BETHLEHEM — A comprehensive new report by Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem asserts that isolated incidents of violence, demolition, and economic restriction in the occupied West Bank are actually components of a unified strategy to render Palestinian life unsustainable. Published on Monday, the study, titled “The Elimination Project,” contends that these actions are not random breaches of human rights but rather an accelerated phase of a long-standing apparatus designed to establish permanent Israeli sovereignty over territories already inhabited by Palestinians.
The report synthesizes nearly 2,000 testimonies from Palestinians to argue that the occupation has entered a distinct era of explicit dispossession. B’Tselem characterizes this as a “comprehensive mechanism of elimination” operating within an apartheid framework, driven by what it describes as the basic logic of settler colonialism: displacing an indigenous population to secure eternal control for a settler group.
According to the analysis, this mechanism functions across five interconnected dimensions: the use of violence and intimidation, severe restrictions on movement, economic strangulation, the dismantling of social and political institutions, and ethnic cleansing coupled with territorial expansion. The report traces the ideological roots of this strategy to the 2017 “Decisive Plan” drafted by Bezalel Smotrich, who currently serves as Israel’s finance minister. That document reportedly outlined three options for Palestinians: accept Jewish supremacy and relinquish national claims, leave the area, or face violent suppression.
While B’Tselem notes that such mechanisms have existed for decades, the report highlights a significant escalation in severity and openness since the current far-right government assumed office in late 2022. This intensification reportedly sharpened further following the onset of the war in Gaza in October 2023.
For the approximately 3.5 million Palestinians residing in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem, the impact is evident in the daily contraction of personal freedom. By December 2025, the United Nations recorded at least 925 physical obstacles across the region—the highest number documented in twenty years. These barriers include gates, checkpoints, and earth mounds that restrict access to land and livelihoods.
Yusef Kashur, a father of six and taxi driver from Dura, described how the checkpoint network has transformed his profession into a hardship. He told researchers that detours onto dangerous backroads and inflated fuel costs have eroded his income, making it difficult to support his family. “These drives are exhausting, take a very long time, and the fuel costs so much that I don’t make enough to cover our household needs,” Kashur said.
The report links these movement restrictions to a broader economic collapse. With the occupation controlling borders, trade, and revenue streams, the West Bank economy has struggled to maintain stability. Unemployment reached 27.5 percent by the end of last year, roughly double the rate recorded in October 2023. The freeze of work permits for approximately 115,000 Palestinians has been a primary driver of this deterioration.
B’Tselem argues this economic pressure is deliberate, designed to force displacement. When Palestinians lose employment, they often return to agricultural lands, where they encounter further obstruction. Jamil Abu Rayan, who lost his job inside Israel, attempted to sustain himself through his grapevines near Halhul. However, settlers had established an illegal outpost on his primary plot, and soldiers barred him from another, designating it state land. Abu Rayan reported losing 60 percent of his 2025 harvest and being unable to cultivate his land properly.
Violence and intimidation remain pervasive tools in this process. Isma’il Khalayleh recounted an incident in the South Hebron Hills where a settler pressed a rifle to his forehead and issued a 24-hour ultimatum to vacate the area. According to Peace Now, an Israeli settlement monitoring group, agricultural and grazing outposts have forcibly taken control of nearly 20 percent of the West Bank. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs recorded over 1,600 settler attacks last year.
Construction restrictions further tighten the squeeze. The UN notes that Israeli authorities make it virtually impossible for Palestinians to secure building permits, leaving many homes under constant threat of demolition. As Palestinian communities are displaced, settlement activity expands; the current government has approved a record 104 new settlements since 2022.
The erosion extends to civic institutions as well. B’Tselem documented raids on charities, trade unions, and universities. Ahmad Dweikat described a May 2026 incident in Nablus where soldiers ransacked an association he co-founded, confiscating computers and cash, including funds designated for orphans.
Lethal force underpins these systemic pressures. Since October 2023, Israeli forces have killed approximately 1,087 Palestinians in the West Bank, including roughly a quarter who were children. ‘Atef Hanani, whose 17-year-old son Jamil was killed during a raid in Beit Furik, told B’Tselem: “It’s as if they go out hunting, only they’re hunting human beings.”
B’Tselem contends that international calls for Israel to exercise restraint misunderstand the nature of the conflict. The report argues that violence and dispossession are not glitches in the system but are central to its operation. It suggests that piecemeal measures, such as sanctioning individual settlers or reopening specific roads, would leave the underlying structure of oppression intact. Ultimately, the report posits that the West Bank and Gaza are distinct manifestations of the same regime project aimed at dismantling Palestinian existence as a people.
Calling it an elimination project seems like strong language, but when you look at the testimonies, the pattern is undeniable and quite frightening.
The statistic about 925 obstacles is staggering. I had no idea the physical barriers had increased this significantly in just a couple of years.
How does Israel’s government plan to respond to these specific allegations? Are they acknowledging the ‘Decisive Plan’ connection mentioned in the article?
I have been following B’Tselem’s work for years. While their terminology is sharp, the data on checkpoints and unemployment supports their core argument.
This report is deeply concerning. The level of detail regarding the economic strangulation really highlights the systemic nature of the crisis.