Western countries target Israeli settlement trade amid Gaza attacks

Western countries target Israeli settlement trade amid Gaza attacks
2026-09-08T16:04:41+00:00

Shafaq News- Gaza/ West Bank

Four Palestinians were killed and several others wounded in Israeli attacks and operations across Gaza and the occupied West Bank, Palestinian media reported on Tuesday, as 12 Western states warned that Israeli actions were “undermining the possibility of a two-State solution” and moved toward restrictions on trade with settlements.

Gaza

Two Palestinians died in southern Gaza, including an elderly man and a former prisoner who succumbed to wounds sustained in a strike several days earlier in Khan Younis. Israeli gunfire critically wounded a Palestinian in southern Khan Younis and injured another in northern Gaza.

Israeli aircraft struck near the maternity department at Al-Shifa Hospital in western Gaza City and targeted homes in Al-Shati and Al-Bureij refugee camps, while a drone struck near a school north of Al-Nuseirat refugee camp and Israeli forces carried out a demolition operation east of Deir Al-Balah.

Since the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 11, 2025, the Gaza Health Ministry has recorded more than 1,320 deaths and 4,385 injuries, along with 815 bodies recovered, bringing the cumulative toll since Oct. 7, 2023, to more than 73,456 killed and 174,496 injured.

West Bank

In the occupied West Bank, a Gaza worker died after falling from a height while being pursued by Israeli forces in Tulkarm, where residents later held his funeral.

In Aqraba, south of Nablus, Palestinian media identified the second Palestinian killed as Abdul Karim Suleiman, reporting that Israeli forces surrounded his home, fired Energa projectiles at the building and partially demolished it.

The Israeli military described Suleiman as a member of a “terrorist organization” who threw a Molotov cocktail and an improvised explosive device at troops without causing injuries. It said forces surrounded and entered the building before soldiers killed him while he was allegedly carrying a knife that he intended to use against them.

The military linked the raid to an overnight operation in Qabalan, Osarin, Aqraba and Yatma, where forces arrested four wanted Palestinians, including three accused of trafficking weapons and another suspected of planning an imminent attack, questioned about 60 people during searches at 70 locations, and seized ammunition, a launcher and other military equipment.

A major operation also targeted Anata and Shuafat refugee camp northeast of Jerusalem, where the Jerusalem Governorate said Israeli forces imposed a tight cordon from early Tuesday, disrupting schools, closing businesses and severely restricting daily life for around 80,000 residents. Anata's mayor announced the suspension of classes as forces closed the town, raided dozens of homes and made arrests, while the governorate put the number detained since the campaign began at around 100 and said raids and field interrogations were continuing.

Further raids and arrests were reported by Palestinian media across the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem. In Tubas, forces damaged a home and detained a young man, while a former prisoner was arrested after a raid on his home in Jerusalem's Old City. A Palestinian police sergeant and a 61-year-old man were also detained, while forces closed the headquarters of the Central Zakat Committee, a local charitable body, in Tulkarm.

Israeli forces also fired tear gas at the entrance to Al-Fawwar refugee camp south of Al-Khalil (Hebron) and carried out demolitions in Masafer Yatta, where an infant and his family were displaced after their home was demolished, with footage showing the child's mother sitting on the ground and rocking his cradle.

Israeli authorities, meanwhile, released 71-year-old Sheikh Abdul Khaliq Al-Natsheh from Al-Khalil after 24 months in detention, ending his latest period in Israeli custody after spending more than 26 years in prisons over multiple periods.

The International Committee of the Red Cross told Quds News Network that visits to Palestinians held in Israeli prisons had not resumed and none were currently planned, adding that it had facilitated the transfer of 3,472 Palestinian detainees to their families since October 2023 and more than 2,200 people released inside Gaza during unilateral release operations.

The Palestinian Prisoners' Society estimates that more than 21,000 Palestinians have been detained, many without formal charges, while the International Foundation for Solidarity with Prisoners registered 466 arrests and re-arrests in June 2026 alone, including 13 children, 10 women, 25 previously released prisoners, and members of various professional and social groups, in addition to recording 554 administrative detention orders and renewals during the month.

International Pressure Over Settlements

UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband accused Israeli “terrorists” of carrying out ethnic cleansing in the West Bank with tacit government backing and announced sweeping restrictions targeting settlements, as Britain adopted the position that Israel's occupation of the West Bank is unlawful in its entirety.

Addressing the House of Commons, Miliband accused the Israeli government of having “turned a blind eye” to settler actions and said some of its members had made statements or taken steps supporting the forced displacement of Palestinians. Acknowledging what he described as the reality facing Palestinians was “the least the people who face such suffering deserve,” he said, adding that it “should be the prelude to justice.”

The measures include a ban on imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied territories, sanctions on construction, financing and other services supporting settlements, a prohibition on advertising settlement properties in the UK, and personal sanctions against individuals accused of promoting settler violence, alongside restrictions on arms licenses and other exports that “materially contribute to the occupation.” Miliband said those financing or facilitating settlements would “face the full force of UK sanctions,” with legislation implementing the measures expected within nine months.

Israel rejected the accusations, with Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accusing Miliband of “outrageous lies” and saying the British government was “systematically working against the state of Israel.” He announced measures in response, including the closure of the UK consulate in Jerusalem, the expulsion of British representatives from the US-backed International Gaza Support Center in Kiryat Gat, the termination of the British Support Team in Ramallah, which trains members of the Palestinian Authority Security Forces, and a ban on 12 British elected officials and citizens “involved in antisemitic and anti-Israel activity.”

The UK move was followed by a broader joint statement from the foreign ministers of Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom, confirming their intention to introduce national restrictions, support European restrictions on trade in settlement goods or actively consider such measures in accordance with their domestic procedures.

The 12 countries cited “unprecedented levels of settler violence and settlement expansion,” including Israel's decision to publish tenders for the E1 settlement project. They also declared that they “firmly oppose actions tantamount to the annexation of Palestinian land and forcible displacement of the Palestinian population,” urging Israel to halt settlement expansion, ensure accountability for settler violence and investigate allegations involving Israeli forces.

Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 war. Around 700,000 Israeli settlers live in roughly 160 settlements across the two territories alongside about 3.3 million Palestinians. Most of the international community considers the settlements illegal under international law, a position Israel disputes.

The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission recorded 1,819 violations in March, including 1,322 attributed to Israeli forces and 497 to settlers. Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics data indicates that at least 1,183 Palestinians, including 210 children, have been killed in the West Bank since Oct. 2023.

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