Palestinians fight for their lives and their stolen lands

[Anthea]

IOF kill 2 children northwest al-Quds
West Bank raids intensify

The Palestinian Health Ministry confirms that two 16-year-olds were killed in al-Judeira, northwest of al-Quds, in parallel with intensified Israeli occupation raids across the West Bank

Two 16-year-old Palestinians were shot and killed late Thursday night by Israeli occupation forces in the town of al-Judeira, northwest of occupied al-Quds, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

The ministry identified the victims as Mohammad Abdullah Teim and Mohammad Rashad Fadel Qasem, both residents of al-Judeira. The two children were fatally shot when Israeli occupation forces “opened heavy live fire” on them, the statement said. Their bodies were later withheld by the Israeli forces.

The fatal shooting came as Israeli aggression intensified across the occupied West Bank and al-Quds. Earlier, local sources reported that a Palestinian youth was injured by Israeli gunfire in al-Judeira, while another was detained.

This comes just one day after the General Authority for Civil Affairs in the West Bank announced that 15-year-old Palestinian boy Murad Fawzi Abu Saifin was martyred after being shot by Israeli forces in the town of al-Yamoun, west of Jenin, amid a new wave of Israeli raids and settler encroachments across the occupied territory.

Raids, detentions across the West Bank

In a series of overnight raids, Israeli occupation forces arrested multiple Palestinians, including two from the Hindaza area east of Beit Lahm and others from Nablus and Tulkarm. Four more were detained in the town of Zeita, north of Tulkarm.

Troops also stormed several homes during an incursion into the Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus, and raided a house in Qalqilya, witnesses said.

Meanwhile, in the northern Jordan Valley, Israeli settlers vandalized an irrigation network serving dozens of dunams of farmland in al-Farisiya, destroying water lines and leaving crops to wither.

Settler attacks unrelenting

A day earlier, settlers began fencing off agricultural plots in the same area, reportedly in preparation to usurp the land. Mahdi Daraghmeh, head of the local council in al-Maleh, said the targeted area spans nearly 2,000 dunams.

“For weeks, settlers have been fencing privately owned Palestinian land across the northern Jordan Valley in an apparent attempt to usurp it and establish new facts on the ground,” Daraghmeh said.

In al-Farisiya alone, settlers have already enclosed over 500 dunams, while in Umm al-Jamal, they attempted to seize about 1,200 dunams before Palestinian authorities intervened.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... -raids-int

[Anthea]

Ceasefire under fire: Hamas
accuses Israel of undermining deal

The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, has accused Israel of continuing to commit daily violations of the Sharm El-Sheikh ceasefire agreement one month after it took effect, holding the occupying power fully responsible for both undermining the truce and its persistent attempts to derail it completely

The movement opened up its statement reiterating gratitude to the mediators, nations, and international and humanitarian organizations that helped broker the agreement, while also commending the ethical and humanitarian stances of those who have condemned the aggression and genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza.

The movement further asserted that it and the other Palestinian Resistance factions have adhered fully to the terms of the agreement since it took effect.

Bodies handed over

This commitment was demonstrated by their handing over of all living Israeli captives within the first 72 hours and their continued cooperation with mediators and the Red Cross to locate the remains of the others, a process they have maintained despite the challenging conditions on the ground and the extensive devastation caused by the war.

The movement further detailed that it managed to locate 24 out of 28 bodies and provided the coordinates for the remaining corpses in areas under Israeli control, thereby affirming that it has spared no effort in demonstrating its complete commitment to both the letter and the spirit of the agreement.

Hamas details Israeli violations of the ceasefire

A statement detailed numerous violations by Israeli forces, reporting that their daily operations resulted in the deaths of 271 Palestinians. The report asserts that 91% of those killed were civilians, including 107 children and 39 women. A further 622 people were wounded, most of them women, children, and elderly individuals, while 35 Palestinians were detained, among them fishermen and residents from border areas.

According to the Hamas movement, Israeli occupation forces continue to demolish homes in areas they control beyond the Yellow Line, in a clear breach of the agreement. This activity extends over 30 square kilometers beyond the designated temporary withdrawal line and includes military patrols and the placement of concrete barriers in zones that were supposed to be demilitarized.

