SRINAGAR: The United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) has raised alarm over what it described as a significant escalation in the forced displacement and land seizures of Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, warning that the actions by Israeli authorities may constitute war crimes under international law.
In a detailed statement released Thursday, and reported by UN News, the OHCHR said Israeli policies now appear designed to expel long-established Palestinian communities, particularly from the South Hebron Hills area of Masafer Yatta, under the pretext of military necessity.
On June 18, the Israeli Civil Administration’s High Planning Council issued a directive rejecting all Palestinian building and planning permits in Masafer Yatta, a region designated by Israel as “Firing Zone 918.” The area, home to around 1,200 Palestinians, has been under repeated threat of clearance, but OHCHR warned that this new step effectively paves the way for demolition of homes and structures, amounting to a forcible transfer of population.
“This would amount to forcible transfer, which is a war crime,” the rights office said. “It could also amount to a crime against humanity if committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack.”
OHCHR also cited a sharp rise in home demolitions, arbitrary arrests, and movement restrictions imposed on Palestinian communities across the West Bank in recent months. The report noted that these measures have been coupled with daily attacks and harassment by Israeli settlers, often targeting elderly people, women, and children, in what the UN called a coercive campaign to drive Palestinians from their land.
According to the UN’s humanitarian agency (OCHA), 6,463 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced following demolitions since October 7, 2023, with another 2,200 forced out due to settler violence and access restrictions. These figures do not include the estimated 40,000 displaced from refugee camps in Jenin and Tulkarem due to intensive Israeli military operations since January.
Beyond Masafer Yatta, entire communities now face similar fates. On June 10, the Jerusalem municipality reportedly issued demolition orders for the entire village of An Nu’man, located near Bethlehem and home to about 150 residents. The village, though physically cut off by Israel’s separation wall and incorporated into the municipal boundary of Jerusalem, remains effectively stateless, with residents denied Jerusalem identification cards, leaving them cut off from both East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
“These demolition notices appear to be another step by Israel to compound the coercive environment and forcibly transfer Palestinians from the village and consolidate the annexation of this land,” OHCHR said.
The OHCHR also reported a flurry of eviction orders in East Jerusalem, citing rulings by the Israeli Supreme Court on June 16 and 22 that upheld the eviction of five Palestinian families, comprising 37 individuals, from the Batn El Hawa neighbourhood in Silwan. These evictions were based on discriminatory laws, the report said, which allow Jewish individuals to reclaim property lost in the 1948 war while denying Palestinians the same right.
In Umm Tuba, 150 residents received eviction notices from the Israel Land Authority, which said the land had been registered under the Jewish National Fund.
“These evictions form part of a concerted campaign by the Israeli State and settler organisations,” OHCHR stated, “which target Palestinian neighbourhoods to seize Palestinian homes and expand Jewish settlements.”
The UN rights office strongly condemned these measures, saying they violate international humanitarian law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the destruction and confiscation of private property in occupied territory. These concerns were echoed in the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last July.
“The scale and coordination of these actions are deeply concerning,” OHCHR said, adding that no country is above the law and that international accountability mechanisms must be activated.
As diplomatic tensions mount over the prolonged conflict and the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the UN’s latest report underscores systemic displacement efforts in the West Bank, calling for immediate international intervention to prevent further violations.
