UN Panel Cites 1,143 West Bank Deaths in Latest Report
The commission accuses Israeli forces of extermination and torture ahead of Israel's general election.
By Sebastian Clarke ·
A United Nations investigative team reported on Monday that Israeli authorities and forces committed crimes against humanity in the occupied West Bank. The panel identified extermination, torture, and rape as key offenses. These findings detail the impact of military operations and settler violence on the civilian population in the region.
The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory issued the report one day before Israel’s general election. The body was established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021. It previously concluded in September 2025 that Israel committed genocide in Gaza after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Israel has rejected that earlier finding.
The new report covers events from October 2023 through October 2026. It states that Israeli military actions, combined with sustained settler violence, formed a widespread and systematic attack on civilians. The commission determined that Israeli authorities intended to collectively punish West Bank residents due to the Hamas attack from Gaza.
Data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs shows 1,143 Palestinians were killed in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem during this period. At least 250 of the victims were children. Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that more than 74,500 people were killed in the Gaza offensive, displacing nearly the entire population.
Israeli forces carried out a clampdown on Hebron on Monday, including expulsions and demolitions, following a gun attack the previous week. Israel’s mission in Geneva called the report part of a misinformation campaign to demonize the state. The mission urged the international community to reject the findings and demand the commission’s immediate dissolution.
Navi Pillay, a former South African High Court judge, chaired the investigation until November 2025. She won the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this month. The three-member team does not speak for the UN itself but provides findings based on its mandate.
The commission’s next steps are not specified in the release. The report serves as the latest formal assessment of the conflict’s humanitarian toll.
Source: Al Jazeera
