Amnesty International, the human rights organization, has accused Israel of pursuing an “ethnic cleansing” in the West Bank. According to a new report released on Wednesday, Amnesty states that the Israeli government is implementing a religiously-nationalist agenda that advances the expansion of settlements and the seizing of land.
The organization found that support for these settlements has been both financially and logistically increased, and that settlers are increasingly being armed. Amnesty highlights settler violence as a central component of this “state-sanctioned campaign of ethnic cleansing,” noting that these measures aim to displace Palestinians from the C-area, which constitutes over 60 percent of the occupied West Bank. To compile the report, Amnesty surveyed 27 communities threatened by displacement and conducted interviews with affected individuals and experts.
Julia Duchrow, Amnesty International’s Secretary General in Germany, countered a previous declaration by German Chancellor Merz claiming that no further annexation steps would take place in the West Bank by stating that these steps have existed for decades. She added, “They have existed for decades. And since the current Israeli government took office, these steps have accelerated dramatically.”
Duchrow called on the German government to demonstrate that international law and human rights are more than just empty promises. She believes there is no lack of concrete political actions that could be taken, but rather a lack of political will to implement them. She stressed that the German government must specifically give up its block on suspending the EU Association Agreement with Israel, noting that EU Foreign Ministers will meet on June 15th, and the final decision will significantly depend on the positions of Italy and Germany.
