UN human rights experts have highlighted the substantial augmentation in violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank region. Experts have stated that the rise in violence can be attributed to Israeli extremist ideology meant to “intimidate and terrorise” Palestinians, in efforts to displace them and disrupt their livelihoods. Israeli settlers reside in settlements and unauthorised outposts throughout Palestinian territory– for context, Palestinians wish to establish a state encompassing the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, territories currently claimed by Israel. Palestinians state that Israel’s scattered settlements deny them a viable state, settlements which many countries view as illegal under international law. Presently, Palestinians have limited autonomy in the West Bank. Many families face the threat of forced eviction as Israelis aim to make room for new settlements, which can be viewed as intimidation; forced evictions leading to population transfers are illegal by international law. By the Fourth Geneva Convention, the international community has a duty to call on Israel to abide by the existing international laws and protect Palestinians from ongoing settler violence, and to halt the settlement expansion into the West Bank.
