Report says Israeli forces employ sexual violence to displace Palestinians

A new report by the West Bank Protection Consortium documents systematic gender‑based violence by Israeli soldiers and settlers in the occupied West Bank. Incidents include forced nudity, invasive body searches, groping, stalking, threats of rape, and the use of drones to film women’s bedrooms. The report says these acts are used to make daily life unbearable and to force Palestinian families to leave their homes, with more than two‑thirds of displaced households citing sexualized threats as a primary reason for departure.

The findings come amid broader UN Women warnings about gendered harms in Gaza and follow the International Court of Justice’s 2024 rulings on the risk of genocide in Gaza and the unlawful nature of the occupation. The authors call on the United Kingdom to exercise all diplomatic and legal levers to halt the abuses, citing international obligations to prevent and respond to gender‑based violence. They note that many violations remain under‑reported due to stigma, fear of reprisals, and a culture of impunity.

The report also highlights related humanitarian impacts, citing Oxfam data that more women and children have been killed in Gaza from October 2023 to September 2024 than in any comparable conflict over the past two decades.