The U.N. rights office raised concerns Tuesday about possible “ethnic cleansing” as Israel accelerated settlement expansion across the occupied West Bank and forcibly displaced more than 36,000 Palestinians.
"The displacement of more than 36,000 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank represented the mass expulsion of Palestinians on a scale previously unseen, amounting to unlawful transfer that is prohibited under international humanitarian law," according to an OHCHR report.
It covers a yearlong period through the end of October and decried increased violence by Israeli settlers and security forces against Palestinians in the area.
The U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, accused Israeli authorities of "playing the central role in directing, participating in or enabling this conduct," and the report denounced harassment, intimidation and destruction of farmland and homes of Palestinians.
The report says the displacement "appears to indicate a concerted Israeli policy of mass forcible transfer throughout the occupied territory, aimed at permanent displacement, raising concerns of ethnic cleansing."
