Global impunity fuels Israel’s illegal push to annex West Bank: Amnesty

Al Jazeera · Feb 26, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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Rights group slams international failure to deter Israel’s escalating annexation and apartheid policies in the occupied West Bank.Published On 26 Feb 2026The international community’s lack of action in taking punitive action against Israel over its pervasive breaches of international law in the occupied West Bank has contributed to making the annexation of Palestinian territory an “irreversible” reality, Amnesty International has said.In a statement released on Thursday, the human rights group said impunity granted to Israel by global powers has further emboldened the far-right government of Benjamin Netanyahu to “turbocharge” efforts to dispossess Palestinians across the West Bank.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Israeli settlers vandalise, torch mosque in occupied West Banklist 2 of 3Nearly 20 countries slam Israel’s ‘de facto annexation’ drive in West Banklist 3 of 3Israel’s opposition leader voices support for ‘broad’ Middle East expansionend of list“The unconditional support of the USA government, combined with the pervasive lack of international accountability for Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, decades of crimes under international law linked to its unlawful occupation and its system of apartheid, has further emboldened Israel to escalate its illegal actions,” Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International’s senior director for research, advocacy, policy and campaigns said.The formalization of land grabs, the expansion of illegal settlements and state-backed settler violence in the territory “are a direct indictment of the international community’s catastrophic failure to take decisive action,” Guevara-Rosas said.Countries, she added, have refused to use the tools at their disposal, such as suspension of the European Union-Israel Association Agreement, to deter Israel from its action.The West Bank has been under Israeli occupation since the 1967 war. Since then, the contiguity of the Palestinian territory has been increasingly fragmented by the construction of hundreds of Israeli housing units, entrenching Israeli occupation. These settlements are illegal under international law.Following Israel’s genocidal war, which started following the Hamas-led attack in southern Israel in October 2023, the number of settlements has sharply expanded, and the hundreds of makeshift outposts have multiplied. The population of Jewish Israelis in these areas has now soared past half a million people.At the same time, Israeli army raids, attacks, house demolitions and arrests in the occupied territory are at unprecedented levels, while settlers attack and kill Palestinians and rampage through their property with impunity, backed by the military and the state.At least 1,094 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops and settlers in the West Bank since October 2023, according to the latest United Nations figures.Last week, the UN Human Rights Council warned in a new report (PDF) that Israeli policies in the West Bank – including “the systematic unlawful use of force” by the Israeli army and unlawful demolitions of Palestinian homes – aim to uproot Palestinian communities.The UN report raised concerns of “ethnic cleansing” by Israeli authorities in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, amid increased attacks and forcible transfers that “appear to aim at a permanent displacement” of Palestinians.Amnesty International outlined a list of actions taken by the Israeli government since December: On December 10, 2025, the Israel Land Authority published a tender for 3,401 housing units in the E1 area, east of Jerusalem, to expand the illegal settlement of Ma’ale Adumim and create a continuum with occupied East Jerusalem. This would split the West Bank into two. On December 11, 2025, Israel’s security cabinet approved plans to establish 19 new settlements, bringing the total number approved by the current coalition government to 68 in just three years and the total number of official settlements to about 210. On January 5, 2026, the Israeli civil administration designated 694 dunams of land belonging to the Palestinian towns of Deir Istiya, Biddya and Kafr Thulth in the northern West Bank as “state land”. On February 8, 2026, Israel’s security cabinet approved a series of sweeping measures to expand its powers across the occupied West Bank, including easing the sale of Palestinian land to Israeli settlers and expanding the powers of Israeli authorities in areas under Palestinian control. On February 15, 2026, the Israeli cabinet issued a decision that amounts to annexation under Israeli law. It allocated more than 244 million Israeli shekels ($78m) for the establishment of a government mechanism to facilitate land registration in Area C, transferring the powers of land registration from the civil administration to Israel’s Ministry of Justice. These actions took place despite the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling (PDF) in 2024 that the “Israeli occupation is illegal and should end its unlawful presence … as rapidly as possible … including removing settlements and forcing settlers out.” And last year, the UN General Assembly issued a resolution setting September 2025 as the deadline to end Israel’s occupation.“Yet instead of complying, Israel has simply invented new ways to violate international law, further entrenching its unlawful occupation and apartheid – while the international community continues, at best, to pay lip service to Palestinians’ rights and taken no effective action,” Guevara-Rosas said.