West Bank Conflict: UN Investigators Detail Military Actions
A three-member panel released a report on Monday citing 1,143 Palestinian deaths since 2023, a finding released one day before Israel’s general election.
By Chloe Martin ·
A United Nations investigative panel concluded on Monday that Israeli forces committed crimes against humanity in the occupied West Bank.
The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory stated that Israeli military operations and settler violence form a widespread and systematic attack on civilians. The report identified extermination, torture, rape, and other forms of sexual violence as primary findings. It also noted persecution based on nationality, race, and ethnicity.
The commission, established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021, released its findings the day before Israel’s general election. The panel previously determined in September 2025 that Israel committed genocide in the Gaza war following the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023. Israel rejected that earlier finding. The new report covers killings and bodily harm caused by both Israeli and Palestinian security forces since October 2023.
Israel’s mission in Geneva responded to the new document by calling it part of a misinformation campaign. The mission argued the inquiry aims to demonize the state and portray its existence as criminal. The mission said the international community must reject the findings and demand the immediate dissolution of the commission.
Navi Pillay, the former South African High Court judge who chaired the investigation until November 2025, won the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this month. The panel found that the situation in the West Bank has deteriorated since the Hamas attack. The investigators determined that Israeli authorities intended to collectively punish civilians in the territory due to that attack.
Data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs indicates that 1,143 Palestinians were killed in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem between October 7, 2023, and October 9, 2026. At least 250 of those killed were children. Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that the military offensive in Gaza displaced nearly the entire population and killed more than 74,500 people.
Israeli forces are currently conducting a clampdown in Hebron. The operation includes expulsions and demolitions following a gun attack last week.
Source: Al Jazeera
