Attacks on human rights in Palestine continue unabated

Despite the ceasefire, recent killings of Palestinians by Israeli security forces in the West Bank have raised concern among international bodies. According to organizations such as Amnesty International (AI), “the genocide continues.”

The persistent violence and human rights violations in the Middle East surrounding the conflict between Israel and Hamas continue to cause concern in the international community. Despite the peace agreement reached last month, there are multiple acts of violence attributed both to Islamic terrorism and to the forces of the State of Israel, the effects of which are a focus of concern for humanitarian bodies. Indeed, a new complaint over the deaths of two Palestinian men at the hands of Israeli police on the border with the West Bank territory has caused a new geopolitical upheaval.

It was the United Nations (UN) itself that spoke out against this incident, which it described as a “brazen killing” and which apparently would represent an act of summary execution by the forces of the State of Israel. Meanwhile, the incident in the West Bank heightens concerns about a new arena for attacks stemming from the conflict in Gaza, now in the region occupied by the State of Israel. 

Likewise, the organization Human Rights Watch has denounced the emptying of refugee camps in the West Bank (followed by the displacement of the population), an action prohibited by the Geneva Convention since it involves civilians located in an occupied territory. The human rights organization described this maneuver, carried out at the beginning of this year, as a “crime against humanity.” 

Although international attention has been focused mostly on the population of Gaza, the situation in the West Bank has also become the subject of criticism from multiple states. A few days ago, a joint statement issued by the United Kingdom, Italy, France and Germany expressed firm “condemnation” of the “massive” increase in violent actions by Israeli settlers against the Palestinian population in the West Bank. The document also includes a strong geopolitical nod by welcoming Donald Trump's stated opposition to Israel's annexation of the West Bank, as well as to any measure that would violate international law.

The recent history of the West Bank

The situation in this region has been generating tension for some time. According to mid-2024 data from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), violence in the West Bank that year had increased by 65% compared with the previous year. Hundreds of Palestinians killed, more than 1,000 displaced and some 160,000 people affected by demolitions and home collapses are some of the figures the NRC compiled for the first half of 2024. 

According to figures compiled by Amnesty International in 2024, Israel canceled the permits of more than 3,000 children from Gaza to travel to the West Bank. The purpose of the transfer was to access appropriate treatment for the serious illnesses many of them suffered from. Obstacles on thoroughfares, roads and highways are permanent, creating apartheid-style isolation of the populations. Likewise, in 2024 the Israeli government moved forward with the declaration of more than 2,000 hectares of land in the West Bank as “Israeli property,” advancing colonization.  

Tension also persists in Gaza

Last week, Amnesty International released a document warning that the “genocide is still ongoing” despite the ceasefire in Gaza. Actions such as restricting access to food, electricity and gas supplies and basic health services, among others, are some of the attacks on human rights that the organization has attributed to the Israeli regime against the captive populations of the Palestinian territory. The report cites data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs revealing that, between October and November, Israeli authorities blocked the entry of more than 6,000 tons of humanitarian aid materials into Gaza, a delivery coordinated by the UN itself that failed to reach its destination. 

According to the AI document, 55% of the list of essential medicines required in the Gaza area are at zero stock. More than 70% of these products are linked to chemotherapy treatment and blood diseases, as well as primary care, maternal and child health and kidney transplant treatment medicines. In addition, since the ceasefire agreement, Israeli troops remain stationed in 58% of the Gaza Strip, isolating the rest of the territory of the strip. This military cordon has had very serious effects on populations that are prevented from traveling to farming areas outside the perimeter, hampering local food production. 

Guillermo Whpei

President of Fundación para la Democracia