A/HRC/31/43 under review,22 underscores the persistent climate of fear and insecurity experienced by Palestinians living in proximity to illegal settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. 38. A spike in settler violence was recorded in October 2015 in the context the wave of violence that erupted in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. An increase in incidents took place during the first days of October, following the killing of an Israeli couple by Palestinians in the West Bank on 1 October, and generally in the City and Governorate of Hebron where, according to data from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, there were at least 30 settler attacks against Palestinians and Palestinian property. The attacks took the form of stone-throwing at Palestinian houses in the areas of the Wadi al-Hussein, Jabari and Al-Rajabi Quarters located in the vicinity of the settlement of Kiryat Arba. On 29 October, restrictions in the Israeli-controlled part of Hebron were further tightened when Israeli security forces closed off the area around the Tel Rumeida settlement, pursuant to a military closure order. While the onus of restrictions falls on Palestinians, Israeli settlers are allowed to move about freely throughout the area.23 39. Settler attacks and intimidation targeting volunteers and the representatives of international humanitarian organizations providing a protective presence and documenting human rights violations in the Israeli-controlled part of Hebron and in the southern Nablus governorate were reported during October 2015. The Secretary-General is concerned at these deliberate attacks against human rights defenders in the area. These attacks were compounded by restrictions on movement imposed by Israeli security forces, particularly at all checkpoints and on the road to Qurtuba School in Hebron, which links two settlements. B. Israeli measures to address settler violence: accountability and prevention 40. In an effort to address the failure to protect and enforce the law against settlers, a specialized unit within the Israel Police West Bank District was established in early 2013. The Nationalistic Crimes Unit is charged with responding to ideologically motivated crimes committed by Israeli civilians, in coordination with the Israel Security Agency, the Israel Defense Forces and the Ministry of Justice. According to the Israeli Ministry of Justice, in 2014, the operationalization of the unit resulted in an increase of 64 per cent in the number of indictments filed against Israeli suspects.24 41. The Secretary-General welcomes the aforementioned steps taken by the Israeli authorities to address settler violence. However, cases handled by the Nationalistic Crimes Unit include criminal offences perpetrated against Israeli security forces and Israel Defense Forces property, as well as against Palestinians. According to data released by the Israeli police in January 2015, out of 83 indictments served by the Unit, only 25 per cent related to cases where the complainant was Palestinian. 25 A concern therefore remains that efforts by the Israeli authorities have not yet translated into significant improvements in the performance of law enforcement where the victims are Palestinian. 22 23 24 25 10 Yesh Din, “Data sheet: Law Enforcement on Israeli Civilians in the West Bank”, October 2015. Protection Cluster, “Protection concerns and humanitarian impacts of settlement activity in Hebron city”, April 2014. Response to Yesh Din report, “Mock Enforcement”, from the Legal Counseling and Legislation Department (International Law) in the Ministry of Justice, 23 December 2014. See Yesh Din, “Mock Enforcement”, May 2015, p. 148. Information released by the Israeli Police to Yesh Din following freedom of information procedures, provided to OHCHR in correspondence dated 9 December 2015.