The United Nations Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory on Tuesday released a report accusing Israeli authorities of being involved in West Bank settler attacks that have injured or killed Palestinians.
The UN report claimed that Israeli authorities had enabled settler attacks through financial and military support, in an alleged climate of impunity fostered by judicial and law-enforcement bodies. It also found that the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas had committed war crimes against both Palestinians and Israelis.
The Prime Minister's Office and the IDF did not immediately respond to requests for comment, nor did Hamas.
The report said Israeli settler attacks on Palestinian villages and agricultural land had surged since 2023, rising by 130%, including incidents involving groups of masked assailants. The UN also claimed that Israeli security forces often accompanied settlers, which the report said provided a "shield" for the violence.
Israel has repeatedly rejected allegations that IDF troops shield settlers during attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, saying such actions are rogue incidents that violate military protocol and are investigated.
At least seven Palestinians were killed, and 832 were injured last year, with violence continuing into 2026 in the form of frequent attacks, according to the UN.
UN claims settler violence used to advance state policy
The report accused Israeli security forces of perpetrating a "collapse of the distinction between settlers and soldiers."
It claimed such violence has been used to advance state policy and displace Palestinians in the West Bank.
The Commission also alleged that settlers committed or threatened sexual violence to instill fear and harassed Palestinian women.
“The relentless, daily assaults by Israeli settlers against Palestinians are intolerable - and must end,” said the commission's head, S. Muralidhar, an Indian former senior judge. He urged the international community to press Israel to curb the violence.
Despite condemnations and the dismantling of unauthorized outposts in the West Bank, the report said that Israeli authorities have not done enough to stop the attacks.
Wassel Abu Yousef, a member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the body the UN recognizes as representing Palestinians, told Reuters the report "reflects the extent of the violence perpetrated by settlers against our people." He called for measures such as sanctions in response.
Hamas's human rights violations
The UN report said it was also gravely alarmed by serious abuses it documented in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
The commission found that Hamas-affiliated terrorists were involved in at least 60 of 249 documented cases of executions and severe physical violence in 2024 to 2025, including beatings with metal pipes and bone-breaking as punishment for alleged collaboration with Israel or accessing humanitarian aid without Hamas permission.
In two instances, 11 men were publicly executed. The commission said these acts amount to war crimes and violations of international law.
The commission found that the October 7, 2023, massacre in Israel by Hamas and other terrorist groups, which killed 1,200 people and involved hostage-taking and destruction of property, amounted to war crimes.