The Office of the European Union Representative in Palestine affirmed that the Israeli settler violence will only fuel further tensions, calling for the protection of the Palestinians.
The EU representative pointed to “the rising levels of settler violence that only fuels further tensions.”
The EU has also called for the protection of the Palestinian people “in accordance with Israel’s obligations under international law.”
Last Sunday, Israeli settlers injured several Palestinians, torched cars and damaged commercial structures in different parts of the West Bank.
The EU office stressed the need to “to prevent further violence ahead of Ramadan, Pesach and Easter coinciding in April.”
Recently, the Israeli authorities decided in principle to allow Jewish settlers to tour the Aqsa Mosque’s courtyards during Ramadan, a move that may lead to further tensions.
Last week, the United Nations announced that the number of settlers in the occupied West Bank has increased by 23 percent since 2014.
Michael Lynk, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, stated that, “the number of settlers in the West Bank reached about 370,000 in 2014.”
He stressed that “the expansion of settlement construction continues to fuel violence in the occupied Palestinian territory, perpetuates the occupation, and undermines the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the possibility of establishing an independent, viable and geographically connected state.”
He pointed out that “670,000 Israeli citizens currently live in more than 130 illegal settlements and more than 100 outposts in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.”
The settlers have recently increased their attacks on Palestinian civilians, their lands, homes and farms.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in 2020, a total of 358 attacks were recorded while in 2021, there were 496 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, (370 resulting in property damage and 126 resulting in injuries).
The UN Security Council and United Nations General Assembly resolutions confirm that the Israeli settlements built on the occupied Palestinian lands are “illegal, unethical, and amounts to a war crime.”
