The Palestinian village of Wadi Foquin in the occupied West Bank, surrounded by an illegal Israeli settlement. Photo: Allison Tanner/AFSC
Over the past two years, millions of people worldwide have protested Israel’s genocide in Gaza. But a parallel crisis has been taking place at the same time: Israel’s rapidly escalating violence in the West Bank.
The West Bank is part of the occupied Palestinian territory that has been under Israeli military occupation since 1967. The Israeli government controls Palestinian movement through checkpoints, frequently demolishes Palestinian homes and structures, and limits Palestinians’ basic rights. For decades, Israeli civilians known as settlers have also been seizing land in the West Bank to build illegal housing units—with the backing and protection of the Israeli military.
As genocide unfolded in Gaza, violence from both the Israeli government and settlers in the West Bank has dramatically escalated. They have killed hundreds of Palestinians, displaced tens of thousands more, and demolished Palestinian homes and entire neighborhoods.
Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank are not separate. They are part of the same system designed to remove Palestinians from their land and deny them their human rights.
As a Quaker organization with a deep commitment to peace and justice, AFSC firmly opposes violence in all its forms and works to address its root causes. We have been working in Palestine and Israel since 1948, guided by our belief in the dignity and human rights of all people.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. In addition to its genocide in Gaza, Israel is conducting ethnic cleansing in the West Bank.
In 2025 alone, Israeli forces and settlers killed 671 Palestinians in the West Bank, including 129 children. More than 40,000 Palestinians have also been forcibly displaced from their homes through Israeli military violence. Entire neighborhoods, roads, and other critical infrastructure have been destroyed—deliberately preventing any semblance of life.
Israeli forces have raided Palestinian cities and towns and detained Palestinians—even children. After detention, Israel forces Palestinians into Israeli military courts and subjugates them to Israeli military law while illegal Israeli settlers in the occupied Palestinian territory are subject to Israeli civil law. Since October 2023, Israel has detained more than 21,000 Palestinians—including 1,655 children—in the West Bank and Jerusalem. Many face inhumane conditions in political prison, including physical and sexual violence.
Settler violence is part of Israel’s coordinated use of force. Over the past year, settlers have carried out more than 1,000 attacks on Palestinians—including assaults on children and destroying homes, property, and agricultural land. Today, settler attacks continue daily under full Israeli military protection.
2. Refugee camps are under attack. Now, major cities are, too.
Israeli forces have raided refugee camps in the West Bank, destroying entire residential areas. More than 912,000 registered Palestinian refugees live across the West Bank, and about a quarter of them live in official United Nations refugee camps.
These refugees are Palestinians who were displaced in 1948 during the Nakba and their descendants. The Nakba (Arabic for “catastrophe”) refers to when more than 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly driven from their homes to create the state of Israel.
Under international law, Palestinian refugees have the right to return to their homes. But by destroying refugee camps, the Israeli government is once again displacing Palestinians—preventing their right of return and erasing Palestinian existence from their homeland.
Israel has also expanded its attacks to major cities. In August 2025, Israeli forces raided the city of Ramallah with armored vehicles and live fire, injuring 58 Palestinians. They also targeted Palestinian cash exchange shops, looting hundreds of thousands of dollars. It was at least the fourth time Israeli forces raided exchange shops since the start of the Israeli genocide in Gaza.
Ramallah is home to the Palestinian Authority—the limited administrative body of the West Bank. Israel’s attack on the city demonstrates a clear lack of respect for Palestinian governance.
3. A new settlement plan threatens to divide the West Bank and further prevent the movement of Palestinians.
In August 2025, Israel approved a controversial project known as the East 1 (or E1) Settlement Plan. The plan would cut off East Jerusalem—which Palestinians have long considered the capital of their future state—from the rest of the occupied West Bank. Israel has already divided the West Bank into small areas, between which it is difficult—or impossible—to travel freely. Annexing East Jerusalem would split the West Bank further, entrenching Israel’s apartheid system both geographically and politically across all of Palestine. The plan also calls for installing 3,400 new homes for Israeli settlers and linking thousands of illegal Israeli settlements.
Israel’s E1 settlement plan violates the 1995 Oslo Accords agreement and reflects the Israeli government's intention of occupying all of Palestine.
The remains of a home demolished by the Israeli government in the Palestinian village of Wadi Foquin in the occupied West Bank. Photo: Allison Tanner/AFSC
The European Union and the U.N. have condemned the plan as a violation of international law. Many European states have warned that the E1 plan is a red line, as it would make any two-state solution impossible.
4. Nine Americans have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers—with no accountability.
Since 2022, Israeli forces and settlers have killed at least nine U.S. citizens—with no accountability. In July 2025, Florida-born Sayfolla Musallat, 20, was beaten to death by Israeli settlers. After his murder, Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel appointed by President Trump, urged Israel to “aggressively investigate” the murder of Sayfollah, calling it a “criminal and terrorist act.”
But no action took place. In fact, none of the nine cases has led to criminal charges or U.S. sanctions against the perpetrators. The U.S. government has failed to protect its own citizens or hold Israel accountable.
5. Israel is targeting journalists who report on Israeli violence.
Israel systematically targets journalists who document these atrocities. Over 260 journalists have been killed in Gaza since October 2023—making it the deadliest conflict for journalists ever recorded.
Israeli attacks on journalists are also happening in the West Bank. Abdullah Motan, a young Palestinian documentary filmmaker, was abducted by Israeli authorities on Jan. 13 and sentenced to six months of "administrative detention" without trial or charges.
Palestinian Oscar-winning director Basel Adra, whose film “No Other Land” documents settler violence in the West Bank, has also been targeted by Israeli forces. In September, Israeli settlers attacked his village in the occupied West Bank, injuring two of his brothers and one cousin. At the same time, nine Israeli soldiers raided Basel’s home and went through his wife’s phone while his 9-month-old daughter was home.
By targeting journalists, Israel seeks to hide the ethnic cleansing happening in the West Bank from the world.
6. The U.S. funds Israel’s violence and blocks international action.
The U.S. is complicit in Israel’s genocide and has prevented the U.N. from taking action to stop Israel’s crimes against humanity.
In August, the U.S. was the sole member of the U.N. Security Council to refrain from signing on to a declaration that said Israel must allow aid into Gaza and stop its military invasion. The United States repeatedly vetoes any U.N. decisions to stop Israel’s violations of international law. It is the only Security Council member that does this.
The United States also provides Israel with $3.8 billion in military assistance every year. Since October 7, 2023, the U.S. has provided an additional $21.7 billion in military assistance to Israel. American taxpayer dollars fund the weapons used to kill Palestinians and displace communities in the West Bank and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory.
We know that change is possible when enough people demand it. If the U.S. faces enough pressure from its citizens and the international community, we can make a difference.
Consistent action is required to hold the U.S. accountable for its complicity in Israel’s genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
Join our community of activists across the world who are building power through community organizing and mass mobilization. Sign up for our weekly Action Hour for Palestine to learn how you can take meaningful action.