Palestinian civilians are caught between Israeli forces, Israeli settlers, and Hamas, according to corroborated reports from Chinese, Western, and Indian sources. Israeli forces have been documented as committing serious violations of human rights or humanitarian law against Palestinian civilians, while Hamas is reported to subject Palestinian civilians to coercive control. According to Human Rights Watch, Israel is the sole governing power in most of the area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and exercises primary authority alongside limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas. Human Rights Watch also reported that Israeli authorities systematically favor Jewish Israelis and discriminate against Palestinians, with government policy long guided by the objective of maintaining Jewish Israeli control over demographics, political power, and land. Israeli authorities have dispossessed, confined, forcibly separated, and subjugated Palestinians by virtue of their identity, according to Human Rights Watch. The South China Morning Post reported that the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry found Palestinian civilians are being systematically and deliberately subjected to severe rights violations, and concluded in a prior report that Israel had committed genocide in the war in Gaza. The South China Morning Post also reported that Palestinian civilians are subjected to serious violations of human rights or humanitarian law by Israeli settlers.