Amnesty says West Bank displacement is part of Israeli state policy

Amnesty International has accused Israel of using displacement in the occupied West Bank as part of a deliberate government strategy tied to settlement expansion and annexation. In a report released on Wednesday, the rights group said settler violence against Palestinians is not an isolated problem but part of an organised policy. It said the pattern has affected Palestinian Bedouin and herding communities across the territory.

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The report said at least 117 villages in the West Bank have faced complete or partial displacement because of settler attacks. It added that about 5,910 people were forced to leave their homes between January 2023 and December 2025. The group said the displacement campaign is not the result of "rogue" settlers or a few extremist ministers, but is linked to state policy.

The report also said most of the affected villages are in Area C, which is under full Israeli military and administrative control under the 1995 Oslo II Accords. Area C makes up more than 60% of the West Bank, giving the issue wider significance for land control and civilian access. Amnesty said the Israeli government has approved record levels of settlement expansion and annexation in recent months, which it argued has accelerated the trend.

One example cited in the report was Zanuta, a Palestinian Bedouin village where residents have lived for generations. Amnesty said an illegal outpost called Meitarim Farm was established about one kilometre away in 2021, after which settlers began a sustained campaign of attacks and threats. The report said residents were attacked in their homes, water tanks were emptied and sewage was pumped onto farmland.

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It also said complaints to the Israeli police did not lead to action. The findings matter because they place the issue of settler violence within the broader legal and political dispute over the West Bank. The territory has been at the centre of long-running arguments over occupation, settlement building and the future of Palestinian communities living under Israeli control.

By linking displacement to official policy, the report raises questions about state responsibility rather than only individual conduct. The report also points to the role of international humanitarian monitoring in documenting the impact on civilians. OCHA figures cited by Amnesty suggest the scale of displacement has been widespread rather than limited to a few isolated locations.

The focus on Bedouin and herding communities is significant because these groups often live in smaller, more exposed settlements and may be especially vulnerable to pressure from nearby outposts and attacks. It remains unclear what immediate response, if any, will follow from Israeli authorities to the report's allegations. The report refers to court orders in July 2024 and February 2025 in relation to Zanuta, but the supplied material does not give the outcome.

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