Ankara, Sept. 4 (SANA) The UN Human Rights Office on Friday warned that Israel is committing ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, with more than 1,100 Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers between Oct. 7, 2023, and July 27, 2026, according to a statement cited by Anadolu Agency.
UN Human Rights spokesperson Thameen al-Kheetan described the situation as “horrific,” noting that the West Bank is witnessing a “daily growing list” of violations that raise serious concerns of ethnic cleansing, including killings, systematic attacks, land confiscation and forced displacement. He said Israel is working to consolidate the annexation of the West Bank in clear violation of international law.
Settler violence, new outposts
Al-Kheetan said settlers are carrying out repeated attacks with direct support from Israeli occupation forces, while new settlement outposts are being used as launchpads for attacks. He warned that some displacement operations “may amount to international crimes.”
He also said Israeli plans to build new settlement units, including the illegal E1 settlement project, would fragment the West Bank and threaten the geographic contiguity of Palestinian territory, severely endangering Palestinians’ right to self-determination.
Al-Kheetan expressed the UN’s concern that Israel’s policy of consolidating the annexation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, may become permanent, in clear contradiction of international law and fundamental human rights.
He stressed the need to end the occupation immediately and dismantle all illegal settlements, calling on the international community to take practical steps beyond statements, including banning any trade or relations that could support Israeli violations.
The E1 settlement plan aims to connect the Ma’ale Adumim settlement to occupied Jerusalem, effectively severing geographic contiguity between the northern and southern West Bank and encircling East Jerusalem with a settlement belt.
A UN report covering the period between Oct. 7, 2023, and May 31, 2025, found that Israeli occupation forces and settlers killed 1,096 Palestinians in the West Bank, one in five of them children. The report also found that settlement expansion in the West Bank increased by 80% since the current Israeli government took office, with 102 new settlements added to the 127 that already existed.
Kh.A / H.H
