to report «iusnews»; At least 144 Palestinians, including 44 children, have been killed in the occupied West Bank by Israeli forces and settlers since October 7, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated on Sunday.
“The number of Palestinians killed … accounts for more than one-third of all Palestinian fatalities in the West Bank in 2023 [383],” said OCHA, Al-Jazeera reported.
“Nearly 50 percent of these fatalities occurred during confrontations that followed Israeli search-and-arrest operations, primarily in Jenin and Tulkarm governorates,” it said, adding, Some 35 percent were in the context of demonstrations in solidarity with Gaza.”
Most of the remaining 10 percent were killed while allegedly "attacking Israeli forces or settlers, and in settler attacks against Palestinians", according to OCHA.
Israeli forces have injured 2,300 Palestinians, including at least 241 children, since October 7, the UN agency said.
OCHA has recorded 198 settler attacks against Palestinians, resulting in Palestinian casualties (27 incidents), damage to Palestinian-owned property (138 incidents), or both casualties and damage to property (33 incidents).
“This reflects a daily average of seven incidents, compared with three since the beginning of the year. In nearly half of all incidents, Israeli forces were either accompanying, or actively supporting, the attackers,” the agency said.
Sixty-two Palestinians have been injured by settlers. Some 27 percent of those injuries have been caused by live ammunition, it added.
At least 111 Palestinian households comprising 905 people, including 356 children, have been displaced in the occupied West Bank because of Israeli settler violence and access restrictions, the United Nations said.
The displaced are from about 15 Bedouin herding communities, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.
“An additional 120 Palestinians, including 55 children, have been displaced since October 7 following demolitions in Area C and East Jerusalem, due to lack of permits, and another 23, including 13 children, following punitive demolitions,” OCHA added.
Israel waged the bloody war on the Gaza Strip on October 7 after Hamas resistance movement launched the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity.
