UN chief calls settler attacks on Palestinian villages ‘acts of terrorism’

ByNews Desk- The Cradle 

Earlier this week, extremist settlers launched two violent pogroms against Palestinians in response to the recent shooting of four Israelis in the occupied West Bank

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres blasted Israeli settler attacks against Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank on 23 June, describing them as “acts of terrorism.” 

His statement stressed the settler’s actions include “acts of sabotage and arson of land, property, and schools in Palestinian villages around Nablus and Ramallah.”

Guterres further clarified that the current developments in the occupied West Bank are of grave concern due to the increasing tensions between the Israeli army and the Palestinian resistance, citing 19 June as an example – the Israeli military conducted an operation in Jenin, killing seven Palestinian civilians, including two who were students at schools funded by the UN’s Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

He added that Tel Aviv must prevent further escalations, stressing that Israel must ensure the protection of all civilian populations in the area and that the settlers who led the pogrom against the Palestinian villages should be held accountable for human rights violations according to the regulations of international law.

Despite Guterres’ condemnations against Israel, several human rights organizations have criticized his decision to blacklist Russia and its allies for human rights violations, and not Israel, despite its killing of over 40 children in 2022 alone.

Palestine’s Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour also criticized the UN Secretary-General for excluding Israel from the UN’s “list of shame,” calling it a “big mistake.”

Israeli settlers continued rampaging through the occupied West Bank on 21 June, making it the second pogrom launched by settlers within 24 hours.

The first pogrom resulted in the death of one Palestinian, with several injured. The settlers’ actions were in response to a shooting and killing of four Israelis in the Eli settlement north of Ramallah.

Despite the military’s condemnation of the acts of arson and violence against Palestinians, no arrests were made.

In late February, following a shooting operation that killed two Israeli settlers, scores of settlers launched a massive pogrom in the Nablus village of Huwara, killing a Palestinian, torching about 75 homes, and injuring more than 350.