A report released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on March 17 warned that over one year—from Nov. 1, 2024, to Oct. 31, 2025—Israel's government has accelerated unlawful settlement expansion and “annexation” of large parts of the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. This has led to the forced displacement of over 36,000 Palestinians, amid increasing violence by both Israeli security forces and settlers.

The report stated: "The displacement in the occupied West Bank…at the hands of the Israeli military, appears to indicate a concerted Israeli policy of mass forcible transfer throughout the occupied territory, aimed at permanent displacement, raising concerns of ethnic cleansing."

The report also charged that the military has enabled a drastic escalation in settler violence on the West Bank. "Settler violence continued in a coordinated, strategic and largely unchallenged manner, with Israeli authorities playing the central role in directing, participating in or enabling this conduct," the report read.

The pervasive and persistent impunity prevents the implementation of an effective solution to reduce settler violence, the report stated. Israeli measures to formally and informally support the militarization of the settler movement both amplified the severity of settler violence against Palestinians and rendered it extremely difficult to distinguish between instances of settler violence and instances of State violence.

In addition, Israeli authorities are implementing policies to render their annexation of West Bank territory irreversible.

The report concluded that the Israeli military's transfer of power to civilian settler authorities and measures taken to confiscate Palestinian lands for settlement expansion "amounted to an institutionalised regime of systematic discrimination, oppression and violence by Israel against Palestinians," violating the international prohibition of racial segregation and apartheid.

According to the report, UN member states’ efforts to end and prevent Israeli settler violence through sanctions remained largely ineffective:

Sanctions previously imposed by the United States of America were rescinded on 20 January 2025, while sanctions by other States have primarily targeted individual settlers rather than affiliated entities or organizations, lessening the capacity of such measures to combat widespread, concerted settler violence. Sanctioned individuals have frequently circumvented restrictions by transferring assets or receiving financial support from pro-settlement networks.

In October 2025, a total of 42 settler attacks resulted in 131 injured Palestinians, the highest number recorded in a single month since 2006. The report also found that gender-based violence was a contributing factor triggering displacement. “Other attacks led to family separation, in which women and children were forced to leave, while male family members remained to attempt to retain possession of lands and properties.”

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called on Israel to "immediately and completely cease and reverse the establishment and expansion of settlements, for the evacuation of all settlers, and an end to the occupation of Palestinian territory."

From JURIST, March 19. Used with permission.