UN Secretary General urges Israel to halt military operations in West Bank

New Delhi, Aug 29: António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General has issued a deep concern,condemned the loss of life, and urged Israel to cease its ongoing military operations in the West Bank, warning that the situation is rapidly escalating. In a post on X, Guterres expressed deep concern over the developments, describing them as “deeply troubling” and emphasizing the urgent need to end the violence.

“I strongly condemn the loss of lives, including those of children, and I call for an immediate cessation of these operations,” Guterres stated, highlighting the awful humanitarian impact of the conflict. Yesterday, Stéphane Dujarric, the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, echoed these concerns during a daily press briefing.

“We have been following the developments since this morning with great concern and are very worried about what we are seeing,” Dujarric said. He pointed out that the UN’s humanitarian colleagues at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) are raising alarms that civilians are increasingly exposed to “deadly warfare tactics that seem to exceed international standards for law enforcement

.” Dujarric provided a detailed account of the ongoing violence, stating, “Today, at least nine Palestinians, including children, were killed, and others injured, in the Governorates of Jenin, Tulkarm, and Tubas—located west of the Jordan Valley. The operations involved Israeli helicopters, drones, and ground forces. Most of the people killed were hit by airstrikes, while others were subjected to sniper fire and other lethal methods.

Military bulldozers have been observed destroying infrastructure, with initial indications of damage to roads and electricity equipment, resulting in a power outage across the Jenin refugee camp.” He further reported that Israeli forces conducted operations near four hospitals— two in Jenin and two in Tulkarm disrupting all movement in and out of these facilities, particularly affecting medical teams.

Since the escalation on October 7, 2023, more than 630 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, with over 140 of them dying in approximately 50 airstrikes, according to the UN spokesperson. Dujarric noted that these figures represent an increase from the six fatalities recorded in airstrikes in the region before October 2023. He also highlighted the broader impact of the conflict, reporting that “most of the fatalities in this period were killed by Israeli forces, but at least 11 were killed by settlers.

” The spokesperson also gave numbers of casualties among Israelis, stating, “During the same period, 15 Israelis, including nine members of Israeli forces and five settlers, were killed by Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. In Israel, attacks by Palestinians from the West Bank resulted in the deaths of ten Israelis and seven Palestinian perpetrators.” He reiterated the importance of adhering to international policing standards, emphasizing that lethal force should only be used as a last resort against imminent threats of death or serious injury.

The Israeli government has described its current actions as a “counter-terrorism operation” targeting multiple areas in the West Bank. The operation, which began on Wednesday, has already claimed at least nine lives and has been described as the most extensivemilitary action in the region since the second intifada, the major Palestinian uprising from 2000 to 2005.

The West Bank, a strategically significant area near the Jordan River, has been under Israeli control since the 1967 war. Home to an estimated thirty lakh Palestinians, including residents of East Jerusalem and Gaza, the West Bank has been a focal point of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for decades. Although the Palestinian Authority governs most of the West Bank’s towns and cities, Israel maintains overall control. It has established more than 130 settlements, housing around five lakh Jews in the region.

The ongoing conflict in the West Bank continues to remain a tension between Israelis and Palestinians, with both sides suffering casualties. The Palestinians have long opposed Israel’s presence in the West Bank, seeking to establish an independent state, a goal supported by much of the international community.

However, Israel insists on retaining control over parts of the West Bank for security reasons, complicating prospects for peace. Thesituation remains tense, with no immediate end in
sight to the violence.