UN accuses Israel of accelerating forced displacement of Palestinians in West Bank

The UN Human Rights Office in the occupied Palestinian territory (OHCHR) has accused Israeli authorities of intensifying efforts to forcibly displace large numbers of Palestinians from long-established towns and communities in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

According to the OHCHR, the Israeli Civil Administration has been systematically rejecting Palestinian applications for building and planning permits in areas such as Masafer Yatta in the South Hebron Hills, citing the military’s need for training grounds. The UN body says this is facilitating the forced removal of Palestinian residents.

“Over the past months, Israel has dramatically ramped up home demolitions, as well as the arbitrary arrest and ill-treatment of Palestinians and human rights defenders, alongside intensifying movement restrictions in and around Masafer Yatta, to force Palestinians out,” the UN statement said.

At the same time, Israeli settlers from nearby unauthorized outposts—who face no threat of eviction—have reportedly been carrying out daily attacks and acts of harassment targeting Palestinian residents, including the elderly, women, and children.

OHCHR warned that around 1,200 Palestinians in Masafer Yatta alone could face forcible transfer, an act that under international law may constitute a war crime and possibly a crime against humanity.

Meanwhile, violence has surged across the region. Fourteen more people were reported killed on Thursday morning in Israeli air raids on Gaza, according to hospital sources cited by Al Jazeera Arabic. The latest attacks bring the death toll in the enclave to over 90 in the past 24 hours.

In the occupied West Bank, at least three Palestinians were killed and several others injured in an attack by Israeli settlers on Kafr Malek, northeast of Ramallah.