Since 7 October 2023, as Israel escalated its militarization of the occupied West Bank, a disturbing and largely underreported pattern has emerged: Israeli soldiers, under the cover of military raids and operations, have been systematically looting Palestinian homes, shops, and personal property. Beyond the violence of forced entry and arbitrary arrest, soldiers have stolen cash, gold, vehicles, and other valuables; often targeting families already reeling from destruction and displacement. The frequency and recurrence of such incidents reflect systemic practice occurring alongside the violent and intrusive raids themselves.
Reports from communities across the West Bank indicate that looting has become a routine part of Israeli military raids. For instance, in Kafr Malik, during the Muslim holiday of “Eid al-Adha” in July 2025, soldiers confiscated approximately 500,000 shekels in cash and jewelry from homes, along with several vehicles [1]. In the same month, in Ya’bad, residents reported over 100 families were robbed in a single day as soldiers moved from house to house, taking valuables and damaging property. Victims recount soldiers emptying safes, seizing IDs, and leaving families without vital documents or resources [2].
Since the Israeli army does not hold a unit’s actions accountable for the looting that occurs during their raids and operations [3], it labels every West Bank raid as a “counter-terror operation,” and every home is, as such, presumed to be a terrorist site [4]. Thus, justifying the looting of valuables under the notion that the valuables are “terror money” [5].
More recently, on 26 August 2026, the Israeli army raided the city of Ramallah, injuring 58 Palestinians; 14 were shot with rubber-coated steel bullets, and 31 suffered tear gas inhalation [6]. The Israeli police spokesman stated that the army has seized roughly 1.5 million shekels ($447,000) of “terror funds” [7]. This claim was left without any form of evidence, thus granting immunity for any future forced acquisition of money and valuables as “terror-funds.”
Below are testimonies of families from the town of Husan, west of the Bethlehem Governorate, reporting cases of looting that occurred over the past few months:
Testimony 1 – Wife of Detainee – Resident of Husan (A01):
“We were all celebrating my father’s return from Hajj, when we were raided at 11:00 P.M. There were 20 to 30 soldiers who entered our home and yelled angrily for us not to move or speak. The soldiers then split up their unit and scattered throughout the house, checking every corner of every drawer and cabinet.
They even unfolded our socks and had laid them flat all over the bed, ensuring we didn’t hide our gold necklaces inside our clothing cabinets.
After 3 hours, the soldiers finally left our home, and we then returned to check on our rooms, only to find that all of our gold jewelry and cash were missing. They took all of our loose cash, even the coins!”
Testimony 2 – Wife – Resident of Husan (A02):
“We were not sure why the soldiers parked their armored cars in front of our house, but we knew we were their next target. The soldier collected our IDs and had the entire family seated in the living room. His unit dispersed to our bedroom first, as if they knew exactly what they were looking for.
The unit’s captain had my husband escorted by 6 soldiers who then went to our kitchen, and had my husband reveal the gold we had hidden in our meat freezer. They clearly were experts and knew that [people in our town] hid their gold in freezers and in the garden!
My husband had given me 2,600 shekels that day to spend on things for the family; there was no trace of the cash anymore – it was all gone.”
These illegal looting practices are part of a broader escalation in the West Bank since October 7, 2023, marked by increased settler violence, intensified military raids, and sweeping movement restrictions. According to UN OCHA, 2024 alone saw over 1,400 incidents of settler violence, many of which coincided with or followed military raids, creating conditions in which looting and destruction of property became normalized [8]. Looting serves both as an economic blow and as a tool of coercion, deepening the already volatile living conditions for Palestinians and pushing more families toward displacement.
The material losses are devastating for affected families, many of whom rely on seasonal incomes or small-scale local businesses to survive. One resident of Kafr Malik described the raid on his home: “They emptied our safe, took our car, even our IDs, and no one will hold them accountable” [9]. Such crimes are rarely investigated by Israeli authorities, reinforcing a climate of impunity that encourages further violations.
These instances of looting serve a larger policy of economic disintegration and territorial control. As documented by Middle East Eye [10], since October 7, Israel has seized 23.7 square kilometers of West Bank land, demolished 1,429 structures, and displaced over 3,200 Palestinians [11]. These acts are compounded by settler outposts, land confiscations, and the tightening of checkpoints and roadblocks, which together strangle local economies and isolate communities. The theft of personal belongings in this context becomes yet another layer of dispossession for the Palestinian people.
Looting by Israeli soldiers during raids in the oPt is absolutely prohibited under international law and amounts to a war crime, especially if the practice is widespread and frequent. Both the Hague Regulations and the Fourth Geneva Convention explicitly prohibit pillage, and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court affirms individual criminal responsibility for such acts [12]. As the occupying power, Israel has a legal duty to protect the civilian population and their property, yet repeated reports of looting, pillage, and destruction during military incursions reflect a systematic disregard for these obligations. Such recurring practices underline the urgent need for international accountability to ensure that impunity does not continue to shield and expand on these violations.
[1] Middle East Monitor, “Surge in reports of Israeli soldiers looting Palestinian homes in occupied West Bank,” 8 August 2025, https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250808-surge-in-reports-of-israeli-soldiers-looting-palestinian-homes-in-occupied-west-bank/.
[2] PLO Department of Culture and Information, “July 15, 2025 – The New Arab: Israeli soldiers’ looting of Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank is rapidly rising”, 2025, https://www.dci.plo.ps/en/article/26299/July-15,-2025—The-New-Arab-Israeli-soldiers/.
[3] See Haaretz, “From Children’s Piggy Banks to Heirloom Gold: Reports of Israeli Soldiers Looting Surge in the West Bank”, 7 August 2025, https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-08-07/ty-article-magazine/.premium/even-childrens-piggy-banks-reports-of-israeli-soldiers-looting-surge-in-the-west-bank/00000198-83a6-dcd6-a7db-f3e758680000/.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Al-Jazeera, “Child among 58 Palestinians wounded by Israeli army raid in Ramallah”, 26 August 2025, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/26/24-injured-including-child-and-elderly-man-in-israeli-raid-on-west-bank/.
[7] The Times of Israel, “Police say $450,000 seized in yesterday’s raid on Ramallah money changer accused of funding Hamas”, 27 August 2025,https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/police-say-450000-seized-in-yesterdays-raid-on-ramallah-money-changer-accused-of-funding-hamas/ .
[8] See UN OCHA, UNRWA Situation Report #175, West Bank, 2024, https://www.unrwa.org/resources/reports/unrwa-situation-report-175-situation-gaza-strip-and-west-bank-including-east-jerusalem/.
[9] Ibid. (Footnote 2).
[10]Middle East Eye, “How has Israeli aggression escalated in the occupied West Bank since October?”, 2025, https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/explainer-how-has-israeli-aggression-escalated-occupied-west-bank-october/.
[11] Ibid.
[12]Geneva Convention IV, 12 August 1949, Article 33, the Hague Regulations annexed to the Hague Convention (IV) of 1907, Article 47 and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, 17 July 1998, Articles 8(2)(b)(xvi), 8(2)(e)(v).