Marking the 78th anniversary of the Nakba, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics reported that the global Palestinian population has reached 15.5 million, including 7.4 million living in Palestine and 8.1 million in the diaspora—reflecting the enduring impact of displacement and demographic fragmentation imposed since 1948.
The Bureau clarified that within the State of Palestine—the occupied West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, and the besieged Gaza Strip—approximately 5.6 million Palestinians resided by the end of 2025: 3.43 million in the West Bank and 2.13 million in Gaza. The remaining Palestinians in historic Palestine live in the areas occupied in 1948.
Mass Displacement Since 7 October: Two Million in Gaza, 40,000 in the West Bank
Since October 7, 2023, nearly two million Palestinians in Gaza have been forcibly displaced—many multiple times—out of a pre‑war population of 2.2 million. Families were pushed from their homes into tents, schools, and makeshift shelters under continuous bombardment.
In the occupied West Bank, around 40,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced from northern refugee camps due to repeated Israeli military invasions.
Colonial Expansion Intensifies Across the West Bank
By the end of 2025, Israel had established 645 colonial sites and military bases in the occupied West Bank, including:
- 151 colonies
- 350 colonial outposts, among them 89 grazing outposts used to pressure Palestinian farmers and seize land
- 144 additional sites, including industrial zones, tourist areas, service facilities, and military camps
The number of Israeli colonizers reached 778,567 by the end of 2024.
Jerusalem remains the most heavily colonized area, with 333,580 colonizers, including 243,716 in the J1 area—territory Israel illegally annexed after the 1967 occupation.
The ratio of colonizers to Palestinians in the West Bank stands at 23.2 per 100 Palestinians, rising to 65.7 per 100 in Jerusalem.
2025: Israel Seizes 5,571 Dunams of Palestinian Land
Israeli authorities confiscated more than 5,571 dunams of Palestinian land in 2025 through:
- 94 military seizure orders covering 2,609 dunams
- 3 expropriation orders covering 1,731 dunams
- 3 “state land” declarations covering 1,231 dunams
Between 2000 and 2025, the area of Palestinian agricultural land exploited by Israeli colonizers increased by 245%, reflecting a systematic policy of annexation and resource control.
Over 61,000 Attacks by Occupation Forces and Colonizers (2022–2025)
More than 61,000 attacks were documented in the West Bank between 2022 and 2025, resulting in the uprooting, burning, or destruction of over 81,500 trees, most of them ancient olive trees.
In the first three months of 2026 alone, more than 6,000 attacks targeted Palestinians, their property, and religious sites.
Nearly 900 Military Roadblocks Restrict Palestinian Movement
Israel maintains around 900 military roadblocks and gates, severely restricting Palestinian movement and cutting communities off from tens of thousands of dunams of agricultural land and hundreds of thousands of dunams of grazing areas—deepening food insecurity amid worsening economic conditions.
Israel Controls Over 85% of Palestinian Groundwater
Official data shows that Israel controls more than 85% of Palestinian groundwater by restricting well drilling, blocking rehabilitation of existing wells, and diverting water to colonies.
Palestinians are also almost entirely denied access to the Jordan River and the Dead Sea, despite being riparian stakeholders. Israel has monopolized both since 1967.
Gaza Water Access Falls to 3–5 Liters Per Person Per Day
In Gaza, water access has collapsed to 3–5 liters per person per day in some areas during the ongoing assault—far below the 15‑liter humanitarian survival minimum set by international standards.
More Than 198,000 Buildings Damaged in Gaza; 102,000 Destroyed
Since October 7, 2023, Israeli forces have destroyed more than 102,000 buildings in Gaza. At least 330,000 housing units have been destroyed or damaged—over 70% of all housing in the Strip.
Schools, universities, hospitals, mosques, churches, government buildings, economic facilities, roads, water networks, electricity lines, sewage systems, and agricultural lands have also been devastated, rendering Gaza uninhabitable.
In the West Bank, Israel demolished or damaged around 1,400 buildings in 2025, including 258 in Jerusalem—104 of them forced self‑demolitions.
Israel issued 991 demolition orders in 2025 alone as part of its ongoing displacement policies.
Death toll Since October 7, 2023: Highest Since the Nakba
From October 7, 2023, to the end of April 2026, more than 73,761 Palestinians were killed:
- 72,601 in Gaza
- 20,413 children
- 12,524 women
- 3,110 medical workers, civil defense members, journalists, and educators
- 1,160 in the West Bank, including more than 100 in Jerusalem
This represents over half of all Palestinians killed since the 1948 Nakba.
Jerusalem ID Revocations: A Long‑Running Tool of Forced Displacement
Between 1967 and 2024, Israel revoked 14,869 Jerusalem ID cards. An estimated 13,000 Palestinian families were affected—around 65,000 Palestinians effectively barred from entering their own city due to the revocation of the family head’s residency.
