'West Bank facing systematic ethnic cleansing'

Israeli journalist and writer Gideon Levy said escalating attacks by Israeli occupiers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are part of a systematic campaign backed by the Israeli army and government to displace Palestinians.

"You see, there is a whole thinking behind it. Sure, that's an attempt for an ethnic cleansing of the West Bank, and it is systematic, and it is backed by the Israeli authorities, no doubt," Levy told Anadolu in an interview.

The number of attacks by Israeli occupiers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank rose from 1,291 in 2023 to 1,449 in 2024 and 1,835 in 2025. A further 761 attacks were recorded in the first four months of 2026.

More than 90% of cases opened by Israeli police against occupiers are closed without indictments, while conviction rates remain at about 3%, contributing to what critics describe as de facto impunity.

Levy told Anadolu that the attacks are aimed at gradually pushing Palestinians out of the West Bank, beginning with shepherds and small communities before expanding to villages and buildings.

"It's very clear, I mean, it's systematic, it is backed by the army and the government, and it has a very clear goal to try to push the Palestinians away from the West Bank.

"Now, they cannot push away three million people, so they try to do it with the weakest points, with, first of all, they started with the shepherds, with small communities, then they go to villages, so they start to take the first row of buildings."

Levy said the Israeli army and government support the campaign and that soldiers sometimes cooperate directly with occupiers.

"It is a plan, there is a plan, there is a program, it is very systematic, and it has very clear goals. It's much more than this, the army takes part in part of the pogroms. It's not that they try to avoid and don't succeed, they have no intention to avoid it."

"On the contrary, in many cases, you see soldiers collaborating with the settlers. But in any case, the army is not doing anything to protect the only role in the West Bank is to protect the settlers, no matter what the settlers are doing. And the Palestinians remain totally helpless."

Levy said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich plays a particularly important role in supporting the settlement movement through government funding and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also bears responsibility. Anadolu Agency