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UN report alleges systemic discrimination against Palestinians
The United Nations human rights office has released a report accusing Israel of enforcing policies in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, that amount to systemic racial discrimination against Palestinians. The findings describe conditions as having worsened sharply over the past three years.
Allegations of apartheid-like practices
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated that Israeli laws and policies create an "asphyxiating impact" on daily Palestinian life, violating international conventions against racial discrimination. He drew parallels to historical apartheid systems, calling the situation a "particularly severe form of racial discrimination and segregation."
"Whether accessing water, school, rushing to hospital, visiting family or friends, or harvesting olives-every aspect of life for Palestinians in the West Bank is controlled and curtailed by Israel's discriminatory laws, policies and practices."
Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Israel rejects findings as "absurd"
Israel dismissed the report, calling the accusations "distorted and absurd." The Israeli mission in Geneva accused the UN office of ignoring "fundamental facts" underlying the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including security threats highlighted by the October 7, 2023, attacks. It also alleged the UN was "abusing its position" to issue an "unmandated report" with a "politically driven fixation" on criticizing Israel.
Settlements and dual legal systems
Since occupying the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967, Israel has established approximately 160 settlements, housing around 700,000 Jewish residents. These settlements are considered illegal under international law. An estimated 3.3 million Palestinians live in the same territory, which they seek for a future independent state alongside Gaza.
The UN report highlights that Israeli authorities apply two distinct legal systems in the West Bank-one for Israeli settlers and another for Palestinians-resulting in unequal treatment across critical areas such as land ownership, resource access, and legal proceedings.
Land confiscation and military courts
The report details large-scale land confiscation and restricted access to resources for Palestinians, leading to dispossession of homes and property. It also notes that Palestinians face prosecution in military courts, where due process and fair trial rights are systematically violated.
The UN office concluded there are "reasonable grounds" to believe Israel's policies are intended to permanently segregate and subordinate Palestinians, amounting to a deliberate strategy of oppression in violation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).
Deterioration since October 7 attacks
The report states that while systemic discrimination against Palestinians has been a long-standing concern, conditions have "drastically deteriorated" since December 2022, with a marked acceleration following the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, which triggered the ongoing war in Gaza.
Settlement expansion has intensified over the past two years, including the recent approval of 19 new settlements. Israeli officials have framed these expansions as measures to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.
"Every negative trend documented in the report has not only continued but accelerated. And every day this is allowed to continue, the consequences worsen for Palestinians."
Volker Türk
