The UN human rights office called Tuesday for Israel to stop Jewish settlers from attacking Palestinian civilians in the West Bank, accusing the army of failing to restrain settlers while being quick to use force against Palestinians.

A spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights says Israel has a legal obligation "to protect Palestinian civilians and property in the occupied Palestinian territory."

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Rupert Colville told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday that the attacks should be properly investigated and victims compensated.

Mosque torched, vandalized in Kusra (Photo: Salma Debai)

"There appears to be certainly a partial siding with the settlers, and perhaps not intervening strongly enough to protect the Palestinian villagers," Colville told reporters in Geneva.

"The accountability for settler violence against Palestinians is less than adquate, let's say, and certainly not comparable to the reverse cases," said Colville. "When Palestinians attack settlers there's always very, very strong reaction."

'Attacks emblematic of settler violence'

A spokeswoman for Israel's mission to the United Nations in Geneva declined immediately to comment, but the IDF said in a statement that it would permit neither instances of rioting nor individuals taking the law into their own hands.

Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino told Israel Radio Tuesday that the police had created a special task force to find and prosecute Israelis responsible for acts of arson and violence against Arab sites in the West Bank and Israel.

Funeral for Kusra resident killed in clashes (Photo: Reuters)

Colville said a spike in attacks since the beginning of September was "emblematic of the phenomenon of settler violence throughout the West Bank."

He cited the shooting death of a civilian by an Israeli soldier in the West Bank village of Kusra on September 23. According to Palestinian reports, the 36-year-old Issam Badran was killed by IDF fire during clashes between local villagers and settlers.

Army officials said the report is credible as it was received from Palestinian security authorities. The military confirmed soldiers used live fire in the clashes. An investigation into the incident was launched.

The clashes broke out amid tension over the Palestinians' submittal of a bid for UN membership last month.

Colville also mentioned the beating of two minors detained by troops on September 23, and the uprooting of olive trees in the same village on October 6.

A UN report about the impact of Israeli settlement construction is being published later this week.

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