Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem has published a report accusing Israel of carrying out a coordinated project to eliminate Palestinian society in the occupied West Bank.
The report, titled "The Elimination Project," identifies five interconnected Israeli tactics and policies: violence, ethnic cleansing, movement restrictions, economic strangulation, and social and political destruction.
B'Tselem Director Yuli Novak said the report examines Israel's overall intent rather than individual incidents. "The direction, the logic behind this violence is about breaking apart society and about dismantling the basic elements that society needs in order to sustain itself," she said.
More than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank over the past three years, according to the report. According to the United Nations, more than 41 soldiers and Israeli citizens have been killed by Palestinians in the West Bank during the same period.
B'Tselem says the situation has intensified since the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, which killed and took hostage more than 1,200 Israelis.
Among the mechanisms documented in the report are land seizures, hundreds of new checkpoints and gates that have closed off villages without notice, and movement restrictions. Unemployment in the West Bank has exceeded 30%, and tax revenues collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority have been withheld from the Palestinian government, the group says.
The report also highlights the deteriorating state of the health sector. Dr. Hazem Mohammad Saladeh, who heads a hospital in Hebron, said he is unable to fully pay his staff and that medical supplies are increasingly difficult to obtain. "Our heart center needs stents and medical devices," he said, adding that permits to collect supplies from Israel are routinely delayed or denied. "The health sector in Palestine is going to collapse," he said.
International criticism of Israel's conduct in the West Bank has been growing. Last week, the United Kingdom and other Western allies announced sanctions on Israeli settlers there. The move follows the UK's accusation that Israel has carried out "ethnic cleansing" in the West Bank.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar rejected those characterizations. "We did not return to our ancient land after 2,000 years only to lose it under pressure from jihadists, Islamists, antisemites, far leftists and wolves," he said, adding that those who believe they can force Israel to act against its security interests are mistaken.
The Israeli military, responding to a request for comment, called the B'Tselem report "false, baseless and blatantly detached from reality."
Israel goes to the polls next month. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing what polls describe as his toughest reelection bid, with the race currently too close to call.
