Israeli “aggressive operation” in Hebron, a city in the West Bank, raise serious concerns of ethnic cleansing, Volker Türk, the United Nations human rights chief, warned on Monday. As the number of Palestinians forced from their homes surpassed 3,000 on the eve of Israeli elections, Türk underscored that collective punishment constitutes a grave violation of international law.
“Those who have been displaced must be allowed to return home. Israel must ensure compensation and reparation for unlawful evictions and demolitions, and associated displacement,“ said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
“Collective punishment is a grave violation of international law. Threats to empty and erase entire neighborhoods also raise serious concerns of ethnic cleansing.”
Not only have Israeli forces demolished homes and commercial property, they have also deprived West Bank residents of the ability to move freely.
“The Israeli lockdown is confining many to their homes and their immediate neighborhoods. Declarations by senior Israeli Government officials indicate that the measures implemented are punitive in nature and designed to instill fear,” Türk said. “This is unacceptable.”
More than 3,000 Palestinians forced from their homes
Also on Monday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that aid agencies in the West Bank city of Hebron are supporting local authorities in meeting the needs of more than 3,000 Palestinians who were forced from their homes by Israeli forces following a shooting attack on Israeli soldiers last week.
Those displaced were forcibly removed from two neighborhoods where the perpetrators also lived. Another family was displaced when their home, near the site of the shooting, was demolished. The businesses of others were also demolished.
Humanitarian organizations say that most of those forced out of their homes are staying temporarily with relatives. Their most urgent needs include shelter, food, and cash assistance.
Aid agencies are supporting alternative solutions for education. Eleven schools serving 4,700 students are located in or around the affected area. Across the Hebron governorate, nearly 700 schools serving 250,000 students have temporarily shifted to remote learning due to access and security concerns.
Meanwhile, reports of settler attacks continued across the West Bank over the weekend, affecting the olive harvest. Since the beginning of 2026, there have been more than 2,000 settler attacks causing casualties or property damage — surpassing any previous year on record.
Humanitarian organizations reiterate that Palestinians in the West Bank must be protected and that collective punishment is prohibited under international law.
Against the backdrop of the escalating crisis in Hebron, a comprehensive new UN report released on Monday revealed that these localized incidents form part of a much wider pattern.
Israeli forces wage widespread and systematic attack against civilians
The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory [OPT], including East Jerusalem, and Israel released a report Monday concluding that Israel has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in the OPT by intentionally targeting Palestinian civilians while continuing to perpetrate genocide in Gaza.
In the West Bank, the report found that, since October 7, 2023, Israel has waged a widespread and systematic attack against civilians through military operations reinforced by sustained settler violence.
The report states that the conduct of Israeli authorities during this period indicates their intention to allow military operations and settler violence to be part of a coordinated attack against Palestinians.
“Torture, reproductive violence, rape and other forms of sexual violence form part of the broader attack directed against the civilian population in the West Bank. Sexual violence has been used with the intent to displace, subjugate and destabilize the Palestinian people,” the Commission said.
The report to the UN General Assembly focuses on killings and bodily and mental harm by state actors and found that the situation in the West Bank has gravely deteriorated since October 7, 2023. The report concluded that Palestinians in the West Bank are targeted based on their nationality, race, ethnicity, gender, and age.
Since January 2025, military operations have led to the largest displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank since 1967. As of August 2026, more than 34,000 Palestinians remain displaced.
In Gaza, the report found that Israeli authorities and forces have continued to commit genocidal acts since the so-called ceasefire agreement was made, intending to destroy the Palestinian people, either wholly or in part.
“The intentional killing and injuring of Palestinian civilians and destruction of homes in the West Bank combined with Israel’s persistent denial of responsibility form part of a broader strategy to exterminate and displace Palestinians and impose conditions of life that are unlivable,” said Srinivasan Muralidhar, Chair of the Commission.
“Meanwhile, Israel’s expansion of territorial control in Gaza continues to result in the killing and harming of Palestinian civilians who approach or cross the Yellow Line.”
According to the report, Israeli forces have also deliberately killed and inflicted serious bodily and mental harm against children in Gaza and the West Bank – committing age-based persecution against Palestinian children.
This report follows an earlier one from June 2026, which concluded that Israeli authorities and security forces had deliberately targeted Palestinian children, resulting in genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in Gaza, as well as war crimes in the West Bank. These findings followed the Commission's initial conclusion in September 2025 that Israel committed genocide against the Palestinian group in Gaza.
Further information
Full text: Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel (A/81/430), released on October 26, 2026
https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/coiopt/ga-81-430-auv.pdf