Israeli Forces Committed Crimes Against Humanity in West Bank: UN Investigators
The findings add to international scrutiny of Israel's military operations and settlement-related violence in the occupied Palestinian territories.
United Nations-appointed investigators have concluded that Israeli forces committed crimes against humanity, including extermination, torture and sexual violence, in the occupied West Bank, while the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza continues.
An independent international commission of inquiry established by the United Nations Human Rights Council said on Monday that Israeli forces had committed crimes against humanity and war crimes against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
According to the latest report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry, Israeli military operations and persistent violence by Israeli settlers have constituted a widespread and systematic attack against Palestinian civilians.
The commission concluded that Israeli authorities and forces committed crimes against humanity, including extermination, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, alongside persecution based on nationality, ethnicity and national identity.
The report, released a day before Israel’s general elections, found that Israeli military operations and settler violence were part of a coordinated campaign targeting Palestinians across the occupied West Bank.
Investigators determined that the targeting of Palestinian civilians in different parts of the West Bank demonstrated a high degree of coordination and systematic planning, indicating that such actions were the result of state policy.
The commission further stated that Israeli authorities were aware of, and intended, settler violence to form part of the widespread and systematic attack against Palestinians.
Commission Chair Srinivasan Muralidhar said the deliberate killing and injuring of Palestinian civilians, along with the destruction of their homes, formed part of a broader strategy aimed at eliminating Palestinians, forcibly displacing them and imposing unbearable living conditions.
He further warned that portraying the Palestinian right to self-determination as a threat to Israel’s existence was obstructing any meaningful possibility of Palestinians exercising that right.
The three-member commission was established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021 to investigate alleged violations of international law in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel.
The commission, which operates independently and does not represent the United Nations as an institution, previously concluded in a September 2025 report that Israel had committed genocide during its military campaign in Gaza following October 7, 2023.
The latest investigation examines killings and physical and psychological harm caused by Israeli and Palestinian security forces since October 2023.
The commission was previously headed by former South African High Court judge Navi Pillay until November 2025. According to the report’s account, Pillay was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this month.
The findings add to international scrutiny of Israel’s military operations and settlement-related violence in the occupied Palestinian territories.
