A report released on Thursday by Human Rights Watch documents what the organization characterizes as a pattern of forced displacement of Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank driven by settler attacks and settlement expansion. The US-based rights group asserts that Israeli authorities have provided settlers with weapons, legal protection, and financial support to carry out the attacks.
The escalation in settler violence intensified following the current Israeli government’s formation in December 2022, with attacks becoming more severe in the first two months of a regional conflict. Reported abuses include killings, assaults, sexual violence, property destruction, arson, and arbitrary detention. Human Rights Watch investigated seven Palestinian communities across multiple governorates in April and May, finding instances where armed settlers operated alongside or in the presence of Israeli military units that did not intervene.
According to data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, more Palestinians were displaced by settler actions in the first four months of this year than during the entirety of 2025. The UN office documented that 107 communities comprising approximately 5,900 Palestinians experienced complete or partial displacement due to settler violence since January 2023. Additionally, the Israeli military expelled some 32,000 Palestinians from West Bank homes since January 2025.
Human Rights Watch contends the environment created by attacks and insufficient state protection has become coercive, leaving many Palestinians believing departure is their only option. The organization has recommended that countries impose targeted sanctions on those involved in abuses, suspend weapons transfers to Israel, implement trade restrictions with illegal settlements, and consider suspending preferential trade agreements with Israel.
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