Jerusalem-based Israeli rights NGO documenting abuses in the Occupied Territories
B’Tselem reports five interconnected tactics—violence, movement restrictions, economic strangulation, social destruction, and ethnic cleansing—that are dismantling Palestinian life in the West Bank, accelerating under the current government and post-2023 Gaza war. The findings depict a coordinated effort to establish permanent Israeli presence, tightening control and forcing dispossession.
Israel has ordered the closure of the UK consulate in East Jerusalem after Britain announced sanctions on settlement goods and firms. London has said the building will remain a UK Mission and has warned it may expel Israeli diplomats if Israel forces the consulate to close. Talks and a quiet UK security adviser visit have not resolved the dispute ahead of Thursday's deadline.
Israeli settler attacks and Israeli military raids have intensified across the occupied West Bank since August 2026, leaving Palestinians injured, homes seized and families besieged in villages such as Qusra, Silwad and Biddu. Authorities have detained suspects, imposed checkpoints and carried out arrests while humanitarian agencies report unprecedented levels of settler violence this year.
Palestinian communities face encroachment as Israeli settlers, backed by a hard‑line government, move to seize springs and designate heritage sites. Water diversions near Fasayil contribute to a new “Herod’s Pool,” while funding for archaeology signals a broader push to consolidate control over land and memory in the West Bank.
Palestinian-born Salah Sarsour remains in the United States as a Chicago judge has ruled he is deportable on foreign policy grounds, while rejecting the claim that he lied on his green card application. Attorneys say appeals are likely; Sarsour warns deportation would end his life in the West Bank, and his case has drawn support from his mosque and rights groups.
Since Monday, Israeli authorities have demolished homes in Umm Numaila and Abu Quraynat, reflecting a wider pattern of home demolitions in unrecognized Bedouin villages across the Negev as authorities press for building permits. The moves are part of a broader legal and political struggle over land and recognition in Israel’s southern desert.
The Guardian‑produced NAZA, based on 24 anonymous Israeli military insiders, has sparked a political backlash after Venice’s Special Jury Prize. Netanyahu has called for investigations and citizenship revocation; filmmakers face legal and security pressure even as the film screens in over 50 countries. A counter‑film and online misinformation efforts have emerged, challenging NAZA’s claims.
Since Friday, Israeli forces have escalated a major operation in Hebron and across the West Bank, displacing thousands, sealing districts and barring Palestinian workers from most areas on Election Day. The raids have disrupted education, damaged livelihoods and drawn international concern over collective punishment and rights abuses.