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The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested on Wednesday four Palestinian civilians after having raided the governorates of Tulkarm and Bethlehem across the occupied West Bank.WAFA news agency reported that the IOF arrested three young Palestinians in Kafr Al-Labad town, east of Tulkarm governorate, after having raided their homes.In Bethlehem Governorate, the IOF arrested a Palestinian in Beit Fajjar town, deployed in several neighborhoods, and raided several other homes.These arrests come as part of the daily raids carried out by the IOF across the West Bank, during which Palestinians are repeatedly arrested, and their homes are raided.

Israeli occupation forces on Saturday evening detained four Palestinians, including two women, from the Al Maleh area in the northern Jordan Valley, northeast of the occupied West Bank.Local sources said Israeli forces raided the area following an earlier settler attack on local residents and detained four members of one family, including two women.Earlier in the day, a group of Israeli settlers assaulted the family, while Israeli forces accompanying the settlers prevented an ambulance from reaching a child who had been injured after being beaten during the attack.

The Arab League has called out the decision taken by the Security Cabinet of the Israeli occupation state to endorse the establishment of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank. In a statement Monday, the Arab League stressed that this move lays bare a brazen challenge to the international will that opposes the settlement and constitutes a breach of international law, confirming the illegitimacy of these settlements. The apparent expansion of this unlawful settlement is carried out with the intent of preventing the establishment of a continuous Palestinian state geographically, reflecting the nature of the Israeli government controlled by extremists and settlers, the statement concluded. The statement further emphasised that this expansion will never make settlements legitimate whatsoever, and that the violence unleashed by extremist settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank is a kind of terror practised under the eyes of the occupation state and protected by its official apparatus. 

Israel has approved the establishment of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, a move the far-right finance minister said was aimed at preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state.The decision taken by the security cabinet brings the total number of settlements approved over the past three years to 69, according to a statement from the office of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.The latest approvals come days after the United Nations said the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank – all of which are illegal under international law – had reached its highest level since at least 2017."The proposal by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defence Minister Israel Katz to declare and formalise 19 new settlements in Judea and Samaria has been approved by the cabinet," the statement said, using the Israeli biblical term for the West Bank, without specifying when the decision was made.The final approval came from the security cabinet, which is part of the overall right-wing government.Smotrich is a vocal proponent of settlement expansion and a settler himself."We will continue to develop, build and settle the land of our ancestral heritage, with faith in the justice of our path,” he said in the statement.UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently condemned what he described as Israel's "relentless" expansion of settlements in the occupied territory.It "continues to fuel tensions, impede access by Palestinians to their land and threaten the viability of a fully independent, democratic, contiguous and sovereign Palestinian State", he said earlier this month.Since the start of the war in Gaza, calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state have proliferated, with several European countries, Canada and Australia recently moving to formally recognise such a state, drawing rebukes from Israel.A UN report said the expansion of settlements was at its highest point since 2017, when the United Nations began tracking such data."These figures represent a sharp increase compared to previous years," Guterres said, noting an average of 12,815 housing units were added annually between 2017 and 2022."These developments are further entrenching the unlawful Israeli occupation and violating international law and undermining the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination,” he said.Excluding east Jerusalem, which was occupied and annexed by Israel in 1967, more than 500,000 Israelis live in the West Bank, along with about 3mn Palestinian residents.Smotrich's office said the 19 newly approved settlements are located in what it described as "highly strategic" areas, adding that two of them – Ganim and Kadim in the northern West Bank – would be re-established after being dismantled two decades ago.Five of the 19 settlements already existed but had not previously been granted legal status under Israeli law, the statement said.While all Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territory are illegal under international law, some wildcat outposts are also illegal under Israeli law.Many of these, however, are later legalised by Israeli authorities, fuelling fears about the possible annexation of the territory.US President Donald Trump has warned Israel against annexing the West Bank."Israel would lose all of its support from the United States if that happened," Trump said in a recent interview with *Time magazine.Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, where violence has surged since the Gaza war erupted in October 2023.Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 1,027 Palestinians in the West Bank – both militants and civilians – since the start of the fighting in Gaza, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures.At least 44 Israelis have been killed in the West Bank in Palestinian attacks or Israeli military operations during the same period, according to Israeli data. 

The State of Qatar condemned the Israeli occupation government's approval of the establishment of 19 settlements in the West Bank, considering it a flagrant violation of international legitimacy resolutions, particularly UN Security Council Resolution 2334, and a blatant assault on the rights of the Palestinian people.In a statement on Tuesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed the importance of the international community fulfilling its legal and moral responsibilities by compelling Israel to halt its settlement policy in the occupied Palestinian territories.The Ministry reaffirmed the State of Qatar's firm and unwavering position in supporting the Palestinian cause and the steadfastness of the Palestinian people, based on international legitimacy resolutions and the two-state solution, in a manner that ensures the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Israeli occupation forces arrested six Palestinians on Tuesday after raiding the town of Birzeit, north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.Palestinian news agency (WAFA) reported that the occupation forces stormed the town at dawn, raided several homes, and vandalized their contents. They also stormed Birzeit University from three entrances, detaining several security guards and confiscating their phones.The occupation forces also raided several towns in the Jenin governorate, carrying out extensive search and arrest operations.Local sources said that the occupation forces stormed the town of Ya'bad, deployed infantry units in its center, and raided and searched a number of homes. They also stormed the town of Silat al-Harithiya, west of Jenin, and raided and searched homes there, though no arrests were reported.In Qabatiya, Israeli military vehicles stormed the town and deployed throughout its streets, raiding residents' homes. Israeli soldiers also positioned snipers on the rooftops of several houses, though no clashes or arrests were reported.Cities, towns, and refugee camps in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem witness daily raids and incursions by Israeli occupation forces, accompanied by clashes, arrests, and the firing of live ammunition, rubber-coated bullets, and tear gas at Palestinian youth. 

