UN condemns Israel’s use of ‘lethal’ tactics in West Bank

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Friday accused Israel of using “war-like” tactics against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, killing nine Palestinians in a single week.

“Israeli forces are using lethal war-like tactics in the West Bank, raising serious concerns about the excessive use of force and exacerbating the humanitarian needs of the population,” OCHA spokesman Jens Lacke told a news conference in Geneva.

He said nine people, including children, were killed between October 8 and 14.

The Israeli military said most of those killed accused the Israelis of attacking them.

On Thursday, the Palestinian health ministry said a Palestinian woman was shot dead by Israeli forces while picking olives near the West Bank city of Jenin.

“Hanan Abdel Rahman Abu Salama, 57, was shot dead by Israeli forces in the village of Faqour,” the ministry said in a statement.

The Israeli military said it was investigating the incident in response to questions from Agence France-Presse.

The occupied West Bank has been witnessing an escalation of violence for some time, but the situation has worsened since the outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces and settlers since October 7 of last year has risen to 739 Palestinians.