UN ‘deeply concerned’ by Israel’s use of ‘unlawful lethal force’ in West Bank | West Bank

The UN has expressed concern that the ceasefire in Gaza could be jeopardized by the Israeli assault on the West Bank city of Jenin, which involved what the rights spokesman said The UN official called it an “unnecessary or disproportionate use of force”.

Thameen al-Kheetan of the UN human rights office called Israeli tactics in Jenin “deadly operations” after Israel targeted a refugee camp in the center of the city and besieged a nearby hospital.

“We are deeply concerned by the use of unlawful lethal force in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank,” he said on Friday, criticizing “the methods and means developed to wage war, in violation of human rights law.” man… this includes multiple airstrikes and seemingly random shootings on unarmed residents who were trying to flee or reach safety.

Israeli forces continued their widespread crackdown in the West Bank as the assault on the Jenin refugee camp continued, in an operation Israel called “Iron Wall.”

Security forces attacked towns around Nablus and Jenin, while the Palestinian Wafa news agency said Israeli military bulldozers moved deeper into the Jenin refugee camp and destroyed several homes. Hundreds of people have fled the Jenin refugee camp and surrounding areas since Israeli forces launched an operation there four days ago.

Kheetan said the UN human rights office had verified that more than 12 Palestinians had been killed and at least 40 injured since the start of the Israeli attack on Jenin, adding that the majority of them were apparently unarmed. Doctors at the government hospital near the camp said their staff were injured after being shot by live ammunition.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the aim of the operation was to target Palestinian militants in the Jenin refugee camp, in order to prevent them from launching attacks on Israeli territory. Critics accuse him of expanding the fighting to the West Bank to appease his far-right ally Bezalel Smotrich and keep his coalition in power.

Smotrich has threatened to leave the government if Israel does not resume fighting in Gaza after the end of the first phase of the ceasefire in early March – a move that would remove Netanyahu’s parliamentary majority and likely trigger new elections.

“If, God forbid, the war does not resume, I will bring down the government,” he told reporters earlier this week. Smotrich reportedly described the second Trump administration as “an opportunity” for Israeli annexation of the West Bank.

Aseel Baidoun of Palestinian Medical Aid in Ramallah, West Bank, is in despair over Israel’s growing attacks on the territory.

“Even as one door to peace opens slightly, another begins to close,” she said. “Not only are we confined by checkpoints and road closures, but people also face relentless attacks from Israeli settler mobs who act with impunity, backed by the full support of the Israeli army. »

She added: “Now that Israel has suspended the war against the Palestinians in Gaza, it feels like the Israeli army is starting a war against us in the West Bank. »

At a small demonstration in central Jerusalem against the expansion of the Israeli war, dozens of activists held signs denouncing the ongoing fighting despite the ceasefire in Gaza and chanted slogans to end to Israel’s growing assault on West Bank cities.

“I think they want us to have this endless war… it’s shocking,” said anti-war activist Michal Brody-Bareket, who founded the group Mother’s Cry to demand an end to Israeli fighting in Gaza, where his son served in the Israeli army. Defense Forces (IDF).

“Of course it’s political,” she said of Israel’s decision to launch the operation in Jenin. “It all depends on Smotrich and the support of the settler movement that supports him. They want us to fight in the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon and Syria as well, so they can move into these places…it will cost many lives. »

The demonstrators were immediately met with force by Israeli police, who pushed several demonstrators and arrested three.

“What we are doing in the West Bank in general looks like a plan to return to the war in Gaza. They want to turn the West Bank into Gaza,” said protester Tamar Cohen. “At least that seems to be the plan of Smotrich and his cronies. He received his reward for not leaving the government over the hostage deal,” she said, holding up a sign reading “refuse to fight in the war.”

Four female Israeli soldiers held hostage by Palestinian militants in Gaza are expected to be released in the coming days in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, as part of a fragile six-week ceasefire deal.

Israel launched its longest war against Gaza following attacks on towns and kibbutzim around the territory on October 7, 2023, when 250 people were taken hostage. The Israeli assault on Gaza has killed more than 47,000 people in 15 months of fighting.

Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said earlier this week that Doha encouraged the early start of the second stage of talks, which will include discussions on ending the war, expected to begin in the coming weeks.

Israeli officials estimate that between a third and half of the 90 remaining hostages in Gaza are dead, as anxious families of captives gathered in Tel Aviv to demand that Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump guarantee the release of all remaining hostages.

“The worry that the deal will not be fully implemented eats away at us all,” said Vicky Cohen, the mother of hostage Nimrod Cohen, who was captured from the Nahal Oz military base while serving in the Israeli army.

“All senior officials openly say that ending the deal means a death sentence for those who remain. »