The United Nations has expressed concern about the rising number of casualties from Israel’s use of live ammunition against Palestinians.

James W. Rawley said in a Wednesday statement, “The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator is seriously concerned by the increased casualties resulting from the use of live ammunition by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank.”

    The statement added that some eight Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank in separate incidents since mid-November 2012. The victims included three minors and one woman.

Rawley further called for “maximum restraint” in an effort to prevent further Palestinian civilian casualties.

“Using live ammunition against civilians may constitute excessive use of force and any such occurrences should be investigated in a timely, thorough, independent and impartial manner.”

The Tel Aviv regime recently refused to attend a UN Human Rights Council review, which was taking place in Geneva to examine the Israeli violations of the rights of Palestinians.

The UN Human Rights Council reviewed Israel’s human rights records on Tuesday as part of the Universal Periodic Review process. Israel is not a member of the UN rights council, but it is required to undergo Universal Periodic Review (UPR).

The Review, which is held once every four years, was established by the UN General Assembly in 2006 to examine human rights records of the UN members.

Israel severed all ties with the UN rights council in March 2012 after the council adopted a resolution condemning Tel Aviv’s announcement of building new settlement units.