GENEVA, April 16 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations (UN) Human Rights Office expressed serious concern on Tuesday about the increasing violence in the West Bank and called on Israeli security forces to cease their support for settler assaults on Palestinians in the occupied territory without delay.

During the ongoing Gaza conflict, the UN Human Rights Office has decried that Palestinians in the West Bank have been "subjected to waves of attacks by hundreds of Israeli settlers, often accompanied or supported by Israeli security forces."

"The Israeli security forces must immediately end their active participation in and support for settler attacks on Palestinians," UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said in Geneva.

The recent violence was sparked by the killing of a 14-year-old Israeli boy last weekend, in what authorities said was an anti-Israel attack. Shamdasani pointed out that following the killing, "four Palestinians, including a child, were killed and Palestinian property was destroyed in revenge attacks."

"Israeli authorities must instead prevent further attacks, including by bringing those responsible to account," the spokesperson said.

Shamdasani described the escalating violence in the West Bank as "a matter of grave concern."

She emphasized that "those reasonably suspected of criminal acts, including murder or other unlawful killings, must be brought to justice through a judicial process that complies with international human rights standards, following a prompt, impartial, independent, effective and transparent investigation." Enditem

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