Documenting displacement of Palestinians and settler violence in the West Bank

Our students were tasked with verifying content discovered by Amnesty International depicting violent acts committed by Israeli soldiers and settlers against Palestinian communities in the West Bank between January 2023 and December 2025. They geolocated and verified this content, using tools such as Google Earth Pro, PeakVisor, and Waze to corroborate the locations and context of these incidents. This project is part of Amnesty International’s broader effort to document the expansion of Israeli settlements into Palestinian land and examine Israel’s intent to alter the demography of the region. 

In examining the content provided by Amnesty International, our students identified several patterns. In multiple cases, they found similar tactics employed, including property and infrastructure destruction, agricultural damage, and coordinated group activity involving both harassment/intimidation.

Right: On May 5, 2025, in the Palestinian village of Khallet Athaba,’ Israeli law enforcement forces demolished Palestinian homes. Over the course of the day, Israeli forces destroyed nine homes, a central public building, six caves, six wells, twelve sanitation structures, and four livestock shelters, along with water tanks, solar panels, and energy storage systems. 21 children and 28 adults were displaced. Image by Mediterranea Saving Humans via Wikimedia Commons.