HAMILTON, Canada

A senior UN official warned Tuesday that violence by Israeli occupiers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank has reached an "alarming rate" amid continued illegal Israeli settlement expansion.

"Daily settler-related attacks escalated, often in the presence of Israeli forces, resulting in casualties, property damage and displacement in Palestinian communities across the occupied West Bank," Ramiz Alakbarov, deputy special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, told the UN Security Council.

Covering the period from Dec. 3, 2025, to March 13, 2026, Alakbarov reported that Israeli authorities "advanced or approved" over 6,000 housing units in the occupied West Bank, including approximately 3,160 units in Area C and 2,850 in East Jerusalem.

Alakbarov condemned what he described as "relentless Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank, which continues to fuel tensions, impede access by Palestinians to their land, and threaten the viability of a fully independent and contiguous Palestinian State."

He also reported that Palestinians face a broader pattern of displacement, demolitions, evictions, and movement restrictions.

"The demolition and seizure of Palestinian structures entail numerous human rights violations and raise concerns about the risk of forcible transfer," he said, adding that residents continue to be denied the right to return home.

Raising concerns over the detention of Palestinians, Alakbarov also said he remains "concerned about large numbers of Palestinians, including children, held by Israel, including in administrative detention without charge or trial."

He said reports of torture, ill-treatment, including sexual violence, and deaths in custody are "deeply disturbing."

On Gaza, Alakbarov said the ceasefire remains "highly fragile," with Israeli airstrikes, shelling, and gunfire continuing across the Strip.

He said about 1.4 million people remain displaced across 1,200 sites, many in overcrowded and unsafe conditions, and that only limited fuel and humanitarian aid have entered Gaza through Karem Shalom since mid-March.

"I condemn the continued killing and injury of civilians in Gaza, including women and children," he said, warning that infrastructure damage is catastrophic and that severe shortages of clean water, medical care, and shelter persist.

He also called on Israel to immediately cease its withholding of Palestinian clearance revenues, warning that such "punitive economic and fiscal measures" are destabilizing Palestinian institutions and threatening the viability of the Palestinian Authority.