Amnesty International declared on June 12 that Israel is carrying out a state-backed project of ethnic cleansing and annexation in the occupied West Bank, not merely isolated actions by extremist settlers [1]. Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said, "It is truly a state project. The annexation, the forcible transfer, the ethnic cleansing is state-led, state-sanctioned, state-implemented" [2].
Callamard urged the international community to boycott Israel in response to escalating violence and alleged war crimes in the West Bank. She pointed to violence against Palestinians—including killings and torture—as war crimes or crimes against humanity driven by Israeli state actors [1, 2].
European governments have mostly issued statements of concern but taken few concrete actions to stop violence or settlement expansion, according to Amnesty [2]. Callamard criticized the EU and especially Germany for insufficient measures and called for suspending the EU-Israel trade agreement to pressure Israel [2].
Sanctions targeting extremist individuals or politicians have been largely symbolic and ineffective at slowing settlement growth or improving conditions on the ground, Amnesty said [2]. Callamard said, "The response from the European community and the international community so far has been very insufficient and in fact has had no impact" [2].
She called for a coordinated and systemic international response to effectively address ongoing violations and demographic changes in the West Bank [2].
On June 11, Callamard publicly criticized the EU and called for stronger measures against Israel in an interview with Anadolu Agency [2]. The next day, Amnesty International issued its call for a global boycott [1].