Aid still blocked

The statement also noted that Israeli authorities are blocking aid shipments from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). This has led to a backlog of more than 6,000 relief packages. The entry of essential food, shelter materials, and other supplies is being severely restricted; for instance, only a single shipment of eggs was allowed in over the course of a month. The statement claims that only 40% of the agreed-upon aid and a mere 8% of the required fuel have been permitted to enter.

Hamas further accused Israel of deliberately preventing the reactivation of the power plant and blocking the equipment needed to repair infrastructure, calling it a policy designed to perpetuate a humanitarian and living crisis in the Gaza Strip.

In another breach, Israeli authorities have kept the Rafah border crossing closed despite an agreement to open it in both directions starting October 20, 2025. This closure has worsened the plight of thousands of stranded people, including patients and students.

Martyrs' bodies mistreated

The movement condemned the abuse of Palestinian victims' bodies, stating that some were summarily executed in the field or buried under the treads of tanks, labeling these actions as clear war crimes.

The statement further noted that Israeli authorities continue to evade providing definitive lists of detained Palestinians. Over 1,800 individuals from Gaza remain missing, their fates unknown, and the detention of nurse Tasneem Marwan al-Hams, along with a number of other women and children, continues.

Hamas affirmed its full commitment to the ceasefire agreement and its national and humanitarian responsibility toward the Palestinian people. It called on mediators, guarantor states, and the international community to take immediate and serious action to pressure Israel to end its violations, lift the blockade, allow aid in, and guarantee the Palestinian people's rights to security, freedom, and dignity.

Hamas calls for end to Israeli massacres, violations

The movement demanded an end to the massacres and violations against the Palestinian people in Gaza and insisted on adherence to the agreed-upon temporary withdrawal line, preventing any further breaches or military incursions.

It also stressed the urgent need to allow the entry of the agreed-upon quantities of aid and fuel and to enable UNRWA to operate freely and fully within the territory.

Hamas called for the opening of the Rafah and Zikim crossings to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid and the movement of civilians and to permit the entry of 300,000 shelter tents and the equipment necessary for rehabilitating infrastructure and restarting the power plant.

Finally, it demanded the immediate disclosure of the status and whereabouts of all detainees and missing persons from Gaza and that medical, humanitarian, and media teams be granted access to provide their services freely within the Strip.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... ndermining

[Anthea]

Over 700 videos of Israeli
crimes wiped off YouTube

The Intercept reported that YouTube deleted the channels of three Palestinian human rights groups, namely Al-Haq, Al Mezan, and PCHR, after US sanctions tied to their work with the ICC, erasing hundreds of videos documenting Israeli war crimes in Gaza and the occupied West Bank

The Intercept on Wednesday revealed that YouTube has permanently removed the official channels of three major Palestinian human rights organizations, namely Al-Haq, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), erasing hundreds of videos that documented Israeli war crimes in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

The deletions, which took place in early October, wiped years of footage that included investigative reports on the killing of Palestinian civilians, Israel's destruction of homes, and the murder of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. YouTube confirmed to The Intercept that the decision followed a review prompted by US State Department sanctions against the three groups.

"Google is committed to compliance with applicable sanctions and trade compliance laws," YouTube spokesperson Boot Bullwinkle said, noting that the platform enforces restrictions against any entities sanctioned under US law.

YouTube bows to pressure

The Trump administration imposed the sanctions in September, targeting the organizations for their collaboration with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its investigations into Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Security Minister Yoav Gallant, who were charged with war crimes in Gaza.

Human rights advocates denounced YouTube's move as politically motivated censorship. "I'm pretty shocked that YouTube is showing such a little backbone," said Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now. "It's really hard to imagine any serious argument that sharing information from these Palestinian human rights organizations would somehow violate sanctions. Succumbing to this arbitrary designation of these Palestinian organizations, to now censor them, is disappointing and pretty surprising."

Katherine Gallagher, a senior staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, accused YouTube of advancing Washington's efforts to suppress accountability. "It is outrageous that YouTube is furthering the Trump administration's agenda to remove evidence of human rights violations and war crimes from public view," she said. "Congress did not intend to allow the president to cut off the flow of information to the American public and the world, instead, information, including documents and videos, are specifically exempted under the statute that the president cited as his authority for issuing the ICC sanctions."

