Human Rights Watch Report Warns State-Backed Israeli Settler Violence is Forcing West Bank Displacement

Dozens of Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank face the threat of erasure due to a surge in attacks by Israeli settlers, according to a recent report published by Human Rights Watch.

The US-based rights organization stated that the combination of escalating settler violence and the rapid expansion of Israeli settlements, which are considered illegal under international law, is driving a wave of forced displacement among Palestinians.

The report alleges that Israeli authorities are actively arming, funding, and granting impunity to settlers to facilitate these attacks. Such violence has steadily increased since the current government took office in December 2022, with a notable spike occurring during the first two months of the war on Iran involving the US and Israel.

Reported abuses include killings of children, physical and mental assaults, sexual violence, arbitrary detention, arson, property demolition, and theft.

Sarah Sanbar, the acting Israel and Palestine researcher at Human Rights Watch, stated that the Israeli government and settlers share the objective of maximizing land while minimizing the Palestinian population. She noted that authorities not only tolerate settler violence but actively enable it by providing weapons, legal cover, and financial support.

Human Rights Watch investigated incidents in seven Palestinian West Bank communities during April and May, including Al-Mughayyir, Mikhmas, and Taybeh in the Ramallah governorate; Jalud and Qaryut in the Nablus governorate; and Khirbet Hamsa and Muarrajat East in the Jordan Valley.

According to the findings, armed settlers sometimes operated alongside Israeli military units or carried out raids while soldiers stood by without intervening.

Data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) indicates that more Palestinians were forcibly displaced by settler attacks, demolitions, and evictions in the first four months of the year than throughout the entirety of 2025. Since January 2023, OCHA has documented that 107 communities, comprising 5,900 Palestinians, have been partially or completely displaced due to settler violence. Additionally, the Israeli military has expelled another 32,000 Palestinians from their homes in the occupied West Bank since January 2025, effectively emptying the Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams camps.

The report concludes that the combination of targeted attacks and a lack of state protection creates a coercive environment, compelling many Palestinians to leave their homes.

In response, Human Rights Watch recommends implementing targeted sanctions against individuals involved in ongoing abuses, suspending weapons transfers to Israel, imposing trade bans on illegal settlements, and encouraging nations to review preferential trade agreements with Israel.

Sanbar emphasized that the impunity granted to settlers is directly linked to the backing provided by Israel's allies and donors, asserting that these governments share responsibility and must be held accountable.