Largest forced displacement in West Bank since 1967 amid huge surge in Israeli military and illegal settler violence
Installation of at least 800 military checkpoints resulting in severe movement restrictions – two-hour journeys now taking twelve
Oxfam warns that an unprecedented wave of Israeli military operations and illegal settler violence has caused the largest forced displacement in the West Bank since Israel’s occupation began.
Over 40,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced since the January 19th ceasefire in Gaza. Humanitarian aid is being systematically blocked, with nearly 800 new military checkpoints crippling movement—turning two-hour journeys into twelve-hour ordeals.
In Jenin refugee camp on 21 January, an Israeli military attack killed at least 12 Palestinians and displaced more than 20,000 people.
“What we are witnessing in the West Bank is a deliberate strategy of annexation, carried out with full impunity. The Irish government has shown leadership in pushing for an urgent EU-Israel meeting, but we must go further. Ireland has the power to take decisive action by urgently passing the Occupied Territories Bill, ensuring we end all trade in both goods and services with illegal settlements and uphold international law.”
— Jim Clarken, Oxfam Ireland CEO
Oxfam and its partners have reported attacks on Palestinian farmers, mass arrests, home demolitions, and the destruction of critical infrastructure, including water and sanitation systems. Israeli forces have widened roads and installed Hebrew street signs in Jabalia and other forced evacuation areas, raising fears of permanent annexation. The Israeli government is continuing to expand illegal settlements with full impunity while aiding and abetting illegal Israeli settlers to attack Palestinian communities.
“Human rights abuses are unfolding in broad daylight, yet the world looks on in silence, effectively complicit.
“As one of our partners told me, the scenes we are witnessing now are eerily reminiscent of those we saw in Gaza, Rafah, and Deir Al-Balah. The West Bank is being subjected to the same relentless devastation—the 'Gazafication' of the region. If we want lasting change, we need to see the solidarity engrained in Palestinian communities in global political action."
— Jim Clarken, Oxfam Ireland CEO
Oxfam calls on the international community to hold Israel accountable for violations of international law and to take immediate steps to protect Palestinian communities.
According to the UN, the Israeli recent military operation in the West Bank has forcibly displaced 40,000 Palestinians. Source: UN News on 10 Feb, 2025.
Figures of the death toll in the West Bank are based on UN OCHA’s latest report as of 20 February 2025.
Figures of the number of gates, barriers and checkpoints are retrieved from OCHA. Out of the total, 20 new gates were installed at the entrances of towns alongside new roadblocks, earth mounds and trench fences.
According to BADIL Resource Center, during the second Arab-Israeli war in June 1967 some 400,000 Palestinians were displaced. Half of them were refugees who had been displaced from the part of Palestine that became Israel during the 1948 war
in our reporting, the term “fast-track annexation policies and measures” is used to describe the rapid and systematic implementation of these policies based on on‐the‐ground evidence and analysis. It reflects our assessment of actions that appear to accelerate processes leading to de facto annexation, a practice widely regarded as contrary to international law.
In February, the Israeli army issued two edicts to confiscate more than 10,000 dunums (1,000 hectares) of land in the occupied West Bank. Referred to as “temporary military decisions", the army is targeting 8,734 dunums in the Tubas areas and 2,394 dunums in several villages east of Ramallah
Oxfam and partners have been providing water, food parcels, vital repair equipment, hygiene kits, blankets, tents, mattresses and emergency cash assistance to people in the West Bank. Together, we have also installed protective infrastructure in homes and schools, as well as provided psychological support for traumatized women and children.
“What we are witnessing in the West Bank is a deliberate strategy of annexation, carried out with full impunity. The Irish government has shown leadership in pushing for an urgent EU-Israel meeting, but we must go further. Ireland has the power to take decisive action by urgently passing the Occupied Territories Bill, ensuring we end all trade in both goods and services with illegal settlements and uphold international law.”