NGOs have found at least 16 cases of conflict-related sexual violence attributed to Israeli settlers and soldiers.
Published on 21 April 2026
Sexual violence and other forms of gender-based abuse perpetrated by Israeli settlers and soldiers are helping to force Palestinians to leave the occupied West Bank, according to a report.
Researchers at the West Bank Protection Consortium have detailed at least 16 cases of conflict-related sexual violence caused by Israeli settlers and soldiers, according to the report: Sexual Violence and Forced Transfer in the West Bank: How the Exploitation of Gender Dynamics Drives Displacement, which was released on Monday.
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“The evidence shows how sexual violence is used to pressure communities to make decisions about whether to leave their homes and land, and to alter patterns of daily life,” the report said.
The researchers found that “incidents of sexual harassment, threats and humiliation have intensified” and warned that the actual number of attacks is likely to be lower.
The West Bank Protection Consortium is a partnership of several international humanitarian organizations.
The report is based on interviews with 83 Palestinians from 10 communities in the Jordan Valley, South Hebron Hills and the central West Bank.
The researchers found that more than 70 percent of displaced people interviewed said that threats to women and children, especially sexual violence, was a decisive reason for leaving their homes.
“In response, families adopt gender protective strategies, including partial relocation of women and children and resorting to early marriage, in an effort to reduce the risk of harm,” the text states.
surveillance of intimate places
Interviewees reported incidents of sexual harassment, including sexual insults, indecent exposure, threats of sexual violence, and surveillance of intimate spaces – including bedrooms.
Other participants described how Palestinians were forced to strip, beaten and urinated on, with the attackers also sharing photos of the abuse.
The report stated that Israeli soldiers present during these incidents did not prevent or stop the attacks and failed to properly investigate them.
Last week, the Israeli military authorized five soldiers accused of sexually assaulting a Palestinian prisoner in the notorious Sde Teiman detention camp to return to reserve service after the charges against them were dropped.
All soldiers from the Force 100 unit assigned to guard military prisons are being reinstated despite an ongoing internal military investigation into their conduct.
Rights groups condemned the decision as a legal injustice, with Amnesty International calling it “another unconscionable chapter in the Israeli legal system’s long-standing history of granting immunity to perpetrators of serious crimes against Palestinians.”
