UN alarmed at 'rapidly deteriorating' West Bank

"In the past week, the escalating violence in the West Bank has resulted in civilian casualties, displacement, damage to property, and growing insecurity across affected communities," Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN's deputy special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, told the Security Council.

"Israeli settler attacks against Palestinian communities, homes, places of worship and civilian infrastructure have persisted at alarming levels," he said.

Violence has exploded in the West Bank since the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7, 2023, with near-daily attacks by Israeli settlers and regular raids on Palestinian villages.

Last Friday, deadly clashes broke out last between Israeli settlers and Palestinians in the village of Tell that left four Palestinians and two Israelis dead.

The Israeli military subsequently raided the city of Nablus and several nearby towns, announcing the arrest of dozens of Palestinians as it launched what it described as a "counter-terrorism" operation in the West Bank.

Overnight Sunday, Palestinian officials said Israeli settlers set fire to two mosques in the occupied West Bank.

Alakbarov urged the Israeli government "to take immediate and effective measures to prevent settler violence, protect Palestinian communities, and ensure that all perpetrators are held accountable."

He also condemned Palestinian attacks against Israelis and called on Palestinians to "unequivocally reject violence."

The "rapidly deteriorating" the situation in the West Bank "is compounding the already alarming conditions across the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, with a wider escalation increasingly likely unless immediate steps are taken to reverse course," he said.