Muscat: The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Friday deemed the recent series of Israeli operations and settlement expansion plans in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, a serious threat that undermines the existence of a viable Palestinian state and the realization of the Palestinian people's right to self-determination.
According to Qatar News Agency, OHCHR spokesperson Thamin Khaitan stated that on January 12, Israeli security forces launched a campaign in occupied East Jerusalem, including two major operations targeting Palestinian communities. He described the forced displacement or illegal transfer of residents living under occupation as a war crime and, in certain specific circumstances, a crime against humanity.
Khaitan warned that the ongoing and relentless violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers, with the support and participation of Israeli security forces, coupled with restrictions on movement, is accelerating the forced displacement of Palestinians. He noted that Israeli settlements continue to expand at an unprecedented rate, in violation of international law.
He further highlighted the continued killing of Palestinians with complete impunity, pointing out that from October 7, 2023, to February 5 of this year, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) verified the killing of 1,054 Palestinians by Israeli forces and settlers in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
Khaitan stated that Volker Trk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, emphasized the need for accountability and justice for all victims of extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations, stressing the urgent need for states to take immediate action to halt Israel's violent expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
The UN official explained that the escalating settlement expansion will only entrench apartheid against the Palestinian people, disrupt the geographic and demographic contiguity of their land, and further impede the realization of their right to self-determination.