The UN human rights office says discrimination and segregation of Palestinians in the West Bank have "drastically deteriorated," and for the first time a UN rights chief described Israeli policies there as resembling "apartheid." The report documents separate legal systems for settlers and Palestinians, widespread land confiscation, rising settler violence and near‑impunity for unlawful killings. It urges Israel to repeal discriminatory measures, dismantle settlements and respect Palestinian self‑determination. Israel strongly rejected the report as politically motivated.
UN Rights Chief Says Israel's West Bank Policies Resemble 'Apartheid' and Calls For End To Settlements
The UN accuses Israel of controlling 'every aspect' of Palestinian life in the West Bank (Jaafar ASHTIYEH)(Jaafar ASHTIYEH/AFP/AFP)
The United Nations human rights office on Wednesday said long‑standing discrimination and segregation of Palestinians in the West Bank by Israeli authorities have "drastically deteriorated," and called on Israel to end what the report describes as an "apartheid system." The finding marks the first time a UN rights chief has used the term "apartheid" to describe the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.
In a new report — sharply criticized by Israel — UN rights chief Volker Türk said the situation amounted to "a systematic asphyxiation of the rights of Palestinians in the West Bank." He said Palestinians face restrictions on everyday activities ranging from accessing water and schooling to emergency medical care, visiting relatives and harvesting olives.
"Whether accessing water, school, rushing to hospital, visiting family or friends, or harvesting olives — every aspect of life for Palestinians in the West Bank is controlled and curtailed by Israel's discriminatory laws, policies and practices," Türk said in a statement.
Two Legal Systems and Widespread Dispossession
The report documents that Israeli authorities apply two distinct bodies of law and policy to Israeli settlers and to Palestinians in the West Bank, producing unequal outcomes across critical issues. It highlights large‑scale confiscation of Palestinian land, denial of access to resources and forcible dispossession of homes.
It also points to systemic disparities in legal treatment, noting that many Palestinians are prosecuted in military courts where due process and fair‑trial rights are frequently violated.
Mounting Settler Violence and Impunity
UN monitors say discrimination has been compounded by escalating settler violence, in many cases occurring "with the acquiescence, support and participation of Israel's security forces." More than 500,000 Israeli settlers now live in West Bank settlements; the territory is home to roughly three million Palestinians.
Violence has risen in recent years and surged after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack that precipitated the Gaza war. Since the start of that conflict, an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures reports more than 1,000 Palestinians killed in the West Bank, including militants and civilians. Israeli official figures record at least 44 Israelis—soldiers and civilians—killed in Palestinian attacks or in Israeli operations in the same period.
The report warns of a pattern of almost complete impunity: of the more than 1,500 Palestinian killings between the start of 2017 and 30 September last year, Israeli authorities opened only 112 investigations that resulted in a single conviction.
Other Human Rights Concerns
Since the Gaza war began, the report says Israeli authorities have "further expanded the use of unlawful force, arbitrary detention and torture," and have tightened restrictions on media freedoms, civil society and movement—contributing to what the rights office calls "an unprecedented deterioration of the human rights situation" in the West Bank.
Based on its findings, the UN rights office concluded there are "reasonable grounds to believe that this separation, segregation, and subordination is intended to be permanent... to maintain oppression and domination of Palestinians," and that these practices violate an international anti‑racism convention that prohibits racial segregation and apartheid.
UN Recommendations and Israeli Response
The UN rights office urged Israel to repeal laws, policies and practices that perpetuate systemic discrimination on the basis of race, religion or ethnic origin; to end its unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory; to dismantle settlements and evacuate settlers; and to respect the right of the Palestinian people to self‑determination.
Israel's diplomatic mission to the UN in Geneva dismissed the report's findings as "absurd and distorted accusations of racial discrimination," accusing the rights office of an "inherently politically driven fixation ... on vilifying Israel."
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