This morning, Israeli occupation forces arrested 11 Palestinians from various areas of the West Bank amid an ongoing escalation of violence against Palestinians. The Palestinian News Agency (WAFA) reported that the occupation forces arrested four people from the Nablus governorate after raiding the Balata, Askar Al Qadim, Askar Al Jadid camps and the town of Beit Furik, in addition to two citizens from the town of Beit Rima and the village of Abu Shkheidem northwest of Ramallah, and six others from the city of Qalqilya.

The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) launched widespread arrests, raids and violent house searches on Thursday in the West Bank, arresting 25 Palestinians.Palestinian news agency (WAFA) reported that the IOF arrested 18 Palestinians in the city of Dura during their raid on southern Al-Khalil, four others in the villages of Beita and Qaryout, south of Nablus, and three young Palestinians in the town of Deir Al-Ghusun, north of Tulkarm.In the same context, the IOF demolished a park in the town of Al-Qubayba, northwest of Occupied Jerusalem (Al-Quds).These arrests come as part of the escalating policy pursued by the Israeli occupation in the West Bank, which aims to terrify Palestinians, restrict their movement, and persecute activists and released prisoners.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) announced that the unemployment rate in the West Bank during the first quarter of 2025 reached 31.7% for men and 33.7% for women. In a report analyzing the impact of the two-year Israeli occupation's aggression on Gaza on the West Bank economy and labor market, the ILO noted a sharp deterioration in livelihoods, with rising unemployment rates, declining incomes, and worsening poverty among Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories.The report indicated that the war and its accompanying restrictions caused a 29% decline in the gross domestic product (GDP) in the occupied Palestinian territory as a whole between the first two quarters of 2023 and 2025, with the West Bank recording a 17.1% contraction.It revealed that the situation worsened during the second quarter of this 2025, with Israeli restrictions tightened across the West Bank. Living standards declined, with real per capita income in the West Bank declining by more than 20% compared to 2023.The ILO predicted a further deterioration in the labor market in the West Bank, with the overall unemployment rate expected to reach 38.5%, affecting more than 363,000 Palestinians. It added that the West Bank recorded modest growth of 9.9% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, but output remains well below pre-war levels.

The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) denounced the Israeli Knesset's approval of legislation aimed at annexing the occupied West Bank and imposing alleged Israeli sovereignty over it.An OIC statement on Thursday said that this legislative action, coupled with another law formalizing a settlement, represents a blatant infringement of international law, pertinent United Nations resolutions, the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution.Furthermore, the OIC applauded the ICJ's Advisory Opinion, which unequivocally reiterated Israel's legal and humanitarian obligations under international law. The court's opinion emphasized the necessity for unimpeded humanitarian operations spearheaded by the United Nations and its associated bodies, particularly the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), while also highlighting the accountability mechanisms for those perpetrating attacks against humanitarian personnel and infrastructure.The OIC asserted that the occupied Palestinian territory, which encompasses the Gaza Strip and the West Bank — including east Jerusalem, constitutes a singular geographical entity. Consequently, any claims of Israeli sovereignty over these areas are devoid of legal standing and are categorically null and void according to international law.The OIC called upon the international community, specifically the United Nations Security Council, to fulfill its obligations and take immediate and decisive action to curb these violations and transgressions. Such actions not only jeopardise the viability of a two-state solution but also threaten broader international efforts to foster justice, stability, and peace in the region.

Several Palestinians were injured on Monday morning as Israeli occupation forces raided Al-Fawwar Camp, south of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank. According to the Palestinian News and Information Agency (WAFA), large units of the Israeli army stormed the camp and raided numerous homes, conducting extensive search operations. The forces detained a number of Palestinians for several hours, during which they were subjected to field interrogations and physical assault before being released, the agency added. Israeli forces also raided several villages and neighborhoods in Hebron City, searching homes and tampering with their contents. No arrests were reported.

An AFP photographer was injured in an attack by Israeli settlers on Friday while covering the olive harvest in a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank."In my 30-year career, this is the first time I have faced violence of this kind," said Jaafar Ashtiyeh, a Palestinian photographer based in the city of Nablus."If I hadn't managed to escape, they would have killed me," he added.Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and Israeli settlements there are expanding, and violence soaring.Ashtiyeh said he had been covering the olive harvest in the village of Beita, particularly looking at the work of Israeli and foreign peace activists who had come to support residents in the face of repeated settler attacks during the harvest season.Shortly after midday (0900 GMT), two groups of Israeli settlers armed with sticks and stones -- numbering around 70 people in total -- attacked the olive pickers and journalists at the scene.Hit by several stones in the back, arm and hand, Ashtiyeh was discharged from hospital in the afternoon and is suffering from bruising.His car, along with a handful of others parked at a safe distance from the field, was stoned and then set on fire by the assailants.Ashtiyeh said Israeli soldiers who were present before the attack did nothing to stop the attackers from advancing, but instead fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the olive pickers and activists to disperse them."We strongly condemn this outrageous attack which is another illustration of the increasingly dangerous working environment for our journalists in the West Bank," said Mehdi Lebouachera, AFP's Global Editor-In-Chief."We urge the Israeli military to not only ensure the protection of journalists going about their work but also to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice," he added.Contacted by AFP about the incident, the Israeli military did not immediately respond.The Palestinian health ministry said settler attacks injured 36 people on Friday in Beita and other nearby villages, with most of them suffering minor or moderate injuries, with the exception of two who were wounded by gunfire.