Israel's settlement expansion in occupied territories 'amounts to war crime': UN rights chief

Israel's continued settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, "amounts to a war crime," the UN human rights chief said in a report released by his office on Tuesday, urging the international community to take decisive action.

"The transfer by Israel of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies amounts to a war crime," Volker Turk said, emphasizing that Israel's settlement policy violates international law and the Palestinian right to self-determination.

The report, covering the period from November 2023 to October 2024, documents an alarming increase in Israeli settlement activity, including plans for over 20,000 housing units in East Jerusalem and the establishment of 49 new outposts in the West Bank.

"Israel's settlement policy, its acts of annexation, and related discriminatory legislation and measures are in breach of international law, as the International Court of Justice has confirmed, and violate Palestinians' right to self-determination," Turk said.

He urged: "Israel must immediately and completely cease all settlement activities and evacuate all settlers, stop the forcible transfer of the Palestinian population, and prevent and punish attacks by its security forces and settlers."

Israeli authorities also demolished 1,779 Palestinian structures, forcibly displacing over 4,500 people. The number of Palestinians forcibly displaced by demolitions rose by nearly 200% compared to the previous reporting period, according to the report.

Illegal Israeli settlers, emboldened by government support, have also escalated violence against Palestinian communities, with an average of 118 incidents of settler violence recorded per month. The average is up from 108 in 2023 -- which was already a record-breaking year.

The report noted that Israeli security forces and settlers killed 612 Palestinians during the reporting period, while 24 Israelis lost their lives in clashes and attacks.

"The line between settler and State violence (has) blurred to a vanishing point," the report warned, citing the militarization of the settler movement and the enlistment of settlers into Israeli security forces.

Turk called on the international community to take "meaningful action" to address the situation and uphold international law.

He also urged Israel to abide by the ruling of the International Court of Justice and cease immediately all new settlement activities, evacuate all settlers from the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and make reparations for the damage caused by decades of illegal settlement.