This is unprecedented bloodshed, Volker Türk said in a press release after four Palestinians were killed on Monday and two other youths aged 16 and 18 were shot by the Israel Defense Forces.
As if the tragic events that occurred in Israel and then in Gaza over the past eight months were not enough, the people of the occupied West Bank are also subjected day after day to unprecedented bloodshed, he lamented.
“It is unthinkable that so many lives have been taken in such a wanton manner,” he said.
Türk considered the massacres, destruction and widespread violations of human rights unacceptable.
“Israel must not only adopt but enforce rules of engagement that are fully in line with applicable human rights norms and standards,” he added.
In his view, any allegations of unlawful killing must be thoroughly and independently investigated and those responsible held accountable.
According to the High Commissioner’s Office, the Defense Forces have killed nearly 200 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since the beginning of 2024, compared to 113 and 50 in the same periods in 2023 and 2022 respectively.
Although hostilities between Hamas and Israel do not reach that area, the Israeli military carried out at least 29 operations with airstrikes, unmanned aerial vehicles, planes and surface-to-surface missiles against refugee camps and other densely populated areas.
As a result, 164 Palestinians died, including 35 children.
The Office warned of a prevalence of Palestinian victims shot in the upper body and denied medical assistance.
This suggests an intent to kill in violation of the right to life, rather than a gradual application of force and an attempt to deescalate tense situations in cases where the shooting clearly did not pose an imminent threat to life, added the text.
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