YouTube silences Palestinian rights

The affected groups condemned the decision as a violation of free expression and an attempt to obstruct justice. Al Mezan said its channel was terminated abruptly on October 7, without warning. "Terminating the channel deprives us from reaching what we aspire to convey our message to, and fulfill our mission," a spokesperson said, stressing that the move limits their ability to communicate with global audiences.

Al-Haq's channel was deleted a few days earlier, on October 3, with YouTube claiming that its content "violates our guidelines." The organization responded that "YouTube's removal of a human rights organisation's platform, carried out without prior warning, represents a serious failure of principle and an alarming setback for human rights and freedom of expression." It warned that US sanctions are "being used to cripple accountability work on Palestine and silence Palestinian voices and victims."

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, described by the United Nations as Gaza's oldest human rights organization, said the deletion "protects perpetrators from accountability." Its representative, Basel al-Sourani, noted that "YouTube said that we were not following their policy on Community Guidelines, when all our work was basically presenting factual and evidence-based reporting on the crimes committed against the Palestinian people, especially since the start of the ongoing genocide on 7 October." He added, "By doing this, YouTube is being complicit in silencing the voices of Palestinian victims."

Digital Censorship

The Intercept estimated that the deletions collectively erased more than 700 videos, ranging from field investigations to personal testimonies and short documentaries. Some of the content remains accessible on other platforms or through archived versions, but much of it has been lost. The organizations said they are now seeking alternatives outside the US to ensure their work remains available to the public.

The takedowns come amid broader efforts by the Trump administration and "Israel" to undermine the ICC and limit exposure of Israeli actions in Gaza. "They are basically allowing the Trump administration to dictate what information they share with the global audience," Whitson warned. "It's not going to end with Palestine."

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... s-wiped-of

[Anthea]

Eruption looms in West Bank
amid escalating Israeli violence

Israeli media reports growing instability in the West Bank as resistance groups reorganize, settler violence rises, and the occupation's army shifts strategy

Israeli media outlets have reported a significant shift in the occupation army's approach to the West Bank, with military analysts warning that the region is nearing a full-scale escalation due to mounting instability.

According to a military analyst cited by the Zaman Israel website, the occupation army has changed its operational tactics in the West Bank, launching what has been described as a "quiet battle of containment and deterrence" against Resistance groups.

The report highlights that these Resistance groups are reorganizing their ranks and have begun revealing local missile manufacturing laboratories, posing a growing challenge to the occupation’s control of the area. The shift in military posture reflects deepening concern over the current trajectory of events in the West Bank, while the occupation army reportedly considers the situation volatile and increasingly difficult to manage.

The military analyst noted that deteriorating conditions on the ground, including a collapsing Palestinian economy, weakened civil infrastructure, and fragile security coordination, are pushing the region closer to renewed confrontation.

In particular, the analyst pointed to escalating settler violence, which has exacerbated tensions across towns and refugee camps in the occupied West Bank. These developments, combined with the rise of organized armed resistance and declining trust in the political process, have made the situation "on the verge of exploding."

The analysis from Zaman Israel underscores the growing view within "Israel" that the West Bank is entering a new phase of prolonged and unpredictable confrontation.

What's happening in the West Bank?

The Palestinian Authority’s Commission against the Wall and Settlements reported on November 5 that Israeli occupation forces (IOF) and settlers carried out a total of 2,350 attacks in the occupied West Bank during October, continuing a relentless campaign of violence against Palestinians, their land, and property.

According to Mu’ayyad Sha’ban, head of the commission, 1,584 of the attacks were committed by occupation forces, while settlers were responsible for 766 attacks. The report revealed that the attacks were heaviest in the governorates of Ramallah and al-Bireh (542), Nablus (412), and al-Khalil (401), indicating a concentrated effort to disrupt Palestinian life in key areas of the occupied territory.

The violence has coincided with the annual olive harvest season, a time when attacks historically spike. The commission documented incidents including direct physical assaults, the uprooting and burning of olive trees, obstruction of access to agricultural land, and the seizure of property.

Since the beginning of October last month, Israeli occupation forces have escalated their raids and attacks in the occupied West Bank, detaining Palestinians and killing others, while also triggering a fragile economic structure.

