ROME: Italy, France, Britain and Germany on Friday urged Israel to stop expanding its settlements in the occupied West Bank, arguing it was &quot;undermining stability&quot; and prospects for a two-state solution. The statement was welcomed by the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/palestinian-authority-condemns-east-jerusalem-evictions" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Palestinian Authority</a>&nbsp;as an &quot;important step&quot;. &quot;We call on the government of Israel to end its expansion of settlements and administrative powers, ensure accountability for settler violence and investigate allegations against Israeli forces,&quot; said the countries in a joint statement. Noting that the situation in the West Bank had &quot;deteriorated significantly&quot; in the past few months, the countries said settler violence towards Palestinians was at &quot;unprecedented levels&quot;. &quot;The policies and practices of the Israeli government, including a further entrenchment of Israeli control, are undermining stability and prospects for a two-state solution,&quot; the statement added. The countries condemned Israel&#39;s E1 settlement plan &ndash; a new construction project expected to build some 3,400 housing units in the occupied West Bank over 12 square kilometers&ndash; as a &quot;serious breach of international law&quot;. &quot;Businesses should not bid for construction tenders for E1 or other settlement developments,&quot; the countries said. &quot;They should be aware of legal and reputational consequences of participating in settlement construction including the risk of involving themselves in serious breaches of international law.&quot; The statement also called on Israel to lift its financial restrictions on the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian economy. They &quot;strongly oppose those, including members of the Israeli government, who argue for annexation and forcible displacement of the Palestinian population&quot;, the statement added. &#39;Important&#39; step The Palestinian Authority has called the joint statement &quot;an important step in the right direction&quot;. It called for &quot;serious and effective mechanisms to translate these important positions into concrete steps&quot; to put pressure on Israel. Since Israel began its siege of Gaza in October 2023, near-daily violence has also rocked the <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/peace-activists-gather-ahead-of-jerusalem-day-rallies-known-for-violence" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">West Bank</a>, which Israel has occupied since 1967. The joint statement came at the end of a tense week in European-Israeli relations following the publication of a video that revealed the harsh treatment of European activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla while in Israeli custody. Israel&#39;s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, published the video that showed activists forced to kneel with their foreheads to the ground and their hands tied. Italy and Spain later called on the EU to sanction Ben Gvir, while Ireland urged the EU to take action against Israel over the activists&#39; treatment, according to a leaked letter seen by AFP. The United Kingdom, meanwhile, summoned Israel&#39;s most senior diplomat in Britain following what it called the &quot;inflammatory video&quot;.

A general view of the Palestinian Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar is pictured in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, against the backdrop of Israeli settlement of Mishor Adumim, on May 20, 2026. (AFP)

Middle East

France, Britain, Germany and Italy urge Israel to halt West Bank settlement expansion, calling it illegal and harmful to peace prospects, while the Palestinian Authority welcomes the statement as a significant diplomatic step.

Italy, France, UK, Germany urge Israel to end settlement expansion

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Some 680,000 children in Gaza are living in displacement sites overrun by rats, mice, and insects, with families reporting they are too afraid to let their children sleep at night for fear of being bitten; an incident that has already occurred this year, according to Save the Children. According to the organization, an analysis of United Nations data shows that figure places roughly two in three of all children in Gaza inside the more than 1,600 displacement sites where rodents or pests have been openly sighted,&nbsp; Children, particularly infants under five and those weakened by malnutrition, are most vulnerable to the diseases spreading through these camps, according to the foundation. Skin infections and rashes have been reported in nearly two-thirds of assessed sites, lice in over 65% of sites, and bedbugs in more than half of sites, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Rodents are chewing through tents and contaminating food supplies, with few safe storage options available. Cases are expected to worsen as temperatures continue to rise. Waste buildup across rubble-strewn sites has driven the spread of scabies, pneumonia and diarrhea, &ldquo;illnesses that hit young and malnourished children hardest,&rdquo; the organization said.&nbsp; Gaza&#39;s healthcare, water and sanitation systems have been decimated by more than two years of war, turning overcrowded camps into breeding grounds for disease. An Israeli military blockade on aid and commercial goods has left families without access to pesticides, the non-profit reported. When such items do appear in local markets, the prices are unaffordable for most. Families have been reduced to attempting to catch rats with sticks and basic adhesive traps. Shurouq, a multimedia manager for Save the Children in Gaza, described raw sewage running through streets in the rain and being pumped into the sea.&nbsp; &quot;I struggle to find water and people have no choice but to fish and swim in the sea so they are putting themselves at risk,&quot; she said. Save the Children called on Israel to lift the siege immediately, open all border crossings and restore aid flows.&nbsp; &ldquo;Israel, as the occupying power, bears a legal obligation to ensure the humanitarian needs of the occupied population are met,&rdquo; it said, adding that the current ceasefire plan had failed on its humanitarian provisions.

