Israeli security forces “must immediately end their active participation in and support for settler attacks on Palestinians”, the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights said on Tuesday.
The statement follows a wave of settler attacks on Palestinian towns and villages in the West Bank triggered by the killing of a 14-year-old Israeli boy in what authorities say was a militant attack.
The Palestinian Health Ministry says seven Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers since the attacks began on Friday, and another 75 have been wounded.
Israeli authorities have urged people not to resort to vigilante attacks as tensions soar. But rights groups have long accused Israeli forces of routinely ignoring settler attacks or even taking part in them.
Tensions in the region have ramped up since the start of the latest Israel-Hamas war on October 7, when Hamas carried out a devastating cross-border attack that killed 1,200 people in Israel saw 250 others kidnapped.
Israel responded with an offensive in Gaza that has caused widespread devastation and killed more than 33,800 people, according to local health officials.
World leaders have urged Israel not to retaliate after Iran launched hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles over the weekend in an unprecedented revenge mission that pushed the Middle East closer to a regionwide war.
The attack happened less than two weeks after a suspected Israeli strike in Syria killed two Iranian generals in an Iranian consular building.
An Iranian official said his country will respond within “seconds” if Israel seeks to retaliate for its attack over the weekend.
Deputy foreign minister Ali Bagheri Kani said late on Monday that Israel will face a “resolute and hard response” if it takes further action against Iran.
Meanwhile, German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said she will fly to Israel on Tuesday to help de-escalate the tense situation after Iran’s weekend attack and express Germany’s support for Israel.
She called on all sides to prevent the conflict from spreading to other countries in the region and for new sanctions against Iran.
“I will assure our Israeli partners of Germany’s full solidarity,” she said. “And we will discuss how a further escalation with more and more violence can be prevented. Because what matters now is to put a stop to Iran without encouraging further escalation.”
Referring to Iran’s attack, the German minister said that “of course, this further military escalation now also has further consequences”.
Ms Baerbock also said she would use her Tel Aviv visit to again demand that more humanitarian aid be let into Gaza.
She also condemned the latest violence in the West Bank.
“I condemn the violent death of an Israeli boy in the strongest possible terms. At the same time, this must not be misused as a pretext for further violence.
“I also strongly condemn the attacks by extremist settlers in the West Bank, in which four or more Palestinians were killed,” she said.
