HRW report links state-backed settler violence to mass displacement in West Bank

Human Rights Watch has released a report alleging that state-backed violence by Israeli settlers is driving a wave of forced displacement in the occupied West Bank. The US-based rights group states that Israeli authorities are actively enabling these attacks by arming, funding, and granting legal impunity to settlers. According to the report, this institutional support has created a coercive environment that is forcing Palestinians to abandon their homes.

The report details investigations conducted in April and May across seven communities in the Ramallah, Nablus, and Jordan Valley governorates. Findings indicate that armed settlers frequently operated alongside Israeli military units or with soldiers present but failing to intervene. HRW notes that while settler violence has increased since the current Israeli government took office in December 2022, attacks spiked significantly in the first two months of the war between the US, Israel, and Iran.

Sarah Sanbar, the acting Israel and Palestine researcher at Human Rights Watch, stated that the Israeli government and settlers share a goal of maximising land acquisition while minimising the Palestinian population. She argued that the state provides the weapons, legal cover, and budget necessary for settlers to shoot, attack, and expel Palestinians. Sanbar emphasised that the impunity afforded to settlers stems directly from the lack of accountability from international allies and donors.

Citing data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the report highlights the scale of the displacement. OCHA research indicates that 107 communities, comprising 5,900 Palestinians, were completely or partially displaced by settler violence since January 2023. Furthermore, the Israeli military expelled another 32,000 Palestinians from the West Bank since January 2025, effectively emptying the Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams camps.

HRW notes that more Palestinians were forcibly displaced by settler attacks, demolitions, and evictions in the first four months of this year than in the entirety of 2025. The report identifies a range of abuses, including killings, assaults, sexual violence, arbitrary detention, arson, and property demolition. These actions, combined with the rapid expansion of settlements deemed illegal under international law, are cited as the primary drivers of the current displacement crisis.

In response to these findings, Human Rights Watch recommends targeted sanctions on individuals implicated in ongoing abuses. The organisation also calls for the suspension of weapons transfers to Israel and a trade ban with illegal settlements. Additionally, HRW urges countries to consider suspending preferential trade agreements with Israel to hold the government and its allies accountable for the consequences of their policies.