Impunity Encourages Increased Sexual Violence Against Palestinians by Israeli Settlers

Israeli-Palestinian clashes in Jenin, West Bank. (Wikimedia Commons/IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

JAKARTA - A recent report issued by a human rights group (HAM) found an increase in the frequency and intensity of sexual violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Although settler attacks are not a new phenomenon in the occupied Palestinian territories, the perpetrators are becoming more daring and violating boundaries that were once considered taboo.

The report, issued by the West Bank Protection Consortium, highlights at least 16 cases of "conflict-related sexual violence attributed to Israeli settlers and soldiers" since October 2023, following a deadly Hamas-led attack in southern Israel that triggered a devastating Israeli military offensive in Gaza.

Allegra Pacheco consortium director said this is not a "new emerging pattern" but a pattern that has been in place in recent years.

"However, the nature of the attacks has changed since October 2023," he told The National.

"Previously, the Israeli settlers mostly carried out revenge attacks on the outskirts of the community and community land," Pacheco said, as quoted (24/4).

Israeli military doctor in the West Bank. (Wikimedia Commons/Harry Pockets)

"Since the war, they have become more daring and attacked communities in homes, domestic spaces, and communities, as well as committing various forms of violence, but, in parallel, they also use sexual violence," he continued.

The report describes examples of sexual humiliation, rape threats, and urinating on victims. In one case, two 15-year-old cow herders were attacked, beaten, blindfolded, and stripped of their clothes - a modus operandi observed in Gaza.

In another case, a Palestinian man was sexually harassed in front of his family. Women and girls were also beaten and threatened with death.

Milena Ansari from Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) has spoken to Palestinian victims who have been sexually harassed by Israeli settlers for years. He explained, what was once forbidden has now become commonplace.

"The settlers are now entering tents and Palestinian homes where they know that women do not wear hijabs," said Ansari, who previously worked with Human Rights Watch.

Palestinians have been the target of settler attacks for years. However, the recent increase in the intensity of the attacks has led to displacement.

Illustration of the border of the Israeli settlement area with Palestine in the West Bank. (Wikimedia Commons/Orrling)

The report states that "sexual intimidation, forced nudity, violations of domestic space, humiliating searches, and threats against women and children by Israeli forces and settlers (are) indicators of coercive environments that contribute to, or result in, forced displacement."

Like the experience of Mohammad Hassan Matar or Abu Hassan who worked for the Commission on Colonization and Resistance to the Wall. He was in Wadi Al Siq, near Ramallah, to visit a family who was harassed by Israeli settlers when he was attacked.

The armed settlers blindfolded, tied up, and stripped him and two other men naked to the waist in a sheep pen, where they then threatened, taunted, and beat them. The humiliation and abuse continued for 12 hours.

Abu Hassan was very open about his experience, his case even reached the UN, where he testified last year. In addition to describing bruises on his thighs, buttocks and body from beatings that made him in pain for days, he also recounted the horrific attempt to rape him with a stick. Because he is big, he is not easily subdued.

Abu Hassan said he screamed at his attackers to shoot him in the head and end his suffering. Currently, he said he had "overcome" the wounds from the attack - both physically and emotionally - but still suffered from back pain.

His story is in line with that of many other Palestinians who are attacked by settlers, including threats to kill him.

Israeli military doctor in the West Bank. (Wikimedia Commons/Tal King0

"You will die here, and we will kill the others if they don't flee to Jordan. We will force your wife to become a prostitute to feed your children," he said, quoting one of the men.

Finally, he was released and taken to a hospital where he was treated for three days. Photos and medical reports seen by The National corroborate most of Abu Hassan's story.

The ordeal he experienced occurred just days after the October 7, 2023 attack. Similar attacks have occurred many times since then and show no signs of slowing down.

Experts say the main driver of this trend is impunity. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) present during the attack have been widely documented in videos and eyewitness testimony as failing to intervene or actively protect the perpetrators.

A study last year by the Israeli human rights group Yesh Din found that 93.6 percent of investigations into "violations motivated ideologically by Israelis against Palestinians in the West Bank," or settler violence, ended without charges.

A similar pattern is seen in allegations of sexual violence against Palestinians in Israeli military detention. In 2024, when five Israeli soldiers were accused of sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee at Sde Teiman Prison, there was a debate in Israel about whether the men deserved to be prosecuted.

Finally, the main accuser of the Israeli military dropped the charges against the suspects and his chief legal officer resigned for having approved the leak of a recording showing the alleged abuse.

"There is a culture of accepting sexual harassment against Palestinians, and the concern is that it will only increase. If we don't talk about these 16 cases, the number will be 1,600 - and then we won't be able to control it anymore," Ansari said.