Displaced Palestinians sit with their empty containers amid the rubble of buildings destroyed by the Israeli military, as they wait to collect food from a charity kitchen in the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on May 1, 2026. (AFP)

680,000 children in Gaza live in displacement sites infested with rodents and insects, with nowhere to go and no means to protect themselves as temperatures climb.

Two in three Gaza children are rotting in plague-ridden camps

RAMALLAH:&nbsp;Palestinians in the West Bank and a central area of Gaza began voting Saturday in municipal elections in a first vote since the Gaza war, marked by a narrow political field and widespread disillusionment. Nearly 1.5 million people are registered to vote in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, as well as 70,000 people in Gaza&#39;s Deir el-Balah area, according to the Ramallah-based Central Elections Commission. Polling stations opened at 7 am (0400 GMT). AFP footage from Al-Bireh in the West Bank and Deir el-Balah in Gaza showed election officials in polling stations as Palestinians came to cast ballots. Most electoral lists are aligned with president Mahmud Abbas&#39;s secular-nationalist Fatah party or running as independents. There are no lists affiliated with Fatah&#39;s archrival Hamas, which controls nearly half of the Gaza Strip. In most cities, Fatah-backed tickets will run against independent lists headed by candidates from factions such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (Marxist-Leninist). Israeli occupation&nbsp; Mahmud Bader, a businessman from the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem, where two adjacent refugee camps have been under Israeli military control for over a year, said he would vote despite having little hope for meaningful change. &quot;Whether candidates are independent or partisan, it has no effect and will have no effect or benefit for the city,&quot; he told AFP. &quot;The (Israeli) occupation is the one that rules Tulkarem. It would only be an image shown to the international media -- as if we have elections, a state or independence.&quot; In many cities, including Nablus and Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority, only one list has been submitted, meaning it wins automatically without needing a vote. Polling stations in the West Bank will close at 7 pm, while polls in Deir al-Balah will close at 5 pm to facilitate counting in daylight due to the lack of electricity in the war devastated strip, the elections commission told AFP. UN coordinator Ramiz Alakbarov commended the commission for organising a &quot;credible process&quot;. &quot;Saturday&#39;s elections represent an important opportunity for Palestinians to exercise their democratic rights during an exceptionally challenging period&quot;, Alakbarov said in a statement ahead of polls. &#39;Confirmation of existence&#39;Gaza, which has been under Hamas control since 2007, will see its first vote since the legislative elections of 2006, which the movement won. Abbas&#39;s Palestinian Authority is holding elections only in Deir el-Balah &quot;as an experiment (to test its own) success or failure, since there are no post-war opinion polls&quot;, Jamal al-Fadi, a political scientist at Cairo&#39;s Al-Azhar University, told AFP. Deir el-Balah was chosen as it was one of the only places in Gaza where &quot;the population has remained largely in place and not been displaced&quot; by more than two years of war between Hamas and Israel, Fadi said. Farah Shaath, 25, was excited to vote for the first time. &quot;Although it is unlike any election in the world, it is a confirmation of our continued existence in the Gaza Strip despite everything,&quot; she told AFP. The election commission says it has recruited polling staff from civil society organisations and hired &quot;a private security company to secure polling centres&quot; for the Gaza vote, spokesman Fareed Taamallah told AFP. But a source from the commission in Gaza, who asked to remain anonymous, said that &quot;Hamas police insisted on securing the electoral process in Deir al-Balah&quot;. The source added that &quot;this will be done by deploying unarmed security personnel in civilian clothing around polling centres&quot;, which number 12 in Deir el-Balah.

