UNRWA Warns of Largest Palestinian Displacement Since 1967 in West Bank

New York: Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), stated today that the developments unfolding in cities across the occupied West Bank constitute the largest displacement of Palestinians since 1967, describing the situation as a “silent war” that has not received sufficient international media attention.

In an official statement, Lazzarini said that Palestinian communities have been subjected to unprecedented levels of violence since October 2023, resulting in the killing of more than 1,000 Palestinians, including children who account for nearly a quarter of the victims. He stressed that settler attacks continue unabated, forming part of a systematic campaign aimed at intimidating Palestinian communities, forcibly displacing them from their lands, and destroying their livelihoods.

The UNRWA Commissioner-General explained that tens of thousands of Palestinians remain displaced more than a year after the launch of the military campaign referred to as “Iron Wall”, noting that homes are being demolished in a manner intended to prevent residents from returning.

He warned that the intense international focus on the Gaza Strip has contributed to the normalization of a grave disregard for international humanitarian law in the West Bank, underscoring the urgent need to halt the violence before it reaches a point of irreversible consequences.

Lazzarini further noted that cities, towns and refugee camps throughout the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem are subjected to daily raids and incursions by Israeli occupation forces and settlers. These operations, he said, are frequently accompanied by armed confrontations, mass arrests, the use of live ammunition, and the systematic destruction of infrastructure and private property.