UN says Israeli actions raising 'ethnic cleansing' fears in West Bank, Gaza

GENEVA: Israel's increased attacks and forcible transfers of Palestinians "raise concerns over ethnic cleansing" in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the United Nations said Thursday.

The UN human rights office said the cumulative impact of Israel's military conduct during the war in Gaza, plus its blockade of the territory, had inflicted living conditions "increasingly incompatible with Palestinians' continued existence as a group in Gaza."

"Intensified attacks, the methodical destruction of entire neighborhoods and the denial of humanitarian assistance appeared to aim at a permanent demographic shift in Gaza," the office said in a report.

‘Ethnic cleansing’ 

"This, together with forcible transfers, which appear to aim at a permanent displacement, raise concerns over ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the West Bank."

The report covered the period from Nov. 1, 2024, to Oct. 31, 2025.

In the occupied West Bank and annexed East Jerusalem, the report said the "systematic use of unlawful force" by Israeli security forces, "widespread" arbitrary detention, and the "extensive unlawful demolition" of Palestinian homes were being carried out to "systematically discriminate, oppress, control and dominate the Palestinian people".

These violations were "altering the character, status and demographic composition of the occupied West Bank, raising serious concerns of ethnic cleansing," it said.

'Inhumane choice' 

In Gaza, the report condemned the continued killing and maiming of "unprecedented numbers of civilians", the spread of famine, and destruction of the "remaining civilian infrastructure."

During the 12 months covered in the report, at least 463 Palestinians, including 157 children, starved to death in Gaza, it said.

"Palestinians faced the inhumane choice of either starving to death or risking being killed while trying to get food," said the report.

"The situation of famine and malnutrition was the direct result of actions taken by the Israeli government," with the deaths and suffering from hunger "foreseeable and repeatedly foretold."

Impunity 'kills' 

Last week, UN rights chief Volker Turk warned that the world was witnessing "rapid steps to change permanently the demography of the occupied Palestinian territory."

On Tuesday, Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich vowed to encourage "emigration" from the Palestinian territories.

And on Wednesday, UN Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo warned the Security Council that steps by Israel to tighten control of areas of the West Bank administered by the Palestinian Authority amount to "gradual de facto annexation."

Thursday's rights office report concluded that, considered together, Israeli practices "indicated a concerted and accelerating effort to consolidate annexation of large parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory and to deny Palestinians' right to self-determination."

The report said there was a pervasive climate of impunity for serious violations of international law by the Israeli authorities in the Palestinian territories.

"Impunity is not abstract -- it kills. Accountability is indispensable. It is the prerequisite for a just and durable peace in Palestine and Israel," Turk said in a statement.