Military raids, detainments

Israeli occupation forces have carried out extensive incursions into Palestinian towns and refugee camps across the West Bank since the beginning of October, as part of a campaign to expand illegal settlements. Simultaneously, settlers, in the company of Israeli troops, continued their assaults on Palestinian farmland, uprooting hundreds of olive trees.

According to Palestinian prisoners' institutions, the IOF detained 442 Palestinians from across the occupied West Bank, including al-Quds, during October 2025. Among those detained were three women and 33 children.

In a joint statement, the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, the Palestinian Prisoners' Society, and Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association said that most detentions took place in the Beit Lahm governorate. The raids were accompanied by widespread field interrogations in various parts of the West Bank, in addition to assaults by Israeli colonists that contributed to the increase in detentions in several towns.

Additionally, a UN report revealed on November 8 that Israeli settlers carried out at least 264 attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank during October, marking the highest monthly total since the United Nations began tracking such violations in 2006.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that the surge in settler violence has resulted in casualties and significant property damage, averaging approximately eight attacks per day. "Since 2006, OCHA has documented over 9,600 such attacks. About 1,500 of them took place just this year, roughly 15 per cent of the total," the UN said in a statement

It is worth adding that the West Bank, home to 2.7 million Palestinians, remains central to aspirations for a future Palestinian state. However, successive Israeli governments have accelerated settlement expansion.

IOF begin military drills in the West Bank

On that note, the Israeli occupation army announced the launch of extensive military maneuvers on Monday morning across the West Bank and the Palestinian Jordan Valley, near the border with Jordan.

In an official statement, the occupation army confirmed that the exercises will involve the intensive movement of forces and military vehicles throughout the designated operational areas. Israeli media reported that the maneuvers are intended to simulate a range of scenarios, with a particular focus on "providing protection for Israeli settlements and dealing with any attack that may target them."

The military exercises will contribute to heightened activity in areas bordering Jordan, particularly in the Palestinian Jordan Valley, and are part of the occupation's ongoing efforts to reinforce its military occupation of the West Bank and surrounding areas under the pretext of "security".

Deteriorating economic situation

The already dire economic situation in the West Bank began deteriorating since the beginning of the war on Gaza in October 2023, marking a 30% unemployment rate, up from 12.9% before the war. This dramatic spike in unemployment reflects the loss of access to Israeli labor markets, which previously employed tens of thousands of Palestinians. A survey by the International Labour Organization found that in the first year of the war, more than half of employees had their hours cut, over 60% saw wage reductions, and 65% of businesses downsized.​

Israeli restrictions have further compounded the fiscal crisis in the West Bank, especially through the withholding of billions in Palestinian tax revenues since 2019. After October 2023, additional freezes on public funds made it nearly impossible for the Palestinian Authority (PA) to pay salaries in full, with most employees now receiving only partial payments funded by bank loans. Public debt surged to over $13 billion, while financial links with Israeli banks are being severed, threatening to force Palestinians into a cash economy and disrupt essential trade and imports.​

Liquidity shortages have become severe as surplus Israeli shekels accumulate and exchange offices are regularly raided. This not only disrupts the circulation of vital currencies like US dollars and Jordanian dinars, but also undermines daily transactions and trade. Experts argue that these economic interventions are intended to pressure Palestinians toward migration, with no technical reform able to resolve the crisis without a political solution, namely, an end to occupation, the reopening of trade routes, and true sovereignty for Palestine.

Olive trees uprooted

Israeli settlers have also repeatedly targeted Palestinian olive groves in the West Bank, uprooting and destroying thousands of trees, especially during the annual olive harvest season. Reports document that in October 2025 alone, settlers accompanied by Israeli forces uprooted approximately 150 olive trees in Masafer Yatta and more than 120 near Ramallah, disrupting local agriculture and threatening communities reliant on this vital crop. These attacks are strategically timed and often involve not just tree destruction but the imposition of movement restrictions, making it exceedingly difficult for farmers to reach their land without special “entry permits,” further entrenching the region’s apartheid reality.​

Further details reveal that settler violence has intensified in recent years. A report shows how armed settlers, sometimes with military support, burn groves, loot fruit, and even attack harvesters directly, actions that devastate livelihoods and aim to drive Palestinians off their ancestral lands. The olive tree, deeply symbolic in Palestinian culture, has thus become a focal point for settler aggression intended to both inflict economic ruin and erase cultural heritage.​

This campaign of land seizure and agricultural destruction is part of a broader strategy to expand Israeli settlements and annex more territory, as emphasized in interviews with local farmers and activist reports collected by Al Mayadeen.