Nearly 1.5 million people are registered to vote in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, as well as 70,000 people in Gaza's Deir el-Balah area, according to the Ramallah-based Central Elections Commission.

Palestinians vote in first elections since Gaza war

JERUSALEM: The Palestinian health ministry said on Sunday that Israeli settlers shot dead two Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, the second deadly incident reported in as many days. A ministry statement said Thaer Faruq Hamayel, 24, and Farea Jawdat Hamayel, 57, were killed by settler fire in the town of Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah. It did not say when the incident occurred or provide further details. Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it was &quot;looking into&quot; the report. Violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has soared since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023. It has continued despite the ceasefire. On Saturday, the Ramallah-based health ministry and a local mayor said Israeli settlers shot dead a Palestinian man and wounded his brother in an attack on another West Bank village, Wadi al-Rakhim. The head of the nearby Tuwani village council, Mohammad Rabai, told AFP that settlers had entered homes in the area and attacked the family of 27-year-old Amir Mohammad Shnaran who later died. The Israeli military said soldiers and police were dispatched to the scene after reports of a &quot;violent confrontation&quot; between Israelis and Palestinians. It said an investigation was underway. Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 1,042 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of war on Gaza, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures.

The father (C) of Palestinian brothers Mohammed and Faheem Muammar, who were killed the previous day reportedly by Israeli settlers, is assisted during their funeral in the village of Qaryut south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank on March 3, 2026. (AFP

Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 1,042 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of war on Gaza.

