Alarming escalation of Israeli soldiers’ looting during raids in the West Bank
A member of Israeli security forces fires tear gas during a military raid on Nablus, 27 August 2025
The Balasan Initiative for Human Rights reports on 27 August 2025:
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!”