UN Special Rapporteurs have issued one of their strongest warnings to date, stating that Israeli‑backed colonizer violence in the occupied Palestinian territory has reached “unprecedented” levels in 2026 and now poses an “existential risk” to the continued presence of Palestinian communities on their land.
In their joint statement, the experts reported that at least thirteen Palestinians have been slain and nearly five hundred injured in settler attacks during the first five months of the year—figures already surpassing previous years.
They described the violence as “daily terror,” carried out with the support and acquiescence of the Israeli State, and said it is driving the forcible displacement of Palestinian communities across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
The UN experts emphasized that colonizers’ attacks are being used as a deliberate tool to sever Palestinians from their agricultural land, grazing areas, and essential services.
They warned that continued displacement could expose more than 663 square kilometers of land to further settlement expansion, particularly in Area C, where Palestinian communities face near‑daily invasions, demolitions, and infrastructure destruction.
A stark example highlighted in the report is the village of Umm al‑Kheir in the South Hebron Hills, now encircled by the Carmel colony and a new outpost established in 2025.
Residents have endured repeated water and electricity cuts, demolitions, violent colonizer attacks, and the killing of a local human rights defender during protests against outpost construction.
The experts also warned that recent regional escalation has diverted international attention away from the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, allowing settler violence and forced displacement to accelerate with little accountability.
They stressed that Israel, as the occupying power, remains legally obligated under the Geneva Conventions to protect Palestinians as “protected persons.”
They called on Israel to immediately halt support for settlements and outposts, ensure accountability for settler attacks, and guarantee the safe return of displaced Palestinian communities to their homes and lands.
UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) – “Occupied Palestinian Territory: UN experts alarmed by escalating settler terror and displacement” (1 June 2026). https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/06/occupied-palestinian-territory-un-experts-alarmed-escalating-settler-terror
