West Bank

Israeli forces kill 2 suspected Palestinian attackers in West Bank

Israeli forces on Tuesday shot and killed two suspected Palestinian assailants wanted in a pair of attacks that wounded three Israelis in the occupied West Bank. It was the latest burst of violence in the territory, where fighting has spiked in recent weeks. The Israeli military said that troops shot and killed a suspect who stabbed two soldiers as they were confronting him near Ateret, an Israeli settlement in the central West Bank. It said the incident was under review. Israel's Mada rescue service said two soldiers were lightly wounded. In the southern West Bank, the army said it shot and killed a Palestinian who had earlier carried out a car-ramming attack that wounded a female soldier. The army said the man attempted to flee as they tried to arrest him near the city of Hebron while endangering the soldiers and he was shot dead. The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the suspect as a 17-year-old resident of Hebron. The Israeli army has stepped up its activities in the We

Will not allow Israel to annex West Bank, says Trump amid Arab concerns

President Donald Trump has said that he will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. "There's been enough," Trump, apparently referring to Israel, told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday while signing executive orders unrelated to Middle East policy. He added, "It's time to stop now." Trump has long bragged about his close relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but the president has faced pressure from Arab leaders, who have publicly expressed concerns about the Israeli military acting to annex more territory. Unlike Gaza, where Israel's war with Hamas continues, the West Bank is governed by the Palestinian Authority.

Will not allow Israel to annex West Bank, says Trump | Israel-Gaza war | Netanyahu

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank, rejecting calls from some far-right politicians in Israel

EC actions challenge TMC's grassroots reach, BJP's strength in West Bengal

With the Election Commission planning to add nearly 14,000 new polling booths amid prospective Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of rolls in West Bengal, the BJP faces a shortage of Booth Level Agents (BLAs), exposing a critical organisational gap that could weaken its 2026 poll challenge, while the TMC, with no such issues, exudes confidence. For the Trinamool Congress, the expansion of polling stations from the existing 80,000 to an estimated 94,000, spread across 294 assembly seats, is less a burden than an opportunity to tighten its grip at the grassroots. In contrast, the BJP functionaries acknowledge they are planning to cover only about 70 per cent of booths with BLAs during the SIR exercise, well short of what is needed to ensure an effective presence statewide. In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP could deploy polling agents in around 50,000-55,000 of West Bengal's existing 80,681 booths. The target now stands at 65,000-70,000, but insiders admit the party may struggle to ge

Israel to establish 22 new Jewish settlements in occupied West bank

Israel said Thursday it would establish 22 Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, including the legalisation of outposts already built without government authorisation. Israel captured the West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war and the Palestinians want all three territories for their future state. Most of the international community views settlements as illegal and an obstacle to resolving the decades-old conflict. Defence Minister Israel Katz said the settlement decision strengthens our hold on Judea and Samaria, using the biblical term for the West Bank, "anchors our historical right in the Land of Israel, and constitutes a crushing response to Palestinian terrorism. He added it was also a strategic move that prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel. Israel has already built well over 100 settlements across the territory that are home to some 500,000 settlers. The settlements range from small ..

Israeli settlers in West Bank attack Oscar-winning Palestinian co-director

Filmmaker Hamdan Ballal, who co-directed the Oscar-winning documentary film "No Other Land", was later detained by the Israeli military

10 missing Indian workers rescued from West Bank by Israeli authorities

Indian workers were lured to a village in the West Bank with job promises, where their passports were confiscated. Israeli authorities have since rescued them, and they are now in a safe location

Anti-US sentiment in West Bank boosts demand for alternative 'Chat Cola'

Order a Coke to wash down some hummus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank these days and chances are the waiter will shake his head disapprovingly or worse, mutter shame, shame in Arabic before suggesting the popular local alternative: a can of Chat Cola. Chat Cola its red tin and sweeping white script bearing remarkable resemblance to the iconic American soft drink's logo has seen its products explode in popularity across the occupied West Bank in the past year as Palestinian consumers, angry at America's steadfast support for Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza, protest with their pocketbooks. No one wants to be caught drinking Coke, said Mad Asaad, 21, a worker at the bakery-cafe chain Croissant House in the West Bank city of Ramallah, which stopped selling Coke after the war erupted. Everyone drinks Chat now. It's sending a message. Since Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack triggered Israel's devastating military campaign in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian-led boycott movement

