UN Inquiry Finds Israel Pursuing Permanent Control, Genocide in Gaza and West Bank

The United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel has issued a stark new report accusing the Israeli government of pursuing permanent control over Gaza and the West Bank while implementing discriminatory policies to maintain a Jewish majority across all areas under its authority.

The report, released ahead of its presentation to the UN General Assembly on 28 October 2025, concludes that Israel’s policies amount to genocide in Gaza and systematic violations of international law in the West Bank and inside Israel itself.

Findings on Gaza: Buffer Zones, Demolitions, and Genocide

The Commission’s investigation found that by July 2025, Israeli authorities had expanded buffer zones and corridors to control 75 percent of the Gaza Strip, systematically demolishing civilian infrastructure.

According to the report, this reduced the territory available for Palestinians, severely undermining their ability to exercise the right to self-determination. The Commission determined that Israeli authorities:

• Forcibly transferred populations and destroyed civilian objects.

• Deliberately deprived Palestinians of resources needed for survival, including food and infrastructure.

• Created living conditions calculated to destroy Palestinians in Gaza, which constitutes an underlying act of genocide under international law.

The report also builds on the Commission’s earlier paper presented at the Human Rights Council in September 2025, which found that Israeli leaders and security forces committed four genocidal acts in Gaza, attributable to the State of Israel.

Chair of the Commission, Navi Pillay, called for urgent reversal:

“Israel must immediately end and reverse its confiscation and use of Palestinian land in Gaza, including for the creation and expansion of the buffer zone and corridors. These actions have deepened misery and deprived Palestinians of resources indispensable for survival, including the capacity to produce food.”

Findings on the West Bank: Annexation and Settler Violence

In the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the Commission found evidence of Israeli policies designed to forcibly transfer Palestinians and entrench Jewish civilian settlement expansion.

Key findings include:

• Military operations in Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams refugee camps since early 2025 destroyed homes and displaced residents, acts the Commission said amounted to collective punishment without military justification.

• Explicit support for violent settler activity, coupled with plans to annex large parts of the West Bank, reveal Israel’s intent to prevent Palestinian statehood and enforce indefinite occupation.

• Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s plan to annex 82 percent of the West Bank and the approval of the E1 settlement expansion were highlighted as evidence of official intent to eliminate prospects for Palestinian sovereignty.

Pillay condemned these developments:

“Israeli encroachment into the entirety of the West Bank and the dispossession of Palestinian communities are now explicit goals. These plans and statements are abhorrent and must be condemned widely.”

Findings Inside Israel: Discrimination and Segregation

The Commission also examined policies affecting Palestinian citizens of Israel, finding that successive governments have enacted laws and policies that confine Palestinian localities and limit integration into Jewish-majority areas.

Decades of socio-economic inequalities have entrenched segregation. Some measures were explicitly discriminatory, while others had discriminatory impacts. The Commission concluded that these policies form part of a broader state strategy to ensure a Jewish majority across all areas under Israeli control.

Individual Responsibility of Israeli Leaders

The report identifies six Israeli ministers and leaders as bearing primary responsibility for international crimes, including genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity:

• Benjamin Netanyahu (Prime Minister) – responsible for overall conduct, ordering war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide; also responsible for incitement to genocide.

• Yoav Gallant (former Defence Minister) – responsible for Gaza operations and incitement to genocide.

• Israel Katz (current Defence Minister) – responsible for security force actions in Gaza.

• Bezalel Smotrich (Finance Minister) – responsible for settlement expansion and annexation plans.

• Orit Strock (Minister of Settlements and National Projects) – responsible for West Bank settlement growth.

• Itamar Ben-Gvir (Minister for National Security) – responsible for mistreatment of Palestinian detainees.

Recommendations

The Commission called on Israel to:

• Immediately end the genocide in Gaza and comply with International Court of Justice orders.

• End the occupation of Palestinian territories and remove all settlements and settlers from the West Bank.

• Reverse discriminatory land, housing, and planning policies that promote segregation both in the occupied territories and within Israel.

The Commission urged the international community to ensure accountability, warning that inaction risks further entrenching what it described as a systematic state policy of dispossession and domination.