Amnesty says Israeli-backed violence aims to drive Palestinians from West Bank

Amnesty International said attacks on Palestinian farmers, European diplomats and a US photographer in the West Bank are part of a state policy and called for sanctions on Israeli officials.

Amnesty International said state-backed settler violence in the occupied West Bank aims to drive Palestinians out. Recent attacks on Palestinian farmers, European diplomats and an American photographer working for The Washington Post were not isolated incidents, the group said.

It called for sanctions on Israeli officials involved in serious violations of international law, a ban on trade with illegal settlements and a halt to supplies of weapons and security equipment to Israel.

An Israeli checkpoint in Hebron

Heba Morayef, Amnesty's regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said the international community's failure to take meaningful action against the system that enables the oppression of Palestinians is fueling the violence.