Amnesty International: Escalation of Ethnic Cleansing Against Palestinians Paves the Way for Annexation of the West Bank

SadaNews - Amnesty International stated that the escalation of forced displacement and colonial expansion in the occupied West Bank requires urgent international action to stop annexation plans and hold accountable those responsible for the crimes and violations against Palestinians, especially in the Bedouin and pastoral communities in areas classified as "C".

The organization affirmed, in a new report released today, Wednesday, titled: "Erasure of Everything Palestinian: The Ethnic Cleansing Practiced by "Israel" Against the Bedouin and Pastoral Communities in the West Bank", that the occupation is accelerating steps to annex large areas of the West Bank through a campaign of ethnic cleansing led and sponsored by its official system, which is not limited to attacks by settlers or decisions made by ministers deemed extremist.

The report reveals that the current government under occupation has made the formal annexation of Palestinian lands a declared political goal, pushing in recent years towards the expansion of settlements, seizing lands, and providing increasing financial and logistical support to settlers, in addition to supplying them with weapons, which has created a direct environment for escalating violence against Palestinians and forcibly displacing them.

According to Amnesty International, these policies are concentrated in area "C", which constitutes about 60% of the area of the occupied West Bank, and includes agricultural land, pastures, and vital natural resources.

The organization sees that this area enjoys priority in the occupation's projects due to its location, size, and role in controlling the land and population dynamics.

Amnesty International's Secretary General, Agnes Callamard, stated that the past three and a half years have witnessed a clear acceleration in a campaign sponsored by the occupying government to uproot Palestinian communities from their lands, strip them of their properties, and forcibly displace them.

She added that what is happening in the West Bank cannot be described as the result of rogue individuals or unrestrained groups of settlers, but is a deliberate annexation led by the occupation system, in blatant violation of international law, revealing itself to the world without serious accountability.

She emphasized that the violence of the settlers is not a phenomenon separate from the policies of the occupation entity, but rather constitutes an essential part of an officially supported campaign of ethnic cleansing, and a cornerstone in entrenching the system of apartheid imposed on Palestinians.

Amnesty International's research indicates that Palestinians in Bedouin and pastoral communities are systematically uprooted from their ancestral lands, deprived of their livelihoods, and subjected to ongoing intimidation that drives them to leave their homes, amid an unprecedented wave of settler attacks that occur with the complicity and protection of the institutions of the occupation entity.

The report noted that Palestinian communities in the Jordan Valley and the southern hills of Hebron continue to face an imminent threat of forced displacement, despite the residents' insistence on their lands and their refusal to leave, indicating that these communities live under daily pressure from demolitions, confiscation, assaults, and restrictions on access to pastures and water resources.

Amnesty International called on the international community to take urgent action to protect the threatened Palestinian communities, ensure the return of those who have been uprooted from their lands, and stop the policies that enable the occupation entity to implement its plans in the occupied West Bank.

The organization demanded that countries cut trade, cooperation, and investment ties that contribute to supporting the illegal occupation and the system of apartheid and ethnic cleansing, and impose sanctions on those responsible for these violations, instead of merely issuing condemnation statements or expressions of concern.

It affirmed that the international community's inaction in taking decisive measures, or the continuation of some countries in providing political, military, or economic support to the occupation, has encouraged its authorities to continue committing crimes, including genocide, apartheid, and forced displacement.

The organization considered that the continuation of these policies threatens the Palestinian existence in vast areas of the West Bank, and opens the door to entrenching actual annexation, at a time when settlers continue their attacks on Palestinians, their properties, and their lands within a framework of official protection and support.