Today, Tuesday, UN Independent Commission of Inquiry member Miloon Kothari expressed concern over the rising violence of Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank, noting that it has become "a major concern," and announced plans for further investigations. The commission delivered a statement to the Human Rights Council based in Geneva earlier today, accusing the Israeli government of imposing increasing restrictions on Palestinian civil society organizations. Israel, which left its seat vacant, issued a statement from its Foreign Minister Eli Cohen labeling the commission as "a disgrace to the United Nations and the Human Rights Council."
In the same meeting, the United States, Israel's closest ally, issued a statement on behalf of 27 countries criticizing the commission, which unusually has an indefinite mandate. The United States withdrew from the Human Rights Council in 2018 due to what it described as "chronic bias" against Israel and only rejoined fully last year. US Ambassador Michelle Taylor stated, "We believe that the nature of this commission is additional evidence of the disproportionate attention the council has long dedicated to Israel, which must stop."
The West Bank, part of the territories occupied by Israel in the 1967 war, where Palestinians seek to establish their state, has seen a rise in violence over the past 15 months amid an increase in Israeli raids and attacks alongside a series of Palestinian street assaults. The commission was established in 2021. While the council cannot make legally binding decisions, international courts can sometimes use evidence collected through the commission's investigations.
