Amnesty: Israel Expelling Bedouins from West Bank

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Amnesty International has released a report exposing Israel's forced eviction campaigns against Bedouin communities and Palestinian shepherds across the West Bank.

During a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, Amnesty International asserted that these nomadic and pastoralist communities retain full rights to international legal protection. This protection, the organization argued, must be upheld despite complex administrative hurdles and unrecognized territorial status.

In its report, titled "Erasing anything Palestinian: Israel's ethnic cleansing of West Bank Bedouin and herding communities," Amnesty documented 27 nomadic and farming communities in Area C that were either displaced or faced immediate threats of eviction between 2023 and 2025.

To build an undeniable case, Amnesty’s research team analyzed over 420 videos and images, interviewed 45 Palestinian residents, and scrutinized official government documents, court rulings, satellite imagery, and UN data.

Usman Hamid, Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia, emphasized that human rights protections apply universally, irrespective of citizenship or administrative status.

"I don't think there's any reason for any country, including the Palestinian authorities, to use the pretext that the Bedouin or shepherd communities are outside the jurisdiction of international legal protection or national law," Usman said.

Grazia Careccia, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, explained that most of the Bedouin communities featured in the study are descendants of Palestinian refugees from the 1948 war. Many had settled in the West Bank after being expelled from territories that now sit within Israel's borders.

According to Careccia, the core grievances of these communities stem from decades of discriminatory Israeli policies.

"They reside in areas that have difficulty obtaining official recognition, which cripples local development and blocks access to basic services," Careccia stated during the virtual press conference.

Amnesty highlights that these Bedouin and shepherd communities are highly vulnerable because they occupy highly strategic lands, including water-rich zones in the Jordan Valley. Consequently, they face far more intense pressure than other Palestinian populations.

Ethnic Cleansing

In its findings, Amnesty categorized Israel’s actions as deliberate crimes against humanity executed through forced displacement. The report outlines how Israeli authorities have accelerated annexation efforts through sustained campaigns and the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian population.

Careccia directly accused the Israeli government of orchestrating policies designed to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from their ancestral lands.

"The Israeli government has actively permitted the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank. Our research this year reveals that the number of illegal structures has skyrocketed to 16,000 units, up from just 5,000 units previously," Careccia noted.

She further stressed that the evidence compiled by Amnesty has failed to trigger any corrective action from the Zionist regime. Instead, she argued, the government has intentionally fostered a culture of impunity for extremist settlers who terrorize Palestinian residents.

Echoing these concerns, Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard stated that the ongoing annexation is far from the work of rogue elements, pointing out instead that these violations of international humanitarian law are explicitly state-sponsored.

"For the past three and a half years, Israeli authorities have accelerated state-sponsored ethnic cleansing campaigns in the West Bank, systematically removing and relocating Palestinian communities," Callamard said.

"This is not the work of lone actors, or what the international community repeatedly dismisses as mere rogue behavior by extremist settlers, organizations, or one or two ministers. What we are witnessing is an intentional, state-led annexation that flagrantly violates international law right before the eyes of the world."

Indonesia Urged to Take Stronger Stance

Usman Hamid further criticized Indonesia’s approach to Israel's systematic violence in Palestine. He insisted that Indonesia, currently holding the Presidency of the UN Human Rights Council, must swiftly ratify key international frameworks to effectively address the crisis. These include the UN Refugee Convention, the Anti-Apartheid Convention, and the Rome Statute.

"As part of the international community, Indonesia is responsible for protecting them, not repatriating them, and ensuring their rights while in Indonesia," Usman declared.

Meanwhile, Marzuki Darusman, Chair of the Board of Amnesty International Indonesia, warned Jakarta against relying on the Board of Peace, which he argued risks normalizing Israel’s apartheid policies and genocidal acts.

He urged the Indonesian government to rally international pressure through the UN Human Rights Council and other global forums to halt Israel's military and settlement campaigns.

"As President of the UN Human Rights Council, Indonesia carries a moral responsibility. It must not remain passive; instead, it must lead from the front, aggressively mobilize international solidarity, and orchestrate robust diplomatic pressure to stop Israel's violence," Marzuki said.

"In the face of such humanitarian atrocities, silence and passivity are forms of complicity."

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