Palestinians say Israeli settler fire kills two in West Bank

ISLAMABAD:&nbsp;Pakistan marked 19 years since the Samjhauta Express bombing, saying justice remains elusive for the 68 people killed in the 2007 attack, including 44 Pakistanis, according to the Foreign Office on Thursday. At a weekly briefing, Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi expressed &ldquo;severe disappointment&rdquo; over India&rsquo;s &ldquo;callousness&rdquo; toward victims&rsquo; families. He said they continue to wait for justice nearly two decades later. He condemned the acquittal of four individuals, including Swami Aseemanand, whom he said publicly confessed to masterminding the attack, Lieutenant Colonel Purohit and Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur. The spokesperson said the exoneration confirmed India&rsquo;s role as an &ldquo;official and political accomplice&rdquo; in the attack carried out on its soil. Pakistan demands a fair trial for the perpetrators and abettors, he said. He termed the exoneration an example of &ldquo;Indian duplicity and state sponsorship of terrorism against Pakistan.&rdquo; He added that &ldquo;Hindutva extremism and saffron terror&rdquo; behind the attack had intensified under India&rsquo;s current government. <h3 style="line-height: 2;">Afghanistan strikes Andrabi confirmed intelligence-based, selective strikes on seven militant camps and hideouts along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The action followed recent terrorist attacks in Bajaur and Bannu, he said.</h3> The spokesperson stated the strikes were proportional and carefully planned. They targeted identified militant sites with &ldquo;utmost caution&rdquo; to prevent civilian harm. He described reported remarks from Afghan authorities about Pakistan&rsquo;s law-and-order situation as &ldquo;discouraging and disappointing.&rdquo; Attacks have increased over the past 12 to 18 months since the Taliban takeover, he said, as that militants operating from Afghanistan conduct attacks against Pakistan. Pakistan will respond &ldquo;swiftly, strongly&rdquo; in exercise of its right to self-defense, he said. Security forces remain vigilant as there is currently no structured dialogue with Kabul, and no decision has been taken on contributing troops to an ISF force discussed in Washington. <h3 style="line-height: 2;">Kashmir Andrabi condemned the extrajudicial killing of three Kashmiri youths in the Kishtwar district of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). He called it another manifestation of &ldquo;state-sponsored terrorism.&rdquo;</h3> He referred to the Kunan Poshpora incident as a grave human rights violation and said perpetrators remain unaccounted for. He stated that Pakistan will continue urging the international community and `UN human rights bodies to hold India accountable and seek a peaceful resolution in line with UN Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. He also said Pakistan expects &ldquo;foolproof, complete security&rdquo; for its diplomats and nationals in Afghanistan, adding that Islamabad extends the same seriousness to Afghan diplomats in Pakistan. <h3 style="line-height: 2;">Israel occupation in West Bank Andrabi stated that Pakistan will outline its stance on Israel&rsquo;s recent move to annex parts of the occupied West Bank at an upcoming ministerial meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).&nbsp;</h3>&nbsp;He said that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will represent Pakistan at the OIC&#39;s Open-Ended Extraordinary Ministerial Session, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Feb. 26-28.&nbsp; The meeting &ldquo;has been convened to consider the illegal decision by the Israeli occupation authorities aimed at expanding settlements, pursuing annexation, and attempting to impose Israel&#39;s sovereignty over the occupied West Bank,&rdquo; the spokesperson said. Dar will present Pakistan&rsquo;s case during the session. <div class="fr-embed" style="line-height: 2;"><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fphoto.php%3Ffbid%3D1374272581405477%26set%3Da.251429287023151%26type%3D3&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="748" style="border:none;overflow:hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div> In a Facebook post, the Foreign Office said Dar will &ldquo;hold sideline meetings with counterparts from OIC&rdquo; member states. Andrabi said Israel&rsquo;s measures in the occupied West Bank have drawn condemnation from the OIC and other Muslim states, as well as &ldquo;European and other world countries,&rdquo; including Brazil, France, Denmark, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. &ldquo;In this statement, we described these changes as wide-ranging and amounting to reclassifying Palestinian land as so-called Israel state land, accelerating illegal settlement activity, and further entrenching Israeli administration,&rdquo; he said. Restating Pakistan&rsquo;s long-standing position on Israel&rsquo;s occupation of Palestinian lands, Andrabi said the country issued &ldquo;a joint statement&rdquo; with &ldquo;eight other countries&rdquo; condemning a statement by the US ambassador to Israel suggesting it would be acceptable for Israel to exercise control over territories belonging to Arab states. He said Egypt, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine, along with the OIC Secretariat and the League of Arab States, &ldquo;strongly condemned&rdquo; the remarks. The US envoy&rsquo;s comment was &ldquo;dangerous, inflammatory, and clear violation of international law and the UN Charter,&rdquo; Andrabi said. He added that it threatened regional security and stability. Qatar Separately, Andrabi addressed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif&rsquo;s recent state visit to Qatar at the invitation of the emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. PM Sharif met the Qatari emir and discussed enhancing cooperation in several areas, including economic ties. Both sides agreed on resolving international disputes peacefully through &ldquo;dialogue&rdquo; and &ldquo;diplomacy.&rdquo; Sheikh Tamim will &ldquo;visit Pakistan later this year,&rdquo; he added. During the visit, PM Sharif also met Qatar&rsquo;s defense minister, Sheikh Saud Al Thani, who expressed interest in expanding defense cooperation between the two countries and &ldquo;appreciated the professionalism and expertise of Pakistan&#39;s armed forces.&rdquo;

Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi speaking at a weekly press briefing in Islamabad, on February 26, 2026. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs/X)

Foreign Affairs

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will represent Pakistan at the Open-Ended Extraordinary Ministerial Session of the OIC.

