Pillage, meaning theft or looting of Palestinians’ belongings or money by Israeli soldiers or police officers, is a war crime. This phenomenon has persisted for many years, and Yesh Din has documented such cases for over twenty years. Yet in recent months this phenomenon has both worsened and been normalized, mainly because of Israel’s military takeover of the Gaza Strip. Since October 2023, Yesh Din field researchers have received dozens of complaints from Palestinian residents of the West Bank, reporting that Israeli soldiers or police officers stole their cash and valuables.

This report addresses the crime of pillage that is being perpetrated in the West Bank. It offers a glimpse into the experience of many Palestinians whose homes, private property and rights have been forfeited and harmed by Israeli security forces personnel. This report presents first-hand testimonies regarding five incidents that raise suspicion of theft of property by Israeli security forces personnel in 2022-2024. The accumulation of testimonies that Yesh Din has documented reflects a widespread phenomenon that completely violates international law and military law and is all but ignored by Israeli authorities.

Acts of pillage are frequently perpetrated during searches at checkpoints and night-time invasions of homes. These measures of violent military control are carried out according to military law, which grants soldiers and police officers almost unchecked powers. This framework, which lacks mechanisms for oversight and protection, enables abuse of power and the commission of pillage offenses.

Yesh Din’s experience reflects that even when Palestinians do file a complaint against security forces personnel for theft of their property, the chances that this complaint will lead to an effective investigation, prosecution or any measures against the soldiers or police personnel involved are nearly zero.

Backed by military law, which allows the army to invade homes and conduct searches at checkpoints without any oversight, and in the absence of effective enforcement measures against offending soldiers, Palestinians’ property and money is stolen by Israeli soldiers and police personnel, sometimes while inflicting humiliation and threats. Palestinians under occupation are left unprotected from the absolute powers wielded by Israeli security forces personnel and at their mercy.

Pillage of Palestinians’ property has become an inseparable part of Israeli control over Palestinians. This phenomenon complements a broader movement of institutionalized, systemic pillage and dispossession of Palestinians in the West Bank by the State of Israel. It is accomplished by exercising Israeli law and military legislation, which permit expropriating land, declaring state land, and retroactively authorizing settlements and outposts built on privately-owned Palestinian land.