Amnesty accuses Israel of ethnic cleansing campaign against West Bank Bedouin communities

Amnesty International has accused Israel of carrying out a state-led campaign of forced displacement against Bedouin and herding communities in the occupied West Bank, alleging that the measures are aimed at accelerating the annexation of Palestinian territory.

New report by the rights organisation found that rural Palestinian communities are facing increasing settler violence and forced displacement. According to the report, 27 Bedouin and herding communities comprising hundreds of Palestinians were forcibly displaced between 2023 and 2025 or remain at risk of displacement in Area C of the occupied West Bank, which accounts for around 60 percent of the territory and remains under Israeli control under the Oslo agreements, News.Az reports, citing TRT World. 

The report, titled Erasing Anything Palestinian: Israel’s Ethnic Cleansing of the West Bank Bedouin and Herding Communities, states that the government of Benjamin Netanyahu has accelerated settlement expansion and land seizures, increased financial and logistical support for settlements, and armed settlers, enabling what Amnesty described as a state-sanctioned campaign of settler violence.

Amnesty argued that the situation is not the result of actions by isolated individuals, pointing instead to explicit calls by Israeli officials for settlement expansion and policies aimed at reducing the Palestinian presence in Area C. The organisation concluded that the campaign is state-led and state-sponsored.

The report also highlighted the role of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a supporter of West Bank annexation who lives in a settlement. Amnesty said Israel, as an occupying power, is violating international humanitarian law. According to the organisation, the alleged violations include the war crime of unlawful deportation and transfer, as well as the crime against humanity of deportation or forcible transfer of population.

Bedouin and herding communities, often isolated and lacking security services, remain particularly vulnerable to violence and displacement. Since 2023, several such communities have left their homes under pressure from settler groups, including Ras Ein al-Auja in early 2026. Speaking to AFP in January, resident Farhan Jahaleen said the community was collapsing as a result of continuous settler attacks.

According to Peace Now, Netanyahu’s government has approved the creation of 102 settlements in the occupied West Bank since taking office in late 2022. More than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements across the occupied West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem, alongside approximately three million Palestinians.

International law considers all Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank illegal. Rights groups have documented incidents involving arson, vandalism, theft of private property, physical assaults and killings by settlers. The UN humanitarian agency OCHA reported that such incidents have increased since the outbreak of the Gaza war in 2023, reaching an average of six per day in the occupied West Bank in 2026.

News.Az 

By Leyla Şirinova