to report «iusnews»; 2023 was the deadliest year for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since 2005, when the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) began keeping records, according to a report from the organization.
A total of 477 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem from January 1 to December 15, 2023, with more than half killed since October 7, according to OCHA, CNN reported.
The organization added that two-thirds of the Palestinian fatalities in the West Bank since October 7 had occurred during “search-and-arrest” and other operations carried out by Israeli forces.
Of the 278 Palestinians, including 70 children, killed in the West Bank including East Jerusalem since October 7, 268 have been killed by Israeli forces, eight by Israeli settlers and another two either by forces or settlers, according to the report.
OCHA also noted an increase in settler attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank following the October 7 Hamas attacks, with the weekly average of incidents since October 7 at 35, compared with 21 incidents per week between January 1 and October 6 2023.
A CNN team this week witnessed how settlers and the Israeli military are working together and creating a culture of fear amongst Palestinian families in the West Bank, despite calls from President Joe Biden for Israel to sanction "settler extremists."
As well as escalating tensions, security measures have also been stepped up in the West Bank since October 7, after which Israel began severely restricting the freedom of movement of Palestinian residents there.
Israel launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas on October 7. The number of Palestinians killed in the ongoing Israeli onslaught on Gaza has reached 18,800, local authorities said on Friday.
According to a statement by the Gaza-based Government Media Office, 51,000 Palestinians have so far been injured by the Israeli army in Gaza in 70 days of the deadly war. The statement also said 8,000 children and 6,200 women were among those killed.
