UN records highest ever Palestinian displacement in West Bank

More than 37,000 Palestinians were displaced across the occupied West Bank in 2025, marking the highest annual figure ever recorded, amid what the United Nations has described as unprecedented levels of Israeli settler violence, according to new data released on Monday.

Speaking at a press briefing in New York, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the Palestinian territory had witnessed “record levels of displacement and settler violence,” citing a newly published report by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Dujarric said the majority of displacement occurred as a result of Israeli military operations in refugee camps, particularly in the northern parts of the West Bank.

According to OCHA’s figures, more than 1,800 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians were documented across the northern West Bank in 2025. The incidents resulted in casualties, property damage, or both.

“This is the highest annual figure on record by the United Nations,” Dujarric said, noting that it represents the ninth consecutive year of rising settler violence.

The West Bank is currently home to over 500,000 Israeli settlers living in settlements and outposts, while an additional 250,000 reside in settlements built on occupied land in East Jerusalem, according to figures published by Peace Now, an Israeli advocacy group that monitors settlement activity.

Settler attacks have intensified since the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip in October 2023, alongside an escalation in Israeli military operations throughout the West Bank.

Palestinian officials say that since October 2023, at least 1,109 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Nearly 11,000 have been injured, while around 21,000 have been detained by Israeli forces and settlers during the same period.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice issued a landmark advisory opinion declaring Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal under international law. The court called for the evacuation of all Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Israel has rejected the ruling, while Palestinian officials and international human rights organisations have cited it as a key legal reference in ongoing efforts to hold Israel accountable.