The expert group does not speak for the UN, but was established on behalf of the UN Human Rights Council in 2021. Last year, the group concluded in a report that Israel’s warfare in the Gaza Strip constitutes genocide - a finding maintained in the new report.
Now the experts say Israeli authorities and forces have carried out “widespread and systematic attacks” against Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank. Violent acts by Israeli settlers are part of those attacks, according to the group.
According to the experts, Israeli authorities intended to “collectively punish” civilians in the West Bank after Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
“Extermination, torture, rape”
The crimes against humanity committed in the West Bank, according to the report, include “extermination, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence” and “persecution” on several interwoven grounds. Israel is also accused of war crimes in the West Bank.
Israel’s UN ambassador dismisses the report - which addresses crimes by both Israelis and Palestinians - as part of a “disinformation campaign aimed at demonizing the State of Israel” and calls for the dismantling of the expert group.
Lawyer and human rights defender Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this year, served on the expert panel from 2021 to 2025.
“Fears of ethnic cleansing”
Meanwhile, Israel is facing criticism from UN human rights chief Volker Türk over the ongoing military operation in the West Bank city of Hebron, where thousands of people have reportedly been driven from their homes. The operation has been described as a response to the shooting deaths of three Israeli soldiers on Friday. The suspected perpetrators, who were shot dead by the military, were two Palestinians.
“Collective punishment is a serious violation of international law. Threats to empty and demolish entire neighborhoods also raise serious concerns about ethnic cleansing,” Türk said in a statement.