UN panel: Israeli forces exterminated 1,143 West Bank civilians since 2023
Investigators cite 1,143 deaths and widespread violence as Israeli forces tighten control in Hebron ahead of national elections.
By Rafael Collins ·
United Nations investigators accused Israel of committing crimes against humanity in the West Bank on Monday.
The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory stated that Israeli forces and authorities carried out extermination, torture, and rape. The panel also identified persecution based on nationality, race, and ethnicity as a core component of the attacks.
The report details a widespread and systematic campaign against civilians in the territory occupied by Israel since 1967. Investigators linked these actions to sustained settler violence and military operations. They concluded that Israeli authorities intended to collectively punish West Bank residents following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs indicates 1,143 Palestinians died in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, between October 7, 2023, and October 9, 2026. At least 250 of those victims were children. The commission noted that the situation has deteriorated gravely since that date.
Israel’s mission in Geneva rejected the findings in a statement. Officials described the report as part of a misinformation campaign designed to demonize the state and portray its existence as criminal. The mission called on the international community to reject the distortions and demand the immediate dissolution of the commission.
The three-member team was established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021. Navi Pillay, the former South African High Court judge, chaired the investigation until November 2025. She won the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this month. The panel does not speak for the UN itself, though it previously found that Israel committed genocide in Gaza in September 2025.
The release of the report coincided with an Israeli military clampdown in Hebron. Forces conducted expulsions and demolitions following a gun attack the previous week. The findings arrived the day before Israel’s general election.
