News Center_ Amid serious concerns that displacement policies targeting Palestinians could amount to what may be classified as “ethnic cleansing” under international humanitarian law, a recent UN report has revealed an unprecedented escalation in forced displacement.

According to a report issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on Tuesday, March 17, covering the period up to October 2025, land seizures and settlement expansion have led to the displacement of more than 36,000 Palestinians in just 12 months.

The report described this displacement as reflecting a “coordinated Israeli policy of mass forced transfer” aimed at minimizing the Palestinian presence.

It noted that during the same period, “Israeli authorities approved the construction of 36,973 settlement units in East Jerusalem, in addition to 27,200 units in other areas of the West Bank, and established 84 new outposts”—figures the UN described as unprecedented since 1967.

The report also indicated that levels of violence in the West Bank have risen significantly since the October 7, 2023 attack and the subsequent war on Gaza. According to data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health, Israeli forces killed more than 1,045 Palestinians in the West Bank during this period, including dozens of civilians.

Additionally, the UN documented 1,732 incidents of violence carried out by Israeli settlers over one year, compared to 1,400 incidents the previous year. It stated that these attacks occur “in a coordinated and strategic manner” and often without intervention from Israeli authorities, which the report accused of “directing, participating in, or enabling” such behavior.

The report warned that settlement expansion plans, particularly in areas northeast of Jerusalem, threaten thousands of Palestinians from Bedouin communities with the risk of forced displacement. It stressed that the “unlawful transfer of protected persons” constitutes a war crime under the Fourth Geneva Convention and may, under certain circumstances, amount to a crime against humanity.

In its conclusion, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called on Israeli authorities to immediately halt all settlement activities, warning that the continuation of these policies will lead to further humanitarian deterioration and undermine prospects for any just and lasting political solution.