THE United Nations expressed concerns today about possible “ethnic cleansing” in large parts of the occupied West Bank.

A new report from the office of Volker Turk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, also accused Israel of displacing more than 36,000 Palestinians.

Mr Turk alleged that Israeli authorities were “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.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry and the Israeli embassy in Geneva didn’t immediately comment.

Much of the displacement of thousands has taken place in the northern West Bank, where Israel launched a broad military offensive in early 2025. Israel’s government says the operation is aimed at stamping out militant groups active in the area.

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.”

At the same, Israel’s far-right government has pressed ahead with an increase in new Israeli settlements across the West Bank. 

The international community overwhelmingly considers the settlements to be illegal.

The UN human rights office said that Israeli authorities approved or moved forward on nearly 37,000 housing units in occupied east Jerusalem and more than 27,000 elsewhere in the West Bank.

Mr Turk called for an immediate halt to the settlements and a reversal of of their impact, along with the evacuation of all settlers and “an end to the occupation of the Palestinian territory.”

The construction boom has been accompanied by an increase in settler violence against Palestinians. 

Israeli leaders have portrayed the violence as the work of a tiny minority, but Palestinians and human rights groups say the Israeli army has done little to prevent the attacks and note that settlers are rarely held accountable.