Amnesty International accuses Israel of state-led displacement of Palestinians in West Bank

Amnesty International released a 149-page report alleging that Israel is conducting a state-directed campaign to displace Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, describing it as a step toward annexation. The organization says the forced removals are not limited to isolated incidents by settlers but are supported by government policies.

United Nations data indicate that more than 100 West Bank villages have been fully or partially emptied between January 2023 and April 2026, and over 7,280 individual displacements have been recorded due to demolition of homes and structures by Israeli forces. Amnesty cites settlement expansion, the creation of new outposts and the takeover of unregistered land as primary drivers of the displacement, especially affecting Bedouin communities in remote areas.

"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," said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s secretary-general.

The report also notes that the Israeli Knesset has advanced legislation to extend Israeli civil law over settlement blocs and to impose harsher penalties on Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis. While the international community generally regards the settlements as illegal, Israel maintains that the West Bank's final status is subject to negotiations.

Israeli officials have previously dismissed accusations of ethnic cleansing as biased. The government has not responded to the latest Amnesty report. Rights groups warn that the pace of displacement accelerated after the October 7, 2023 attacks, and that many outposts are built without official permission, though some are later regularized.

Dror Etkes, head of the settlement-monitoring group Kerem Navot, said settlers have taken about 12.5% of West Bank territory since the October 2023 attacks, limiting Palestinian access to those areas.