SEXUAL violence committed by Israeli settlers is forcing Palestinians to leave the occupied West Bank, a new report said on Tuesday.

A new report by the West Bank Protection Consortium (WBPC), called Sexual Violence and Forcible Transfer in the West Bank: How the exploitation of gender dynamics drives displacement, detailed at least 16 cases of sexual violence committed by Israeli settlers.

The report said: “The evidence shows how sexualised violence is used to pressure communities, shape decisions about remaining or leaving their homes and land and alter patterns of daily life.”

The report said researchers found that incidents of “sexualised harassment, intimidation and humiliation have intensified” and warn that the real level of attacks is likely to be much higher as many have likely gone unreported.

The report found that more than 70 per cent of the people interviewed said the threats to women and children, particularly sexualised violence, were decisive factors in them deciding to leave their homes.

“In response, families adopt gendered protective strategies, including the partial transfer of women and children and recourse to early marriage, in an effort to reduce exposure to harm,” the report said.

The report describes interviewees detailing incidents of sexual harassment, including sexualised insults, indecent exposure, threats of sexual violence plus the surveillance by the Israelis of private spaces such as bedrooms.

Some interviewees described being forced to strip naked, being beaten and urinated on while the attackers took and shared images of the abuse.

The report accuses Israeli soldiers of being present during these abuses and of doing nothing to prevent or stop the attacks.

The researchers also accuse Israeli authorities of failing to investigate most abuses.

Even where abuses are investigated by Israel, Palestinians have argued that it is rare for anyone to be held to account for their actions.

Last week, five soldiers accused of sexually assaulting a Palestinian inmate at the notorious Sde Teiman detention camp were allowed to return to reserve service after charges against them were dropped by authorities.

The soldiers, all from the Force 100 unit assigned to guard military prisons, were reinstated despite an ongoing internal military inquiry.

Amnesty International described the decision as “yet another unconscionable chapter in the Israeli legal system’s long-standing history of granting impunity to perpetrators of grave crimes against Palestinians.”

The WBPC was established in 2015 and is funded by the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, plus five international non-governmental organisations, with the Norwegian Refugee Council as the lead agency.