On Tuesday, June 9, 2026, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry issued a damning report that showed the involvement of Israeli officials in the attacks carried out by settlers resulting in casualties and displacement of Palestinians all over the occupied West Bank region. According to the report presented by the commission, Israeli security forces had frequently accompanied the settlers when committing violent attacks and served as a cover for the same. As such, their involvement went beyond mere observations, but rather an active involvement in attacking Palestinian citizens. This is perhaps the most important UN determination in relation to Israeli involvement in attacks by settlers.
The timing of the investigation, revealed on June 9 in Geneva, is especially critical given the escalating wave of settler violence, which has risen by 130 percent since 2023, as documented in the Commission of Inquiry report. There is a climate of impunity created by Israeli legal and law enforcement agencies, which allows the violence of settlers to go on unchecked, as well as the involvement of Israel in enabling the violence through financial and military networks.
The Commission’s Core Finding: De Facto Collapse Between Soldiers and Settlers
The Commission of Inquiry made a landmark determination that fundamentally redefines the relationship between Israeli military forces and civilian settlers in the occupied territories. “The increasing participation of Israeli security forces in settler attacks amounts to a de facto collapse of the distinction between settlers and soldiers,” the Commission stated in its formal finding, marking Israeli troops not as neutral security forces protecting all civilians but as active participants in settler violence against Palestinians.
This discovery is an important change from the existing understanding of settler violence in the West Bank, which was seen as individual acts of rogue soldiers, to a new insight of coordination of military and settlers’ forces in the implementation of such crimes. According to the findings of the Commission, Israeli security forces should never permit, facilitate, or take part in the attacks of settlers on Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank. However, facts clearly show that participation in violent actions by military forces is commonplace rather than tolerated.
According to the report, the security forces of Israel always accompany settlers during attacks not as peace keepers who ensure calmness between the warring sides, but as protection for the settlers who attack Palestinians. Thus, the presence of soldiers from the Israeli Army makes such attacks legitimate since the perpetrators feel secure knowing that there will be no repercussions for their actions.
Direct Israeli Authority Involvement Through Financial and Military Support Networks
The Commission of Inquiry established that the Israeli authorities play an active role in the attacks carried out by settlers due to the existence of systematic mechanisms that transcend mere tolerance of settlers’ acts of aggression into active facilitation of their activities. It was shown that Israeli authorities facilitate the attacks conducted by settlers through financial and military backing, which results in the development of mechanisms that convert personal acts of aggression into coordinated attacks on Palestinians. Financial backing involves providing settlers with funds to carry out attacks.
The military assistance component is even more complex and encompasses weapon delivery, training, and planning to make sure settlers launch their well-organized attacks against Palestinian citizens. According to the findings of the Commission, Israeli authorities have already set up channels that assist settlers by providing them with military hardware, communications equipment, and knowledge about the movement of Palestinians in villages.
The report also pointed out that such networks function through the Israeli government’s official channels of funding through the budget of both military and civilian organizations which were set aside specifically for settler security missions. The funding system consists of payments directly to the settlers’ organization, the procurement of equipment through the military channel, and maintenance of infrastructure as bases where the attack missions will be carried out. All of these show that the settler violence is not merely rogue activity but state-sponsored.
The Climate of Impunity Fostered by Judicial and Law-Enforcement Systems
An important aspect that the Commission of Inquiry discovered regarding settler violence was the creation of an atmosphere of impunity within which such violence can take place. This atmosphere of impunity is characterized by the failure of the Israeli judiciary and enforcement system to punish individuals for attacking Palestinian citizens. This attitude of impunity has become part of the policy of Israeli authorities and allows attacks to continue unchecked.
The judicial system operates through multiple mechanisms that prevent settler accountability, including failure to investigate attacks, dismissal of charges without evidence, and lenient sentencing that fails to match the severity of violence committed. The law-enforcement component involves police and military units that fail to document attacks, refuse to arrest perpetrators, and actively protect settlers from legal consequences. This coordinated failure across judicial and enforcement systems creates a comprehensive shield that protects settlers from any accountability.
Impunity in the context of settler violence has over the years become a formalized structure within which such acts are presumed to happen without any repercussions, while Palestinian victims are systematically denied the chance to seek justice. Impunity in settler violence has thus far been complete as evidenced by the lack of repercussions faced by settlers and Israeli forces even after committing fatal attacks on Palestinians.
Explosive 130 Percent Surge in Attacks on Palestinian Villages Since 2023
According to the Commission, there is evidence of a sharp rise in attacks committed by settlers. Attacks committed by Israeli settlers targeting Palestinian communities and farms have gone up 130 percent in the period between 2023 and today. This has been the biggest escalation in violence against Palestinians at the hands of Israeli settlers witnessed in recent times. This means that attacks have not only escalated sharply, but they have become a consistent feature, resulting in destruction to the homes and means of livelihood of the Palestinians.
The violence has targeted Palestinian agricultural land specifically, with settlers systematically destroying olive groves, wheat fields, and fruit orchards that provide food and income for Palestinian families. These attacks on agricultural land represent strategic efforts to deprive Palestinians of their economic foundation, forcing displacement through economic collapse rather than direct violence. The Commission documented masked assailants involved in numerous incidents, indicating organized groups conducting coordinated attacks rather than individual vigilante actions.
The peak occurred in October 2023 with an average of seven attacks per day, thus indicating a consistent form of violence conducted at a relatively constant intensity. The number of attacks suggests systematic planning and coordination, which enable settlers to conduct consistent violent campaigns against Palestinians rather than random acts of violence. The October 2023 peak occurred against a background of a regional crisis, but the Commission established that settler violence is conducted in isolation.
