RAMALLAH: Amnesty International accused Israel on Wednesday of an "ethnic cleansing" campaign against Bedouin and herding communities in the occupied West Bank, charges that Israel dismissed as "false and baseless."
Report Details Alleged Campaign
A new report by the rights group found that the campaign was aimed at accelerating the annexation of the Palestinian territory, with these rural communities bearing the brunt of Israeli settler violence and forced displacement. "Israeli authorities are accelerating annexation through a state-driven campaign of ethnic cleansing targeting Palestinian Bedouin and herding communities" of the West Bank, said the report.
Displacement Figures
Amnesty said its research showed that 27 Bedouin and herding communities comprising hundreds of Palestinians were forcibly displaced between 2023 and 2025 or were at risk of displacement in the West Bank's Area C, which encompasses 60 percent of the territory and is under full Israeli control under the 1990s Oslo agreements.
Israel's foreign ministry rejected the allegations, stating that the report was "based on false and baseless claims" and that Israel acts in accordance with international law. The ministry also accused Amnesty of bias against Israel.
