Over the past week, Western efforts to pressure Israel have failed to halt Tel Aviv's expansion of settlements and military control in the West Bank. France banned Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich from entering the country, along with four settler organization leaders and 21 other individuals. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot accused Smotrich of promoting the annexation of the West Bank and the resettlement of Gaza.
On June 9, France, Britain, Canada, Norway, Australia, and New Zealand jointly imposed sanctions on networks financing settler violence in the region. On June 10, Amnesty International accused Israel of carrying out a long-running campaign of state-sponsored ethnic cleansing aimed at accelerating the annexation of the West Bank. The Israeli military rejected the accusation.
The same day, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of 'impunity' across the occupied territories, citing an average of six settler attacks per day and a displacement wave 'unprecedented since 1967.'
In response, the Israeli government approved a $388 million funding plan for 69 settlements, according to Peace Now. The organization said the government has approved or legalized 103 settlements since late 2022, including 51 entirely new ones, concentrated in strategic areas such as the southern Hebron Hills and the Jordan Valley.
On June 11, Israeli media reported that the military established a permanent post at the Jenin refugee camp in Area A—which under the Oslo Accords falls under Palestinian administrative and security control. This marks the first time Israel has set up a permanent military base in this area since 1993.
In Deir Abu Mash'al, northwest of Ramallah, local residents have been resisting settlers erecting an illegal encampment on al-Qarana hill. On June 15, settlers attacked residents, wounding four Palestinians, one critically. Israeli soldiers fired tear gas and live rounds into the crowd.
According to local activists, settlers continue expanding outposts in various locations, bringing mobile homes to Karmeilo, placing caravans in Gharaba, and seizing hundreds of dunams of land in the plains of Jalud, Qaryut, and Khirbet Sarra south of Nablus. Settler groups boast online about 'endless tours through Areas A and B' and 'new outposts sprouting like mushrooms after rain.'
During night raids on June 14, around 50-60 armed settlers attacked Deir Dibwan and Burqa east of Ramallah, torching six cars, damaging a house, and setting fire to the doors of two mosques. Incidents of wheat field burning near Nablus were also reported.
Bedouin and herding communities continue to face pressure from demolition orders and water source destruction. On June 15, Israeli forces demolished two family homes, two agricultural sheds, fencing, and a water well in the Ighziwah and Ma'in areas. According to OCHA, since January, over 100 incidents have destroyed or damaged more than 190 water and sanitation structures across the West Bank.
In Gaza, after eight months of a nominal ceasefire, Israeli attacks persist. Gaza's Health Ministry said the death toll since the ceasefire has exceeded 990, bringing the total since October 2023 to over 73,000. On June 14, an Israeli airstrike on a warehouse near the Yemen al-Sa'eed hospital in Jabalia killed at least four people.
OCHA reported that more than 70% of Gaza's population depends on water tankers, with budget shortfalls threatening supply. Fuel entering Gaza has dropped to about 1 million liters per week, halving daily cooked meal production compared to March. Gaza's Health Ministry said Israel is blocking at least 16,500 patients from leaving for treatment, including detained Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, who has shown signs of torture.
