UN commission says Israeli forces committed crimes against humanity in West Bank

The United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory reported that Israeli government and security forces have committed crimes against humanity, including extermination, torture, rape and other sexual violence, in the occupied West Bank. The commission said these acts form a "widespread and systematic attack" against civilians, driven by discriminatory motives based on nationality, race and ethnicity.

The findings were released amid a clampdown in Hebron, where Israeli forces imposed a lockdown, carried out expulsions and demolished homes following a recent gun attack. The UN Human Rights Commissioner, Volker Turk, warned that the measures raise serious concerns of ethnic cleansing and called for an end to what he described as disproportionate use of force.

Israel’s mission in Geneva dismissed the report as part of a "misinformation campaign" aimed at demonising the state, and urged the international community to reject the findings and demand the commission’s dissolution.

The three-member investigative team, established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021, previously concluded in a September 2025 report that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, a claim Israel rejects. The new report also notes that between October 7, 2023 and October 9, 2025, 1,143 Palestinians, including at least 250 children, were killed in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem.

"The sweeping steps taken raise grave concerns of unnecessary and disproportionate use of force – which must end," said Volker Turk.

"Collective punishment is a grave violation of international law," Turk added, urging that displaced persons be allowed to return and that Israel provide compensation for unlawful evictions and demolitions.

Former South African High Court judge Navi Pillay, who chaired the commission until November, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this month.