The UN human rights office issued a report detailing what it calls Israel's "systemic discrimination" against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The report, released Tuesday, stated that the situation has "drastically deteriorated" over the past three years.

According to the report, Israeli laws, policies, and practices were having an "asphyxiating impact" on every aspect of daily life for Palestinians and violated an international convention against racial discrimination. High Commissioner Volker Türk stated, "This is a particularly severe form of racial discrimination and segregation that resembles the kind of apartheid system we have seen before."

The UN report asserts that Palestinians in the West Bank face "systemic discrimination" by Israeli authorities. The report further outlines concerns regarding restrictions on movement, access to land and resources, and discriminatory law enforcement.

Israel dismissed the accusations as "absurd and distorted." The Israeli mission in Geneva stated that the UN human rights office "completely ignores fundamental facts that lie at the basis of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and that inform the actions and policies of the State of Israel, mainly the grave security threats Israel faces."

The report comes amid ongoing tensions in the West Bank. The international community remains divided on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with many countries calling for a two-state solution. The UN Human Rights Office is mandated to promote and protect all human rights enshrined in the United Nations Charter and international human rights laws. The report is part of its ongoing monitoring of the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory.