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Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
At a glance
- Amnesty International accused Israel of conducting an "ethnic cleansing" campaign against Palestinian Bedouin and herding communities in the occupied West Bank.
- The report claims Israel is accelerating annexation through state-driven displacement and settlement expansion.
- The rights group highlighted forced displacement and settler violence, urging accountability for violations of international humanitarian law.
Amnesty International has accused Israel of orchestrating an "ethnic cleansing" campaign targeting Palestinian Bedouin and herding communities in the occupied West Bank. The human rights organization released a report on Wednesday detailing how Israeli authorities are allegedly accelerating the annexation of Palestinian territory through these measures.
Israeli authorities are accelerating annexation through a state-driven campaign of ethnic cleansing targeting Palestinian Bedouin and herding communities
The report, titled "Erasing anything Palestinian: Israel's ethnic cleansing of West Bank Bedouin and herding communities," found that hundreds of Palestinians in 27 communities are facing forced displacement or are at risk of it. These communities are located in Area C, which constitutes 60 percent of the West Bank and remains under Israeli control.
Amnesty International specifically criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, characterizing it as one of Israel's most right-wing administrations. The report asserts that the government is advancing a religious nationalist agenda by expanding settlements, increasing support for them, and arming settlers. This, Amnesty claims, enables a "brutal state-sanctioned campaign of settler violence."
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 refutes arguments that settler violence is solely the work of rogue individuals, pointing to explicit calls for settlement expansion by Israeli officials and policies aimed at minimizing Palestinian presence in Area C. Amnesty concluded that the "ethnic cleansing campaign is state-led, and state-sponsored."
The ethnic cleansing campaign is state-led, and state-sponsored, not driven by rogue settlers or so-called extremist ministers
Furthermore, Amnesty International highlighted Israel's responsibilities as an occupying power under international humanitarian law. The report cited violations including the "war crime of unlawful deportation and transfer" and the "crime against humanity of deportation or forcible transfer of population." The organization noted that Bedouin and herder communities are particularly vulnerable due to their isolation and lack of security services, citing the departure of several communities under settler pressure.
These violations include the war crime of unlawful deportation and transfer and the crime against humanity of deportation or forcible transfer of population
Originally published by Asharq Al-Awsat. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.