UN report raises ‘ethnic cleansing’ concerns in Palestinians’ displacement in West Bank

Geneva: The UN human rights chief’s office expressed concerns about possible “ethnic cleansing” in a new report on Tuesday, saying

that Israel has accelerated the expansion of settlements in large parts of the occupied West Bank and the forced displacement of more than 36,000 Palestinians.

The report from the office of Volker Turk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, covers a yearlong period through the end of October. It decries increased violence by Israeli settlers and security forces against Palestinians in the area.

Turk alleged that Israeli authorities were “playing the central role in directing, participating in or enabling this conduct,” and the report denounced harassment, intimidation and destruction of farmland and homes of Palestinians.

Much of the displacement of thousands has taken place in the northern West Bank, where Israel launched a broad military offensive in

early 2025.