Israeli soldiers and settlers used sexual violence to force Palestinians from their homes in the occupied West Bank, according to a report released by humanitarian organisations on April 21, 2026.
The West Bank Protection Consortium documented 16 cases of conflict-related sexual violence attributed to Israeli settlers and soldiers over the last three years, a figure researchers say is likely an undercount due to shame and stigma preventing reporting.
The violence included forced nudity, invasive body cavity searches, soldiers exposing their genitals to minors, and threats of sexual violence against women, men and children, the report stated.
In one documented case, two female soldiers entered a Palestinian woman’s home with settlers and ordered her to remove her clothes for a full body search, instructing her to open her legs in a way that caused pain whereas making derogatory comments and touching intimate areas.
Men and boys were similarly targeted: last month, settlers stripped 29-year-old Qusai Abu al-Kebash from Khirbet Humsa in the northern Jordan Valley, put a zip tie on his genitals and beat him in front of his community and international activists.
In October 2023, settlers and soldiers from the village of Wadi as-Seeq were stripped, handcuffed and beaten, urinated on, and one was attempted to be raped with a broom handle before naked photographs were taken and distributed publicly.
Other forms of humiliation included urinating on Palestinians, taking and distributing degrading images of bound and stripped individuals, and stalking women using latrines.
The consortium found that sexualised violence operates within a coercive environment where Israeli forces were present but failed to prevent or halt the abuse, nor effectively investigate the incidents.
More than two-thirds of households surveyed identified rising violence against women and children, including sexual harassment targeting girls, as the tipping point in their decision to leave their homes.
Participants described sexualised harassment as the moment when fear shifted from chronic to unbearable, with many speaking of watching women and girls endure humiliation while calculating what might happen next.
Over 70% of displaced households interviewed said threats to women and children, particularly sexualised violence, were the decisive reason for leaving, prompting families to adopt protective strategies such as the partial transfer of women and children or recourse to early marriage to reduce exposure to harm.
The report concluded that gender-based and sexualised violence functions as a tool that penetrates domestic space, fractures family life and renders continued civilian residence untenable, occurring within a broader environment of systematic discrimination, persistent impunity, restrictions on land and resources, attacks on infrastructure and rhetoric advocating the removal of Palestinian communities.
How sexualised violence functions as a coercive tool in displacement
Sexualised violence is not occurring in isolation but operates within a coercive environment that contributes to the forcible transfer of Palestinian communities, shaping decisions about whether to remain or leave homes and land while altering patterns of daily life.
The evidence shows how such violence is used to pressure communities, with the consortium stating it functions as a method to alter daily routines and force families to calculate risks to their safety on a continual basis.
In the documented cases, gender-based violence including conflict-related sexual violence constitutes a grave violation of bodily integrity and personal dignity, penetrating the domestic sphere and fracturing family structures to the point where staying becomes untenable.
Families respond by adopting gendered protective strategies, including sending women and children to stay with relatives elsewhere or agreeing to early marriages in an effort to reduce their vulnerability to attack.
These abuses are reinforced by systemic discrimination, ongoing impunity for perpetrators, restrictions on access to land and resources, repeated attacks on homes and civilian infrastructure, and public rhetoric advocating the removal of Palestinian populations from the West Bank.
Over time, the combination of sexualised violence, land seizures, home demolitions and inflammatory speech creates an environment where continued residence is no longer seen as viable, pushing communities toward displacement.
Why underreporting obscures the true scale of abuse
The 16 recorded cases of conflict-related sexual violence are almost certainly an undercount, researchers said, due to the deep shame and stigma surrounding sexual violence in the affected communities.
Survivors often remain silent fearing social rejection, damage to marriage prospects or retaliation, meaning many incidents never enter official records or humanitarian databases.
This culture of silence allows perpetrators to act with greater impunity, as the lack of documented cases reduces pressure for accountability and enables the violence to continue undetected by international monitors.
The consortium emphasized that the true scale of abuse is likely much higher than the documented cases suggest, particularly given the pattern of violence reported across multiple communities over several years.
Without mechanisms to safely collect testimonies and protect whistleblowers, the full extent of gender-based violence used as a tool of displacement remains hidden from public view.
What specific acts of sexual violence were documented in the report?
The report documented forced nudity, invasive and painful body cavity searches, soldiers exposing their genitals to minors, threats of sexual violence, urination on Palestinians, taking and distributing humiliating photographs of bound and stripped individuals, stalking women using latrines, and attempted rape with objects such as a broom handle.
How do families respond to the threat of sexualised violence?
Families adopt gendered protective strategies including the partial transfer of women and children to stay with relatives elsewhere and recourse to early marriage in an effort to reduce exposure to harm.