A United Nations-mandated inquiry accused Israeli authorities and forces Monday of extermination and other crimes against humanity in the occupied West Bank, citing civilian harm and sustained settler violence.
The United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry described Israeli military operations and settler violence since October 2023 as a “widespread and systematic attack” on civilians. It said Israeli authorities intended to punish West Bank Palestinians collectively after Hamas’ attack on Israel that month and intended settler violence to form part of the attack.
Commission Chairman Srinivasan Muralidhar said civilian deaths and injuries, destroyed homes and Israel’s repeated denial of responsibility reflected a strategy to “exterminate and displace Palestinians” and make living conditions untenable.
The commission said its findings included crimes against humanity involving torture, rape, other sexual violence and persecution on discriminatory grounds. It also identified war crimes, including willful killing, in cases it investigated.
Israel’s mission in Geneva rejected the report, saying the commission sought to demonize Israel and portray its existence as criminal. It urged the international community to dismiss the findings and seek the commission’s dissolution.
The inquiry separately said cases it examined showed Israeli authorities and forces continuing to commit genocidal acts in Gaza with the intent to destroy Palestinians there in whole or in part. Israel rejects the commission’s September 2025 conclusion that it committed genocide in Gaza.
The report also accused the Palestinian Authority of targeting members of rival armed groups and Palestinians expressing civil or political dissent. It said the authority had not carried out timely, effective and impartial investigations into killings.
The United Nations Human Rights Council established the three-member commission in 2021. Its findings do not represent a position adopted by the United Nations as a whole. The commission called on Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territory and remove settlers and settlements.
The findings follow concerns raised by UN-appointed experts about Palestinian farmers’ access to West Bank olive groves. A presentation of the commission’s report to the United Nations General Assembly was scheduled for Oct. 26, ahead of Israel’s general election on Oct. 27.
