Gaza following the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians have since become nearly daily occurrences in several areas.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. Excluding East Jerusalem, approximately three million Palestinians live in the territory alongside more than 500,000 Israeli settlers residing in settlements considered illegal under international law.

At least 1,097 Palestinians, including some armed individuals, have been killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers since the Gaza war began.

Official Israeli figures show that at least 48 Israeli civilians and military personnel have been killed in attacks carried out by Palestinians or during Israeli military operations over the same period.