Amnesty International has accused Israel of carrying out a campaign of “ethnic cleansing” against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, alleging that the effort is aimed at paving the way for the annexation of the territory.
The allegation is contained in a newly released 149-page report by the rights organisation, which argues that the displacement of Palestinians across the West Bank is the result of a deliberate state policy rather than isolated actions by extremist settlers. According to Amnesty, while settler violence remains a major factor behind the displacement, such activities are enabled by government support and cannot be separated from state policies.
Israeli settlements in the West Bank are widely considered illegal under international law, a position held by much of the international community. Israel, however, maintains that the territory is disputed and insists that its final status should be determined through negotiations.
Data from the United Nations shows that more than 100 Palestinian villages in the West Bank were either completely or partially depopulated between January 2023 and April 2026. During the same period, the UN recorded over 7,280 cases of Palestinian displacement linked to the demolition of homes and other structures by Israeli forces, including individuals who were displaced multiple times.
Israel has consistently rejected accusations of “ethnic cleansing,” describing such claims as biased and unfounded. The Israeli government had not issued an immediate response to Amnesty’s latest findings at the time of reporting.
“These abuses are not the result of a few ‘bad apples,’” Amnesty’s head, Agnès Callamard, asserted. “Settler violence is a core component of a state-sanctioned campaign of ethnic cleansing. What we’re witnessing is deliberate, state-led annexation, in complete violation of international law unfolding before the eyes of the entire world.”
Although Israeli officials occasionally condemn particularly serious incidents involving Jewish settlers, such acts are frequently portrayed as isolated cases rather than part of a broader pattern.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government includes influential settler leaders and advocates, with several senior ministers openly supporting the formal annexation of Palestinian territories.
Human rights organisations and Palestinian groups have sharply criticised the rapid expansion of settlements, arguing that it undermines prospects for a future Palestinian state. More than 700,000 Israelis currently reside in settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel during the 1967 war and claimed by Palestinians as part of a future independent state.
Amnesty’s report points to numerous legislative initiatives introduced in the Knesset that seek to extend Israeli civil law and legal jurisdiction over settlement blocs and courts handling Palestinian cases.
The report also notes that lawmakers recently approved a measure establishing the death penalty as the default sentence for West Bank Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis.
Former US President Donald Trump stated last year that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. Meanwhile, the US-mediated ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, aimed at ending the conflict in Gaza, also recognised Palestinian aspirations for statehood.
According to Amnesty, the large-scale displacement of Palestinian Bedouin communities has been fuelled by settler attacks, the expansion of settlements and the appropriation of unregistered land by Israeli authorities. While concerns over such displacement predate 2023, rights groups say the trend intensified significantly after Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, which sparked the ongoing war in Gaza.
Bedouin herding communities located in remote areas of the West Bank have been identified as particularly vulnerable. Unlike Palestinians living in larger towns and cities, these communities often lack the resources to resist mounting pressure from armed settlers establishing new outposts nearby.
Research by the anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now found that 212 of the at least 363 settler outposts currently existing in the West Bank were established after 2023.
Although such outposts are typically built without formal authorisation, Israeli authorities have at times tolerated their existence, failed to enforce removal orders or later granted them legal recognition.
For the report, Amnesty examined 27 villages and hamlets across the West Bank where Palestinian residents were displaced between 2023 and 2025. Investigators interviewed dozens of Palestinians and legal experts, gathered testimony from witnesses of settler violence, reviewed more than 420 videos and analysed official government statements alongside other documentation.
The organisation also criticised the international community for what it described as a failure to take meaningful action to stop the displacement. Dror Etkes, director of the settlement monitoring group Kerem Navot, said that since October 2023, settlers have taken control of approximately 12.5 per cent of West Bank land, making large areas inaccessible or unsafe for Palestinian residents.
