THE HALFAX HEIMDALL AUGUR

A Threshold Crossed - Human Rights Watch About 6.8 million Jewish Israelis and 6.8 million Palestinians live today between the Mediterranean Sea and Jordan River, an area encompassing Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), the latter made up of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. Throughout most of this area, Israel is the sole governing power; in the remainder, it exercises primary authority alongside limited Palestinian self-rule. Across these areas and in most aspects of life, Israeli authorities methodically privilege Jewish Israelis and discriminate against Palestinians. Laws, policies, and statements by leading Israeli officials make plain that the objective of maintaining Jewish Israeli control over demographics, political power, and land has long guided government policy. In pursuit of this goal, authorities have dispossessed, confined, forcibly separated, and subjugated Palestinians by virtue of their identity to varying degrees of intensity. In certain areas, as described in this report, these deprivations are so severe that they amount to the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution. Several widely held assumptions, in…

Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory Israeli forces have perpetrated atrocity crimes in Gaza and the Occupied West Bank, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing and genocide. Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups have also perpetrated atrocity crimes. For more than two years Israel has launched relentless bombardments from air, land and sea, as well as repeatedly imposed complete sieges on Gaza. Israel’s initial bombardment and siege followed a deadly assault by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups into Israel on 7 October 2023. Since then, Israel has killed over 70,000 Palestinians, most of whom are women and children, and injured over 167,000. Thousands more are estimated to be missing or buried under rubble of destroyed buildings. Nearly 80 percent of infrastructure across the Gaza Strip has been damaged or destroyed. On 10 October 2025 the first phase of a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel – based on a so-called 20-point peace plan announced by United States (US) President Donald Trump – came into effect in Gaza. The agreement called for the suspension of all hostilities; the release of all remaining hostages (living and dec…

UN report exposes brutal reality for Palestinians in Gaza, West Bank Palestinian civilians are caught between “mass atrocities” of Israeli forces, settlers and Hamas’ brutal rule, a UN-mandated inquiry said on Tuesday. Civilians across war-ravaged Gaza and the occupied West Bank are being “systematically and deliberately” subjected to severe rights violations, the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry said. The investigative team, which last year concluded that Israel had committed “genocide” in the war in Gaza, highlighted in a new report that...

Palestinians 'trapped' between Israeli forces, settlers and Hamas: UN ... Palestinians ‘trapped’ between Israeli forces, settlers and Hamas: UN probe Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox People protesting in Tel Aviv in April against the escalation of settler violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. PHOTO: REUTERS Published Jun 09, 2026, 04:26 PM Updated Jun 09, 2026, 06:19 PM Listen GENEVA – Palestinian civilians are caught between “mass atrocities” of Israeli forces, settlers and Hamas’ brutal rule, a UN-mandated inquiry said on June 9. Civilians across war-ravaged Gaza and the occupied West Bank are being “systematically and deliberately” subjected to severe rights violations, the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry said. The investigative team, which in 2025 concluded that Israel had committed “genocide” in the war in Gaza , highlighted in a new report that civilians in the territory were also being “violently repressed and controlled by the very faction that claims to govern them”. In the Gaza Strip, “ordinary Palestinians find themselves trapped between the structural violence and mass atrocities of Israeli forces and the predatory, f…

Palestinians face systematic abuse by Israeli settlers and Hamas alike ... FacebookTwitterPrintEmail Palestinian civilians are trapped between escalating settler violence in the occupied West Bank and fear-based Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip, investigators appointed by the UN Human Rights Council said on Tuesday in a new report. They “are being systematically and deliberately subjected to severe violations of human rights law by all parties to the region’s conflict,” according to the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel. “Violence by settlers is the direct outcome of Israeli policies that support, enable and protect their actions, whereas Hamas-affiliated forces have exploited the vacuum created by relentless Israeli attacksand widespread destruction of Gaza,”saidSrinivasan Muralidhar, the Commission’s chair. “What is alarmingly similar is the deliberate infliction of sufferingon Palestinian civilians. While their origins and motivations differ, both operate within environments engineered by Israel.” Thereportwarned that settler attacks continue to rise in the West Bank, with at least seven Palestinians killed and 832…

