Guterres: Shadow of Ethnic Cleansing Increasingly Looms in West Bank

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the specter of ethnic cleansing is increasingly looming in the occupied West Bank, condemning the expansion of Israeli settlements and the escalating violence by settlers.

Guterres’s remarks came a day after the Israeli military launched an operation in the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, where approximately 250 families were ordered to leave, some in the middle of the night, in response to the killing of two soldiers in an attack carried out by two Palestinian gunmen.

He continued, “We are witnessing an environment of increasing coercion, with the specter of ethnic cleansing looming ever more clearly,” emphasizing, “This must stop.”

The municipality stated that the operation, which began on Saturday, resulted in the displacement of 3,189 people, including more than 200 infants and 32 persons with disabilities.

Images from the French news agency AFP on Sunday showed a convoy of military vehicles and Israeli police cars escorted by soldiers on one of Hebron’s streets, which had been closed to civilian movement.

A UN-mandated international commission of inquiry accused Israel of committing crimes against humanity against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including genocide, and of continuing to carry out genocide in the Gaza Strip.

This independent commission, established in 2021, concluded last year that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

In its new report, released ahead of Israel’s legislative elections scheduled for Tuesday, the commission concluded that “Israeli authorities and forces have committed crimes against humanity in the West Bank, including genocide, torture, rape, and other forms of sexual violence, as well as persecution, based on intersecting discriminatory motives centered on nationality, race, and ethnic affiliation.”

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights accused Israel on September 4 of displacing more than 33,000 Palestinians from three camps in the West Bank in 2025, noting that this raises concerns about the commission of crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. Its Palestinian population exceeds three million, while more than 500,000 Israelis live there in settlements deemed illegal under international law. The situation is marked by escalating violence on both sides, with tensions intensifying as Israel’s general elections approach.

The UN commission pointed to a sharp deterioration in the situation in the West Bank since October 7, 2023. While six Palestinians were killed in air strikes between 2008 and October 6, 2023, the number rose to 254 between October 7, 2023, and September 30, 2026.