OHCHR Sounds Alarm on Data-Documented Apartheid Conditions in the West Bank

New report uses extensive field evidence, legal analysis and incident documentation to expose systemic, technology-enabled control over Palestinian life.

A comprehensive new report released today by the UN Human Rights Office provides one of the most detailed, evidence-based assessments to date of how Israel’s laws, policies and practices are shaping daily life for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

Drawing on years of incident data, field investigations, video evidence, legal analysis and victim testimonies, the report concludes that Palestinians are subjected to a system of segregation and domination that may amount to apartheid under international law.

The findings highlight how dual legal systems, movement controls, resource deprivation, and settlement expansion function together as an integrated system—one that is increasingly enforced through surveillance, military administration, and bureaucratic mechanisms that regulate everything from access to water to emergency medical care.

Two Populations, Two Legal Frameworks

According to the report, Israeli settlers and Palestinians in the same geographic territory are governed by entirely separate legal regimes. Israeli settlers are protected under Israeli civil law, while Palestinians are subjected to military law, where due process protections are minimal and conviction rates are near-total.

The UN Human Rights Office describes the military justice system as a central control mechanism, enabling mass prosecutions, arbitrary detention, and the systematic denial of fair trial rights.

Documented Killings and Digital Evidence

The report includes verified cases of unlawful killings, supported by video recordings and eyewitness accounts. Among them is the January 2025 shooting of a 10-year-old boy in Tulkarem, captured on video showing he was unarmed and stationary. Another case documents the killing of an eight-month-pregnant woman in February 2025, whom Israeli forces later acknowledged was unarmed.

“These are not isolated incidents,” the report states, noting a broader pattern of lethal force used in a discriminatory manner, often without accountability.

Data Shows Near-Total Impunity

Between January 2017 and September 2025, more than 1,500 Palestinians were killed. Israeli authorities opened just 112 investigations, resulting in one conviction, according to the report’s compiled data.

Thousands more Palestinians remain in administrative detention, held without charge or trial—an increasingly normalized practice since October 2023.

Infrastructure, Water, and Algorithmic Control of Movement

Beyond violence, the report documents how discriminatory movement restrictions and settlement-only road networks fragment Palestinian communities, while land confiscations and water infrastructure demolitions force dependence on Israeli-controlled utilities.

The result, the UN says, is a form of systemic rights asphyxiation, where daily life is governed by permits, checkpoints, and enforced scarcity.

“This Resembles Apartheid”

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said the findings point to a particularly severe form of racial discrimination.

“Every aspect of life for Palestinians in the West Bank is controlled and curtailed by Israel’s discriminatory laws, policies and practices,” Türk said. “This resembles the kind of apartheid system we have seen before.”

The report finds reasonable grounds to believe the system is intended to be permanent—meeting the legal threshold for violations of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Call to Action for Journalists, Technologists, and Researchers

The UN Human Rights Office is urging journalists, data analysts, legal experts, and civil society organizations to examine, reference, and build upon the report’s findings.

For tech and investigative reporters, the report offers a substantial foundation for:

• Data-driven accountability journalism

• Open-source investigation and verification

• Human rights impact analysis of security and surveillance practices

• Policy and legal reform reporting

The full report is available now and is intended to support evidence-based reporting, legal action, and international accountability efforts.

“Every day this system is allowed to continue, the consequences worsen,” Türk said.

Media and researchers are encouraged to access the full report immediately and incorporate its findings into ongoing investigations, policy analysis, and public accountability efforts.