(credit: HAZEM BADER/AFP)
‘Israeli’ rule in West Bank amounts to systematic apartheid, says UN
Note: AI technology was used to generate this article’s audio.
- UN report documents systematic discrimination, restrictions on movement, and unequal legal systems for Palestinians versus settlers.
- Widespread violations include arbitrary detention, unlawful killings, settler violence, and illegal land confiscation.
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights released a report highlighting the suffocating impact of ‘Israeli’ laws, policies, and practices on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem. The report described these measures as blatant violations of international law that may amount to an apartheid system.
Dual legal system fuels discrimination
The report notes that ‘Israeli’ authorities apply two separate legal systems for settlers and Palestinians in the West Bank, resulting in unequal treatment in key areas such as freedom of movement, access to land, water, and natural resources. These practices, the report warns, deepen systemic discrimination against Palestinians and appear intended to be permanent.
Escalation since October 2023
Since October 7, 2023, the UN found a marked increase in human rights violations, including unlawful use of force, arbitrary detention, torture, suppression of civil society, and restrictions on media freedoms, leading to unprecedented deterioration in Palestinian living conditions.
The military court system serves as a central tool of control, providing minimal legal protection compared with the civil law afforded to settlers. The report also documented unlawful killings, settler violence, and deliberate lethal force.
Segregation and displacement
The UN report highlighted the construction of roads exclusive to settlers, isolating Palestinian communities, alongside the forced displacement of thousands. These practices may constitute war crimes, including unlawful transfer of population.
High Commissioner Volker Türk said Palestinians in the West Bank face “systematic strangulation of their rights”, with all aspects of life tightly controlled and restricted, comparing the situation to historical apartheid regimes.
Impunity and continued expansion
The report warned of widespread impunity: of more than 1,500 Palestinian killings between 2017 and 2025, only 112 investigations were opened, resulting in a single conviction.
It also noted continued arbitrary detention, particularly administrative detention without charge or fair trial, and ongoing illegal settlement expansion, including approval of 19 new settlements, undermining the prospects for a Palestinian state.
The UN urged immediate international action to halt violations, ensure accountability, and protect Palestinian rights under international law.