Specific Incident Documentation: The Nahhalin Olive Farmer Assault Case
Specific incidents are included in the Commission’s report as well, in which it is clearly illustrated how the Israeli security forces participate in the violent acts of the settlers. For example, one case reported on October 24, 2025, from Nahhalin in Bethlehem illustrates how the Israeli settler, aided by the Israeli security forces, violently assaulted a 58-year-old olive farmer. Thus, this incident clearly illustrates the participation of Israeli security forces in settler’s violent act, and not just protection from the violence carried out by the latter.
The Israeli military declared that it was investigating the incident but, according to the Commission, this constitutes the case of the practice where these investigations are used as mere procedures that do not bring any form of accountability. Therefore, within this context of the ongoing attacks against Palestinians without any investigations being carried out, Israeli military promises the investigation of each single incident while the attackers remain completely unpunished.
The olive farmer assault case illustrates the routine nature of such violence, where Israeli security forces participate directly in attacks rather than attempting to prevent violence or protect Palestinian civilians. The presence of security forces during the assault transforms civilian settler violence into state-sponsored aggression, with military participation providing both tactical support and psychological assurance that perpetrators will face no consequences.
Purpose and Strategy: Ethnic Cleansing Through Land Takeover and Forced Displacement
The Commission made a critical finding about the strategic purpose behind rising settler violence, stating that
“The rise in settler violence is directly linked to settler attempts to take over more land in the West Bank, forcibly remove Palestinians and achieve ethnic cleansing.”
This finding identifies settler violence not as random aggression but as systematic campaign designed to achieve ethnic cleansing through forced displacement and land appropriation. The violence operates as a tool of strategic policy aimed at removing Palestinians from their ancestral lands and replacing them with Israeli settlements.
The process of ethnically cleansing the area entails different means such as demolition of homes, destruction of agricultural lands, violent acts towards Palestinian people, and making conditions impossible for them to support themselves and earn a living. According to the report of the Commission, there have been persistent attacks from the illegal Israeli settlers who are either accompanied or supported by the Israeli security forces, who have instilled fear, destroyed homes and lives, and made Palestinians flee their lands within the occupied West Bank. These efforts serve the purpose of the official Israeli policy of consolidating its annexation through use of violence and expulsion.
The land grab method encompasses systematic damage of agricultural infrastructures, which include Palestinian olive groves and wheat fields serving as the economic base for their subsistence. Destruction of agricultural land strips Palestinians of any source of income or food, thus making it difficult for them to stay in those places by creating an economic pressure on them.
Escalating Violence Timeline: From 2022 Government Formation to 2026 Peak
The Commission produced a clear timeline that illustrates how the level of violence conducted by settlers has progressed from an increase to a surge within the last few years. It is worth noting that the level of settler violence has increased within the last few years; it has particularly increased significantly since the creation of the present government in 2022, especially from 7 October 2023, as indicated by UN Human Rights Office documentation.
Violence surged even more dramatically following the onset of war within the region in late October of 2023, when the situation allowed for settlers to conduct violence with much impunity. It is evident that within October of 2023, the level of violence conducted against the Palestinians has become so intense as to reach seven acts of violence per day, illustrating that it operates on a constant basis.
By the first half of 2025, approximately 740 documented settler attacks caused casualties or property damage, demonstrating that violence continues at high intensity through 2026. The Commission’s documentation of 130 percent increase since 2023 shows how violence has escalated from moderate levels to unprecedented intensity, transforming the West Bank into a region of systematic violence against Palestinian civilians.
Human Rights Crisis: Extrajudicial Killings, Injuries, and 27 Children Used as Human Shields
The Commission’s research has highlighted human rights abuses, apart from the settler violence, in the form of extrajudicial killings by Israeli security forces. According to the United Nations data, there have been 399 cases of Palestinians being killed by Israeli security forces in the first half of 2025, which are apparently cases of extrajudicial killings and constitute a violation of international laws and human rights principles. The killing pattern is indicative of the violence that exists in an environment outside the bounds of law.
Moreover, the number of Palestinians wounded due to the violence committed by the settlers or Israeli forces is 3,934 in the first half of 2025. In contrast to the death rate, the injury rate highlights that the level of injuries suffered by Palestinians is much higher as compared to the number of deaths. The injury rate also indicates the use of violence at levels not lethal but causing harm to Palestinians.
Particularly disturbing is the Commission’s documentation of 27 Palestinian boys used by Israeli armed and security forces as human shields, with 5 in the West Bank and 22 in Gaza. This practice violates international law and human rights standards, using children as protective barriers during military operations. The human shield usage demonstrates systematic disregard for children’s rights and safety, with Israeli forces endangering Palestinian children through direct participation in warfare.
Systematic Sexual and Gender-Based Violence as Operating Procedure
According to previous findings made by the Commission of Inquiry in June 2024, Israeli forces have been involved in sexual and gender-based violence aimed at humiliating and subordinating the Palestinian people. The Commission of Inquiry has established that particular acts of sexual and gender-based violence amount to a process within Israeli Security Forces procedures. Thus, the new finding increases the number of violations beyond those of physical attacks and land dispossession, as it includes sexual violence as a tactic used against the Palestinian people.
The use of sexual violence is part of a wider strategy employed to humiliate and subjugate Palestinians through sexual assaults, which cause psychological effects in addition to the physical impact. According to the findings made by the Commission of Inquiry, sexual violence was found to be a process employed by Israeli security forces, thus being a systematic policy as opposed to an act committed on the spot.
The sexual and gender-based violence operates within the same climate of impunity that protects settler violence and other violations, with perpetrators facing no accountability for sexual assaults against Palestinian civilians. This impunity extends across all violation types, creating comprehensive system where Palestinian victims denied justice through systematic denial of legal remedies and accountability mechanisms.
