UN investigators say Israel committed extermination in the West Bank and continues genocide in Gaza, urging action to prevent and punish genocide

The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry said in a report released Monday that Israel has committed the crime against humanity of extermination in the occupied West Bank and continues to commit genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The commission also said Israeli forces committed other crimes against humanity and war crimes in the West Bank.

The investigators found that military incursions, reinforced by sustained illegal settler attacks, amounted to a widespread and systematic attack against civilians in the occupied West Bank. They said Israeli authorities intended to collectively punish civilians, and that intentional killings, the destruction of homes and denial of responsibility were part of a broader strategy to exterminate and displace Palestinians.

The three-member commission, established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021, urged Israel to stop committing genocide in Gaza and immediately meet its obligations to prevent and punish genocide. Its report said that since 2023, Israel’s military has uprooted nearly the entire population of Gaza and killed more than 74,200 people; it noted that estimates of the actual death toll could reach 200,000.