A UN-mandated commission of inquiry has accused Israel of committing crimes against humanity in the occupied West Bank, including extermination, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, while reiterating its allegation that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
In a new report, the independent commission said Israeli authorities and military forces had committed crimes against humanity in the West Bank, including persecution based on discriminatory grounds linked to nationality, race and ethnic origin.
Israel swiftly rejected the findings. Its ambassador in Geneva, Daniel Meron, accused the commission of seeking to undermine the legitimacy of the Israeli state and deny its right to exist and defend itself.
The commission was established in 2021. Last year, it published a report concluding that Israel was committing genocide in the Gaza Strip, a charge Israel also rejected as false and antisemitic.
UN report highlights worsening violence
The commission said the situation in the West Bank had deteriorated significantly since the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.
According to the report, six Palestinians were killed in airstrikes between 2008 and October 6, 2023. A further 254 were killed in airstrikes between October 7, 2023, and September 30, 2026.
The UN Human Rights Office had also accused Israel of forcibly displacing more than 33,000 Palestinians from three refugee camps in the West Bank in early 2025, warning of possible crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. More than three million Palestinians live in the territory, alongside approximately 500,000 Israelis in settlements considered illegal under international law.
The report also points to the expansion of Israeli settlement activity, including the rapid growth of unauthorised outposts, since the October 2023 attacks.
Commission alleges collective punishment
The commission said Israeli authorities had sought to collectively punish the West Bank’s Palestinian population in response to the October 7 attacks.
It described what it called a widespread and systematic attack against civilians through military operations, reinforced by continuing settler violence.
Commission chair Srinivasan Muralidhar said deliberate killings and injuries of Palestinian civilians, the destruction of homes and what the commission described as Israel’s persistent refusal to accept responsibility formed part of a broader strategy to displace Palestinians and impose unliveable conditions.
The report also criticised Israel’s expanding control over territory in Gaza, saying Palestinian civilians continued to be killed and injured when approaching or crossing the so-called Yellow Line.
More than 1,500 Palestinians have reportedly been killed since the October 2025 ceasefire came into effect, according to figures from Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry. The report said the figures were considered reliable by the United Nations.
Israel calls for commission to be dissolved
Israel’s delegation to the UN in Geneva condemned the report, describing it as another attempt to demonise the country and portray its existence as criminal.
Meron said efforts to undermine Israel’s legitimacy had continued since 1948. The Israeli delegation called on the international community to demand the commission’s immediate dissolution.
The commission has been chaired by South African jurist Navi Pillay, whom the supplied report identifies as a recipient of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.
ICJ previously warned of genocide risk in Gaza
The report also refers to a January 2024 ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ordered provisional measures requiring Israel to take steps to prevent acts prohibited under the Genocide Convention in Gaza. The court warned of a real and imminent risk of irreparable harm to Palestinians.
The commission’s report also criticised the Palestinian Authority over alleged abuses against members of rival armed groups, the suppression of dissent and political opponents, and what it described as a failure to conduct prompt, effective and impartial investigations into such abuses.
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