Palestinians face systematic abuse by Israeli settlers and Hamas alike: Independent investigators

They “are being systematically and deliberately subjected to severe violations of human rights law by all parties to the region’s conflict,” according to the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel. 

“Violence by settlers is the direct outcome of Israeli policies that support, enable and protect their actions, whereas Hamas-affiliated forces have exploited the vacuum created by relentless Israeli attacks and widespread destruction of Gaza,” said Srinivasan Muralidhar, the Commission’s chair. 

“What is alarmingly similar is the deliberate infliction of suffering on Palestinian civilians. While their origins and motivations differ, both operate within environments engineered by Israel.” 

Settlements, annexation and displacement

The report warned that settler attacks continue to rise in the West Bank, with at least seven Palestinians killed and 832 injured last year – a 130 per cent increase over 2024. 

It found that the Israeli authorities are directly involved in settler attacks through financial and military support and by granting impunity from prosecution. 

Settler violence “functions as a means of implementing Israeli State policy, with both the State and violent settler groups working towards the same strategic objectives: entrenchment of Israeli settlements, annexation of Palestinian territory and displacement of Palestinians from their land,” it said. 

The Commission documented several cases of how settlers have assaulted, abducted and abused Palestinian children, including while they were playing outside, headed to school or tending animals. 

Sexual violence used to instil fear

Settlers have also committed sexual violence, or threatened to commit sexual violence, to instil fear and humiliate Palestinians. 

In one incident, a group of settlers attacked Palestinians in Khirbeit Humsa this past March. The women and girls were beaten and threatened with rape if the family did not leave the land. 

“One man was stripped, sexually assaulted, his genitals were zip-tied and he was dragged and paraded while being beaten,” the report said.  

“The Israeli police reported that they had arrested seven persons in relation to this attack; however, the Commission is not aware of any investigative or judicial outcomes.” 

Executions and violence in Gaza

In Gaza, the Commission identified 249 cases of executions and severe physical violence between 2024 and 2025, with at least 108 deaths and 384 injured.  

“These cases involved executions, kneecapping, bone-breaking with metal pipes or cement bricks and beatings and were framed by the perpetrators as punishments for alleged collaboration with Israel, looting humanitarian aid, theft, drug-related offences or affiliations with internal rivals,” the report said. 

Hamas-affiliated forces were involved in at least 60 of the incidents, including two public executions of 11 men.  The investigators said these acts amount to the war crimes of murder and torture, and abuses of international human rights and humanitarian law. 

“The Commission is gravely alarmed by the severity and public nature of Hamas’ punitive measures in Gaza, which inflict profound trauma on an already severely traumatized civilian population,” said Mr. Muralidhar.  

He added that “any future framework for peace and stability in Gaza must include a clear and enforceable commitment to accountability.” 

Attacks against Israeli civilians

The investigators also pointed to a notable increase in the killing and harming of Israeli civilians by Palestinian armed groups and individuals in 2023, raising serious concerns that these attacks constitute a violation of the principles of distinction and proportionality under international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes. 

The report’s findings highlight the need to ensure the protection of civilians, as well as accountability for violations by all parties, among other recommendations. 

It will be presented to the Human Rights Council’s 62nd session on 15 June in Geneva. 

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel was appointed by the Council in May 2021. 

The three Commissioners are neither UN staff nor do they receive payment for their work.