We are deeply concerned about the escalating situation in the West Bank, where incidents of violence have soared, and daily life is increasingly becoming unlivable for Palestinians as their freedom of movement is curtailed.
Fatal raids by the Israeli forces are taking place across the territory on a near-daily basis. On Sunday alone, two men were reportedly killed during a raid on Tulkarem refugee camp which left at least five others wounded, while a third person was reportedly killed at a checkpoint outside the city of Nablus. Families living in refugee camps have told us of the trauma of Israeli soldiers barging into their homes during incursions, leaving their children terrified and unable to sleep. Violence from settlers towards Palestinians has also increased sharply, with UNOCHA recording 552 incidents since October 7. Overall, almost 400 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since October 7, while more than 4,500 people have been injured.
Arbitrary arrests and detentions have spiked. According to The Palestinian Prisoners Club, almost 7,000 people in the West Bank have been arrested since October 7. Today, UN experts highlighted the inhumane and degrading treatment many detained women and girls have reportedly been subjected to, including being sexually assaulted, beaten and denied food, medicine, and period products. We share their horror at the situation and their demands for full accountability and justice.
Every single day in the West Bank, Palestinians are experiencing egregious violations of their basic human rights. Curfews and the closure of checkpoints between major cities are preventing many from accessing their place of work or education or seeing their family and friends. The entire Palestinian population lives under constant surveillance and with the perpetual threat of being interrogated simply while going about their daily life, arrested for no reason, or even killed. This cannot go on. The rights of Palestinians must be respected and protected.
ENDS
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Spokespeople are available:
- Niranjali Amerasinghe, Executive Director of ActionAid USA
- Riham Jafari, Coordinator of Advocacy and Communication for ActionAid Palestine
About ActionAid
ActionAid is a global federation working with more than 41 million people living in more than 71 of the world’s poorest countries. We want to see a just, fair, and sustainable world, in which everybody enjoys the right to a life of dignity, and freedom from poverty and oppression. We work to achieve social justice and gender equality and to eradicate poverty.
