UN says ‘unprecedented’ 36,000 Palestinians displaced in West Bank in one year

The UN urges Israel to immediately halt its dramatic settlement expansion in the West Bank, raising concerns of “ethnic cleansing” with over 36,000 Palestinians displaced in a year.

A fresh report from the United Nations rights office, looking at the 12 months up to October 31, 2025, warns that Israel’s accelerating expansion of settlements and expanding control over large parts of the West Bank are driving “unprecedented” displacement.

“The displacement of more than 36,000 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank represented the mass expulsion of Palestinians on a scale previously unseen, amounting to unlawful transfer that is prohibited under international humanitarian law,” the report says.

Alongside “the extensive displacement of Palestinians in Gaza,” it “appears to indicate a concerted Israeli policy of mass forcible transfer throughout the occupied territory, aimed at permanent displacement, raising concerns of ethnic cleansing.”

The report points to the advancement or approval by Israeli authorities of around 27,200 housing units in the West Bank, as well as 36,973 housing units in East Jerusalem, whose annexation by Israel was not recognized by much of the international community.

Also during the 12-month-period, “an unprecedented 84 settlement outposts were established across the occupied West Bank, bringing the total number to more than 300,” the report says. Israel says the territory’s status is disputed and does not see it as an occupation.

In addition to roughly three million Palestinians, more than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements and outposts in the West Bank, which most of the international community views as illegal.

Violence in the West Bank, which Israel has held since 1967, has risen sharply since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war.