One instance detailed the uprooting and burning of over 37,000 trees, including tens of thousands of olive trees, since October 2023. Farmers lament not only the loss of income and produce but the cultural attack on a crop central to Palestinian identity. This systematic violence undermines food security, destabilizes rural communities, and exemplifies the ongoing displacement and dispossession Palestinians face in the West Bank.​

What to expect?

The current trajectory in the West Bank is leading toward a major explosion of instability and resistance. Israeli restrictions, settler violence, and the withholding of critical tax revenues have broken civil infrastructure and pushed families below the poverty line, eroding social trust and weakening the Palestinian Authority’s capacity to maintain order.

Military raids and detentions, particularly in governorates like Ramallah, Nablus, and al-Khalil, are expected to trigger rising community outrage and fuel resistance, amplifying the chances of large-scale confrontation.​

Settler attacks have reached record levels, coinciding with the olive harvest season and resulting in the burning, uprooting, and theft of tens of thousands of olive trees crucial to Palestinian livelihoods and cultural heritage. Combined with the occupation army’s renewed maneuvers across the West Bank and the Palestinian Jordan Valley, these trends represent an explosive mix of economic despair, organized resistance, and relentless occupation and settler violence.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... i-violence

[Anthea]

Khan Younis warns as storm approaches

Khan Younis officials warn that 900,000 displaced Palestinians in al-Mawasi face severe danger as a storm nears, amid new Israeli strikes on the area

The spokesperson for the Khan Younis Municipality, Saeb Laqqan, warned that more than 900,000 displaced Palestinians are currently living in makeshift tents in the coastal al-Mawasi area, expressing deep concern for their safety as a weather depression approaches.

Laqqan stressed the urgent need to pressure the Israeli occupation to allow the entry of essential equipment required by the municipality to carry out its work and secure the displaced population in these emergency conditions.

Earlier today, Al Mayadeen’s correspondent in the Gaza Strip reported that Israeli warplanes launched two airstrikes southeast of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the besieged territory. The strikes coincided with gunfire from Israeli tanks positioned south of the city.

IOF violations continue unabated

Israel has continued its violations of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, launching airstrikes, artillery shellings, and attacking ambulance crews to prevent them from reaching wounded Palestinians.

Israeli warplanes launched two airstrikes southeast of Khan Younis on Thursday, as tanks opened fire in the southern part of the city, according to Al Mayadeen’s correspondent in Gaza.

Our correspondent reported that Israeli attacks have continued across the enclave, with Khan Younis bearing the brunt of the escalation.

Israel continues to violate the ceasefire in Gaza

Hamas accused Israel of daily violations of the ceasefire agreement signed in Sharm el-Sheikh nearly a month ago, holding it fully responsible for undermining the deal and seeking to derail it.

On November 11, the Government Media Office in Gaza published horrifying statistics detailing the Israeli violations committed since the ceasefire was reached on October 10. According to figures compiled by the office, Israel committed 282 ceasefire violations during this period, killing 242 Palestinians and injuring 620 others.

The documentation details a broad range of violations, including 88 shooting incidents targeting civilians, 12 incursions into residential areas beyond the yellow-line buffer zone, 124 airstrikes and attacks, 52 demolitions of civilian homes, and the arrest of 23 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... approaches

[Anthea]

Record settler attacks in West Bank
By Lucy Williamson

The marks of the attack on Hamida Mosque, near Deir Istiya in the occupied West Bank, are still scattered on the ground outside.

Charred furniture, lecterns and smoky curls of carpet are piled around the entrance - its guts emptied, and debris cleared, in time for Friday prayers.

Dozens of men arrived for the prayers in a show of defiance - their backs turned towards the scorched and blackened wall.

The imam here, Ahmad Salman, told the BBC the attack on Thursday was a message from Jewish settlers, amid a wave of settler violence across the West Bank.

