UNRWA Chief Decries “Silent
War” as Israeli Settler Violence in West Bank Reaches Record Levels

New York, 1 Feb 2026 (ONA) — Philippe
Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency
for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), stated today that the events unfolding in the
cities of the occupied West Bank represent the most significant displacement of
Palestinians since 1967, characterizing the situation as a “silent
war” lacking adequate international media attention.

In a formal statement, Lazzarini
declared that Palestinian communities have endured unprecedented levels of
violence since October 2023, leading to the death of more than one thousand
Palestinians, one quarter of whom were children. He emphasized that attacks by
settlers continue unabated, part of a persistent campaign to intimidate
Palestinian populations, forcibly displace them from their lands, and obliterate
their means of subsistence.

The UNRWA Commissioner-General
further detailed that tens of thousands of Palestinians remain displaced one
year after the initiation of the military campaign referred to as “Iron
Wall,” adding that their homes are being progressively demolished to
preclude any possibility of return.

He noted that the intense global
focus on the Gaza Strip has normalized a stark contempt for international
humanitarian law within the West Bank, asserting the critical imperative to
halt the violence before the point of irreparable consequence.

It is documented that cities, towns,
and refugee camps across the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem are subjected to
daily raids and incursions by Israeli occupation forces and settlers. These
operations are routinely marked by armed confrontations, mass arrests, live
fire, and a systematic destruction of essential infrastructure and private
property.

— Ends/Khalid