The spokesperson for the commission, Thamin Al-Khaitan, said during a press conference held at the United Nations office in Geneva on Tuesday that more than 36,000 Palestinians were displaced between October 31, 2024 and October 31, 2025.
Al-Khitan explained that a new report by the Commission documented 1,732 incidents of violence committed by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank during the same period, resulting in human losses and material damage, noting that these attacks included acts of intimidation, harassment, demolition of homes and destruction of agricultural lands.
He added that the Israeli government is accelerating the pace of settlement expansion and land annexation in the occupied West Bank, noting that the violence is taking place systematically and with the support of the Israeli authorities, at a time when Palestinians are also subjected to violence by Israeli forces and settlers.
He stressed that the confiscation of Palestinian lands to expand settlements, along with discriminatory policies and practices, reflects "an institutional system of discrimination, oppression and violence against Palestinians," emphasizing the need to evacuate all settlers from the occupied Palestinian territories, end the occupation, ensure the return of displaced persons, and stop policies of confiscation, forced eviction and house demolition.
In a related context, Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Farsin Aghabekian Shahin, warned against Israel exploiting the international community’s preoccupation with regional crises to intensify settlement activity in the West Bank.
During a briefing to members of the diplomatic corps accredited to Palestine, Shaheen said that the Israeli authorities are working to accelerate the pace of annexation by expanding settlements and enacting legislative and administrative measures aimed at establishing permanent control over Palestinian lands, stressing that these policies undermine the two-state solution and threaten the Palestinians’ right to self-determination.
She added that the daily attacks carried out by settlers against Palestinians and their property include murder, physical assaults, burning of homes and vehicles, destruction of agricultural lands and seizure of resources, all "under the direct protection of the occupation army."
She pointed to the continued violations against holy sites, especially the closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque since the beginning of the war on Iran, and the prevention of worshippers from performing their rituals during the month of Ramadan, considering this a clear violation of freedom of worship.
Shaheen called on the international community to assume its legal and moral responsibilities and to take practical steps to stop the violations and provide protection for the Palestinian people, in a way that ensures respect for international law and international legitimacy resolutions.
According to official Palestinian data, attacks by the Israeli occupation army and settlers in the West Bank since the start of the war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023 have resulted in the martyrdom of more than 1,130 Palestinians and the injury of about 11,700, in addition to the arrest of about 22,000, while 42 Palestinians were martyred as a result of settler attacks during the same period.