"The message they want to send is that they can reach anywhere - into cities, into villages, that they can kill civilians and burn houses and mosques."

"I feel it in my soul," he said. "It's not right to touch places of prayer, wherever they are."

But there was a message here, too, for Israel's regional military chief - scrawled in Hebrew on the mosque's exterior wall: "We're not afraid of you, Avi Bluth."

Imam Ahmad Salman says the settlers want to send a message that they can reach anywhere

Spiralling settler attacks here over the past six weeks have triggered tough warnings from army leaders, along with a handful of arrests and investigations.

But expansionist settlers enjoy government support, which some believe is pushing the West Bank towards a dangerous confrontation

The annual olive harvest, when Palestinians try to access their farmland, often marks a spike in violence, but the attacks this year have broken UN records.

The UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs registered more than 260 settler attacks resulting in Palestinian casualties or damage to property in October alone - the highest monthly count since they began monitoring in 2006.

NOTE: the attacks must have been going on for some years as they admit to monitoring since 2006

Human rights groups say that settler aggression towards Palestinians has risen since the Gaza War began in 2023 after the 7 October Hamas attacks. UN figures suggest that more than 3,200 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced by settler violence and restrictions since then.

In the past few days, there have been several attacks across the West Bank, including an assault by a large crowd of masked men on an industrial estate and Bedouin buildings near Beit Lid. Security cameras filmed them running across the hillside and through the factory gates, where they torched several trucks. The army said they later attacked Israeli soldiers operating nearby.

The Israel police spokesman said four suspects had been arrested. Three have reportedly since been released.

Last week, in the olive groves around Beita, a Reuters journalist, Raneen Sawafta, was beaten by a settler with a club as she was covering the olive harvest - a deep dent in her helmet clearly showing the force of the blows

Hamad al-Jagoub abu Rabia, a volunteer with the Red Crescent in Beita, was also injured after going to help her - hit in the head with a rock and later taken to hospital.

"I never imagined a human being created by God would do this," he said. "If they had an iota of humanity, they would have never done this to a woman. If it wasn't for her helmet, she could have died."

Red Crescent volunteer Hamad al-Jagoub abu Rabia was hit in the head with a rock while trying to help a journalist who was being attacked

Less than three weeks earlier, 55-year-old Afaf Abu Alia was badly beaten with a club as she lay cowering on the ground during a settler attack, after picking olives on farmland she rents near the village of Abu Falah. The video of her assault drew international condemnation.

"One of [the settlers] attacked me and started beating me - hitting my head, my arms and legs, and kicking my legs with their boots," she told the BBC. "I fell down. I wasn't aware of what was happening, my mind went blank - I was only feeling the pain. I felt like my soul was leaving my body. The only thing I thought about was my children."

Now recovering at home, Afaf said she was still in pain, with 20 stitches in her head, and bruises on her arms and legs that left her unable to sleep.

She said the family had been blocked from its own farmland by settlers, and that they had been renting land elsewhere to grow olives this year.

"I'd return there today if I could, I'm not afraid of them," Afaf said. But she also acknowledged the situation was becoming riskier.

"They weren't like this at the start of the war," she said. "In this one year, they've escalated more than in all the years before."

One man has been arrested in connection with her assault. Arrests like this are rare, and convictions rarer still. The Israeli human rights organisation Yesh Din found that, over the past two decades, more than 93% of police investigations into Israeli offences against Palestinians in the West Bank were closed with no charges filed.

Israeli forces have long been criticised by human rights groups for standing idly by during settler attacks - or even taking part in them.

This week, Israel's chief of staff said he strongly condemned the recent violence by Israeli settlers, calling it "a red line" and promising to "act decisively".

The head of the army's central command, Maj Gen Avi Bluth - the man addressed in the graffiti on Hamida Mosque - said violent acts by what he called "anarchist fringe youth" were "unacceptable and extremely serious" and must be dealt with firmly.

Some hardline settlers see these comments as a betrayal.

Amichai Luria, a long-time settler from Ma'ale Levona and manager of a winery in the nearby settlement of Shiloh, told me the current focus on settler violence was overblown.