Israel sends tanks into West Bank for first time as it deepens crackdown

Israeli tanks moved into the occupied West Bank on Sunday for the first time in decades in what Palestinian authorities called a "dangerous escalation", after the defence minister said troops will remain in parts of the territory for a year and tens of thousands of Palestinians who have fled cannot return. Associated Press journalists saw several tanks move along unpaved tracks into Jenin, long a bastion of armed struggle against Israel. Israel is deepening its crackdown on the Palestinian territory and has said it is determined to stamp out militancy amid a rise in attacks. It launched the offensive in the northern West Bank on January 21 two days after the current ceasefire in Gaza took hold and has expanded it to nearby areas. Palestinians view such raids as part of an effort to cement Israeli control over the territory, where 3 million Palestinians live under military rule. The deadly raids have caused destruction in urban areas. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said he a

Israel ups offense in West Bank, says troops to stay for a yr in few areas

Israel's defence minister said Sunday troops would remain for the coming year in parts of the occupied West Bank where they have launched a weekslong offensive and would prevent tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians from returning, as Israel deepens its crackdown on the Palestinian territory. Israel launched a broad offensive on the northern West Bank on January 21 two days after the ceasefire that paused the war in Gaza took hold and then expanded it to include other nearby areas. Israel says it is determined to stamp out militancy amid a rise in attacks. Palestinians view such raids as part of an effort to cement Israeli control over the territory, where 3 million Palestinians live under military rule. The raids have been deadly, caused destruction to urban areas and displaced tens of thousands. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said he had instructed the military to prepare to remain in some of the West Bank's urban refugee camps, from where he said some 40,000 ...

Israel PM Netanyahu deploys army in West Bank after terror attack on buses

The bus blasts came just hours after Palestinian militant group Hamas returned four bodies purported to be hostages held in Gaza since its October 7, 2023 attack

Israel's West Bank crackdown causes mass displacement unseen since 1967

By car and on foot, through muddy olive groves and snipers' sight lines, tens of thousands of Palestinians in recent weeks have fled Israeli military operations across the northern West Bank the largest displacement in the occupied territory since the 1967 Mideast war. After announcing a widespread crackdown against West Bank militants on January 21 just two days after its ceasefire deal with Hamas in Gaza Israeli forces descended on the restive city of Jenin, as they have dozens of times since Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. But unlike past operations, Israeli forces then pushed deeper and more forcefully into several other nearby towns, including Tulkarem, Far'a and Nur Shams, scattering families and stirring bitter memories of the 1948 war over Israel's creation. During that war, 7,00,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes in what is now Israel. That Nakba, or catastrophe, as Palestinians call it, gave rise to the crowded West Bank towns now under assau

Six injured in attack in Israel-occupied West Bank; assailant killed

At least six people were injured in a shooting attack at a checkpoint in the Israeli-occupied West Bank early Tuesday morning, according to the Israeli military and area hospitals. The Israeli military said an attacker fired at soldiers at a checkpoint in the village of Tayasir, which is in the northern West Bank. In a tense exchange, soldiers returned fire and the attacker was killed, the military added. Israeli hospitals said they had received a total of six people injured in the shooting attack. Israeli media reported the injured are soldiers and at least two of them were critically injured. Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad militant group praised the attack but neither claimed responsibility for it. Israel has carried out an extensive operation in nearby Jenin over the past weeks to clamp down on what Israel said is militant activity in the city, as soldiers and armored bulldozers have caused widespread damage and destroyed scores of homes. Palestinian health officials have

Released Palestinian prisoners arrive to celebrations in West Bank

Thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank city of Ramallah celebrated the arrival of buses carrying dozens of prisoners released as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire. Israel said it released a total of 200 prisoners after Hamas freed four young, female Israeli soldiers. The prisoners include 120 who were serving life sentences after being convicted of deadly attacks on Israelis. Around 70 were released into Egypt. Hamas militants handed over four captive female Israeli soldiers to the Red Cross in Gaza City on Saturday after parading them in front of a crowd. Israel followed with the release of 200 Palestinian prisoners or detainees as part of the fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The four Israeli soldiers smiled broadly as they waved and gave the thumbs-up from a stage in Gaza City's Palestine Square, militants on either side of them and a crowd of thousands watching before they were led off to waiting Red Cross vehicles. They were likely acting under duress, with previously

Palestinian govt tells UNSC it's ready to run Gaza Strip, West Bank

The Palestinian government has said it is ready to take responsibility for running the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and is committed to managing crossing points in collaboration with the European Union and Egypt. Palestinian minister of state for foreign affairs, Varsen Aghabekian, told a ministerial meeting of the UN Security Council on Gaza on Monday that the government welcomes any assistance to train and equip the Palestinian police and security forces. She also called for urgent humanitarian aid. Aghabekian expressed hope that the six-week ceasefire will lead to a final ceasefire and lay the foundations for a political track to end Israel's occupation within a year as called for by the International Court of Justice, the UN's highest tribunal. Israel's political coordinator, Reut Shapir Ben Naftaly, told the council "this war will not end until every hostage is returned and Hamas' ability to terrorise is dismantled". She said the Middle East stands at "a turning point" where

