Acceleration of Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestinians must spur global action to halt West Bank annexation
– Significant escalation in speed and scale of annexation measures under Israel’s current government
– Ethnic cleansing campaign is state-led, and state-sponsored, not driven by rogue settlers or so-called extremist ministers
– Exponential rise in state-backed settler violence terrorizing and expelling thousands of Palestinians to annex land
– Communities still at critical risk of displacement, those uprooted must be protected
– States must halt trade, cooperation and investment relations enabling unlawful occupation, apartheid, ethnic cleansing and impose sanctions on implicated officials
The international community’s tacit or explicit support for Israeli crimes, including genocide and apartheid, or their failure to act resolutely to stop them has emboldened the Israeli authorities to escalate a brutal campaign to forcibly displace Palestinians and expand its control over land in the West Bank, said Amnesty International. In a new report, the organization details how Israeli authorities are accelerating annexation through a state-driven campaign of ethnic cleansing targeting Palestinian Bedouin and herding communities in Area C of the occupied West Bank, while committing the crime against humanity of forcible transfer.
The report, “Erasing anything Palestinian: Israel's ethnic cleansing of West Bank Bedouin and herding communities” , exposes how the Israeli government has made formal annexation an explicit policy objective. It is implementing the settler movement’s religious nationalist agenda. It has accelerated settlement expansion and land grabs, increased financial and logistical support to settlements, and it has armed settlers, thereby enabling a brutal state-sanctioned campaign of settler violence and of forced displacement of Palestinians from Area C. This area constitutes over 60% of the occupied West Bank and has long been central to Israel’s efforts to control land and demographics, given its natural resources, vital grazing and agricultural land, and relatively small Palestinian population.
“Over the past three and a half years Israeli authorities have accelerated a state-sponsored campaign of ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, uprooting, dispossessing and forcibly transferring Palestinian communities. This is not the work of rogue actors or what the international community has repeatedly labelled as extremist settlers, organizations or one or two ministers. What we are witnessing is deliberate, state-led annexation, in complete violation of international law unfolding before the eyes of the entire world,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.
“Our report exposes that these abuses are not the result of a few ‘bad apples’. Settler violence is a core component of a state-sanctioned campaign of ethnic cleansing, central to maintaining Israel’s system of apartheid.”
Amnesty International’s research shows Palestinians are being forcibly erased from their ancestral lands, cut off from their livelihoods, and terrorized into fleeing their homes amidst an unprecedented surge in settler attacks, openly condoned and actively facilitated by an Israeli government that boasts of its intent to formally annex large swathes of Palestinian land.
Communities across the Jordan Valley and South Hebron Hills facing displacement continue to resist, determined to remain on the land they have inhabited for generations. Amnesty International is calling on the international community to act urgently to protect them.
Yet despite states’ clear legal obligations to act to bring an end to Israel’s unlawful occupation and system of apartheid, the international community has repeatedly failed to act.
“The international community has either been complicit in or far too passive in the face of Israel’s repeated and gross violations of international law, and its flouting of UN General Assembly and Security Council resolutions. It must clearly signal that the era of tacit acquiescence to Israel’s ethnic cleansing and annexation is over,” said Agnès Callamard.
At least 117 predominantly Bedouin and herding Palestinian communities have faced either full or partial displacement between January 2023 and April 2026, according to OCHA. By the end of April 2026, at least 5,910 people had been forcibly displaced, according to UN data.
This has occurred amid an unprecedented surge in acts of state-backed settler violence. By the end of April 2026, Israeli settlers had established 363 outposts in the occupied West Bank, according to the NGO Peace Now. Of these, as many as 212 were created since 2023, with Israeli authorities actively encouraging them, and taking almost no action to dismantle them, even though they are illegal under both Israeli and international law. They included scores of herding outposts, which are used by settlers to take over large areas of Palestinian land through grazing. This comes on top of land grabs by the Israeli government. Nearly 58% of the land in Area C is unregistered, and by February 2026, Israeli authorities had already seized half of this unregistered land through state land declarations.
“To world leaders that have framed the annexation and settler violence as isolated acts of ‘extremist’ settlers or ministers and imposed limited sanctions against some individuals or organizations, Amnesty’s report must be a wake-up call: these limited measures are woefully insufficient to address the state campaign of ethnic cleansing and the systemic violations that have been rapidly increasing before the eyes of the international community,” said Agnès Callamard.
“To world leaders who repeatedly say they oppose annexation but do nothing to stop it: know that your inaction is directly fuelling crimes against humanity and has global consequences further eroding the rules-based international order.
