Amidst the relentless US-Israel bombardment of Iran, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the ensuing energy turmoil, the plight of the Palestinians has somewhat retreated from the frontpages. That does not mean that it has become any less dire. According to a new UN Human Rights Office report released on Tuesday, Israel has accelerated unlawful settlement expansion and annexation of large parts of the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, forcibly displacing over 36,000 Palestinians amid increasing violence by Israeli security forces and settlers. The report covers the 12-month period up to October 31, 2025 and documents 1,732 incidents of settler violence resulting in casualties or property damage. Settlers also cut down over 26,000 trees, including olive and fruit trees, belonging to Palestinians. The report also highlights the transfer of power from the Israeli military to civilian authorities and measures to confiscate Palestinian lands for settlement expansion. During the reporting period, Israeli authorities demolished or ordered the demolition of 1,773 Palestinian-owned structures while approving 36,973 housing units in settlements in occupied East Jerusalem and around 27,200 in the rest of the West Bank.
The report concludes that these policies, combined with other discriminatory measure, violate the international law prohibiting racial segregation and apartheid. It must surely be fair then to call the state doing all this an apartheid state? The fact that doing so remains controversial is a large part of how Israel keeps getting away with it. And while the West Bank is rapidly being swallowed, Gaza is not faring much better. The ceasefire and now the war with Iran have failed to stop the relentless Zionist death machine. Israeli fire has killed at least 36 Palestinians since the outbreak of the Iran war. In fact, some reports say that Israeli settlers are taking advantage of curbs on movement imposed due to the war on Iran to attack Palestinians. It is frightening how just one state with just one powerful backer and partner can cause so much murder and mayhem in so many places simultaneously. Imagine what the US could achieve if it threw this kind of support at a nation trying to do something good, like end hunger.
Now, in a post-Iran war frame of mind, it is hard not to feel numb and despair at just how much the Israelis can get away with and how much the Palestinians have to suffer for it. President Trump was elected in large part on the promise of non-intervention. People aligned with this vision were appointed to powerful positions, like director of national intelligence. And yet, we are where we are, with the Israelis seemingly dragging Trump into another misadventure with nothing for his country to gain but a possible recession. If the Israelis can goad the US into this, they will likely get away with most anything under its hegemonic watch over the world.
