UN commission accuses Israel of 'extermination' in West Bank

The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Monday accused Israeli forces of committing the crime against humanity of "extermination" in the occupied West Bank while continuing "genocidal acts" in the Gaza Strip, findings that come one day before Israelis head to the polls in a general election.

Systematic attacks in West Bank

The commission found that Israeli authorities waged a "widespread and systematic attack" against Palestinian civilians through military operations reinforced by sustained settler violence since October 2023. "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 unliveable," commission chairman Srinivasan Muralidhar said in a statement. He noted that the targeting of civilians across different locations indicates high-level coordination and state policy, adding that Israeli authorities intended to collectively punish West Bank residents following Hamas's attack.

Israel rejects findings

Israel's mission in Geneva rejected the findings as part of a "misinformation campaign to demonise the State of Israel and portray its very existence as criminal". "The international community must reject these distortions, repudiate the commission's findings and demand its immediate dissolution," it said in a statement. The report also accused the Palestinian Authority of targeting dissenters and failing to investigate killings, noting that PA violence has targeted members of opposing armed groups and repressed civil opposition.

Genocide determination in Gaza

The commission reaffirmed its September 2025 determination that Israel continues to commit "genocidal acts" with intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza. "The Israeli authorities and forces continue to commit genocidal acts with the genocidal intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the Palestinians in Gaza," the report said, citing cases of wilful killing and bodily harm. Israeli military operations have killed more than 74,200 people in Gaza since October 2023, according to health ministry figures considered reliable by the UN, with the commission set to present its findings to the UN General Assembly later Monday.