UN rights expert demands urgent international protection in Palestine amid brutal settler attacks

United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, has issued an urgent call for the immediate deployment of an international protection presence in the West Bank, East al-Quds, and Gaza following the emergence of disturbing footage showing Israeli settlers violently assaulting an elderly, disabled Palestinian man. The statement comes in direct response to a video recorded in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, which captures a group of young Israeli settlers attacking Palestinian farmers on their own ancestral land. In the footage, the settlers are seen brutally assaulting Saeed al-Amour, an elderly disabled Palestinian man, underscoring the escalating and unchecked violence faced by vulnerable Palestinian communities in the occupied territories. Taking to X (formerly Twitter) to condemn the incident, Albanese emphasized the legal and moral obligations of the global community to intervene. "An International Protection Presence in West Bank/east Jerusalem and Gaza is absolutely URGENT," Albanese wrote. Citing the recent advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which declared Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territories to be unlawful, the Special Rapporteur reminded the international community of its legal duties. US reimposes sanctions on UN expert after judge temporarily halted them for violating rights The US reimposes US reimposes impairing sanctions on independent UN Palestinians rights expert Francesca Albanese. "Third states have an obligation, per the ICJ, to act to end Israel's unlawful occupation," she stated. Frustrated by the chronic paralysis of the UN Security Council, which has repeatedly failed to pass binding resolutions to halt settler violence or enforce international law due to the use of the veto, Albanese called for alternative diplomatic mechanisms. She questioned whether the UN Secretary-General’s "good offices" and the UN General Assembly’s historic "Uniting for Peace" resolution could be mobilized to finally overcome this institutional gridlock and enforce accountability. The attack in Masafer Yatta is part of a broader, well-documented surge in settler violence across the occupied West Bank. Human rights organizations have repeatedly warned that these attacks are frequently carried out with impunity and are often accompanied by the passive or active support of the Israeli military, creating an environment of terror for Palestinian farmers and residents.