UN report: Israel escalates West Bank settlements in violation of international law

A UN Human Rights Office report has found that Israel sharply escalated settlement activities in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, over the past year. The report details the expansion of Israeli settlements, the unlawful demolition of Palestinian homes, and a surge in settler violence, all taking place in “a climate of impunity.”

According to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, “Israel’s settlement policy, its acts of annexation, and related discriminatory legislation and measures are in breach of international law, as the International Court of Justice has confirmed, and violated Palestinians’ right to self-determination.”

Covering November 2023 to October 2024, the report highlights an unprecedented push to solidify Israeli control over the occupied territories through settlement expansion. More than 20,000 housing units were planned in East Jerusalem alone, while at least 10,300 additional units were proposed in existing West Bank settlements. At the same time, 49 new Israeli outposts were established.

Meanwhile, Palestinian displacement has intensified, with 214 structures demolished in East Jerusalem and 1,779 across the West Bank, forcibly uprooting over 4,500 Palestinians.

The report also points to the increasing militarisation of the settler movement. “The line between settler and State violence [has] blurred to a vanishing point, further enabling an increase in violence and impunity,” it stated. Israeli forces and settlers were responsible for the deaths of 612 Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, during the reporting period.

Settler violence averaged 118 incidents per month, an increase from the previous record-breaking year, and unauthorised road construction by settlers and the Israeli army further restricted Palestinian movement while enabling land seizures. The expansion of Israeli government services in settlements, the report argues, is institutionalising long-standing patterns of “systematic discrimination, segregation, oppression, domination, violence, and other inhumane acts” against Palestinians.

Türk condemned the ongoing transfer of Israeli civilian populations into occupied territory, stating that it constitutes a war crime under international law. He urged Israel to immediately halt all settlement activity, evacuate settlers from the occupied West Bank, and provide reparations for the damage caused.

“Israel must abide by the International Court of Justice’s ruling and cease immediately all new settlement activities, evacuate all settlers from the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and make reparations for the damage caused by decades of illegal settlement,” Türk emphasised.

The report calls on the international community to take concrete action in response to Israel’s expanding settlement policies, warning that without intervention, the situation will continue to deteriorate.

READ: Israelis march towards Gaza calling for ceasefire