UN experts have warned of a significant increase in Israeli settler violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, saying the attacks pose an existential threat to Palestinian communities and risk accelerating forced displacement, reports Anadolu.

In a statement, experts said settler attacks, carried out with the support or approval of Israeli authorities, have become “daily terror” for Palestinians and are create conditions that force people to flee their homes.

“Escalating violence, carried out with complete impunity, serves as an instrument of coercion in the hands of the occupying power, facilitating ethnic cleansing,” they said.

Experts said settler brutality has reached “unprecedented levels” in 2026, with at least 13 Palestinians killed and nearly 500 injured during the first five months of the year, surpassing figures from previous years.

According to the statement, Palestinian communities in Area C of the occupied West Bank, particularly in the Jordan Valley and Southern Hebron Hills, have been disproportionately affected by violence and displacement.

Experts cited the village of Umm al-Kheir, which they said has faced repeated building demolitions, disruptions to services and settler attacks amid expanding illegal settlement activity.

According to the statement, continued displacement of Palestinians could expose some 663 square kilometers of land to further settlement expansion.

Experts also warned that rising tensions in the region have diverted international attention from developments in the occupied Palestinian territory, allowing violence and displacement to continue without sufficient accountability.

They did calls on Israel to end support for settlements and settler violence, to provide accountability for attacks and to guarantee the safe return of displaced residents.

“Despite the clear illegality of the occupation of the West Bank, Israel remains bound by its obligations as an occupying power under the Geneva Conventions – including the obligation to treat the Palestinian population as ‘protected persons’ under international humanitarian law,” the experts said.

Source: prizrenpost