IDF reportedly seizes land in PA-run area of West Bank to link 2 planned settlements
Hadash MK shoved by Border Police officer at memorial for Palestinian allegedly slain by settler; police nab teen suspected of assaulting Palestinians, abusing dog
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
The Israel Defense Forces has reportedly issued orders to seize Palestinian Authority-controlled areas of the West Bank in order to link two planned Israeli settlements in the north of the territory.
The IDF Central Command chief, Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, issued 15 seizure orders in parts of Area A, which the PA has full control over, between the planned settlements of Noah and Emek Dotan, the Haaretz daily reported on Wednesday.
The two are among the 34 new West Bank settlements approved by the government in April. The reported seizure appears to provide land for a road between the two settlements, south of the Palestinian city of Jenin.
It marks the first time the military has used seizure orders for the purpose of linking settlements as opposed to military purposes, according to Kerem Navot, a watchdog that monitors Israeli land policy in the West Bank.
There was no immediate comment from the IDF.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government has greatly streamlined and expedited approval processes for settlements, with the goal of entrenching Israeli control over the West Bank and preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Under the 1995 Oslo II Accords between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank is divided into Area A, under full Palestinian Authority control; Area B, under Israeli security control and Palestinian civilian control; and Area C, which comprises most of the territory and where most Israel’s settlements are located, and is under full Israeli control.
However, Israeli forces have routinely entered Area A to conduct operations. Israel bars its citizens from entering Area A due to security concerns, but Israelis have been repeatedly evacuated from the area over the past year. PA security forces have assisted in such extractions more than a dozen times, mainly in cases where Israelis mistakenly entered the area.
Hadash MK forced to ground by Israeli officer at memorial
MK Ofer Cassif, from the Arab-Jewish Hadash party got into a physical altercation with a Border Police officer during a memorial ceremony in the West Bank for Awdah Hathaleen, a Palestinian activist who was shot dead one year ago in the West Bank, allegedly by extremist settler Yinon Levi.
In footage of the event in the Palestinian village of Umm al-Kheir, Cassif was seen quarreling with officers before one of them shoved him, prompting a scuffle.
“Don’t raise your voice at me,” the officer was heard saying as he pushed the lawmaker. The border policeman then grabbed Cassif’s arm and appeared to force him to the ground amid a crowd of people.
In a statement, Cassif, the only Jewish member of the Arab-majority Hadash Party, said the clash came after officers declared the area a closed military zone, a tactic often used by security forces to disperse protesters and activists.
“A quiet and respectful event in the Palestinian village of Umm al-Kheir in remembrance of Awdah Hadaleen, a peace-loving activist who was murdered a year ago by a settler who continues to roam free and armed, was disrupted by dozens of Border Police officers,” Cassif wrote on X. “They declared the area a closed military zone, and during the memorial event even assailed me with physical violence.”
תקיפתו של ח”כ עופר כסיף בידי שוטרי מג”ב היום בכפר אום אל־ח’יר, במהלך אירוע לציון יום השנה לרצח הפעיל והמחנך עודה הד’אלין, חמורה מאוד ומבטאת בצורה ברורה את ההידרדרות הטוטאלית של כוחות הכיבוש אל הפשיזם.
אך היא גם חלק ממציאות רחבה יותר, שבה מיליוני פלסטינים חיים תחת דיכוי, גירוש… pic.twitter.com/jkvoVzJ5dd
— חד״ש Hadash (@Hadash_org) July 28, 2026
He added that he “doesn’t expect a thing” from the Department of Internal Police Investigations, a Justice Ministry agency that probes police on criminal suspicions.
Neither the Israel Police nor the DIPI commented on the incident. Cassif has previously clashed with security forces.
In a 2021 incident in Sheikh Jarrah, Cassif was beaten by police officers during a protest, which drew widespread condemnation from across the political spectrum. A probe into the incident was later closed due to lack of evidence.
“After they closed the case of my assault in Sheikh Jarrah, despite clear footage and after coordination of testimony by the police, it is hard to believe that this time they’ll render justice, even though this assault is filmed clearly,” Cassif wrote.
אירוע שקט ומכובד בכפר הפלסטיני אום אלח׳יר לזכרו של עודה הד׳אלין, פעיל שוחר שלום שנרצח לפני שנה בידי מתנחל שממשיך להסתובב חופשי וחמוש, הופרע בידי עשרות שוטרי מג״ב. הם הכריזו על המקום כשטח צבאי סגור, ובמהלך אירוע האזכרה אף תקפו אותי באלימות פיזית.
ממח״ש כבר איני מצפה לדבר. לאחר… pic.twitter.com/JGM1YQlbrZ
— Ofer Cassif עופר כסיף عوفر كسيف (@ofercass) July 28, 2026
Cassif linked Wednesday’s incident to the sharp uptick in settler violence in the West Bank, where near-daily attacks take place, though arrests and indictments are rare. Critics including Cassif have accused the government and law enforcement of turning a blind eye to the attacks.
“But I’m not the point, the point is the cruel reality of the occupation, the ethnic cleansing and murder that Palestinians endure on a daily basis. Settlers carry out pogroms, while the occupation forces enable them, protect them and sometimes even take an active part in them,” he charged.
Netanyahu was said to have privately referred to growing settler violence as a “metastasizing cancer” earlier this year, while in public comments he has characterized it as a fringe phenomenon carried out by a small handful of extremists.
Separately, police arrested a settler teen suspected of assaulting a mother and her child, as well as abusing a dog, during a raid on a Palestinian village in the southern West Bank.
The 16-year-old suspect had been on the run for the past two months after the May 27 attack on Khirbet a-Rakiz. Officers tracked him down to a hideout near Kibbutz Sde Boker in southern Israel, police said.
He is believed to be the assailant filmed taking a club to one of the Palestinian village’s watchdogs. In a separate clip from the raid, he is seen entering the home of a resident and pushing a woman to the ground as her toddler clung to her.
He was taken in for questioning and will be brought before a judge later on Wednesday, where police will request to keep him in custody.
UN rights office warns of worsening violence, urges global action
The UN human rights office warned on Wednesday of worsening settler violence, and urged international action against the killing of Palestinians as well as the founding of settlements, which it says has reached an all-time high.
According to United Nations figures, 18 Palestinians have been killed in incidents linked to settler attacks so far this year, compared with 17 in the whole of 2025.
“Settlers and Israeli security forces, often acting together, have attacked local communities, assaulting families, destroying and confiscating property, and burning mosques,” Ravina Shamdasani, the spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement.
Shin Bet figures reported Tuesday by Army Radio showed the number of such attacks significantly increasing in the first half of 2026.
The military recorded 867 incidents of nationalistic crime and settler violence in 2025, compared to 682 incidents in 2024.
The Times of Israel Community.