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
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. Tweet URL “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.
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