Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called out Israel’s ongoing atrocities in the occupied West Bank on Monday, saying the surging levels of settler violence facilitated by the Israeli government come close to “an attempt to make ethnic cleansing” of the Palestinian population.
“No one can blame anyone else but the Israelis that live in the West Bank and the government that supports them, who are perpetrating the hostilities inhuman against non-involved Palestinians”, Olmert said on Euronews’ Europe Today programme.
“This is something that comes close to an attempt to make ethnic cleansing", he added.
His comments came as Israel’s security cabinet ordered a new set of measures aimed at reshaping the legal and civil framework in the occupied West Bank to bolster Israeli control across Palestinian territories, amid record-high levels of ongoing Israeli settler violence.
Annexation of Palestinian land
The decisions approved on Sunday by Israel's security cabinet give Israeli authorities more power to act in areas legally under full Palestinian control, in violation of international law. They make it easier for illegal Israeli settlers to buy land in the occupied West Bank.
Extremist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, said in announcing the decisions that the government would "continue to kill the idea of a Palestinian state."
Rights groups warn that the move could pave the way for more demolitions and seizures of Palestinian property not only in Area C but throughout areas administered civilly and security-wise by the Palestinian Authority.
Hagit Ofran from the Israeli settlement watchdog group Peace Now said the decision represented a step toward annexation of the occupied West Bank.
"The decision to allow every Israeli the right to buy land in the West Bank without government approval, without inspection, is also another way of saying it's normal life. It's not occupied territories, it's like part of Israel," she said.
Expansion of illegitimate control
According to the UN, over 37,000 Palestinians were displaced in the occupied West Bank in 2025 alone, a year that also saw the highest recorded levels of Israeli settler violence.
Over the past three years, the Israeli government has reviewed plans for building around 50,000 settlement units in the occupied West Bank, in addition to the confiscation of 60,000 dunams (14,826 acres) of land during the war. All settlements are illegal under international law.
The latest move comes as Israeli authorities have began constructing a new settlement road north of occupied East Jerusalem, as part of what a Jerusalem governorate official said was a broader plan cut off Palestinian access to much of the central West Bank.
Reactions from US, UN
US President Donald Trump is opposed to Israel annexing the occupied West Bank, Axios correspondent Barak Ravid reported on Monday.
"A stable West Bank keeps Israel secure and is in line with this administration’s goal to achieve peace in the region," Ravid said on the US social media company X’s platform, citing a White House official.
Previously, Trump said he will not allow Israel to annex the occupied West Bank.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is "gravely concerned" about the situation, his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
He said Guterres warned that "the current trajectory on the ground, including this decision, is eroding the prospect for the two-State solution."
The International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal in a landmark opinion in July 2024 and called for the evacuation of all Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
