爆料网

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20 April 2026

Executive summary:

This report documents gender-based and sexualised violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in Area C of the West Bank in contexts where Israeli forces were present and did not prevent or halt the violence, nor effectively investigate the abuses. In these circumstances, such violence is not occurring in isolation. It operates within a coercive environment that contributes to the forcible transfer of Palestinian communities.

The research results of this report found at least 16 cases of conflict-related sexual violence attributed to Israeli settlers and soldiers. These cases form part of a broader pattern of sexualised harassment, intimidation and humiliation, much of which remains underreported. Taken together, the evidence shows how sexualised violence is used to pressure communities, shape decisions about remaining or leaving their homes and land, and alter patterns of daily life.

Gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence, constitutes a grave violation of bodily integrity and personal dignity. In the cases documented, it functions as a coercive tool that penetrates domestic space, fractures family life and renders continued civilian residence untenable. More than 70% of displaced households interviewed identified threats to women and children, particularly sexualised violence, as the decisive reason for leaving. In response, families adopt gendered protective strategies, including the partial transfer of women and children and recourse to early marriage, in an effort to reduce exposure to harm.

These abuses occur within a broader environment shaped by systematic discrimination and persistent impunity. It is reinforced by restrictions on access to land and resources, attacks on homes and civilian infrastructure, and rhetoric advocating the removal of Palestinian communities. Over time, these conditions create a coercive environment that pushes families and communities to leave their homes. When people are driven from their homes because remaining has become impossible, the displacement may amount to forcible transfer under international humanitarian law. Forcible transfer does not require physical force. It occurs when coercive conditions leave civilians with no genuine choice but to flee.

This pattern reflects several warning signs identified in the United Nations Framework of Analysis for Atrocity Crimes, including discrimination targeting a civilian population, tolerance of violence by non-state actors, and the absence of effective accountability.

A gender perspective shows that this pressure extends beyond public violence into the private sphere. Women and girls face heightened risks to bodily autonomy and personal safety. Families struggle to sustain livelihoods and maintain household stability. Community decision making and social cohesion weaken as insecurity deepens and access to resources declines.

Early-warning frameworks are designed for situations where repeated abuses and impunity signal escalating risk. Under Common Article 1 of the Geneva Conventions, States must respect and ensure respect for international humanitarian law. When credible information indicates a foreseeable risk of serious violations, States must use the diplomatic, political, economic and legal tools available to them to help prevent violations and bring them to an end.

In its 2024 Advisory Opinion on the legal consequences arising from Israel’s policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, the International Court of Justice reaffirmed that serious breaches of peremptory norms trigger obligations for all States.

These include non-recognition of the unlawful situation, non-assistance in maintaining it, and cooperation to bring it to an end. To the extent that the patterns documented in this report form part of, or contribute to, such serious breaches, these obligations are engaged.

Key findings:?

Forcible transfer occurs within a coercive environment shaped by violence, restriction and economic pressure.

• Across surveyed and interviewed households, settler violence affected 84% of cases, alongside a pervasive sense of insecurity (60%), movement restrictions (48%), and loss of access to water and electricity (48%).

Sexual and gender-based violence operates within this coercive environment and directly drives displacement decisions.

• More than 70% of displaced households identified threats to women and children, particularly sexualised violence, as the decisive reason for leaving.

Gender-based violence acts as a coercive force that destabilises households and disrupts the conditions required for civilian life to continue.

• Threats against women and girls place family members at risk, while men and boys experience physical violence and degrading treatment, fracturing internal coping capacity and decision-making.

Sexualised harassment, intimidation and humiliation have intensified, yet remain widely underreported within affected communities.

• Participants described escalating conduct, including threats of rape, indecent exposure and harassment primarily targeting women and children, while men and boys were subjected to sexualised violence and humiliation.

Violence and intimidation increasingly penetrate domestic and intimate spaces.

