Israeli journalist Gideon Levy has described the rising attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank as part of a coordinated ethnic cleansing effort supported by the Israeli military and government. In an interview, Levy said the campaign is deliberately designed to displace Palestinians, starting with shepherds and small communities before expanding to villages and buildings.
Attacks by settlers on Palestinians in the West Bank have increased significantly, rising from 1,291 incidents in 2023 to 1,835 in 2025. In the first four months of 2026 alone, 761 attacks were recorded. Levy noted that over 90 percent of cases opened by Israeli police against settlers result in no charges, with conviction rates around 3 percent, effectively providing impunity.
Levy said Israeli soldiers sometimes cooperate directly with settlers during these operations and that the military makes no genuine effort to prevent the attacks. He identified Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as key enablers of the settlement movement through government funding and policy support. Levy attributed the lack of accountability to what he called an apartheid system in which Jews and Palestinians face unequal treatment under law.
Levy expressed skepticism that meaningful change would occur even if Netanyahu’s government loses upcoming elections, saying opposition parties have not condemned the broader policies toward Palestinians and the occupation would likely continue under different leadership.