Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories amount to ‘war crimes’, UN human rights office says in report

The establishment and expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem amounts to a war crime, the UN human rights office said in a report published on Friday. The report covers the one-year period from November 1, 2022, to October 31, 2023, when it says about 24,300 housing units were upgraded in existing settlements in the West Bank. The highest number in a year since monitoring began in 2017. It condemned the increase in construction of new settlement houses in recent months.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk said the West Bank was already in crisis. Yet settler violence and settlement-related violations have reached shocking new levels. Reports this week that Israel is planning to house about 3,500 settlers in three areas. The Turks said the construction and expansion of settlements amounts to Israel transferring its population into its occupied territories, “which amounts to a war crime under international law,” his office said in a statement.

Israel’s diplomatic mission in Geneva regularly accuses the Turks’ office of ignoring violence against Israelis by Palestinian extremists. He said the report completely ignored the deaths of 36 Israelis and the injuries of nearly 300 others in the attacks due to Palestinian terrorism.