UN Says Israeli Actions in Gaza and West Bank Raise Fears of Ethnic Cleansing

Israeli military operations in the West Bank. (Source: IDF)

JAKARTA - The increase in attacks followed by the forced expulsion of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank by Israel, raised concerns about the possibility of ethnic cleansing, the United Nations said on Thursday.

The U.N. Human Rights Office said the cumulative impact of Israeli military actions during the Gaza genocide war, coupled with the blockade of the territory, had created living conditions that "increasingly do not correspond to the existence of Palestinians as a group in Gaza."

"Intensive attacks, the systematic destruction of entire neighborhoods and the denial of humanitarian aid seem to aim at a permanent demographic shift in Gaza," the office said in a report, according to Anadolu (20/2).

"This, along with forced displacement, which appears to be aimed at permanent expulsion, raises concerns about ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the West Bank," he added.

In Gaza, the report condemned the continued killing and persecution of "an unprecedented number of civilians," the spread of starvation, and the destruction of "remaining civilian infrastructure."

During the 12 months covered by the report, at least 463 Palestinians, including 157 children, died of starvation in Gaza, the report said.

"Palestinians face an inhumane choice: starve to death or risk their lives trying to get food," the report said.

"The situation of hunger and malnutrition is a direct result of the actions taken by the Israeli government," with deaths and suffering from starvation "predictable and have been repeatedly predicted."

Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank and annexed East Jerusalem, the report states that "systematic unlawful use of force" by Israeli security forces, "widespread" arbitrary detentions, and "massive and unlawful demolition of Palestinian homes" are carried out to "systematically discriminate, oppress, control, and dominate the Palestinian people."

"These violations change the character, status, and demographic composition of the occupied West Bank, raising serious concerns of ethnic cleansing," the report said.

It was explained that the report examined the period from 1 November 2024 to 31 October 2025.

Throughout the reporting period, Hamas and other Palestinian resistance groups continued to hold Israeli and foreign hostages captured on October 7, 2023 - alive or dead - as "bargaining chips."

The UN Human Rights Office said the treatment of the hostages amounted to a war crime.

"Israeli forces, Hamas, and other Palestinian armed groups committed serious violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza, grave violations and abuses of international human rights law, and crimes of atrocity," the report said.

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk last week warned that the world was witnessing "rapid steps to permanently change the demography of the occupied Palestinian territory."

On Tuesday, Israel's right-wing Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich promised to encourage "emigration" from the Palestinian territories.

A day later, UN Deputy Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo warned the Security Council that Israel's steps to tighten control over the West Bank territories administered by the Palestinian Authority were tantamount to "a gradual de facto annexation."

The UN Human Rights Office report concludes that, when considered together, Israel's practices "demonstrate a coordinated and accelerating effort to consolidate the annexation of most of the occupied Palestinian territory and the denial of the right of self-determination for the Palestinian people."

The report states that there is a widespread climate of impunity for serious violations of international law by Israeli authorities in the Palestinian territories.

"Impunity is not an abstract thing, it kills. Accountability is essential. This is a prerequisite for a just and lasting peace in Palestine and Israel," Türk said in a statement.