"It's amazing to me how people talk about these rare occasions [when] people misbehave," he said. "Oh, some people were trying to pick olives and some Jews came and bothered them. Give me a break. There are more muggings on the main street in London than there [are] here."

I asked him about the severe beating of women and the near-daily reports of incidents in surrounding areas. He dismissed them as an "attempt to make the Jews look bad".

"Most of the Arabs, if they could, would follow Hamas or Hezbollah. Very, very, very few want to coexist or live in peace, and at the first opportunity they have, they're going to wipe us out," he said.

"The future is very simple. Hopefully the army will wake up, hopefully people will understand that we have to prepare ourselves, that they're coming for us."

The UN's Office of Humanitarian Affairs says that, of the 1,000 Palestinians killed in the West Bank since the Gaza War began, between 20 and 32 were killed by Israeli settlers. During the same period, it says, Palestinians killed 19 Israeli civilians.

The wall and floor of the Hamida Mosque still bears scorch marks of the attack

The decision of military leaders to order action on settler violence will test discipline in an army where settlers make up a growing proportion of troops.

It also risks exposing dangerous divisions between Israel's military and political leaders.

Extremist settlers say their claim to the land comes from the Bible - but their growing confidence comes from government support

Since the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023 and the Gaza War that followed, Israel's far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has handed out more than 100,000 weapons to civilian security squads, including in West Bank settlements, and has urged Israel to formally annex the West Bank.

The government has authorised a sharp expansion of settlements, and legalised some unauthorised outposts. Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.

And the Defence Minister, Israel Katz, last year banned the use of administrative detention for Jewish settlers in the West Bank - reportedly against the advice of Israel's national security agency.

Israel's army is now asking Katz to reinstate that power to help curb settler violence. Administrative detention, which allows suspects to be held for renewable six month periods without charge, is still widely used for Palestinians.

"I don't trust the army like I used to," Amichai Lurai told me. "A lot of people in the army are anti-Israel from top to bottom. Trust me, the army is not unified."

Israel's army is currently embroiled in a legal and political scandal around leaked video footage allegedly showing the abuse of Palestinian detainees - a case that has pitted ultranationalist politicians against the country's security forces.

As worshippers left the Hamida Mosque after Friday prayers, Israeli activists arrived on a visit to show solidarity. Martin Goldberg, originally from London, was one of them.

I asked him about Israeli claims that attacks by settlers were overblown.

"They're very minor attacks, when it's not happening to you," he said. "These attacks are not minor, they're extremely major. Everyone's trying to belittle it, [saying] oh it's just the 'weeds in the field' but it's not. And they're being supported by the government. Local councils are 100% behind them, financing them."

Many local councils provide backing and support to outposts, but have publicly condemned the violence of some settlers there. The chairman of the West Bank Settler Council this week issued a statement supporting the Israeli army in arresting the "anarchists" who harmed soldiers and civilians.

"Europe, the United States, everyone in the whole world is watching the West Bank," said Wadi abu Awad, a civil engineer who lives in the nearby village of Turmus Aya, which has seen repeated attacks.

"We are not in a fight with the Israelis. We don't kill Israeli soldiers, we don't have any hostages. And they [settlers] are pushing us towards the corner. You know, if the cat is pushed the corner, he might become a tiger."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwykze63r2xo

[Anthea]

Israel Violating International Law
by Restricting Gaza Aid

Israel is violating international humanitarian law by continuing to restrict the entry of food, fuel, and essential goods into the Gaza Strip, where the population remains on the brink of famine as winter approaches, a senior UNRWA official has warned

In an interview during a visit to Brussels, Natalie Boucly, deputy commissioner-general of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said the international community — including the EU and the US — must intensify pressure on Israel to allow unrestricted aid deliveries.

Boucly said UNRWA currently has enough food, tents, and other vital supplies to fill up to 6,000 trucks, but most of it is stuck in Jordan and Egypt due to Israeli restrictions. “As winter approaches and famine continues to grip the population, it is critical that all this aid is allowed into Gaza without delay,” she said. “Our supplies could provide food for the entire population for about three months — and they are sitting outside, not able to come in.”

She estimated that only roughly half — “if that” — of the 500 to 600 daily truckloads needed to supply Gaza are currently entering the territory.

