UN report: Israel practices apartheid against the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank

The United Nations Human Rights Office said in its report issued on Wednesday that the Israeli authorities deal with Israeli settlers and Palestinians residing in the West Bank under different legal systems and policies, which leads to unequal treatment on many vital issues, including freedom of movement and access to natural resources such as land and water.

The report concluded that there is ““There are good reasons to believe that the processes of separation, isolation, and subjugation are intended to be permanent, to maintain the processes of oppression and control over the Palestinians.”

The report also noted that the situation has worsened since October 7, 2023, as the Israeli government sought to expand the scope of its violations, including “Use of unlawful force, arbitrary detention and torture, repression of civil society, unjustified restrictions on media freedoms.” Which led to an unprecedented deterioration in the human rights situation.

The report confirmed that the military justice system ““It represents an important tool for controlling the Palestinians.” It does not provide them with the protection that civil law provides to Israeli settlers. It also documents patterns of unlawful killings and other forms of state and settler violence, and contains numerous examples of the intentional and unjustified use of lethal force, with clear intent to kill.

The report also stressed that the construction of new roads designated only for Israeli settlers led to the isolation of Palestinian communities from each other, in light of the expulsion of thousands of Palestinians from their homes throughout the West Bank. “This may amount to illegal population transfer, which is a war crime.”

High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said There is “A systematic stifling of the rights of Palestinians in the West Bank.” Stressing that all aspects of their lives are subject to Israeli control and restrictions, which represents an aggravated form of discrimination and isolation “It is similar to the apartheid system that we witnessed previously.”

And he said: “Every negative pattern documented in the report has not only continued, but has accelerated, and every day that this situation is allowed to continue has dire consequences for Palestinians.”

The report also confirmed the widespread impunity for human rights violations. Of the more than 1,500 killings of Palestinians between January 1, 2017 and September 30, 2025, the Israeli authorities opened only 112 investigations, with one conviction.

He recalled the continued arbitrary detention of thousands of Palestinians by the Israeli authorities, most of them under administrative detention, without charges or fair trials.

He pointed out that illegal settlement expansion continues unabated, including the approval of the Israeli Security Ministerial Council to build 19 new settlements, to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, “according to what Israeli officials stated.”

Turk stressed that the Israeli authorities must “Abolish all laws, policies and practices that perpetuate systematic discrimination against Palestinians on the basis of race, religion or ethnic origin,” He called on it to end its illegal presence in the occupied Palestinian territory, including “dismantling all settlements, evacuating settlers, and respecting the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.”