Israel has not prosecuted its citizens for killings of Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank since the start of this decade, according to an analysis of legal data and public records, fostering a climate of impunity for escalating violence.
Former Officials Call for International Intervention
The lack of prosecutions has prompted former prime minister Ehud Olmert to call for intervention by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to “save the Palestinians and us [Israelis]” from state-backed settler violence, often carried out with the complicity and participation of police and military forces.
“I have decided not only to not remain silent, but to draw the attention of the ICC in The Hague so that it may take enforcement measures and issue arrest warrants,’” Olmert said in written comments.
Rising Violence and Warnings of Existential Threat
Dozens of former Israeli security commanders have demanded urgent action to halt “almost daily” attacks on Palestinians, warning that failure to address “Jewish terrorism” poses an existential threat to Israel. This month, Israeli settlers and police have killed 10 Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank, including brothers aged five and seven and their parents, who were shot in the head while returning from a Ramadan shopping trip.
“We are no longer talking about a handful of lawbreaking hooligans. This is organised activity, which sometimes includes those wearing uniforms, who shoot at innocent people and burn the property and homes of civilians,” a public letter from the commanders stated.
Signatories to the previously unreported letter included two former heads of Israel’s military – one of whom also served as defence minister – five chiefs of the Mossad and Shin Bet intelligence agencies, and four former police commissioners.
The commanders asserted that past military success stemmed from the “moral strength” of the Israeli armed forces, and maintaining this strength is vital for future victories. “Without it, we have no right to exist,” they said.
Data Reveals Pattern of Impunity
Since 2020, Israeli soldiers and settlers have killed at least 1,100 Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank, with at least a quarter of the victims being children, UN data shows. No one has been charged in connection with these deaths.
The last deadly attack by Israeli security forces in the occupied West Bank that led to an indictment was in 2019. The last killing by an Israeli civilian that led to an indictment was in 2018, with a court ruling this week finding a settler responsible for hitting Aisha Rabi with a rock.
Israeli security forces are responsible for the majority of Palestinian deaths in the occupied West Bank, but violence by Israeli civilians has intensified since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks and the subsequent war in Gaza, which a UN commission and rights groups have described as genocide.
Murders, arson, theft, and other crimes committed by Israeli settlers, including incidents caught on camera and allegations of sexual assault, have largely gone unpunished.
Yesh Din reported that over 96% of police investigations into settler violence in the occupied West Bank between 2020 and 2025 concluded without an indictment. Only 2% of the 368 cases resulted in full or partial convictions.
Calls for Accountability and Concerns Over Erosion of Legal Standards
Olmert called for international prosecutions of violent settlers who are “assisted, supported and inspired by government circles,” characterizing their actions as a campaign of ethnic cleansing, reminiscent of pogroms directed against Jews in Europe.
“If law enforcement authorities in Israel do not fulfil their duty, perhaps international legal authorities will do what is necessary to save the Palestinians and us from the criminal acts being committed by Jewish terrorists right in front of all our eyes.”
The Israeli settler population in the occupied West Bank has steadily increased over the decades, even during periods when current critics held positions of power.
“Palestinians might welcome this Israeli criticism, but they have not forgotten that many of these former officials facilitated the expansion of the settlement enterprise, and with it settler and military violence,” said Amjad Iraqi, senior Israel/Palestine analyst at the International Crisis Group.
“Such Israeli critics often give the impression that settler violence could be tamed by simply ousting the (current) far right government. That would certainly have an effect, but it doesn’t recognise that the settlements are a project of the state that was shaped and led across the political spectrum.”
Many Israelis distinguish between settler attacks and the use of force by Israeli police and army. Olmert’s call for ICC intervention focused solely on civilian violence, although he acknowledged “too many” instances of Israeli uniformed personnel killing Palestinian civilians.
From 2020 to 2024, Israeli security forces were less likely than settlers to face charges for harming Palestinians. Palestinians submitted 1,746 complaints about harm caused by Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank, including over 600 about killings, with less than 1% resulting in indictments.
“The Israeli law-enforcement systems, both civil and military, function less as mechanisms for justice and more as shields for perpetrators,” said Yesh Din director Ziv Stahl. “They repeatedly produce stalled investigations and closed cases, effectively prioritising immunity over the rule of law.”
For years, Israel’s legal establishment viewed cases reaching court as a key defence in international tribunals, arguing that a robust national legal system prosecuting crimes reduces the likelihood of international court jurisdiction.
“The system is programmed to manufacture impunity, not accountability,” said Michael Sfard, an Israeli human rights lawyer. “But it was smart enough to also have very rare occasions of accountability, that could be referred to as examples of how law enforcement was working.”
However, in recent years, judges and prosecutors have faced pressure over accusations that these cases were part of a system biased against Israeli defendants, leading to a decline in the prosecution of violence against Palestinians.
“It is too costly [for the Israeli judicial system],” Sfard said. “We’re not paying a price internationally for the impunity. And they are paying a price internally for this performance of accountability, which is anyway a lie.”
In February, two former justice ministers from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party signed a letter accusing the current Israeli government of allowing the “active and horrific ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
“The ultimate legal and moral responsibility for stopping this campaign of terror lies with the Israeli government. It is not doing so,” the letter stated. It was signed by more than 20 prominent legal figures, including Dan Meridor and Meir Sheetrit, both former justice ministers for Likud.
“Anyone who lends a hand to these [settler attacks], by deed or omission, bears responsibility, including soldiers and especially commanders in the regular and reserve forces. Orders to carry out or allow these attacks are clearly illegal.”
Israel’s military chief, Eyal Zamir, last week also demanded action against settler violence, calling on “all authorities in the country to act against this phenomenon and stop it before it is too late.” Israel’s military has sovereignty over occupied territory.
Beyond the occupied West Bank, there have been two indictments of Israeli security forces for killing Palestinian civilians since 2020. An Israeli border police officer who shot an autistic man in East Jerusalem in 2021 was acquitted of charges of “reckless killing” two years later. In 2023, a lieutenant was charged over the 2021 death of farmer Hasan Sami Al-Borno, who was killed by Israeli tank fire in Gaza, but has not yet stood trial.
The Israeli police did not respond to requests for comment on the failure to investigate or prevent settler violence.
Quique Kierszenbaum contributed reporting
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