Pillay Panel: 250 Children Killed in West Bank

A United Nations-mandated body concluded on Monday that Israeli authorities committed crimes against humanity in the occupied West Bank. The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory released its findings the day before Israel held its general election. The panel determined that Israeli government actions and military operations constitute a widespread and systematic attack on civilians.

The report details specific counts of casualties and forms of harm. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 1,143 Palestinians were killed in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem between October 7, 2023, and October 9, 2026. At least 250 of those victims were children. The commission attributed these deaths to Israeli military operations reinforced by sustained settler violence. It also cited torture, rape, and other forms of sexual violence as part of the pattern of abuse.

The three-member investigative team was established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021. Navi Pillay, a former South African High Court judge, chaired the investigation until November 2025. She received the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this month. The panel previously reported in September 2025 that Israel committed genocide in Gaza following the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023. Israel rejected that earlier finding. This new report focuses on bodily and mental harm caused by both Israeli and Palestinian security forces since late 2023.

The commission stated that Israeli authorities intended to collectively punish West Bank civilians in response to the Hamas attack. It identified extermination, torture, and sexual violence as the core crimes against humanity. The report also noted persecution based on nationality, race, and ethnicity. The release of the document coincided with a military clampdown in Hebron. Israeli forces carried out expulsions and demolitions there following a gun attack last week.

Israel’s mission in Geneva responded to the findings immediately. A representative described the report as part of a misinformation campaign designed to demonize the state. The mission argued that the inquiry portrayed Israel’s existence as criminal. It called on the international community to reject the distortions and demand the immediate dissolution of the commission.

The commission does not speak for the UN itself. Its findings rely on evidence gathered from the occupied territory since the start of the current conflict phase. The report marks the latest formal assessment of the situation by the international body. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.