1,143 West Bank Palestinians Killed Since 2023, UN Panel Reports

A United Nations investigative panel reported Monday that 1,143 Palestinians were killed in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, between October 7, 2023, and October 9, 2026. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs provided the figures, noting that at least 250 of the deceased were children. The report was published by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

The panel determined that Israeli authorities and forces committed crimes against humanity in the region. These offenses include extermination, torture, rape, and other forms of sexual violence. The commission stated that these actions constitute a widespread and systematic attack against civilians. It also found that Israeli forces intended to collectively punish West Bank residents following the Hamas attack on Israel.

The inquiry was established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021. Navi Pillay, a former South African High Court judge, chaired the investigation until November 2025. She received the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this month. In September 2025, the commission issued a separate report finding that Israel committed genocide in Gaza. Israel rejected that finding at the time.

The current report covers bodily and mental harm caused by both Israeli and Palestinian security forces since October 2023. The panel observed that conditions in the West Bank have deteriorated since the conflict began. The territory has been under Israeli occupation since 1967. The report notes that sustained settler violence reinforced Israeli military operations.

The release of the findings coincided with a new Israeli military clampdown in Hebron. Israeli forces carried out expulsions and demolitions there following a gun attack last week. The report issued the day before Israel’s general election. Navi Pillay’s team does not speak for the UN as an institution, but its mandate comes from the Human Rights Council.

Israel’s mission in Geneva responded to the report by calling it part of a misinformation campaign. The mission stated that the inquiry aimed to demonize the State of Israel. It said the international community should reject the distortions and demand the commission’s immediate dissolution. The mission emphasized that the findings portray Israel’s existence as criminal.

The Gaza Health Ministry reports that the Israeli military offensive has displaced nearly the entire population of Gaza. That conflict has killed more than 74,500 people. The West Bank death toll of 1,143 is distinct from these Gaza figures. The UN panel’s findings focus specifically on the occupied Palestinian territory west of the Jordan River.