“States, particularly those with influence over Israel, including the USA, the UK, Germany, as well as Italy and other EU and Arab states, must immediately ban all trade, investment and any form of cooperation or financial assistance that contribute to Israel’s unlawful occupation, system of apartheid and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
“In addition, all states, must impose targeted sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, against Israeli officials directly implicated in these acts, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Minister for Settlement and National Missions Orit Strock and Defense Minister Israel Katz.
Amnesty International researched 27 Bedouin and herding communities in Area C that were forcibly displaced between 2023 and 2025 or are at risk of displacement.
The research team interviewed 45 Palestinians from 12 communities, who were either displaced or at risk of displacement, as well as 19 lawyers, activists who witnessed incidents of settler violence, journalists and Israeli and Palestinian NGO representatives. The organization also verified more than 420 videos and images, and conducted analysis of official government statements, agreements, legislation, governance changes, court records, maps, satellite imagery, UN and civil society reports, and other open-source material.
The organization shared its findings with the Israeli authorities on 13 May. The Ministry of Defense responded on 23 May stating that its forces respond to incidents of settler violence, arresting suspects, when necessary, and investigating cases where forces may have failed to comply with orders or failed to intervene to stop settler violence. Evidence documented by Amnesty International presents a different reality.
Evidence of Israel’s intent to ethnically cleanse and annex Area C
Since the 1967 occupation, successive Israeli governments have – with varying degrees of intensity and transparency- pursued Judaization policies which seek to maximize Jewish control over land in the West Bank while minimizing Palestinian presence.
Israel’s 37th government, formed in late 2022 and led by Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party in coalition with Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Jewish Power and Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism parties, has openly and deliberately pursued formal annexation of Area C and the forcible transfer of its Palestinian residents.
The government’s coalition agreements embed settler priorities into state policy and legitimize the settler movement’s vision of “Greater Israel,” an ideology that treats the entirety of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) as an integral part of Israel. It has done so in brazen defiance of multiple UN resolutions and the International Court of Justice’s 2024 Advisory Opinion declaring Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory unlawful.
The intent to remove Palestinians from Area C of the West Bank and annex the land is evidenced by explicit calls by Israeli officials for settlement expansion, the extension of Israeli sovereignty over the occupied territory, measures aimed at minimizing Palestinian presence in Area C and public backing for settlers by key government ministers – some of whom are themselves settlers. It is also demonstrated by annexation-oriented legislation and by measures transferring powers in the West Bank from military to civilian authorities in violation of international humanitarian law.
State intent is further reflected in a surge in state land declarations, simplified procedures for settlement approvals, accelerated settlement expansion, retroactive legalization of outposts, and increased financial and political support for settler infrastructure, alongside the demolition of Palestinian property and systemic restrictions on Palestinian movement and access to land and water.
Within the first three years of the government’s rule, the Ministry of Settlement and National Missions’ annual budget grew by 122%, reaching NIS 764 million (USD 254.5 million) by 2026.
According to Peace Now, plans for the construction of 50,785 settlement housing units were advanced by the government between 2023 and 2025. In 2025 alone, the Higher Planning Council approved 27,941 units, the highest annual figure ever recorded.
The total number of new settlements declared by the government had reached 102 by 30 April 2026. This is by far the largest number of new settlements authorized by one government in Israel’s history.
In parallel, Israeli authorities demolished 3,407 Palestinian homes and structures in Area C between January 2023 and April 2026, displacing 2,996 Palestinians, according to OCHA.
Meanwhile, settlers, often with direct state backing or the direct participation of the Israeli military, have subjected Palestinian Bedouin and herding communities to a litany of coercive and repressive measures, leaving many with no option but to abandon the lands they have lived and herded on for generations. They have been subjected to sustained state-backed settler violence, which, combined with increased demolitions and the long-standing denial of basic services by Israeli authorities, effectively renders their areas uninhabitable.
Together, these interconnected coercive measures reveal a deliberate, coordinated state strategy to expand Israeli control over Area C while driving the displacement of Palestinian communities.
One emblematic case is Khirbet Zanuta (Zanuta), a village in Area C of the West Bank, home to around 250 Palestinian Bedouins who had lived there for generations. In 2021, a group of settlers established an illegal outpost known as Meitarim Farm only 1km away from Zanuta, and initiated a sustained campaign of harassment, threats and violent attacks against the Palestinian community, including blocking access to farmland and grazing areas, eventually forcing residents to abandon their homes and livelihoods. The entire community was displaced following a series of violent settler raids that escalated after 7 October 2023. The village, surrounded by settlements and outposts had long faced demolition orders and restrictive planning policies that made legal construction nearly impossible.
Despite two rulings issued by the Israeli Supreme Court in July 2024 and February 2025 ordering authorities to facilitate residents’ return and protect them from settler violence, residents have been unable to return due to ongoing settler attacks and the destruction of key infrastructure. Adel al-Till, a former Zanuta resident, said: “The settlers were armed and kept attacking us…We were afraid, it was terror.”
