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The United Nations said more than 36,000 Palestinians were displaced in the occupied West Bank over a 12-month period ending Oct. 31, 2025, where more than 500,000 Israeli settlers expanded their presence.
The findings, released Tuesday by the U.N. human rights office, describe the scale of displacement as previously unseen in the territory and warn it may amount to unlawful population transfer under international law.
During the reporting period, Israeli authorities advanced or approved 36,973 housing units in settlements in occupied East Jerusalem and around 27,200 units across the rest of the West Bank. The report also recorded the establishment of 84 new settlement outposts, bringing the total number to more than 300.
The U.N. said the scale of displacement, combined with developments in Gaza, suggests a broader pattern. It added that the situation "appears to indicate a concerted Israeli policy of mass forcible transfer throughout the occupied territory," raising concerns about ethnic cleansing.
The report documented 1,732 incidents of settler violence causing casualties or property damage during the period, compared with 1,400 incidents in the previous year. It said such violence was "coordinated, strategic and largely unchallenged," with Israeli authorities playing a central role.
Violence in the West Bank has increased since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack, which triggered the Gaza war. Palestinian officials and the U.N. also reported a rise in settler attacks following the start of the Iran war, with at least six Palestinians killed since early March.
According to Palestinian health ministry figures cited in the report, at least 1,045 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank since the Gaza war began. Israeli figures show 45 Israelis were killed in Palestinian attacks or during military operations in the same period.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk called on Israel to stop settlement activity and reverse existing expansion. He urged authorities to “immediately and completely cease and reverse the establishment and expansion of settlements” and to allow displaced Palestinians to return.
The report also warned that Bedouin communities northeast of East Jerusalem face heightened risk of displacement due to ongoing settlement plans.
It stressed that the unlawful transfer of protected persons constitutes a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention, "constituting a war crime," adding that in certain cases it could also amount to a crime against humanity.
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