Torture and genocide - Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation ... Torture and genocide – Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 – Advance edited version (A/HRC/61/71) English Français العربية 中文 Русский Español To learn more about Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council and the Question of Palestine, click here to visit the dedicated webpage. 23 March 2026 Human Rights Council Sixty-first session 23 February–2 April 2026 Agenda item 7 Human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories Torture and genocide Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, Francesca Albanese Summary: In the present report, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 examines the systematic use by Israel of torture against Palestinians from the occupied Palestinian territory since 7 October 2023, encompassing custodial and non-custodial practices that meet the threshold for genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Ge…

Israel continues to commit genocide, atrocity crimes by deliberately ... FacebookTwitterPrintEmail Israeli authorities and security forces have deliberately targeted Palestinian children, resulting in genocide and atrocity crimes in the Gaza Strip and war crimes in the West Bank, a UN independent commission of inquiry said in its latest report released on Tuesday. “The evidence shows that Palestinian children have been deliberately targeted and killed by the Israeli security forces,” said Srinivasan Muralidhar, chair of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel. Thereportrefers to the period following Hamas’ invasion of Israel in late 2023, which resulted in 1,200 deaths and 250 taken hostage, and the subsequent war Israel waged against Gaza that has to date killed more than 70,000 Palestinians in the besieged and occupied territory. “Even after the October 2025 ceasefire, children continue to be killed and seriously injured, with continued disregard by Israel for the ceasefire and for the protection owed to Palestinian children under international law,” he said. Last year, the commission…

Collective punishment is a war crime. Israel is doing it anyway Israel Katz made remarks this week that solidified something legal experts have long stated: Israel is collectively punishing the people of Gaza. The defence minister published a video directly addressed to “the residents of Gaza”, issuing a “last warning”. “Soon, the evacuation of the population from combat zones will resume, and what follows will be far more severe: you will pay the full price,” he warned. He called on Palestinians in the enclave to return Israeli captives and expel Hamas. “The alternative is utter destruction and devastation.” Collective punishment - defined as an action taken against a group in response to an act committed by individuals thought to be part of that group - is a war crime . New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters During armed conflict, collective punishment is prohibited against prisoners of war and “protected persons”. Palestinian civilians in Gaza are protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention, as non-combatants living under occupation. And yet, in rece…

Report to the UN Committee Against Torture: Systemic Israeli Practices ... Report to the UN Committee Against Torture: Systemic Israeli Practices of Torture Against Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory Legal Filings and Amicus Briefs Reports Nov 13 Written By Guest User Submitted October 10, 2025; republished November 13, 2025 Introduction Click here to read the report. This submission details Israel’s extensive use of torture and ill-treatment against Palestinians following October 7, 2023. This abuse – including, but not limited to, beatings to the point of broken bones and permanent injury; gang rape and rape by foreign objects; nonconsensual amputations; and extreme deprivation of food, water, sunlight, hygiene, and sleep – are systematic policies and practices of the State of Israel and its actors. Torture, the infliction of pain as a means of punishment or coercion, is embedded in every stage of a Palestinian’s arrest and detention by Israel. Israel’s systemic and pervasive torture practices target Palestinians of all ages, including members of particularly vulnerable groups – women, children, the elderly, pregnant people, and the disabled. Alongside physical, …

