Amnesty International has published a new report that investigates the systematic policy of ethnic cleansing against Bedouin and shepherding communities in the Occupied West Bank. The report covers state sanctioned settler violence aimed at driving Palestinian communities off their lands – especially in ‘Area C’, which comprises 60% of the West Bank.

“The report also demonstrates – contrary to what too many in the international community suggest – that the campaign is not the product of “rogue” settlers, settlers’ organizations or “extremist” government ministers. In other words, settler violence is not an aberration but an integral part of an organized state policy.” – Amnesty International

Amnesty interviewed communities in Jordan Valley and activists from Jordan Valley Solidarity during the course of their investigation. Highlighting communities such as Hammamat al-Meita in the north Jordan Valley where settlers carried out a brutal attack in July 2025, stealing a herd of nearly 300 sheep – of which over 180 were stabbed and thus badly injured or killed.

“In the northern Jordan Valley alone, at least 38 Palestinian herding communities – home to approximately 7,000 people – are threatened with displacement as Israel advances its annexation-related policies. The area constitutes around 75% of Tubas governorate and is overwhelmingly classified as Area C, with nearly 90% designated by Israeli authorities as state land, “closed military zones”, nature reserves and archaeological sites. Israeli authorities use these designations as grounds for issuing demolition orders against Palestinian communities and preventing Palestinian shepherds from herding.” – Amnesty International

In the report, Amnesty covers the systemic harassment and violence faced by communities such as Ein al-Hilweh, Makhoul, and al-Farisiya – which are now surrounded by settler outposts. The settler violence that springs from these outposts is backed by the Israeli army stationed in the area. The army harasses shepherds grazing their herds and provides cover for settler violence, with a pattern of protecting assailants and arresting injured Palestinians after settler attacks.

“Herding outposts might occupy… only a few dunums each, but through grazing they take over huge areas… A settler from an outpost near Bardala practically seized 500 dunums between 2024 and 2025 by taking his cows to graze there, while at the same time preventing us from accessing this land which we depend on for our livelihood.” Rasheed Khudeiri of Jordan Valley Solidarity explains how settlers use outposts to steal large swathes of land to Amnesty International

The report also investigates the cooperation between settlers, the occupation’s military and police forces, and the occupation’s civil administration. This includes instances in which the occupation “confiscated” Palestinian livestock through “official” channels or refused to acknowledge, let alone investigate, theft of livestock committed by settlers. Working in unison, the different arms of the zionist occupation seek to make life and livelihood impossible for these Palestinian communities. 

“In this report, Amnesty International presents conclusive evidence that these violations, perpetrated between January 2023 and December 2025, amount to the war crime of unlawful deportation and transfer and the crime against humanity of forcible transfer or deportation, committed as part of a policy to ethnically cleanse Area C of the occupied West Bank by forcibly displacing Palestinian Bedouin and herding communities and expanding illegal settlements at their expense.” – Amnesty International

Read the full report here.