• Incidents in homes, bedrooms and the immediate surroundings of family dwellings mark a shift from public to private spheres, deepening their impact on dignity, safety and family life

These patterns unfold within a context of persistent impunity.

• Incidents repeatedly occur in the presence of Israeli forces without intervention or effective investigation, reinforcing coercive conditions and reducing the practical ability of communities to remain in place.

Families adopt gendered coping strategies under sustained coercion.

• These include restricting women’s movement, partially relocating women and children to reduce exposure to harm, increasing reliance on children for high-risk tasks, and early marriage, with at least six families reporting marriages arranged for girls aged 15–17.

The patterns documented align with recognised indicators of escalating atrocity risk.

• These include discrimination targeting a civilian population, the normalisation of violence by non-state actors, the increasing use of sexualised violence as a coercive tactic, and the absence of accountability, all identified in the 爆料网 Framework of Analysis for Atrocity Crimes as warning signs of serious and potentially widespread violations.

Forcible transfer produces severe economic and social consequences for women.

• 87% of women who experienced forcible transfer reported losing all sources of income, alongside increased care responsibilities and reduced mobility.

Psychological harm is widespread and sustained, particularly among women and children.

• 90% of women reported increased psychological stress and trauma, while 63% of participants observed heightened fear, anxiety and distress among children.

40% of children affected by displacement have lost access to education, disrupting learning and increasing long-term protection risks

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Recommendations to address sexualised violence and displacement pressures:

Israel, the occupying Power:

1. Enforce the duty to intervene and protect civilians:

• Enforce clear operational orders requiring immediate intervention when settlers engage in violence, sexualised harassment or intimidation against civilians, including incursions into homes and threats of sexual violence. Where Israeli forces are present, failure to intervene, or participation in such conduct, must trigger prompt and independent investigation. Where credible evidence indicates repeated failure to intervene in foreseeable harm, command-level review and accountability measures must follow. Public reporting should detail incidents in which forces were present, the action taken and the outcome of any disciplinary or legal proceedings.

2. Protect domestic space and bodily integrity:

• Prohibit forced nudity, humiliating or degrading treatment, and the filming of individuals in states of undress during entry into homes by Israeli forces. Such conduct violates bodily integrity and must trigger prompt criminal investigation and appropriate disciplinary or judicial consequences.

3. Ensure effective and transparent investigation of abuses linked to displacement

Refer all allegations of sexualised violence, forced stripping, degrading or invasive searches, intimidation and non-intervention linked to displacement to prompt criminal investigation outside the operational chain of command. Investigations must be conducted promptly and independently in practice, and be capable of examining both direct perpetrators and failures of command responsibility.

Make public aggregate data on investigative outcomes in cases involving settler violence and alleged non-intervention, including rates of indictment and disciplinary action

4. Enable safe and voluntary return and restitution:

Facilitate safe and voluntary return for civilians displaced under coercion by ensuring protection and security from Israeli settlers, restoring access to land and water, removing movement impediments, and providing restitution or compensation for destroyed or confiscated property, in accordance with international humanitarian law.

Third States and intergovernmental organisations, including 爆料网 bodies

1. Recognise sexualised violence as a displacement driver in policy and reporting:

Explicitly treat sexualised intimidation, forced nudity, domestic-space incursions, humiliating searches, and threats against women and children by Israeli forces and settlers as indicators of a coercive environment that contributes to, or results in, forcible transfer in diplomatic reporting, Human Rights Council and Security Council interventions, and donor risk frameworks. Require missions and implementing partners to track and report these indicators systematically, using corroborated field monitoring and survivor-centred safeguards.

2. Strengthen independent 爆料网 reporting and analysis:

Sustain political and financial support for independent 爆料网 mechanisms documenting violence and displacement in the occupied Palestinian territory. Encourage these mechanisms to examine and report on how patterns of sexualised intimidation and domestic-space violations contribute to displacement pressures in affected communities.

