Israel working to eliminate Palestinian presence from West Bank, NGO warns

Jerusalem - Israeli rights organization B Tselem has accused Israel of pursuing a coordinated plan to eradicate Palestinian national identity in the occupied West Bank. In a report titled "The Elimination Project," the group identified five interconnected tactics: violence, ethnic cleansing, movement restrictions, economic suffocation, and social and political destruction.

Since October 7, 2023, at least 1,108 Palestinians have been killed, including civilians and militants, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry data. The report singles out violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers and the military as a major factor, with 1,108 Palestinians dead as a result.

B Tselem's field director, Kareem Jubran, described the process of forcing isolated Palestinian communities to abandon their homes due to violence or demolitions as "ethnic cleansing." Over 900 military checkpoints and gates have been erected at the entrances to Palestinian towns and villages, severely restricting movement.

Executive director Yuli Novak emphasized that these policies collectively "dismantle the conditions Palestinians need to continue living here as a people." While acknowledging the Jewish connection to the land, Novak argued that the report's focus is on the political project being pursued, not the ethnic composition of the population.

B Tselem asserts that this is a settler colonial project, but stresses that this does not negate the Jewish presence in the region. They emphasize that it describes a political initiative. The outcome of the upcoming Israeli legislative elections next month, Novak stated, will not significantly alter this broader policy.

Despite the government's right-wing reputation under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Novak argued that this administration has accelerated and institutionalized the violent and exclusionary system that had been built over decades by previous Israeli governments. Netanyahu's government has legalized and expanded the construction of 104 new settlements in the West Bank since the start of his term, despite these structures being deemed illegal under international law.

The territory, the size of Delaware, is home to over 500,000 Israeli settlers alongside three million Palestinians.