The London-based rights group issued the warning Monday following attacks in recent days by Israeli settlers against Palestinian farmers, European diplomats and an American photojournalist working for The Washington Post, highlighting growing concerns over the violence and the lack of meaningful international action.
“Amnesty International has long been sounding the alarm over the exponential rise in state-driven settler violence against Palestinians, which has sought, through terror-inspiring means, to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from the occupied West Bank,” said Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
“This rise of violence has been fueled by the international community’s persistent failure to take meaningful action against the very system enabling the continued oppression of Palestinians,” she added.
“Attacks are not isolated acts, but a central policy of the Israeli state,” Morayef said.
Amnesty said the escalation must prompt governments to move beyond statements of condemnation and take concrete measures against Israeli officials implicated in serious violations of international law.
The group called for an end to trade, investment and cooperation that contribute to sustaining Israel’s unlawful occupation, apartheid and ongoing campaign of ethnic cleansing.
It also urged governments to suspend the supply of weapons and security equipment to Israel and prohibit trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Meanwhile, Morayef criticized efforts by senior Israeli officials and election candidates across the political spectrum to portray settler attacks as the actions of a small number of individuals, arguing that such claims distort the reality of state-sponsored brutality.
“These attacks must generate a strong response by states that claim to oppose Israel’s annexation of Palestinian territory,” she added.
The warning comes amid continued international scrutiny of Israeli criminal policies in the occupied West Bank and the genocide in Gaza, as demands grow for governments to translate their stated opposition to violations against Palestinians into concrete action.
Israel has occupied the West Bank, including East al-Quds, since 1967, and Israeli settlements in the occupied territory are illegal under international law.