Palestinians ‘trapped’ between Israeli forces, settlers, Hamas — UN SHARE Posts Auto Updates Palestinian civilians are caught between the actions of Israeli forces, violent settlers and the rule of Hamas, according to a new report released by a United Nations-mandated inquiry. Contents UN report highlights suffering in Gaza, West bank “Deliberate infliction of suffering” Israel urged to end settlement activities Hamas accused of torture, executions The United Nations Human Rights Council investigative commission said civilians across Gaza and the occupied West Bank are being “systematically and deliberately” subjected to severe human rights violations. The report, issued Tuesday by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry, stated that Palestinians in Gaza are living under both the impact of Israeli military operations and what it described as the oppressive control of Hamas authorities. UN report highlights suffering in Gaza, West bank According to the inquiry, ordinary Palestinians in Gaza are “trapped between the structural violence and mass atrocities of Israeli forces and the predatory, fear-based rule of Hamas.” The commission also raised concerns over increasing v…

Israel's Systematic Crimes Against Palestinian Detainees Two years into Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and its broader assault across Palestinian territories, prisoner advocacy institutions have released a detailed fact sheet exposing the scale of atrocities committed inside Israeli prisons and military detention camps. The report, jointly issued by the Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society, and Ad-Dameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, documents how the machinery of genocide has extended into incarceration, where torture, starvation, and execution have become institutionalized. Since October 2023, at least 77 Palestinian detainees have died in custody, most as a result of torture, medical neglect, and deliberate starvation. Dozens more, primarily from Gaza, remain forcibly disappeared. The report describes this period as the most violent in the history of the Palestinian prisoner movement. Drawing on hundreds of testimonies, forensic evidence, and public threats issued by Israeli officials—including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir—the institutions assert that these acts constitute war crimes and crimes agai…

Palestinians 'trapped' between Israeli forces, settlers and Hamas: UN ... Israel has long been harshly critical of the three-person commission, which was established in 2021 to look into rights violations in Israel and the Palestinian territories. GENEVA (AFP) — Palestinian civilians are caught between “mass atrocities” of Israeli forces, settlers and Hamas’ brutal rule, a U.N.-mandated inquiry said Tuesday. Civilians across war-ravaged Gaza and the occupied West Bank are being “systematically and deliberately” subjected to severe rights violations, the U.N.’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry said. The investigative team last year concluded that Israel had committed “genocide” in the war in Gaza — a finding flatly rejected by Israel. In a new report, the commission said civilians in the territory were also being “violently repressed and controlled by the very faction that claims to govern them.” In the Gaza Strip, “ordinary Palestinians find themselves trapped between the structural violence and mass atrocities of Israeli forces and the predatory, fear-based rule of Hamas,” the report said. And in the West Bank, which has seen soaring violence since Hamas’ Oct…

Palestinians ‘trapped’ between Israeli forces, settlers and Hamas: UN probe What is alarmingly similar is the deliberate infliction of suffering on Palestinian civilians; while their origins and motivations differ, both operate within environments engineered by Israel, says Srinivasan Muralidhar

Palestinians subjected to 'mass atrocities' by Israel forces, settlers A U.N.-mandated inquiry reported Tuesday that Palestinian civilians are facing 'mass atrocities' committed by Israeli forces and settlers. Civilians across war-ravaged Gaza and th...

Palestinians trapped between Israeli forces and Hamas rule, report finds A UN report finds that Palestinians are being subjected to "mass atrocities" by Israeli forces and being "violently repressed and controlled by the very faction that claims to govern them".

Palestinians 'trapped' between Israeli forces, settlers and Hamas: UN probe | International GENEVA, June 9, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Palestinian civilians are caught between "mass atrocities" of Israeli forces, settlers and Hamas's brutal rule, a UN-mandated inquiry said Tuesday. Civilians across war-ravaged Gaza and the occupied West Bank are being "systematically and deliberately" subjected to severe rights violations, the UN's Independent International Commission of Inquiry said. The investigative team, which last year concluded that Israel had committed "genocide" in the war in Gaza, highlighted in a new report that civilians in the territory were also being "violently repressed and controlled by the very faction that claims to govern them". In the Gaza Strip, "ordinary Palestinians find themselves trapped between the structural violence and mass atrocities of Israeli forces and the predatory, fear-based rule of Hamas", the report said. And in the West Bank, which has seen soaring violence since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war, it described how Palestinian civilians were increasingly targeted by Israeli settler attacks. "Violence by settlers is the…

