UN Human Rights office calls for halt to Msafer Yatta demolitions in the West Bank
25 September 2026
On 25 September 2026 the UN Human Rights office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory called on Israel to immediately halt the demolition of Palestinian villages in Msafer Yatta, South Hebron Hills.
On 23 September, Israeli forces demolished dozens of structures, including homes, water tanks and solar panels, in the village of Jinba.
Three additional villages in Msafer Yatta had already been almost entirely destroyed in September 2026.
There are 12 villages in Msafer Yatta housing over 1,100 Palestinians.
According to OCHA, demolitions have displaced 1,500 people in the occupied West Bank in 2026.
In the 1980s, Israel declared some 30,000 dunums of Msafer Yatta as "Firing Zone 918".
Ajith Sunghay, Head of UN Human Rights – OPT, said forcible transfer of a civilian population by an occupying power is a war crime.
In plain words
OHCHR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights — UN office leading human rights work; based in Geneva.
OCHA UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs — UN office that coordinates humanitarian response.