UN decries 'unfathomable' numbers of Palestinians killed in West Bank

The UN rights chief demanded, on Tuesday, an end to surging violence in the occupied West Bank, saying it was "unfathomable" that more than 500 Palestinians had been killed there since October 7.

Volker Turk said at least 505 Palestinians had been killed in the West Bank by the Israeli military and by West Bank settlers since the war in nearby Gaza erupted nearly eight months ago.

Palestinian officials have given a toll of at least 523.

Two dozen Israelies, including eight soldiers, have also been killed in West Bank clashes or alleged attacks by Palestinians from the West Bank during the same period, he said.

"As if the tragic events in Israel and then Gaza over the past eight months were not enough, the people of the occupied West Bank are also being subjected to day-after-day of unprecedented bloodshed," he said in a statement.

"It is unfathomable that so many lives have been taken in such a wanton fashion."

Turk insisted "the killing, destruction and widespread human rights violations are unacceptable, and must cease immediately".

"Israel must not only adopt but enforce rules of engagement that are fully in line with applicable human rights norms and standards," he said, demanding accountability for all alleged unlawful killings.

Turk decried the "pervasive impunity for such crimes" in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, and which had seen a surge in violence even before October 7.

Turk's statement said that the Israeli military had often used lethal force "as a first resort against Palestinian protesters ... in cases where those shot clearly did not represent an imminent threat to life".

Turk warned that the violence "against the backdrop of the scale of killing and destruction continuing in Gaza, have instilled fear and insecurity among Palestinians in the occupied West Bank".