‘Not Abiding by International Law’

Boucly said Israel, as the occupying power, is “not abiding by international humanitarian law and international human rights law,” citing the Fourth Geneva Convention and a recent advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice. The ICJ ruling stated that Israel must ensure Palestinians have access to “the essential supplies of daily life” and concluded that Israel is obligated to cooperate with UNRWA.

The court also found no evidence supporting Israeli claims that UNRWA staff were infiltrated by Hamas, noting that nine employees were dismissed over possible involvement in the October 7, 2023 attacks but that wider allegations were unsubstantiated.

Despite the ruling, Boucly said Israel has given no sign it will reverse its “no-contact” policy with UNRWA, imposed after accusing the agency of allowing its facilities to be used by Hamas.

UNRWA Faces Funding Gap, Escalating Needs

Founded in 1948 to assist Palestinian refugees displaced during the creation of the state of Israel, UNRWA now supports 5.9 million refugees across the region. Boucly said the agency remains “irreplaceable” and warned it is facing a $200 million funding gap through March.

“It is not the time for UNRWA to collapse,” she said. “The only reason we’re here is because there’s been a collective failure to reach a political solution to this conflict.”

Boucly said she saw a rare opening for progress toward a lasting political settlement — the first such moment since the 1993 Oslo Accords — but warned that missing this “unique opportunity” could be disastrous. She urged European governments to apply “a different sort of moral pressure on Israel,” saying reconciliation and political solutions, not military action, are essential for lasting peace.

Children Facing Extreme Trauma

UNRWA is currently providing only a few hours of schooling per day and basic mental health support to about 40,000 children in Gaza through 280 temporary learning spaces. The agency says its work is severely hindered by Israeli import restrictions that prevent even pens and notebooks from entering the enclave.

Children in Gaza have endured years of trauma intensified by the war, repeated displacement, hunger, and widespread destruction. By early September, at least 2,596 children had lost both parents, while more than 53,000 had lost one, according to statistics cited by UNICEF.

Boucly warned that Gaza’s orphans are at deep risk. “These children will have nothing to lose unless they see a future for themselves,” she said. “Unless you offer something to these kids, we cannot exclude another terrorist attack. We cannot exclude new armed groups being formed — or worse.”

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/899203

[Anthea]

West sends 1,000th arms aircraft to Israel

The 1,000th aircraft carrying Western military supplies has landed in the country since the beginning of the Gaza genocide, the Israeli Security Ministry announced, underscoring the scale of foreign support that continues to sustain Israeli occupation forces

According to the Ministry, more than 120,000 tons of military cargo have been delivered to its forces since October 8, 2023, through airlift operations that officials described as unprecedented in the occupation’s history.

Western tools of aggression

The revelation comes as the United States continues to provide large-scale military support to Israel even as it sponsors a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and pushes for "peace talks" with the regime in the region.

Meanwhile, Spain stood out among NATO states after it imposed a full arms embargo on Israel in September through a royal decree. In the past year, the UK, Germany, and Canada have also implemented minor and conditional limits on weapons transfers. Despite these measures, Israel’s supply lines remain robust, with shipments arriving not only by air but also through roughly 150 maritime vessels, according to the Ministry.

The statement did not clarify the exact origins of all shipments but said the operation is jointly managed by multiple Israeli military and diplomatic bodies, including the Ministry’s Procurement Directorate, its missions in the United States and Berlin, the International Defense Transportation Unit, and the Israeli Air Force.

US military assistance to Israel reaches tens of billions

An October report by the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft found that the US has supplied Israel with at least $21.7 billion in military assistance since the start of the war on Gaza and the Israeli wars and aggression on regional countries that followed.

The US delivered $17.9 billion in aid under former President Joe Biden and an additional $3.8 billion under current President Donald Trump. Some of the shipments commissioned by Trump have already reached the occupation's military, while others are scheduled to arrive over the coming years.

Nearly two years into the aggression, and despite the ceasefire sponsored by the United States, the death toll in Gaza continues to mount. Since October 2023, Israeli forces have killed nearly 70,000 Palestinians, the vast majority of them women and children, and wounded more than 170,000. Large parts of the Gaza Strip have been flattened, with entire neighborhoods erased as the humanitarian crisis deepens.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... -gaza-geno