Israel has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Occupied Palestinian Territory amid continuing genocide in Gaza, UN Commission of Inquiry finds
Israel has committed war crimes and the crimes against humanity of extermination, persecution, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, intentionally targeting Palestinian civilians as it continues to commit genocide in Gaza, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel said in a new report today[26 October 2026].
The report to the UN General Assembly, which focuses on killings and bodily and mental harm by state-actors, found that the situation in the West Bank has deteriorated gravely since 7 October 2023. The number of deaths caused by airstrikes in the West Bank has increased significantly: six Palestinians were killed by airstrikes in the West Bank between 2008 and 6 October 2023, while 254 Palestinians were killed by airstrikes between 7 October 2023 and 30 September 2026. The Commission concluded that Palestinians in the West Bank are being targeted on the basis of their nationality, race and ethnicity, gender and age.
In Gaza, the report found that Israeli authorities and forces continue to commit genocidal acts even after the so-called ceasefire agreement, with the intent to destroy the Palestinian people, in whole or in part.
“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 unliveable,” said Srinivasan Muralidhar, Chair of the Commission. “Meanwhile, Israel’s expansion of territorial control in Gaza continues to result in the killing and harming of Palestinian civilians who approach or cross the Yellow Line.”
In the West Bank, the report found that Israel - through military operations reinforced by sustained settler violence - has waged a widespread and systematic attack against civilians since 7 October 2023. The conduct of Israeli authorities during this period indicates that they intended for military operations and settler violence to form part of a coordinated attack against Palestinians.
Torture, reproductive violence, rape and other forms of sexual violence form part of the broader attack directed against the civilian population in the West Bank. Sexual violence has been used with the intent to displace, subjugate and destabilize the Palestinian people.
Israeli forces have also deliberately killed and inflicted serious bodily and mental harm against children in the West Bank – as they have in Gaza – committing age-based persecution against Palestinian children.
As part of a broader investigation into the root causes of recurrent tensions and protraction of conflict, the report outlines the key drivers of Israeli violence and concludes that Israel has striven to expand territorially and displace Palestinians through violence since the 1947-48 war. Military operations since January 2025 have led to the largest displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank since 1967, with 34,176 Palestinians remaining displaced as of August 2026.
“Seizing maximum land while minimizing the Palestinian population in relation to size, autonomy and viability stems from Israel’s colonising policies and is rooted in historical practices and patterns of action, resulting in the excessive and discriminatory application of lethal force, displacing, injuring and killing Palestinians over generations,” said Muralidhar. “Attempting to equate Palestinian statehood with a threat to the existence of Israel is blocking any viable attempts to realize Palestinians’ right to self-determination.”
The Palestinian Authority, the report found, has targeted Palestinians who voice dissenting views. Journalists and human rights defenders have been killed and injured, resulting in an increasingly diminished civic space.
“Despite an increase in unnecessary or disproportionate use of force since 7 October 2023, the Palestinian Authority has failed to conduct effective and impartial investigations into incidents of killings and to ensure effective remedy, including financial compensation to victims and their family members,” said Muralidhar.
The Commission makes several recommendations to the concerned States and the international community. Israel should comply with the advisory opinion of July 2024 of the International Court of Justice and immediately end the unlawful occupation of Palestinian territory and remove all settlers and settlements. Essentially, Israel should end and reverse confiscation and appropriation of Palestinian property and reservation of Palestinian land for military purposes and return all confiscated land to its Palestinian owners. The Palestinian Authority must cease the targeting of human rights defenders and conduct independent investigations into alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law and provide remedies for the harm suffered by victims who were wrongfully killed and injured by the Palestinian security forces.
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