RAMALLAH Feb 17 (JMCC) - The International Committee of the Red Cross called on Israel Wednesday to lift numerous restrictions it says are stifling Palestinian life in the West Bank.

Despite signs of growth in the West Bank economy, the world human rights body said that restrictions connected to Israeli settlements are causing Palestinians to lose land and income.

The ICRC has repeatedly called for action to be taken to allow Palestinians to live their lives in dignity, said Béatrice Megevand-Roggo, the ICRC's head of operations for the Middle East and North Africa. We reiterate our call on Israel to do more to protect Palestinians in the West Bank against settler violence, to safeguard their land and crops, to allow families to repair their houses and to ensure that all Palestinians can get to hospital or to school without delay.

In a press release, the ICRC said that Palestinians experience regular harassment from Israeli settlers, with 10,000 olive trees burnt or uprooted in the last three years.

Further, approximately half of the West Bank remains under Israeli civilian and security control, and off-limits to Palestinian construction.