Ankara: Israel's settlement policies and military restrictions have displaced 50 Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank since late 2023, the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights said late Wednesday.
According to Anadolu Agency, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that the commission announced the findings of a study on Bedouin and herding communities conducted in cooperation with the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. The report indicated that around 300 violations targeting individuals and institutions were recorded in the occupied West Bank in April 2025 alone. Additionally, 50 Palestinian communities have been displaced since late 2023.
The report noted that Bedouin communities in the West Bank are experiencing increasing pressure due to attacks by the Israeli army and Israeli occupiers, alongside a range of movement and access restrictions. Commission Director General Ammar Dweik called for the development of a comprehensive national plan focused on development and human rights to safeguard Bedouin and herding communities.
Dweik emphasized the necessity for serious development investment in these communities, including legal and field protection, and accessible basic services to strengthen their ability to remain in the face of Israeli policies and measures. He stressed the importance of ensuring access to basic services and protecting these communities from demolition orders, land and grazing-area confiscations, movement restrictions, and attacks by Israeli occupiers seizing Palestinian land.
Sufyan Abu Harb, acting head of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, stated that these communities are facing systematic marginalization, forced displacement, and deprivation of basic services by the Israeli army and Israeli occupiers. He added that access to healthcare and education has been restricted, water sources destroyed, and schools are under threat of demolition.
Khadija Zahran, director of the policy and legislation monitoring department at the Independent Commission for Human Rights, reported that 53.7% of residents of Bedouin and herding communities have refugee status. This means about half of the population lives in a dual state of historical displacement and current vulnerability, according to WAFA.
In recent developments, Bedouin communities in the West Bank have increasingly faced attacks and violations by occupiers and Israeli forces, leading to displacement amid settlement expansion. A report by Amnesty International published on June 10 highlighted that Israel has accelerated policies targeting Bedouin and herding communities in the occupied West Bank through land seizures and related measures. Since Israel launched its offensive on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, raids, arrests, and attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem have also increased.