Amnesty International has accused Israel of conducting an 'ethnic cleansing' campaign against Bedouin and herding communities in the occupied West Bank, alleging that the measures are designed to accelerate the annexation of Palestinian territory. The rights group released a report on Wednesday titled 'Erasing anything Palestinian: Israel's ethnic cleansing of West Bank Bedouin and herding communities,' which highlights the plight of these rural Palestinian communities.
Key Findings of the Report
The report states that 27 Bedouin and herding communities, comprising hundreds of Palestinians, were forcibly displaced between 2023 and 2025 or are at risk of displacement in Area C of the West Bank. Area C, which accounts for 60 percent of the territory, remains under Israeli control under the Oslo agreements from the 1990s. Amnesty accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, one of the most right-wing in Israel's history, of catering to the settler movement's religious nationalist agenda.
'It has accelerated settlement expansion and land grabs, increased financial and logistical support to settlements, and it has armed settlers, thereby enabling a brutal state-sanctioned campaign of settler violence,' the report noted. Amnesty countered arguments by Israeli officials that settler violence stems from bad actors, pointing to explicit calls by Israeli officials for settlement expansion and measures aimed at minimizing Palestinian presence in Area C. The report concluded that the 'ethnic cleansing campaign is state-led, and state-sponsored, not driven by rogue settlers or so-called extremist ministers.'
International Reactions and Legal Implications
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a vocal proponent of West Bank annexation who lives in a settlement, was banned from France on Tuesday for actively promoting annexation. In May 2026, the UN rights office also decried indications of 'ethnic cleansing' in Gaza and the West Bank. Amnesty highlighted Israel's legal responsibilities as an occupying power and its violations of international humanitarian law, including the war crime of unlawful deportation and transfer and the crime against humanity of deportation or forcible transfer of population.
Impact on Bedouin Communities
Bedouin and herder communities, often isolated and without security services, are particularly vulnerable to violence or displacement. Since 2023, AFP reporters have witnessed the departure of several Bedouin communities under pressure from settler groups, including the community of Ras Ein Al-Auja in early 2026. Farhan Jahaleen, a Bedouin from the village, told AFP in January: 'What is happening today is the complete collapse of the community as a result of the settlers' continuous and repeated attacks.'
Settlement Expansion and Violence
Since Netanyahu's government came to power in late 2022, it has approved the creation of 102 settlements in the West Bank, according to settlement watchdog Peace Now. Excluding east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank, among some three million Palestinians. All Israeli settlements are considered illegal under international law. Rights groups report that settlers have engaged in arson, vandalism, theft of private property, physical assaults, and sometimes murder. The number of such incidents has steadily increased since the start of the war in Gaza in 2023, reaching an average of six per day in the West Bank in 2026, according to the UN humanitarian agency OCHA.
