Britain, France, Canada and nine other countries announced coordinated sanctions banning imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, with UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband accusing Israel of turning a 'blind eye' to ethnic cleansing by settlers. Israel responded by announcing it would close the British Consulate in East Jerusalem.
Five major Western nations condemned Israel's advancement of the E1 settlement plan in the occupied West Bank, which involves tenders for over 1,200 housing units and could split Palestinian territories, potentially ending prospects for a two-state solution.
Pope Leo XIV called for an end to violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank amid a surge in settler attacks, including a siege in Qusra village and shootings in Hebron where Israeli settlers and IDF troops reportedly shot a father and son trying to prevent arson, with ambulances blocked from reaching the wounded for 40 minutes.
Israeli settlers have surrounded and attacked Palestinian family homes in the West Bank village of Qusra, cutting off water and electricity, prompting condemnation from Amnesty International, the US and UK. The siege has sparked international calls for Israeli government action and debate over transferring law enforcement from the IDF to police.
Israeli settlers surrounded three Palestinian homes in Qusra, occupied West Bank, for five nights, preventing families from leaving safely. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee condemned the perpetrators as 'Israeli terrorists' in unusually strong language, while human rights groups described the incident as part of broader ethnic cleansing efforts across the West Bank.
Israeli military forces clashed with Jewish settlers on Wednesday while attempting to remove them from an outpost near the Palestinian village of Qusra, where settlers have been blocking two families in their homes since Sunday. The troops withdrew after failing to clear the area, with witnesses reporting settlers dismantling fences and blocking roads.
Israel's military closed the Palestinian Christian village of Taybeh in the West Bank to non-residents on Sunday, citing the need to prevent growing attacks on Palestinians by Israeli settlers. The closure follows a series of coordinated settler attacks across the West Bank that injured residents and damaged property.
Following a deadly clash near Tell in the occupied West Bank that killed four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered an extensive military operation in Nablus and accelerated legalization of unauthorized settler outposts.
Israeli forces killed two Palestinians and at least one other Palestinian was wounded during clashes in Deir Jarir on Sunday night after settlers entered the village to retrieve livestock they claimed had been stolen. The IDF said troops entered to prevent friction and evacuate the settlers and opened fire after stones and concrete blocks were thrown, while Palestinian residents accused the military of protecting and coordinating with the settlers.
A series of violent attacks by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, including the shooting death of a seven-month-old baby by an Israeli soldier and an assault on a 92-year-old man, has prompted former senior Israeli officials to issue a 'final warning' demanding government action against settler terror.
The UK, Australia, Canada, France, Norway, and New Zealand announced joint sanctions targeting Israeli settlers and entities involved in violence in the occupied West Bank, including a far-right Israeli cabinet minister. However, human rights groups and Palestinian campaigners criticized the measures as insufficient, arguing they fail to address systemic Israeli state complicity in what Amnesty International has characterized as ethnic cleansing.
EU foreign ministers formally green-lighted sanctions targeting violent Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas stating 'extremisms and violence carry consequences.' Israeli PM Netanyahu condemned the move as 'moral bankruptcy.'
