War crimes in Gaza, ethnic cleansing in the West Bank – a B’Tselem update

However, behind every number there is a human being, a whole world.

On our Voices from Gaza page, we share testimonies from Palestinians enduring this violence. One such testimony is from ‘Aziza Qishtah (67) of Rafah. ‘Azizah and her husband Ibrahim, who was blind, returned to their Rafah home after the January 25 ceasefire, but when Israeli strikes resumed, Ibrahim (70) refused to leave again.

His wife of 50 years stayed by his side despite the fear and lack of food. They remained in their home together until Ibrahim was hit by shrapnel in the neck and died in ‘Azizah’s arms.

The West Bank continues to burn

During and after the hostilities between Israel and Iran, daily settler attacks on Palestinian communities persisted throughout the West Bank, as the military, the Civil Administration and the settlers work together to oppress these communities and harass them into leaving. In one attack, on 26 June, dozens of settlers descended on Kafr Malik (Ramallah District), throwing stones and torching cars. When the military arrived, the soldiers fired, as per usual, at the Palestinian residents, killing three young men. The violence continued the next day as settlers attacked mourners returning from the funeral.

This month, we also published the story of Rimas ‘Amuri, a 13-year-old girl from Jenin Refugee Camp, who was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers. On 21 February 2025, Rimas went out to visit relatives. No more than 20 meters outside her doorstep, Israeli soldiers shot her in the back. Her mother and brother heard her cry for help but could not reach her for several minutes as the gunfire continued. They eventually managed to drag her home and called for medical assistance. When the ambulance reached the hospital, she was pronounced dead.

Ethnic cleansing in the West Bank

Last week, the expulsion of another community in the West Bank was completed. The residents of Mu’arrajat in the Jordan Valley, near Jericho, endured years of daily violence by settlers who invaded their community, stole and poisoned livestock, torched the mosque and violently attacked the school. This past weekend, the last remaining families decided to dismantle their homes, pack up and leave, after settlers recently established an outpost within the community itself, took over homes and stole dozens of sheep.

Mu’arrajat was a longstanding, sizable community, home to about 70 families and some 600 residents. Years of violence and harassment by settlers, the military and the Civil Administration gradually drove residents to leave, until the last families left this past weekend. It is the 30th community expelled from the West Bank since the start of the war on Gaza, as part of Israel’s campaign to ethnically cleanse Area C through a combination of military force and settler violence.