In a statement to Anadolu Agency on Sunday, Shamdasani said, “Israel’s decision to expand its surveillance and control activities in areas under the administrative control of the Palestinian Authority raises serious concerns.”
She explained that this decision “creates conditions that facilitate indirect forced displacement by increasing pressure on the population.”
She pointed to the assaults on Palestinians, their arbitrary detention in inhumane conditions, and increasing restrictions on their freedom of movement, hindering their access to food, agricultural land, workplaces, schools, and health services. She emphasized that these restrictions have intensified in recent months.
Shamdasani stated that the West Bank is already experiencing a “pressuring environment” for Palestinians, which has significantly worsened since October 7, 2023. She noted that the trend toward restricting the space available to Palestinians had been ongoing even before that date.
She added that these steps are unacceptable because they intensify the expansion of Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory, in violation of international law. She emphasized that the UN Human Rights Office views with concern the “entrenchment of the de facto annexation on the ground.”
The spokesperson indicated that the Office has documented the killing of more than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since October 7, 2023.
She pointed out that the documented number to date is 1,052 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces or settlers whom the UN considers “illegal.”
Shamdasani stated that the Office has documented ongoing forms of discrimination that may amount to racial discrimination, or even apartheid.
She stressed that the restrictions imposed on the economic, social, cultural, civil, and political lives of Palestinians, coupled with the escalating violence, necessitate urgent intervention to halt this trend.
Shamdasani called on the international community to pay closer attention to the situation in the West Bank and to work to ensure that Israel respects its obligations under international law and refrains from taking steps that would entrench the de facto annexation.
