Belgium expresses concern over escalating settler violence in occupied West Bank

Belgium expressed concern on Thursday over rising levels of Jewish settler violence in the West Bank, underlining its opposition to illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, Anadolu has reported.

Condemning the recent killing of an Israeli teenager and the “extreme (Israeli) settler violence” against dozens of Palestinian communities in the West Bank, the Belgian Foreign Ministry said on X: “Attacks against civilians must stop and their perpetrators must be brought to justice in accordance with international law.”

The ministry added that, “Belgium continues to condemn illegal settlements which are an obstacle to sustainable peace.”

Tensions have been high across the occupied West Bank amid an ongoing Israeli offensive against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Israel has killed more than 33,000 Palestinians, mainly children and women, since a cross-border incursion by Hamas on 7 October last year.

At least 468 Palestinians have since been killed by Israeli army fire in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry in Ramallah.

READ: 2 children among those killed in Israeli bombing of Gaza school