UN warns against 'unabated' illegal Israeli settler attacks in occupied West Bank

HAMILTON, Canada

The UN on Friday warned of a surge in illegal Israeli settler attacks in the occupied West Bank, highlighting ongoing humanitarian disruptions in northern communities.

"Turning to the West Bank, our humanitarian colleagues warned that Israeli forces' operations in the northern area are intensifying, triggering a new displacement, movement restrictions, school closures, and service disruptions in communities already affected by the recurrent operation," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at a news conference.

Dujarric said Israel's military operations have affected over 95,000 Palestinians since 2025, stressing: "This was due to Israeli forces' operations, curfews and other movement restrictions, displacement, damage or destruction of private property and public infrastructure."

"Meanwhile, settler attacks are continuing unabated," he said.

Citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Dujarric said there were at least "1,680 attacks by Israeli settlers that caused casualties or property damage in more than 270 communities across the West Bank" in 2025.

"That's an average of five incidents per day," he said, reminding that "Israel, as the occupying power, has a legal obligation to protect civilians and maintain public order and safety in the West Bank in accordance with international humanitarian and human rights law; any use of force by Israel must follow internationally recognized law enforcement standards."

On the situation in the Gaza Strip, Dujarric conveyed OCHA's warning over the "insecurity" that is continuing to "undermine aid operations and endanger lives."

He stressed that "under international humanitarian law, civilians and civilian infrastructure must always be protected and should never be a target."

"Between 26 November and 2 December, our partners monitoring population flows in Gaza recorded more than 20,500 movements, compared with over 17,000 movements in the preceding week," he said, adding that "displacement has been driven mainly by heavy rainfall and flooding" in November.

"Our partners who are managing displacement sites say that they can oversee less than a third of the known locations where displaced people are sheltering, and that is due to access constraints and lack of supplies," he added.

Dujarric also noted that "new waves of displacement were reported over the past week due to shifts in the yellow cement blocks marking the so-called 'yellow line.'"