Tue Jul 15 11:49:52 UTC 2025: **News Article:**
**UN Reports Surge in Settler Attacks on Palestinians, Nearing 1,000 Deaths in West Bank**
**Geneva** – The United Nations human rights office (OHCHR) has issued a stark warning about escalating violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Since January, there have been 757 settler attacks on Palestinians or their properties, a 13% increase compared to the same period last year. The Palestinian death toll in the West Bank since October 7, 2023, is nearing 1,000, with at least 964 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces and settlers, according to UN figures.
The violence includes killings, physical attacks, harassment, demolition of homes, and forced displacement of Palestinians, along with the annexation of more land, according to OHCHR spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan. Al-Kheetan told reporters in Geneva that the UN body’s warning came after the death of 20-year-old United States citizen Sayfollah Mussallet, who was beaten to death by Israeli settlers on Friday.
The OHCHR has also accused Israeli forces of using excessive force against Palestinians, including firing live ammunition at unarmed individuals. Al-Kheetan emphasized Israel’s obligation as an occupying power to protect Palestinians from settler attacks and called for an “independent and transparent” investigation into the killings. “Those responsible must be held to account,” he stated.
Reports detail alarming accounts of Palestinians feeling increasingly unsafe. One resident of Hebron, Areej Jabari, described how her family has been forced to reinforce their home with barbed wire for protection. “Barbed wire can’t protect from all the wire that settlers throw at us and from bullets and tear gas often fired by Israeli forces,” she told Al Jazeera.
The UN report also cited the case of two-year-old Laila al-Khatib, who was shot in the head by Israeli forces in January, and 61-year-old Walid Badir, who was killed by Israeli forces in July.
On Monday, church leaders and diplomats from over 20 countries urged accountability for Israeli settlers after recent attacks in the West Bank village of Taybeh.
First Piper 