Stop the Ethnic Cleansing and Expulsion of West Bank Palestinian Communities
- ACRI
- Jul 10
- 3 min read
Over the past three years, ever since the current government began its term and especially after the outbreak of the war in October 2023, there has been a steep escalation in the occupied territories of the establishment of outposts, private settler takeover of lands, violence against Palestinian residents, and in the deliberate and planned creation of impossible living conditions for Palestinian residents to the point of forced displacement. Between January 2023 and May 2025, the UN documented the forced displacement of 2,692 Palestinians, including over 1,000 children, as a result of settler violence and restrictions on access to land. This is the largest expulsion of Palestinians in the West Bank since the Six Day War.
In 2023-2024 alone, the establishment of approximately 85 new illegal outposts in the depths of the West Bank was documented. For comparison, in the entire previous decade (2011-2021), an estimated 30 outposts were established throughout the West Bank. They are then granted legal regulation and normalization by state authorities.
These outposts serve as centers from which violent settlers conduct raids on the homes and lands of Palestinian residents, with the open and declared intention of "cleansing the area" of its Palestinian residents. The settlers leading the expulsion operations do not hide their motives. Nonetheless, they are not removed from the occupied territory and are instead given economic and operational support.
Generally speaking, the method used by these settlers works as follows: first, the illegal construction of outposts and extensions containing residential buildings; then fences and barriers are erected near the residential complexes and grazing areas of Palestinian communities; areas are closed off for military purposes, with the declaration that lands are being used by the state, in addition to the imposition of movement restrictions by the army. These measures serve to confine Palestinian communities in an increasingly shrinking area, and to prevent them from accessing water and grazing and agricultural lands—including land that is privately owned by Palestinians. Added to these are repeated thefts of sheep, cattle, and equipment; sabotage of water tanks; arson and property damage; and harassment and violence. In many cases, an outpost is established extremely close to Palestinian residents’ homes; in other cases, explicit or implicit expulsion orders are given by settlers or security personnel, along with threats that residents will be harmed if they do not leave. Communities are left with no choice but to leave.
ACRI has approached military authorities dozens of times in cases of settler violence that led to the displacement of Palestinian communities. The responses we received testify to the passive policy adopted by the military and amount to a declaration that the military commander is aware of his duties and fulfills them according to his discretion and order of priorities without substantive justification for the inaction regarding the expulsion of communities, and while ignoring claims about the systematic nature of the harassment, violence, and displacement. As a result of this disinterest and inaction, Adv. Reut Shaer, director of the Human Rights in the Occupied Territories Department, sent a strongly-worded appeal to the heads of Israel's security and law enforcement: the Attorney General, Minister of Defense, Chief of Staff, State Attorney, Police Commissioner and Legal Advisor to the Police, Central Command Commander, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Head of the Civil Administration and Legal Advisor of the West Bank.
The appeal warns that the accumulating evidence of systematic forced displacement of dozens of communities establishes solid evidence that serious violations of international law are taking place, amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity. The appeal states that "the military commander as temporary sovereign in the occupied territory, the Civil Administration and bodies supported by them, as well as various government ministries, not only do not curb this activity, but reinforce it and actively support it, as well as through retroactive affirmation of the acts by way of legalizing illegal outposts, in those same areas and regions whose residents fled from violence. This support entails direct responsibility of the state for crimes committed by its citizens."
The appeal makes a number of demands on the heads of the security and law enforcement system, including that they:
Immediately and proactively exercise their authority to protect threatened communities at risk of forced displacement, and to remove those that threaten them;
Remove Israelis from the West Bank who incite nationalist violence and terror or participate in violence;
Clear violent outposts that threaten or target Palestinian communities with the aim of expelling them;
Assist communities that were expelled and wish to return to their homes;
Formulate a comprehensive, active and effective policy to stop displacement and expulsion throughout the West Bank, by coordinating between the army, police, Civil Administration and various government ministries.
Continuously monitor the implementation of these policies, while collecting information and engaging in dialogue with the relevant communities.
Appeal by ACRI and Bimkom - Planners for Planning Rights, July 10, 2025 (Heb)
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