UN Finds Israeli Forces Shield Settlers During Attacks on Palestinians

GENEVA (Reuters) – A UN inquiry has concluded that Israeli authorities are directly involved in settler attacks in the occupied West Bank, resulting in deaths, injuries and displacement of Palestinians. The Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory found that Israeli authorities have enabled these attacks through financial and military support.

This has occurred in a climate of impunity fostered by judicial and law-enforcement bodies. According to the report, attacks on Palestinian villages and agricultural land have surged since 2023, rising by 130%, including incidents involving groups of masked assailants. The Israeli security forces have routinely accompanied settlers and acted as a shield for the violence.

The UN’s top court and most countries consider such settlements illegal, violating international law. Israel disputes this, citing historical and biblical ties to the land. At least seven Palestinians were killed and 832 injured last year, with violence continuing into 2026 in the form of near-daily attacks.

The report found that Israeli security forces have been involved in settler attacks at an increasing rate, amounting to a de facto collapse of the distinction between settlers and soldiers. Such violence has been used to advance state policy, including unlawful occupation, displacement of Palestinians and annexation of Palestinian territory.

The Commission documented cases of assaults, abductions and abuse of Palestinian children by settlers. In one incident on April 19, 2025, a 12-year-old girl and her 3-year-old brother were abducted at knifepoint, dragged to an olive grove and tied to a tree with plastic restraints until their family intervened.

The International Court of Justice issued a non-binding advisory opinion in July 2024 that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and its settlements there are illegal and should be withdrawn as soon as possible. Despite periodic condemnations and the dismantling of some unauthorized outposts, Israeli authorities have not taken sustained measures to stop the attacks.

In Gaza, where Hamas controls territory, the Commission found serious abuses by Hamas-affiliated forces in 2024-2025, including at least 60 documented cases of executions and severe physical violence. These acts amount to war crimes and violations of international law. The report also stated that October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel by Hamas and other armed groups were war crimes, precipitating an Israeli assault on Gaza which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and destroyed much of the territory.

The Commission found that senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, had incited these acts. Israel rejected these allegations as “scandalous”.