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A United Nations-mandated inquiry has released a report that accuses Israeli authorities of enabling and participating in settler violence in the West Bank, while also finding that Hamas-affiliated forces committed war crimes in Gaza. The report, released Tuesday by the UN's Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, describes Palestinian civilians as being systematically and deliberately subjected to severe rights violations across both territories.

Coverage Comparison

The report's findings have been covered by outlets around the world, with variations in emphasis. ABC Australia and The Hindu focused on the dual nature of the accusations, highlighting that civilians are "trapped" between Israeli forces, settlers, and Hamas's "brutal rule." The Jerusalem Post, in two separate reports, gave prominence to the accusations against Israel while also noting the findings against Hamas. The South China Morning Post echoed the framing of Australian and Indian outlets, emphasizing the trapped position of Palestinian civilians.

"Palestinian civilians are caught between the structural violence and mass atrocities of Israeli forces and the predatory, fear-based rule of Hamas," the report states, as quoted by ABC Australia, The Hindu, and the South China Morning Post. Commission chair Srinivasan Muralidhar, an Indian judge, was quoted across multiple outlets as saying, "Violence by settlers is the direct outcome of Israeli policies that support, enable and protect their actions," while also noting that "Hamas-affiliated forces have exploited the vacuum created by relentless Israeli attacks and widespread destruction of Gaza."

The Jerusalem Post, which provided the most detailed coverage, quoted the report as saying that Israeli authorities are "directly involved in settler attacks on Palestinians" and that settler violence functions as "a means of implementing Israeli State policy," including maintaining the occupation, entrenching settlements, annexing territory, and displacing Palestinians.

Key Claims

The UN report makes several significant claims, as reported by the sources:

  • It accuses Israeli authorities of being involved in West Bank settler attacks, with financial and military support creating a climate of impunity. This claim was carried by the Jerusalem Post, which noted that Israeli security forces often accompanied settlers, providing a "shield" for violence.
  • The report claims that at least 26 Palestinians were killed and at least 1,570 injured by settlers between January 2023 and December 2025. Additionally, it states that settler attacks surged by 130% since 2023, with at least seven Palestinians killed and 832 injured in the past year alone, per the Jerusalem Post's reporting.
  • It says Hamas-affiliated forces were responsible for acts committed by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza, including involvement in at least 60 incidents of executions and severe physical violence in 2024-2025. The commission found these acts constituted the war crimes of murder and torture.
  • The report also calls on Israel to immediately end the unlawful occupation of Palestinian territory, a point highlighted by ABC Australia and The Hindu. It accuses Israeli security forces of a "collapse of the distinction between settlers and soldiers," a claim carried solely by the Jerusalem Post.
  • The commission, established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021, previously concluded that Israel committed "genocide" in Gaza, a finding referenced by ABC Australia and The Hindu.

Perspectives

The report has drawn reactions from various stakeholders. The Israeli government, through the Prime Minister's Office and the IDF, did not immediately respond to requests for comment, as reported by the Jerusalem Post. Hamas also did not respond. Israel has historically rejected allegations that its forces shield settlers during attacks, describing such incidents as rogue and investigated.

The Jerusalem Post noted that the report has been criticized for "persistent bias against Israel," though this view was not reflected in other outlets' coverage. The report itself, however, as quoted by ABC Australia, asserts that both Israeli forces and Hamas "operate within environments engineered by Israel," a characterization that underscores the complex and contested nature of the conflict.

As of this writing, the full report has not been published, and its findings have not been independently verified.