UN commission accuses Israel of 'extermination' in West Bank; Israel rejects report

Right · 2UN-mandated investigators said on 26 October that Israel has committed the crime against humanity of extermination in the West Bank and continues to commit genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. 1 2 Right · 1The Independent International Commission of Inquiry said Israeli authorities and forces had also committed torture, rape and other sexual violence, and persecution based on nationality, race and ethnicity in the West Bank. 1 Right · 2It found a "widespread and systematic attack" on civilians through military operations reinforced by sustained settler violence, and said the targeting reflected "a high level of coordination and organised planning" and was "the product of state policy". 1 2

Right · 2Commission chair Srinivasan Muralidhar said the killing and injuring of civilians and destruction of homes, combined with Israel's denial of responsibility, were part of "a broader strategy to exterminate and displace Palestinians". 1 2 Right · 1According to Arab News, the report says 254 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank by airstrikes between 7 October 2023 and 30 September 2026, against six from 2008 to 6 October 2023, and that 34,176 remained displaced as of August. 2 Right · 1On Gaza, the commission said genocidal acts continued after the October 2025 ceasefire, and it traced root causes to the 1947-48 war. 2

Right · 2The report also criticised the Palestinian Authority for targeting dissenting Palestinians and failing to investigate killings; AFP reported no immediate reaction from the authority. 1 3 Right · 2It urged Israel to end the occupation, remove settlers and settlements, and act to prevent and punish genocide. 1 2 Right · 2Israel's mission in Geneva said the report was part of a "misinformation campaign to demonise the State of Israel" and called for the commission's dissolution; Ambassador Daniel Meron said UN resources were being "squandered". 1 3

Right · 1The mission also said the report distorts history by recasting Israel's 1948 war as a colonial "expulsion" policy; JNS added that the report mentions Hamas only twice and that the commission was under scrutiny after a panelist's revelations about its genocide finding. 3 Right · 1The three-member commission was set up by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021, does not speak for the UN itself, and first found genocide in Gaza in September 2025, a finding Israel rejects; the report came a day before Israel's general election, per AFP. 1 Right · 1Muralidhar is due to present the report to the UN General Assembly's Third Committee this week. 2