Israeli politicians intensify hardline rhetoric and settlement activity ahead of elections
In the run-up to Israel’s election, right-wing ministers opened a new West Bank settlement and called for expanded military action, while Netanyahu addressed the UN amid walkouts.
During the final weeks before Israel’s national election, senior ministers staged the founding of a new illegal outpost called Metzoke Eretz in the occupied West Bank, presenting it as evidence that a Netanyahu-led coalition will keep settlement building alive. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich publicly called for the Israeli army to go to war in the West Bank, while National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posted a video from prison in which he threatened a detained Hamas operative.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United Nations General Assembly, delivering a confrontational speech as several delegations walked out. The Jewish holiday of Sukkot coincided with intensified road closures, checkpoints, and restrictions on Palestinian access to East Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque. Simultaneously, Israeli forces continued demolitions in villages such as Jinba, displacing dozens of residents, and settlers were reported to be uprooting olive trees and confronting Palestinians in several West Bank towns.
Why it matters
The actions signal a hardening of Israeli policy just before elections, affecting settlement growth and Palestinian civilian life.
How this story developed
- Sep 1 EU debates ban on settlement products as Israeli forces raze West Bank homes
- Sep 9 UK joined eleven other countries in imposing a ban on West Bank settlement products.
- Sep 9 The sanctions were announced immediately before the start of Rosh Hashanah.
- Sep 9 Eight Arab and Muslim states publicly praised the United Kingdom’s ban on settlement products.
- Sep 10 Israeli opposition parties offered no substantive response to the UK sanctions.
- Sep 12 Eisenkot’s Yashar party entered the race with a poll showing 23 projected seats.
- Sep 13 US activists created a whistle‑blower hotline and warned firms could be targeted under anti‑BDS laws.
- Sep 14 British foreign secretary expected to announce a trade ban on settlement‑linked goods.
- Sep 17 A year after the October ceasefire, Israeli evacuation orders and ongoing attacks have kept Palestinians in Gaza displaced, with thousands killed, wounded and facing severe food insecurity.
- Sep 18 The UN rights office issued a warning that the displacement of over 33,000 refugees from West Bank camps may amount to crimes against humanity.
- Sep 23 A man in his forties was seriously wounded when a vehicle rammed a police car at a checkpoint near Modi'in on the road to the West Bank.
- Sep 23 The checkpoint’s security personnel have been reinforced and an investigation launched.
- Sep 27 Netanyahu publicly urged right‑wing parties to merge ahead of the election.
- Sep 28 A six‑storey apartment block collapsed, killing 21 people and prompting a lengthy rescue effort.
In this story
Related stories
72 in this thread