Sexual violence by Israeli settlers and soldiers driving Palestinian displacement, report says

Israeli forces and settlers are committing acts of gender-based and sexualised violence that are contributing to the displacement of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, a new study has found.

In a report titled “Sexual violence and forcible transfer in the West Bank: How the exploitation of gender dynamics drives displacement”, the West Bank Protection Consortium documented at least 16 cases involving sexual crimes perpetrated by Israeli settlers and soldiers.

Sexual violence, which remains widely underreported due to social stigma, is being used to pressure communities to leave their homes and disrupt daily life, the report published on Monday said. 

It found that more than 70 percent of displaced households interviewed identified threats against women and children – particularly sexual misconduct – as a decisive factor in their decision to leave.

“In response, families adopt gendered protective strategies, including the partial transfer of women and children and recourse to early marriage, in an effort to reduce exposure to harm,” the report said. 

It also noted an escalating pattern of Israeli abuse, including sexualised insults and gestures, indecent exposure, intimidation, threats of rape, and surveillance of private spaces such as bedrooms.

Focusing on Area C, the report found that sexual violence forms part of a broader pattern of coercion, reinforced by restrictions on access to land and resources, attacks on homes and infrastructure, and rhetoric advocating the removal of Palestinian communities.

The West Bank was divided into Areas A, B and C under the 1990s Oslo peace accords, which established the Palestinian Authority. Area C makes up around 60 percent of the territory and surrounds the other areas. Under the accords, it remains under full Israeli military and administrative control.

‘An adult Palestinian woman reported sexual assault allegedly perpetrated by Israeli settlers and in the presence of members of the Israeli military’

– Humanitarian worker 

The study found that the intensification of sexualised intimidation following the genocide in Gaza has significantly increased psychological distress, with 90 percent of women reporting heightened trauma.

Children have also been affected, with 63 percent reporting increased anxiety and fear.

For those forcibly displaced, conditions often worsen. The report found that 87 percent of women lost all sources of income, while 40 percent of children lost access to basic education.

Some women reported being stalked while attempting to use latrines.

Men and boys were also subjected to sexualised abuse, including humiliation, forced nudity and threats of rape. In one case, three men said settlers abducted them and attempted to rape one of them with a broomstick while he was blindfolded.

They described being stripped, beaten, burned and urinated on, with images of the abuse later circulated.

The report also highlighted the use of “technology-facilitated” gender-based violence, affecting both men and women, including cases in which images from strip searches were used for digital blackmail and coercion.

Settler violence

Settlers, often accompanied by soldiers, have also exploited periods when men are absent to target women and children.

“An adult Palestinian woman reported sexual assault allegedly perpetrated by Israeli settlers and in the presence of members of the Israeli military in [location witheld]. The incident occurred within a militarised environment where soldiers exercised control over access and movement,” a humanitarian worker in Hebron said.

Boys who take on roles guarding their homes are also exposed to violence, including threats with weapons and the use of stun grenades.

Participants said that, beyond the stigma surrounding sexual violence and harassment in Palestinian society, threats against women and children “strike at their dignity”.

“Many described the invasion of domestic space as a profound violation of dignity and family integrity within local social norms,” the report addded.

One resident of Ras Ein al-Auja in the southern Jordan Valley said harassment targeting his family forced him to leave.

“What pushed me to relocate was the harassment my wife, daughters and daughter-in-law were experiencing. Settlers began approaching the shelters when my son and I left for work,” he said.

“They were watching the women closely, whistling when women went out of the shelters in broad daylight and throwing stones at us at night. I was terrified that something bad might happen to my family because of this constant settlers’ violence when I was away.”