UN: Israel Killed 40 Palestinian Children in West Bank Since January
UN report exposes a sharp rise in Israeli killings, settler violence, and land theft across the occupied West Bank amid a renewed push for annexation and the systematic destruction of Palestinian life
Palestine, PUREWILAYAH.COM - The United Nations has confirmed that Israeli occupation forces killed 40 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank since the beginning of 2025, as part of a wider escalation of violence and repression against Palestinians across the territory.
According to UN data, Jenin Governorate recorded the highest death toll, with 65 Palestinians martyred, accounting for nearly one-third of all victims in the West Bank since January.
The UN report comes as “Israel” intensifies its violent campaign across the occupied territory—expanding settlements, arming settlers, and pursuing legal moves toward full annexation—despite global condemnation.
Education and Civil Life Under Attack
The UN further reported that Israeli aggression has increasingly targeted the education sector, documenting more than 90 incidents involving schools that disrupted the learning process for over 12,000 students between July and September.
These incidents include military raids near schools and settler assaults that forced temporary closures of classrooms, depriving children of basic access to education amid the ongoing occupation.
Settler Terror Escalates During Olive Harvest
During the ongoing olive harvest season, the UN documented at least 86 settler assaults targeting 50 Palestinian villages across the West Bank since October 1. These attacks—often conducted under the protection of Israeli forces—included vandalism of trees, physical assaults on farmers, and the blocking of access to agricultural lands.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that between October 7 and 13, settlers carried out 71 attacks on Palestinians, half of them directed at farmers during the harvest.
The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission confirmed 158 attacks on olive harvesters this month alone, including violent assaults, crop theft, and tree destruction. In total, settlers have uprooted or damaged nearly 49,000 olive trees in the past two years.
The Commission also documented over 7,000 settler assaults on Palestinians and their property during the same period, resulting in 33 deaths and the forcible displacement of 33 Bedouin communities.
Meanwhile, the UN has recorded 757 settler attacks in 2025 alone, with a UN spokesperson for Secretary-General António Guterres condemning the violence as occurring in “an environment defined by a near-total lack of accountability.”
Escalating Aggression and Annexation Drive
The assault on the West Bank has intensified alongside Israeli legislative moves to formalize annexation.
On October 22, the Israeli Knesset passed a preliminary bill to apply “sovereignty” over large parts of the West Bank, alongside another measure to annex the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim near occupied al-Quds.
Israeli ministers described the votes as “historic,” calling for full control over so-called “Judea and Samaria,” despite international condemnation and warnings from Washington.
Observers note that since the announcement of the Gaza ceasefire plan, the occupation has escalated repression in the West Bank—granting settlers free rein to attack Palestinian communities while simultaneously moving toward the de jure annexation of Palestinian land.
Defiance of International Law
In July 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that “Israel’s” occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal under international law and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East al-Quds.
Yet, the Israeli regime has openly defied the ruling, expanding settlements, seizing land, and escalating daily military assaults. The UN and Palestinian authorities report that more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed, over 10,000 injured, and more than 20,000 arrested since the war on Gaza began two years ago.
Recent Reuters reporting, citing Palestinian and UN officials, confirmed that Israeli settlers have intensified their attacks on Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest, while occupation authorities have taken no measures to stop the violence.
Ongoing Colonial Project and Erasure of Palestine
The continued killing of children, destruction of livelihoods, and expansion of settlements underscore what human rights monitors describe as a systematic policy of colonial domination aimed at erasing Palestinian life across the West Bank.
As “Israel” accelerates both its military and legislative annexation agenda, the UN’s latest findings expose the depth of impunity and the failure of Western powers, led by the United States, to hold the occupation accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity. (PW)