The organization Amnesty International accused Israel on Wednesday June 10 of carrying out “Ethnic cleansing” against the Bedouin and pastoral communities of the occupied West Bank and “A crime against humanity is transferred by force”. Amnesty International also called on the international community to take action against « l’annexion » of Palestinian territory.
In a new report, the human rights NGO indicates that twenty-seven of these communities have been forcibly displaced between 2023 and 2025 or are threatened with displacement in Area C of the West Bank. This covers 60% of this territory and is under Israeli control, under the Oslo Accords of the 1990s. In this area, Amnesty mentions “Explicit calls from Israeli officials for the expansion of settlements” as well as “Measures aimed at minimizing the Palestinian presence”. The West Bank itself is a part of the Palestinian Territories, occupied by Israel since 1967.
The report accuses the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, one of the most right-wing in the country’s history, of following the religious nationalist agenda of the settler movement. The government “accelerated settlement expansion and land seizures, increased financial and logistical aid to settlements, and armed settlers, enabling a brutal – state-sanctioned – campaign of settler violence and forced displacement of Palestinians of the C area »dénonce l’ONG.
The Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich (far right) is one of the leaders in favor of the annexation of the West Bank and was banned from French territory on Tuesday, notably for this reason. Since it was established at the end of 2022, the Netanyahu government has given the green light to the creation of 102 settlements in the West Bank, according to the Israeli anti-settlement organization Peace Now. More than 500,000 Israelis live in the West Bank (apart from East Jerusalem, annexed by Israel), in settlements that the United Nations considers illegal under international law. Three million Palestinians also live in this territory.
Fires, thefts, murders
Some settlers engage in criminal acts such as arson, damage, theft, and even commit physical attacks and sometimes murder of Palestinians. Violence has increased sharply since the terrorist attacks of October 7, 2023 carried out by Hamas, which triggered the war in the Gaza Strip. Since January, they have reached an average of six settler attacks per day, according to the UN humanitarian operations office.
Israel claims that these actions are the work of isolated individuals but, according to Agnès Callamard, secretary general of Amnesty International, “The ethnic cleansing campaign is led and supported by the state [israélien]and not by settlers “ voyous †or ministers Extremists».
Bedouin and pastoral communities, often isolated and lacking security services, are particularly vulnerable. Since 2023, journalists fromAFP have witnessed the departure of several Bedouin communities from the West Bank under pressure from settler groups, such as the community of Ras Ein al-Auja in early 2026. “The settlers completely destroyed the Bedouin way of life, annihilated its culture and its identity.”said Farhan Jahaleen, a Bedouin from this community, on the spot.
The inaction of “world leaders”
“We call on world leaders who repeatedly say they oppose annexation but do nothing to prevent it: know that your inaction directly fuels crimes against humanity.”alerted Agnes Callamard, quoted in a statement. “States, especially those with influence over Israel […] must immediately ban all trade, investment and any form of cooperation or financial assistance contributing to Israel’s illegal occupation, apartheid system and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.she added.
In May, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights denounced signs of “Ethnic cleansing” in the West Bank.
