Ethnic Cleansing of the West Bank

by Contributor | April 13, 2026 11:37 am

Adam Raz revealed in the Israeli news outlet Haaretz, that during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, “the IDF expelled Arabs systematically and violently.”

Raz continued, “The IDF initiated massacres and murders in order to spur the Arabs to flee.”

Hanin Majadli wrote in Haaretz that “what happened in 1948… it’s a foundational element that continues to shape reality to this day.” Today, in the West Bank, Israeli settlers and the Israeli military are murdering Palestinians “in order to spur the Arabs to flee.”

In March, the United Nations Human Rights Office documented, “The Government of Israel has accelerated unlawful settlement expansion and annexation of large parts of the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, forcibly displacing over 36,000 Palestinians amid increasing violence by Israeli security forces and settlers.”

This, “amounted to an institutionalised regime of systematic discrimination, oppression and violence by Israel against Palestinians.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US was “concerned.” The treatment of Palestinians is so inhumane, Haaretz wrote, “It seems that even in the Trump administration there is a growing recognition that there is Jewish terrorism in the West Bank.”

Haaretz reported that 200 Israeli reservists wrote a letter condemning the “incidents of violence and terrorism [that] have occurred and are continuing to occur against the Palestinian population, in very significant number.”

Amira Hass wrote in Haaretz that “the Jewish terror squads continue tirelessly to shoot at Palestinians, destroy groves and water pipes, trespass fields and to beat and torment women and old people, young people and also livestock… and then boast openly that the goal is to expel the Palestinians from their homeland.”

Since 28 February 2026, the United Nations documented in the West Bank, “more than 211 settler attacks resulting in casualties or property damage in over 100 communities.” That’s an average of six Israeli settler attacks every day. The UN wrote, “between 24 and 30 March, OCHA documented at least 44 Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians across 35 communities in the West Bank.”

Hagar Shezaf reported in Haaretz, across the West Bank, “more villages are vanishing from the map – places that once existed and no longer do.” Israeli settlers “went from one small community to the next, threatening residents: If you stay, you’ll be harassed, your animals stolen, your property destroyed, you’ll be beaten.”

This is well-known by Israeli reporters. It’s well-known by human rights organizations. The only people unaware of this daily violence is the people who fund it: US taxpayers. The US media hides the violence.

The United Nations Children’s Fund said, “Since January 2025, 65 Palestinian children have been killed in the West Bank… roughly one child every week – with more than 760 injured.”

Save the Children wrote, “Settler violence has forced 10 times more Palestinian children [685 children] from their homes in the West Bank in the first three months of 2026.”

The ethnic cleansing of the West Bank can’t continue without aid from Washington and US taxpayer money.

-Anton Porcari

Source URL: https://oswegocountytoday.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/ethnic-cleansing-of-the-west-bank/

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