Satellite imagery, interviews and video evidence reveal that today Zanuta no longer exists; it has been extensively destroyed and totally depopulated.
Exponential rise in state-backed settler violence
The long-standing campaign of settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank surged dramatically under the current Israeli government leading to record levels of killings and injuries, displacement, property destruction and unlawful land appropriation. Israeli settlers have adopted increasingly aggressive tactics to forcibly displace Palestinian communities through attacks on homes and property; persistent harassment, threats and physical assaults; and systematic targeting of livelihoods by restricting access to grazing land and water sources, stealing or killing livestock, and destroying agricultural fields and crops. According to OCHA between 2020 and 2024 there was a nearly sevenfold increase in settler-related attacks on Palestinian Bedouin and herding communities resulting in casualties.
Videos and images verified by Amnesty International show break-ins, arson, and widespread vandalism of homes, schools, vehicles, and agricultural assets, alongside the destruction of water sources, solar panels, and food supplies. Interviewees also reported widespread physical violence, including beatings with sticks and rifle butts, stone-throwing, stabbings, and other attacks.
Despite Israel’s obligations as an occupying power to protect the lives and livelihoods of the occupied population and to prevent and investigate settler violence, Israeli authorities actively facilitate such attacks not only by arming settlers and allowing the army and police to support or participate in attacks against Palestinians but also by granting perpetrators near-total impunity.
After the Hamas-led 7 October 2023 attacks, Israeli authorities loosened criteria for private firearms licences, issuing thousands of settlers with firearms and uniforms, making it difficult for Palestinians to distinguish between soldiers and settlers. By January 2026, more than 240,000 Israeli citizens had received firearm licences – a 15-fold increase compared to the annual average of 8,000 licenses prior to the policy change. These policies resulted in a sharp increase in armed settler attacks.
Amnesty’s report documents how Israeli settler violence was used as a deliberate tool of forced displacement in three emblematic cases across Area C: Zanuta in the South Hebron Hills and Ein Samia in the central Jordan Valley-both fully displaced in 2023-and a cluster of small communities in the northern Jordan Valley – Ein al-Hilweh, Makhoul, and Al-Farisiya, which remain at real risk of displacement.
In the northern Jordan Valley, at least 38 communities – home to around 7,000 Palestinians – are threatened with displacement. Nearly 90% of the area is designated as state land, military firing zones, nature reserves, or archaeological sites- all tools Israel uses to restrict Palestinian access to grazing and water sources and coerce their displacement.
Najiyyah Bisharat, from the Makhoul herding community, said: “We face constant harassment by the settlers, but we will not give in. It’s about our love for our land and for our work. The land is our identity, and if we are forced out of it, we’ll die. Just like fish if taken out of water.”
Pervasive impunity
By failing to prevent and actively facilitating settler violence, including through the consistent failure to hold perpetrators to account, Israeli authorities have deliberately created an environment of pervasive impunity, thereby fuelling further settler violence. In several cases documented by Amnesty, Palestinians who reported settler violence were themselves interrogated, fined or arbitrarily arrested by the Israeli authorities, who under international law are obligated to protect them.
Settler and settler organizations are further emboldened by the impunity they have enjoyed for decades. Even where individual settlers or groups have been sanctioned by foreign states, they have faced little to no consequences in Israel.
For example, Yinon Levi, a settler involved in a series of documented violent attacks against Palestinian communities, who has been sanctioned by the UK and the EU, was filmed shooting dead unarmed Palestinian human rights defender and teacher Awda al-Hathaleen in Umm al-Kheir on 28 July 2025.
Although briefly arrested on suspicion of “involuntary manslaughter,” Levi was released the next day and placed under house arrest for only three days. He later was free to return to harass Palestinians and work on establishing a new outpost on the lands of Umm al-Kheir. Nearly a year after the attack, Yinon Levi has yet to be indicted.
“Without accountability, Palestinian communities across the West Bank will vanish before our eyes. For too long, the world has ignored the immense, unfathomable suffering of Palestinians being uprooted and erased from land they have inhabited for generations. States must do everything in their power to put an end to Israel’s campaign of ethnic cleansing and annexation in Area C of the West Bank. They must press the Israeli authorities to immediately to dismantle all Israeli settlements and outposts and allow all displaced Palestinians to return to their homes,” said Agnès Callamard.
“All states must support and cooperate with the International Criminal Court’s investigation into the situation in the State of Palestine, as well as open their own investigations into crimes under international law committed in the OPT. The message to Israel must be unequivocal: its long-standing impunity is over, there can be no business as usual until Israel’s apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and unlawful occupation end.”