West Bank Palestinians risk crossing Israeli border to flee failing economy

At dawn in mid-May, Sayyed Ayyed and dozens of other unemployed Palestinian men gathered at the foot of the towering wall of concrete and barbed wire dividing the occupied West Bank from Israel. A smuggler was there with a ladder and ropes. Each man handed over the equivalent of $100. Ayyed waited his turn as others clambered over. The 30-year-old father of two young daughters hadn't found work for a year. Debts were mounting. Rent had to be paid. On the Israeli side, there was the lure of work on a construction site. He just had to get over the wall. When we reach the point where you see that your children do not have food, he said, the barrier of fear is broken. A year of war in Gaza has reverberated across the West Bank, where the World Bank warns the economy is at risk of collapse because of Israeli restrictions barring Palestinian laborers from entering the country for work, and the biggest wave of violence in decades. Unemployment has skyrocketed, reaching 30% from around 12

Indian origin Israeli soldier killed amid tensions in the West Bank

A 24-year-old Indian-origin Israeli soldier from the Bnei Menashe community was killed in a vehicle-ramming attack close to the West Bank's Beit El settlement, community members said on Thursday. Staff Sergeant Geri Gideon Hanghal was a resident of Nof HaGalil and a soldier in the Kfir Brigade's Nahshon Battalion, the Israeli Army said. Community members told PTI that they were "in shock at the news of the loss of a young life" on Wednesday near Asaf Junction. His funeral will be held on Thursday, they said. Hanghal immigrated to Israel from the northeastern part of India in 2020. Some 300 Bnei Menashe youngsters are said to be doing Army duty during the current war, most of them serving in combat units. The Bnei Menashe, hailing from India's north-eastern states of Manipur and Mizoram, are believed to have descended from the Israelite tribe of Menasseh, one of the lost tribes of ancient times. Shlomo Amar, Sephardic Chief Rabbi, declared them descendants of Menasseh in 2005 pav

Shooting attack at West Bank-Jordan border crossing kills 3 Israelis

Three people were shot and killed Sunday at the border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan, Israeli officials said. The military said the gunman approached the Allenby Bridge Crossing from the Jordanian side in a truck and opened fire at Israeli security forces, who killed the assailant in a shootout. It said the three people killed were Israeli civilians. Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service said the three men who were killed were in their 50s. There was no immediate comment from Jordan, which made peace with Israel in 1994 but is fiercely critical of its policies toward the Palestinians. The Allenby crossing is mainly used by Israelis, Palestinians and international tourists. The Israeli-occupied West Bank has seen a surge of violence since Hamas' Oct 7 attack out of Gaza triggered the war there. Israel has launched near-daily military arrest raids into dense Palestinian residential areas, and there has also been a rise in settler violence and Palestinian attacks on ...

Israeli soldiers shot American woman at West Bank protest: Reports

Israeli soldiers killed an American woman demonstrating against settlements in the West Bank on Friday, according to a witness who said she was shot while posing no threat to Israeli forces and during a moment of calm after clashes earlier in the afternoon. Two Palestinian doctors said 26-year-old Aysenur Ezgi Eygi of Seattle was shot in the head. The US government confirmed Eygi's death but did not say whether the recent graduate of the University of Washington, who was also a Turkish citizen, had been shot by Israeli troops. The White House said it was deeply disturbed by the killing of a US citizen and called on Israel to investigate what happened. The Israeli military said it was looking into reports that troops had killed a foreign national while firing at an instigator of violent activity in the area of the protest. The killing came amid a surge of violence in the West Bank since the Israel-Hamas war began in October, with increasing Israeli raids, attacks by Palestinian ...

Polio vaccine campaign begins in Gaza day before fight expected to pause

A campaign to inoculate children in Gaza against polio and prevent the spread of the virus has begun, the Health Ministry has said, as Palestinians in the Hamas-governed enclave and the occupied West Bank reeled from Israel's military offensives. Meanwhile, Israel's military late Saturday in a terse announcement said it had located a number of bodies during combat in Gaza. The army was trying to identify the bodies, including whether they were hostages, but said the process would take several hours. We ask to refrain from spreading rumors, it said. There were no further details. A small number of children in Gaza received vaccine doses on Saturday, a day before the large-scale rollout and planned pause in fighting agreed to by Israel and the UN World Health Organisation. There must be a cease-fire so that the teams can reach everyone targeted by this campaign, said Dr Yousef Abu Al-Rish, Gaza's deputy health minister, describing scenes of sewage running through crowded tent camps. .