OCHA Warns Of Escalating Colonists' Violence In The West Bank

OCHA warned today that colonists' violence is escalating in certain areas across the West Bank, causing casualties, property damage and placing communities at high risk of displacement.

“Yesterday in Nablus, two families, among them one baby and one toddler, were displaced after settlers set their houses on fire in Khirbet Al Marjim. This is one of many Palestinian communities in Area C that have been subject to settler violence,” said OCHA in its daily report.

Over the last two years, OCHA stressed that it has documented the displacement of more than 2,000 Palestinians across the West Bank due to heightened colonists' violence and access restrictions.

In the northern West Bank, the ongoing operation by Israeli forces has entered its eighth week. People continue to be displaced, and last week Israeli forces raided at least 10 mosques across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, added the report.

OCHA stressed that since Monday, operations in Jenin city have intensified, with more than 500 people displaced from three neighborhoods in the eastern part of the city, according to the municipality.

The UN and its partners warn that food insecurity is rising, as operations by Israeli forces, displacement and movement restrictions limit access to food.

The World Food Programme (WFP) says it is supporting more than 190,000 people with monthly cash vouchers and has provided one-off assistance to thousands of those most in need.

Today is the second Friday of Ramadan. OCHA said that restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities continue to prevent thousands of Palestinian worshipers from reaching holy sites.

“For the second week, teams have monitored people's movements through the checkpoints to identify potential protection risks and possible measures for Palestinians seeking to cross, with particular attention to the most vulnerable, such as children, pregnant women and older people. OCHA observed that fewer people have crossed compared with last year,” read the report.

Meanwhile, OCHA has noted a sharp increase in the demolition of Palestinian-owned structures in the West Bank over the past week and a half.“Historically, Israeli authorities have reduced demolitions during Ramadan. However, the number of structures demolished during the first 10 days of Ramadan this year has already exceeded the total for all of Ramadan in 2024.”

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