GENEVA
Israeli settlement expansion and rising violence have driven the displacement of tens of thousands of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the UN human rights office said on Tuesday.
According to a new report covering the 12-month period ending Oct. 31, 2025, more than 36,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced amid intensified settlement activity and growing attacks by Israeli security forces and settlers.
The report documented 1,732 incidents of settler violence, up from 1,400 in the previous reporting period, including harassment, intimidation and destruction of homes and farmland.
"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 said.
It added that longstanding impunity is “facilitating and encouraging violence against and harassment of Palestinians.”
The report highlighted a surge in attacks during the 2025 olive harvest season, describing it as the “worst in decades.” In one month alone, 131 Palestinians were injured in 42 attacks, including women and a child — “the highest number recorded in a single month since 2006.”
It warned that the scale of displacement, alongside similar patterns in Gaza, suggests a broader policy.
"The displacement in the occupied West Bank, which coincides with the extensive displacement of Palestinians in Gaza, 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 said.
It also cited a major expansion of settlements, with nearly 37,000 housing units approved in East Jerusalem and more than 27,000 in the rest of the West Bank, along with 84 new outposts.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk called on Israel to “immediately and completely” halt settlement expansion, end forced evictions and allow displaced Palestinians to return.