Israeli security minister Ben‑Gvir says 5,700 Palestinian homes demolished in past year

Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben‑Gvir announced that 5,700 Palestinian homes were demolished during the previous year and pledged to increase demolitions, especially in Bedouin communities across the West Bank. He made the statement at a press conference in Tel Aviv, as reported by Anadolu and Channel 12.

Amnesty International, in a June 10 report, said Israel has accelerated policies targeting Palestinian Bedouin and “blighted” villages, citing forced displacement of at least 117 communities and 5,910 people by April 2026. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) recorded that, since 8 October 2023, the escalation in the West Bank has resulted in 1,173 Palestinians killed, 12,666 injured, about 23,000 arrests and 33,000 displacements.

Ben‑Gvir warned that the demolitions are intended to clear land for illegal settlement expansion, a step he and other officials see as paving the way for a formal annexation of the occupied West Bank, which would undermine prospects for a sovereign Palestinian state.