Humanitarian crisis deepens in occupied Palestinian territories amid violence and aid cuts

The humanitarian crisis in the occupied Palestinian territories is worsening rapidly. In the West Bank, Israeli settler and military violence has escalated, resulting in the deaths of two Palestinian teenagers in al-Mughayyir and arson attacks on local mosques. Concurrently, the UN World Food Programme has halved its food assistance to the West Bank due to severe funding shortfalls, leaving 200,000 vulnerable people without aid despite a doubling of food insecurity since 2023. Meanwhile, the UK government is expected to ban trade with illegal West Bank settlements amid ongoing displacement and rapid settlement expansion.

West Bank settler violence

• ▪Israeli forces threw tear gas canisters inside a mosque in Madama village during evening prayers, causing 66-year-old Naim Ahmed Faraj to collapse from suffocation.
• ▪United Nations figures show that in 2026, at least 76 to 79 Palestinians have been killed and over 1,800 injured in the West Bank.
• ▪Israeli settlers set fire to the Imad al-Din Zanki mosque in Bazariya and sprayed Hebrew graffiti reading 'Huckabee, greetings from the terrorists.'
• ▪Two Palestinian teenagers, aged 16 and 19, were killed on September 2, 2026, during an attack by Israeli settlers and army troops in al-Mughayyir village near Ramallah.
• ▪Israeli military forces entered al-Mughayyir on September 2, 2026, to secure police officers and an Israeli civilian retrieving livestock, firing on individuals throwing stones.
• ▪The Palestinian Ministry of Religious Affairs documented that at least 13 mosques have been vandalized or burned by Israeli settlers and forces in 2026.

UK settlement trade ban

• ▪Labour Friends of Israel warned that a UK ban on settlement trade could lead to a de facto boycott of Israel due to difficulties separating goods.
• ▪Andy Burnham's UK government is expected to announce a ban on trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
• ▪An Amnesty International briefing argued the UK can enforce settlement trade sanctions using the same framework applied to occupied Ukrainian territories.

Gaza displacement crisis

• ▪Most of Gaza's 2.1 million population remains displaced and is confined to less than 40 percent of the Gaza Strip due to Israeli access restrictions.
• ▪Humanitarian operations in Gaza face severe funding shortfalls, with only 40 percent of the annual UN funding request met as of September 2026.

West Bank food insecurity

• ▪The UN World Food Programme is halving its food assistance in the West Bank, reducing its reach from 400,000 to 200,000 people due to funding shortages.
• ▪A World Food Programme analysis found that 76 percent of West Bank households experienced a significant decline in income, and one-third cannot afford a nutritious diet.
• ▪An estimated 900,000 people in the West Bank are experiencing food insecurity, representing a doubling of food needs since 2023.
• ▪Following the October 7 attacks, Israel revoked the work permits of 140,000 West Bank Palestinians, exacerbating local economic hardship.

Israeli settlement expansion

• ▪Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has spearheaded a rapid expansion of settlements and established dozens of new outposts in the West Bank.
• ▪Humanitarian groups estimate that over 3,700 people have been displaced in the West Bank in 2026, and 47 communities have been completely displaced since 2023.
• ▪The Israeli government is proceeding with the E1 project to build thousands of homes on occupied land, threatening to displace 18 Palestinian Bedouin communities.