Israel Accused of Undermining Palestinian Life

Published: 14 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online.

Israel is facing fresh allegations that its policies in the occupied West Bank are systematically making Palestinian life increasingly difficult and threatening the conditions required for Palestinian communities to survive and remain on their land.

The allegations are contained in a major report by the Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem, which argues that restrictions on movement, settler violence, economic pressure, displacement and attacks on Palestinian institutions are working together as part of a wider system of control.

According to the report, the situation extends well beyond individual incidents of violence. B’Tselem says Palestinians are experiencing a broad assault on many ordinary aspects of life, including access to employment, education, healthcare, family connections, agricultural land and essential public services.

The organisation describes this process as the “elimination” of the conditions that sustain Palestinian collective life. It argues that the policies are producing a fragmented environment in which Palestinian communities become increasingly vulnerable, while Israeli settlements, outposts and related infrastructure continue to expand.

The report identifies five interconnected areas of pressure: violence and intimidation, restrictions on movement, economic pressure, the destruction of social and political structures, and what it describes as ethnic cleansing and territorial takeover.

B’Tselem argues that these developments have accelerated significantly since October 2023, following the Hamas attack on southern Israel and the subsequent regional escalation. However, the organisation says the ideological and political foundations of the current policies existed before the latest conflict.

A central element of the report is the role of Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s far-right finance minister, who has also exercised significant authority over civilian matters in the West Bank.

B’Tselem points to a political document known as the Decisive Plan, published by Smotrich in 2017, as an important framework for understanding developments in the territory. The organisation argues that the ideas contained in the plan have increasingly been reflected in government policy, budgets and administrative practices.

The report says Palestinians were effectively presented with a choice between accepting Jewish supremacy, leaving the territory or facing military suppression if they resisted.

B’Tselem argues that the implementation of such ideas has become more visible and extensive in recent years, with settler activity increasingly intertwined with broader state structures.

One of the clearest examples cited by the report is the increasing difficulty Palestinians face in travelling between communities.

In the village of Sair, a 49-year-old Palestinian man, Haytham Adnan Murad, recently encountered a road closure while returning from a hospital appointment in Hebron with his 12-year-old daughter. His daughter had undergone surgery and was unable to walk.

A road gate that had been open earlier in the day was closed by Israeli forces. Murad was therefore forced to leave his taxi and carry his daughter around the roadblock to reach his village.

He described the situation as part of everyday life, saying that conditions could change between morning and afternoon and that the experience had deprived people of a sense of dignity.

The incident illustrates one of the report’s central arguments: restrictions that might appear temporary or isolated can have a much broader effect when they repeatedly interfere with healthcare, education, employment and family life.

B’Tselem says displacement has also accelerated. According to the organisation, 64 entire Palestinian communities have been forcibly displaced in the West Bank since October 2023.

The report describes settler violence as another major component of the pressure facing Palestinian communities. It argues that such violence increasingly operates within a broader system of control rather than functioning solely as isolated acts committed by private individuals.

According to B’Tselem, some incidents take place alongside soldiers or in circumstances involving security forces, while settlers may also have access to state-provided weapons, equipment or infrastructure. The organisation further alleges that perpetrators frequently act with little accountability.

The economic situation has also deteriorated sharply. B’Tselem describes the Israeli policy since 2023 as one of “full economic strangulation”, arguing that restrictions have damaged employment opportunities, civilian infrastructure, agriculture and access to resources.

The impact can be seen in unemployment figures. According to data cited by the organisation, unemployment in the West Bank increased from 13.1% in 2022 to 31.3% in 2024. By 2025, nearly half of young people were reportedly neither employed nor enrolled in education or vocational training.

The economic consequences extend beyond individual workers. When employment disappears, families lose stable incomes, businesses struggle and communities become increasingly dependent on humanitarian assistance.

United Nations figures cited in the report indicate that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank required assistance to purchase food in 2024, representing a significant increase from the previous year.

Education has also been affected. B’Tselem reports that between 8% and 20% of West Bank schools were closed during the 2023-24 academic year, disrupting the education of children already living under significant political and economic pressure.

The organisation also says Palestinian civil society has faced increasing restrictions. Community organisations, workers’ groups and associations providing services to children and vulnerable people have reportedly experienced raids, closures, harassment and arrests involving employees, volunteers and activists.

The consequences are not limited to physical displacement or economic hardship. B’Tselem argues that the pressure is also damaging Palestinian social and political structures by weakening community organisations, restricting movement between communities and disrupting institutions that help maintain collective identity.

Kareem Jubran, who leads B’Tselem’s field research in the West Bank, said the organisation’s findings indicate that the incidents should not be viewed separately. He argued that, when considered together, the various measures point toward a broader objective of making Palestinian collective life increasingly difficult.

B’Tselem executive director Yuli Novak similarly described the situation as a new phase of an older political project. He said the process had accelerated following the formation of a right-wing and far-right Israeli government and intensified further after October 2023.

The organisation’s assessment has emerged amid growing international criticism of settlement expansion and settler violence in the occupied West Bank.

The British government has recently issued particularly strong criticism of extremist settler activity, with Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband accusing settler groups of engaging in actions amounting to ethnic cleansing and criticising the support they receive from elements within Israel’s political leadership.

Israel, however, has consistently rejected many international allegations concerning its conduct in the West Bank and maintains that its security measures are necessary to protect Israeli citizens from violence and attacks.

The Israeli military body responsible for coordinating civilian affairs in the West Bank has been approached for a response to the allegations contained in the B’Tselem report.

The dispute reflects a much wider international disagreement over the future of the West Bank, Israeli settlements, Palestinian statehood and the legal and political status of the territory.

For Palestinians living in affected communities, however, the issue is experienced through practical hardships rather than diplomatic arguments. A closed road can mean a longer journey to hospital. A damaged agricultural area can mean the loss of a family’s income. Restrictions on movement can prevent workers from reaching jobs or children from reaching schools.

The cumulative effect of these pressures is at the heart of B’Tselem’s argument. The organisation says that Palestinian life is being fragmented through a combination of restrictions, economic pressure, violence and displacement rather than through a single policy or event.

The report therefore presents the situation as a long-term transformation of the West Bank, in which Palestinian communities become smaller, more isolated and increasingly dependent while Israeli settlements and associated infrastructure become more established.

The findings are likely to intensify debate over Israel’s policies in the West Bank and the international response to them. They also add to growing calls for stronger scrutiny of settlement activity and protection for Palestinian civilians.

Whether the current trajectory can be reversed remains uncertain. What is clear from the latest report is that conditions for many Palestinians in the West Bank are becoming increasingly difficult, with consequences reaching into nearly every aspect of daily life.

As international pressure grows, the central question remains whether the policies shaping the West Bank will continue to produce greater Palestinian displacement and fragmentation, or whether sustained diplomatic and legal pressure will lead to a significant change in direction.