Pakistan demands justice on Samjhauta Express bombing’s 19th anniversary

JERUSALEM: Arab countries condemned on Saturday remarks by US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who appeared to suggest in an interview that Israel had a biblical right to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/un-says-israeli-actions-raising-ethnic-cleansing-fears-in-west-bank-gaza" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">vast swath</a>&nbsp;of the Middle East. Huckabee, a former Baptist minister and a fervent Israel supporter, was speaking with far-right commentator and Israel critic Tucker Carlson. In a podcast episode released Friday, Carlson pushed Huckabee on the meaning of a biblical verse sometimes interpreted as saying that Israel is entitled to the land between the river Nile in Egypt and the Euphrates in Syria and Iraq. In response, Huckabee said: &quot;It would be fine if they took it all.&quot; When pressed, however, he continued that Israel was &quot;not asking to take all of that&quot;, adding: &quot;It was somewhat of a hyperbolic statement.&quot; Several Arab countries condemned the American diplomat in harsh terms. Saudi Arabia described his words as &quot;reckless&quot; and &quot;irresponsible&quot;, while Jordan said it was &quot;an assault on the sovereignty of the countries of the region&quot;. Egypt&#39;s foreign ministry wrote that it &quot;reaffirms that Israel has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory or any other Arab lands&quot;. The Palestinian Authority said on X that Huckabee&#39;s words &quot;contradict US President Donald&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/hamas-says-israel-must-end-aggression-as-trump-board-plans-gaza-future" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">Trump</a>&#39;s rejection of (Israel) annexing the West Bank&quot;. On Saturday, Huckabee published two posts on X further clarifying his position on other topics touched upon in the interview, but did not address his remark about the biblical verse. The speaker of the Israeli parliament, Amir Ohana, praised Huckabee on X for his general pro-Israel stance in the interview, and accused Carlson of &quot;falsehoods and manipulations&quot;. Carlson has recently found himself facing accusations of antisemitism, particularly following a lengthy, uncritical interview with self-described white nationalist Nick Fuentes &ndash; a figure who has praised Hitler, denied the Holocaust and branded American Jews as disloyal.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee (R) is shown a painting of Jerusalem during a visit to the Beit Hanassi presidential residence, in Jerusalem, on September 15, 2025. (AFP)

Arab nations condemned US Ambassador Mike Huckabee's comments suggesting Israel's biblical right to vast Middle East lands. Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt criticized his remarks as reckless and harmful to regional sovereignty.

Arab countries condemn US ambassador's remarks on Israel's right to Mideast land

JERUSALEM: Israeli NGOs have raised the alarm over a settlement plan signed by the government which they say would mark the first expansion of Jerusalem&#39;s borders into the <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/israels-west-bank-mega-land-grab-draws-international-outrage" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">occupied West Bank</a> since 1967. Israel has occupied east Jerusalem since 1967 and later annexed it in a move not recognized by the international community. Palestinians view east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. The proposal, published in early February but reported by Israeli media only on Monday, comes as international outrage mounts over <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-condemns-israeli-west-bank-land-seizures-demands-international-action" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">creeping measures</a> aimed at strengthening Israeli control over the West Bank. Critics say these actions by the Israeli authorities are aimed at the de facto annexation of the Palestinian territory. The planned development, announced by Israel&#39;s Ministry of Construction and Housing, is formally a westward expansion of the Geva Binyamin, or Adam, settlement situated north-east of Jerusalem in the West Bank. In a statement, the ministry said the development agreement included the construction of around 2,780 housing units for the settlement, with an investment of roughly 120 million Israeli shekels (around $38.7 million). But the area to be developed lies on the Jerusalem side of the separation barrier built by Israel in the early 2000s, while Geva Binyamin sits on the West Bank side of the barrier, and the two are separated by a road. In a statement, Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now said there would be no &quot;territorial or functional connection&quot; between the area to be developed and the settlement. &quot;The new neighborhood will be integral to the city of Jerusalem,&quot; Lior Amihai, Peace Now&#39;s executive director, told AFP. &quot;What is unique about that one is that it will be connected directly to Jerusalem, but it will be beyond the annexed municipal border. So, it will be in complete West Bank territory, but just adjacent to Jerusalem,&quot; he said. &#39;Living there as Jerusalemites&#39; The move comes days after Israel&#39;s government approved a process to register land in the West Bank as &quot;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/israel-approves-west-bank-land-as-state-property-continues-gaza-bombardment-report" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">state property</a>&quot;, drawing widespread international condemnation and fears among critics that it would accelerate annexation of the Palestinian territory. Days earlier, Israel&#39;s security cabinet approved a series of measures to tighten control over areas of the West Bank administered by the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo accords. Those measures, which also sparked international backlash, include allowing Jewish Israelis to buy West Bank land directly and allowing Israeli authorities to administer certain religious sites in areas under the Palestinian Authority&#39;s control. Amihai said that the current government &ndash; one of the most right-wing in Israel&#39;s history &ndash; was &quot;systematically working to annex the occupied territories and to prevent Palestinian statehood&quot;.&nbsp;The case of Jerusalem, he said, was particularly symbolic. &quot;Every change to Jerusalem is sensitive to both the Israeli public, but also to the Palestinians,&quot; he told AFP. Aviv Tatarsky, a researcher at Ir Amim, an Israeli NGO&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/palestinian-ngo-condemns-israeli-act-of-revenge-after-prisoner-abuse-video" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">focusing</a>&nbsp;on Jerusalem within the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said the latest planned development amounted to a de facto expansion of the city of Jerusalem. &quot;If it is built, and people live there, the people who will live there, they will be living there as Jerusalemites,&quot; he told AFP. &quot;In all practical terms, it&#39;s basically not the settlement that will be expanded, but Jerusalem.&quot; &#39;Facts on the ground&#39; The development agreement was signed by Israel&#39;s Construction and Housing Ministry, the Finance Ministry and the Binyamin Regional Council, which represents settlements north of Ramallah in the central West Bank. It has yet to be reviewed by the Civil Administration&#39;s Higher Planning Committee, in a process which could take several months or years. Tatarsky said that international pressure had so far made it difficult for recent Israeli governments to make formal declarations on annexation. &quot;It&#39;s much easier to create facts on the ground, which, altogether... actually add up to annexation,&quot; the researcher said. The West Bank, occupied since 1967, would form the largest part of any future Palestinian state but is seen by many on the religious right as Israeli land. Some 200,000 Israelis live in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, while more than 500,000 others live in West Bank&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/new-israeli-west-bank-measures-draw-palestinian-regional-backlash" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">settlements</a>&nbsp;and outposts, which are illegal under international law. Around three million Palestinians live in the territory. The current Israeli government has fast-tracked settlement expansion, approving a record 52 settlements in 2025.