Palestinians 'trapped' between Israeli forces, settlers and Hamas: … GENEVA: Palestinian civilians are caught between "mass atrocities" of Israeli forces, settlers, and Hamas's brutal rule, a UN-mandated inquiry said Tuesday. Civilians across war-ravaged Gaza and the occupied West Bank are being "systematically and deliberately" subjected to severe rights violations, the UN's Independent International Commission of Inquiry said. The investigative team, which last year concluded that Israel had committed "genocide" in the war in Gaza, highlighted in a new report that civilians in the territory were also being "violently repressed and controlled by the very faction that claims to govern them". In the Gaza Strip, "ordinary Palestinians find themselves trapped between the structural violence and mass atrocities of Israeli forces and the predatory, fear-based rule of Hamas", the report said. And in the West Bank, which has seen soaring violence since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war, it described howPalestinian civilianswere increasingly targeted by Israeli settler attacks. "Violence by settlers is the direct outcome of Israeli policies that support,…

UN inquiry: Palestinians 'trapped' between Israeli forces, settlers and ... GENEVA: Palestinian civilians are caught between “mass atrocities” of Israeli forces, settlers and Hamas’s brutal rule, a UN-mandated inquiry said Tuesday.Civilians across war-ravaged Gaza and the occupied West Bank are being “systematically and deliberately” subjected to severe rights violations, the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry said.The investigative team, which last year concluded that Israel had committed “genocide” in the war in Gaza, highlighted in a new report that civilians in the territory were also being “violently repressed and controlled by the very faction that claims to govern them.”In the Gaza Strip, “ordinary Palestinians find themselves trapped between the structural violence and mass atrocities of Israeli forces and the predatory, fear-based rule of Hamas,” the report said.And in the West Bank, which has seen soaring violence since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war, it described how Palestinian civilians were increasingly targeted by Israeli settler attacks.“Violence by settlers is the direct outcome of Israeli policies that support, e…

Palestine: Killings, destruction and settler encroachment continues ... FacebookTwitterPrintEmail The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has reduced the scale of violence in the Gaza Strip but killings and destruction continue, while forced displacement in the occupied West Bank has reached a rate “unseen in decades”, a senior official with the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Monday in Geneva. Ajith Sunghay, Head of UN Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), launched its latest report which covers the period between 7 October 2023 and 31 May 2025 following Hamas-led attacks on Israel and Israel’s subsequent assault on Gaza. It documents large-scale violations of international law, including atrocity crimes, and points to war crimes and possible crimes against humanity committed by Israeli and Palestinian parties. “One year later,despite the ceasefire concluded in October 2025, the lasting consequences of the patterns we documented are apparent,” said Mr. Sunghay. “The ceasefire diminished the immense scale of violence up that point and opened some modest humanitarian space. But killings and the destruction of infrastructure have continued on an almost…

UN halts all food distribution in Rafah after running out of supplies The International Criminal Court (ICC) could soon issue arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, more than seven months into the war between the two sides, based on a request by the court’s chief prosecutor. FILE - Palestinians line up for free food during the ongoing Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip in Rafah, Jan. 9, 2024. The United Nations said Tuesday, May 21, 2024, it suspended food distribution in the southern Gaza city of Rafah due to lack of supplies and insecurity. It also said no aid trucks entered in the past two days via a floating pier set up by the U.S. for sea deliveries. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali, File) Smoke billows after an explosion in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel Tuesday, May 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) This combination of photos shows Yahya Sinwar, head of Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, Wednesday, April 13, 2022, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, Israel on Oct. 28, 2023. (AP Photo) Palestinians wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip are brought to Al Aqsa …