A United Nations commission of inquiry has accused Israel of committing crimes against humanity in the occupied West Bank and of continuing acts of genocide in Gaza, even after last year’s ceasefire agreement.
In a report released on Monday, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory said Israeli forces had deliberately targeted Palestinian civilians in the West Bank. It said Palestinians were being singled out because of their nationality, ethnicity, gender and age, reported by Arab News.
The commission accused Israel of extermination, persecution, torture and rape in the West Bank. Its chair, Srinivasan Muralidhar, is expected to present the findings to the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee this week.
“The intentional killing and injuring of Palestinian civilians and destruction of homes in the West Bank, combined with Israel’s persistent denial of responsibility, form part of a broader strategy to exterminate and displace Palestinians and impose conditions of life that are unlivable,” Muralidhar said.
The report records a steep rise in lethal force in the West Bank since the Gaza war began after Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. It said Israeli airstrikes killed six Palestinians in the West Bank between 2008 and October 6, 2023, compared with 254 between October 7, 2023, and September 30 this year.
The commission found that military operations and sustained settler violence amounted to a “widespread and systematic attack” against Palestinian civilians. It said the conduct of Israeli authorities showed an intention to use the two forms of violence together.
The report also said torture, rape, reproductive violence and other sexual violence were used to displace and subjugate Palestinians. It concluded that Israeli forces had deliberately killed and injured children in both the West Bank and Gaza, describing this as age-based persecution.
In Gaza, the commission said Israeli authorities continued to commit genocidal acts after the ceasefire signed in October last year. It said Israel’s expansion of territorial control had led to the killing and injury of civilians near the “Yellow Line”, which separates the Israeli-controlled east of Gaza from the west.
The commission linked the conflict’s deeper causes to the 1947-48 war. It said Israel had since sought to expand its territory and displace Palestinians through violence.
Military operations in the West Bank since January 2025 have caused the largest displacement there since 1967, according to the report. It said 34,176 Palestinians remained displaced as of August.
The report also criticised the Palestinian Authority. It said the authority had targeted Palestinians who expressed dissent, while journalists and human-rights defenders had been killed or injured. It said the authority had failed to investigate abuses by its security forces or compensate victims.
The commission urged Israel to end its occupation, remove settlers and settlements, and return confiscated land. It also called on the Palestinian Authority to stop targeting rights defenders and investigate alleged abuses.
The findings follow the commission’s earlier conclusion, in September 2025, that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza.