This picture taken from Umm Safa village, north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, shows a Palestinian flag (foreground) and Israeli flag fluttering on a hilltop overlooking the village on February 16, 2026. (AFP)

The proposal, published in early February but reported by Israeli media only on Monday, comes as international outrage mounts over creeping measures aimed at strengthening Israeli control over the West Bank.

Israel accused of move expanding Jerusalem borders for first time since 1967

JERUSALEN: A senior imam of the Al Aqsa Mosque in east Jerusalem said Tuesday that Israeli authorities have barred him from entering the compound, just days before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. &quot;I have been barred from the mosque for a week, and the order can be renewed,&quot; Sheikh Muhammad al Abbasi told AFP. He said he was not informed of the reason for the ban, which came into effect from Monday. &quot;I had only returned to Al Aqsa a month ago after spending a year in the hospital following a serious car accident,&quot; Abbasi said. &quot;This ban is a grave matter for us, as our soul is tied to Al Aqsa. Al Aqsa is our life.&quot; The month of Ramadan, during which Muslims observe a fast from dawn to dusk, is expected to begin this week. During the holy month, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians traditionally attend prayers at Al Aqsa &ndash; Islam&#39;s third holiest site, located in east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in 1967 and later annexed. On Monday, Israeli police said they had recommended issuing 10,000 permits for Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, who require special permission to enter Jerusalem. Police did not specify whether age restrictions would apply. The Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate however said it had been informed that permits would again be limited to men over 55 and women over 50, mirroring last year&#39;s criteria. It added that Israeli authorities had prevented the Islamic Waqf &ndash; the Jordanian run body that administers the site &ndash; from carrying out routine preparations, including installing shade structures and setting up temporary medical clinics. A Waqf source said 33 of its employees had been barred from entering the compound in the week leading up to Ramadan. Under long standing arrangements, Jews may visit the Al Aqsa compound &ndash; &nbsp;which they revere as the site of the first and second Jewish temples &ndash; but they are not permitted to pray there. Israel says it is committed to upholding this status quo, though Palestinians fear it is being eroded. In recent years, a growing number of Jewish ultranationalists have challenged the prayer ban, including far right politician Itamar Ben Gvir, who prayed at the site while serving as national security minister in 2024 and 2025.

Muslim worshippers walk next to the Dome of the Rock mosque at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City on October 17, 2025. (AFP)

On Monday, Israeli police said they had recommended issuing 10,000 permits for Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, who require special permission to enter Jerusalem.

