08 Dec 2021; MEMO: The human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories is "disastrous", UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said yesterday.
Speaking during a meeting organised by the United Nations Committee on the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, Bachelet said: "Overall, the present human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory can fairly be characterised as disastrous, with severe infringements on the rights of over 4 million people."
"Only an end to the occupation can bring about lasting peace and establish the conditions in which the human rights of all can be fully respected."
Palestinians now face increased settler violence, she explained, on average, there is almost one incident of settler violence each day. She said the justice system continues to fail to hold settlers accountable for violence against Palestinians, adding that "this lack of accountability for settler violence contributes to the increased number and severity of attacks."
Expressing particular alarm at the recurring incidents of excessive use of force leading to the death and injury of Palestinian children, she said that in 2021 Israeli forces have killed 16 children in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Bachelet said her office also continues to receive reports of the ill-treatment of children during their arrest, transfer, interrogation and detention by Israeli authorities.