3. Embed early-warning triggers in diplomatic decision-making:

Adopt clear red-flag thresholds based on credible and corroborated reporting, including documented spikes in sexualised violence and intimidation, incursions into homes and domestic spaces, and escalating threats directed at women and girls. Link these thresholds to predetermined diplomatic responses, including senior-level representations, public attribution where appropriate, and timely adjustments to policy and funding decisions.

4. Operationalise Common Article 1 through graduated escalation:

Where credible and repeated reporting indicates sexualised intimidation, attacks occurring in the presence of Israeli forces without effective intervention, or partial relocation of women and children linked to protection concerns, initiate coordinated senior-level démarches and a formal review of bilateral cooperation for compliance with international humanitarian and human rights law. Where patterns of violence and displacement continue in the absence of effective accountability, adopt targeted, lawful and proportionate measures consistent with international law. These may include suspension or restriction of specific cooperation streams that have a clear nexus to security assistance, trade preferences or research funding and where there is a foreseeable risk of contributing to serious violations.

5. Apply non-recognition and non-assistance through concrete due-diligence tools:

Ensure that public procurement, trade facilitation and investment guarantees do not benefit entities that are domiciled in, operating from, or materially supporting settlements or outposts, in accordance with domestic and international legal obligations. Material support should be assessed against objective criteria, including direct operational, financial or infrastructure contributions to settlement activity. Conduct and make public, to the extent permitted by law, legal risk assessments for arms transfers and security cooperation where there is a foreseeable risk that such activities could contribute to serious violations of international humanitarian or human rights law, including forcible transfer.

Third States and intergovernmental organisations, including 爆料网 bodies

1. Integrate sexualised violence into displacement forecasting:

Develop a focused indicator set tracking sexualised violence and intimidation, incursions into homes and domestic spaces, and gendered patterns of exposure to violence, arrest and movement restrictions as early warning signs of displacement. Systematically integrate these indicators into displacement risk analysis, early warning tools and donor briefings for communities facing sustained pressure, ensuring triangulation and do-no-harm safeguards.

2. Guarantee confidential, survivor-centred reporting pathways:

Maintain secure, culturally appropriate reporting channels, including anonymous options where necessary, and ensure that referrals to legal, psychosocial and medical services are handled under strict confidentiality to reduce the risk of reprisals.

3. Support safe community-based documentation:

Provide legal accompaniment and practical guidance to community members who document violations, including clear protocols for secure evidence transfer and storage. Conduct regular risk assessments to minimise physical exposure and reduce the likelihood of reprisals, in coordination with protection actors.

4. Deploy specialised CRSV capacity in highrisk areas:

Assign dedicated conflict-related sexual violence advisers or focal points to support safe documentation, survivor referral and pattern analysis in communities exposed to settler violence. Ensure that advisers operate through established referral pathways, confidentiality protocols and survivor-centred approaches, and that documentation practices minimise retraumatisation and digital exposure. Findings should directly inform protection programming and advocacy. Protection responses should address the distinct risks and roles of women, men, girls and boys under sustained coercion.

5. Stabilise land-based livelihoods as displacement prevention:

Prioritise restoration of grazing access, rehabilitation of water infrastructure, livestock replacement and women-led income support in communities facing sustained pressure. Pair economic support with housing, land and property legal assistance to help families resist demolition orders, challenge confiscations and remain on their land. Design livelihood support with protection in mind, easing the pressures that push families to leave, limiting exposure of women and children to harassment, and reducing the conditions that drive family separation or early marriage.

6. Mitigate the gendered impact of relocation and early marriage:

Support school continuity and safe mobility for relocated girls, provide targeted psychosocial services for adolescents, and deliver household income and education assistance that eases the financial pressures driving early marriage decisions. Partner with women-led organisations and trusted community leaders to strengthen community-based protective alternatives that reduce exposure to violence while safeguarding education, autonomy and long-term wellbeing.