Al-Aqsa imam says Israel barring him from entering mosque ahead of Ramadan

ISLAMABAD: Israeli forces imposed a lockdown on a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, their second day of operations there after a local resident killed two people in Israel. &quot;The IDF (Israeli army) is operating forcefully against terror hubs in the village of Qabatiya... accompanied by a lockdown and a complete cordon around the locality,&quot; Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement published by his office on Saturday. &quot;We will continue to pursue an uncompromising offensive policy against Palestinian terror,&quot; he added. Bilal Hunaisha, a resident of Qabatiya, south of Jenin in the northern West Bank, said the town &quot;is being subjected to collective punishment by the Israeli occupation&quot;. &quot;As you can see, they blocked the way to my house and I am no longer able to move around,&quot; he told AFP, pointing to a pile of rubble obstructing the road. In the attack on Friday a 34-year-old Palestinian man killed two people in northern Israel. The assailant, who had been working illegally in Israel, had used his employer&#39;s vehicle to ram into a 68-year-old man and then stabbed an 18-year-old girl to death, according to Israeli police. A few hours later, the Israeli army and the Shin Bet domestic security agency began operating in Qabatiya. They searched the perpetrator&#39;s house and questioned suspects, the army said. On Saturday, the army&#39;s Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir ordered the reinforcement of troops deployed in the area. &quot;This period is characterized by lone attackers and individuals staying illegally in (Israel). Enforcement against those who transport and employ them must be strengthened and improved,&quot; he said, according to an army statement. &quot;At the same time, we must continue to enhance our capabilities to identify and thwart these attackers.&quot; Qabatiya resident Muhannad Zakarneh told AFP that the army arrested him at home at 6 am &quot;for no obvious reasons&quot; and kept him handcuffed for hours. &quot;When I asked what my charge was, there was no response,&quot; he said. The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that besides blocking entrances and conducting interrogations and home searches, Israeli forces also took over a school and used it as a &quot;detention and interrogation center&quot;. Since the start of the war ON Gaza, at least 38 people, including two foreigners, have been killed inside Israel, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. During the same period, violence has also surged in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967. Israeli troops and settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to an AFP tally based on figures from the Palestinian health ministry. According to official Israeli figures, at least 44 Israelis, both soldiers and civilians, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or Israeli military operations in the same period in the West Bank.

Israeli forces imposed a lockdown on Qabatiya village in the West Bank after two Israelis were killed.

Israel seals off Palestinian village after deadly attack

ISLAMABAD: An Israeli reservist soldier ran over a Palestinian man while he was praying by the roadside, according to footage broadcast by CNN.&nbsp;The incident, which has been widely reported by international media citing Reuters, shows the man being struck as he prayed, sparking condemnation and raising questions over the conduct of Israeli security personnel in the occupied territories.&nbsp;In a statement, the Israeli military said it had received footage showing an armed individual running over a Palestinian man, adding that the driver was a reservist whose military service had since been terminated.&nbsp;The military said the reservist acted in severe violation of his authority and that his weapon had been confiscated.&nbsp;Israeli media reported that the reservist was placed under house arrest following the incident.&nbsp;The Palestinian man was taken to hospital for medical checks after the incident, as per media reports.&nbsp;In a separate incident, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israeli forces on Friday fatally shot a Palestinian man east of Gaza City. The victim, identified as Uday al-Maqadma, was reportedly sitting near the entrance of a school when Israeli forces opened fire. He was taken to hospital in critical condition and later died of his injuries.&nbsp;Wafa said the killing comes amid continued Israeli military operations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces have carried out near-daily raids, arrests and use of live fire since the start of the war.&nbsp;Palestinian health officials say dozens of Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank during these operations, which Israeli authorities describe as security measures targeting militants.&nbsp;The agency also reported that two Palestinians were shot dead earlier this week in Gaza City&rsquo;s Shujaiya neighborhood during Israeli military activity in the area.

The footage, shared by CNN, shows the man being struck as he prayed, sparking condemnation and raising questions over the conduct of Israeli security personnel in the occupied territories.

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