The US ambassador to Israel visited Palestinian town Turmus Ayya and called for severe consequences against Israeli settlers committing violence, labeling some as 'terrorists' amid a sharp rise in West Bank attacks.
Israel is confronting mounting international criticism after announcing plans to build 1,234 homes in the E1 settlement area east of Jerusalem, which critics say would sever Palestinian territorial contiguity. The diplomatic strain intensifies as settler attacks in Palestinian-controlled West Bank areas have nearly doubled since 2025, while the Israeli military opens criminal investigations into the killings of Palestinian civilians and paramedics in Gaza.
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.
A UN committee voted to inscribe the archaeological site of Sebastia in the occupied West Bank and five castles in southern Lebanon as World Heritage sites, defying strong objections from Israel.
Israeli troops opened fire on a car in the occupied West Bank on Friday, killing a seven-month-old Palestinian baby boy and wounding his parents, according to Palestinian health officials. Reports indicate the family's vehicle had complied with orders to stop.
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.'
