UN accuses Israel of uprooting Palestinian Bedouins from West Bank area

The United Nations has accused Israel of causing the displacement of scores of Palestinians living in a Bedouin community in the occupied West Bank. 

In a report, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said around 100 Palestinians were forced to leave the Ras At Teen Bedouin community near Ramallah city last month.

The report cited unbearable living conditions as a result of Israel's "coercive measures", settler violence and demolitions of their shelters as reasons that forced Palestinian residents to leave their community.

The UN report called on the Israeli authorities to halt the policy of home demolition and land confiscation, hold illegal settlers accountable for their violence against Palestinian residents and prevent Israeli forces from using excessive force against them.

READ MORE: Israel approves plan to construct more settlement units in East Jerusalem

Illegal settlements 

Israeli and Palestinian estimates indicate there are about 660,000 illegal settlers living in 145 settlements and 140 outposts in the occupied West Bank.

Under international law, all Jewish settlements in occupied territories are considered illegal.

The settlements stand on land occupied by Israel in a 1967 war and where Palestinians want to build a future state. 

Israel disputes that the settlements are illegal or that they would obstruct Palestinian statehood. US-sponsored peace talks stalled in 2014.