A campaign of ethnic cleansing of Palestinian Bedouins in the occupied West Bank is being driven not by rogue extremists, but by the Israeli state, according to a major new report. 

Amnesty International published the new 150-page report on Wednesday. 

It found that Israeli authorities were committing the crime against humanity of forcible transfer, through a “state-driven campaign of ethnic cleansing targeting Palestinian Bedouin and herding communities in Area C of the occupied West Bank”. 

Area C makes up around 60 percent of the total area of the West Bank, and is under military and civil control of Israeli authorities - in contravention of international law. 

According to Amnesty’s report, the Israeli government has expanded gun licences and the number of armed settlers in the area, increased funding for illegal settlements, and accelerated the construction of settlements and the legalisation of outposts.

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