Palestine News Today: Smotrich Urges West Bank War as Israel Seals Off Territory

27 September 2026. A US NFL player and UK protesters kept Palestinian solidarity in the headlines this weekend, even as Israel's finance minister called for a Gaza-style military campaign in the West Bank. The occupied territory now faces a week-long closure, fresh settlement expansion and continued deadly strikes in Gaza despite the ceasefire.

NFL Player Barred From Honoring Slain Gaza Girl

Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair was forced to remove the name of eight-year-old Wafaa Akila, killed in an Israeli air strike on her school's first day, from his eyeblack, The Athletic reported via Middle East Eye. Al-Shaair previously drew international attention after the NFL fined him for writing the name of Hind Rajab, another Palestinian child killed by Israeli forces, during a game. The repeated incidents highlight growing efforts by American athletes to draw attention to Palestinian child deaths despite league restrictions.

Sources: Middle East Eye

Documentary on Gaza Killings Premieres Amid Threats in New York

The filmmakers behind NAZA, a documentary on what they describe as Israel's systematic mass killing of Palestinians in Gaza, defended their findings at the film's North American premiere in New York, according to The Guardian. Directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor spoke out despite protests in Israel and escalating threats from Israeli officials to strip them of citizenship. The premiere underscores growing US public engagement with documented evidence of the human cost of Israel's Gaza campaign.

Sources: The Guardian

Israeli Minister Calls for Gaza-Style Assault on West Bank

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israel should wage war in the occupied West Bank and repeat what it did in Gaza, according to Al Jazeera and Middle East Eye. He said he had 'solutions' for the territory, calling for the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority and further annexation. The remarks came as Israeli authorities imposed sweeping new restrictions on Palestinian movement across the territory.

Sources: Anadolu Agency, Al Jazeera, Middle East Eye

Israel Locks Down Entire West Bank for a Week

Israeli authorities announced a 'comprehensive closure' of the occupied West Bank, shutting all crossings until October 3 and citing the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, Anadolu Agency and Middle East Eye reported. Roads and entrances to Ramallah-area towns and villages were sealed, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa. During the same period, a Palestinian girl was shot and wounded by Israeli forces at the Qalandia checkpoint north of Jerusalem, and another Palestinian girl was injured by Israeli fire elsewhere in the West Bank.

Sources: Anadolu Agency, Middle East Eye, Middle East Monitor, Middle East Eye, Anadolu Agency

Hamas Warns of Israeli Bid to Seize Al-Aqsa Mosque

Hamas political bureau member Khaled Meshaal said Israeli measures around Al-Aqsa Mosque are paving the way for total control over the site, according to Middle East Eye. He cited a reported 40-day closure of the mosque, restrictions facilitating incursions by settler groups, and efforts to empty and divide the compound. His comments followed a tour by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of tunnels beneath the mosque and a raid by hundreds of Israeli settlers on the holy site.

Sources: Middle East Eye, Middle East Eye

Deadly Israeli Strikes Continue in Gaza Despite Truce

Israeli forces killed a 28-year-old Palestinian man and wounded seven others in a drone strike in southern Gaza, medical sources told Anadolu Agency, in violation of the ceasefire. Separately, Middle East Eye reported that Israeli drones struck a group of Palestinians in Al-Shati refugee camp and near tents sheltering displaced people close to Sheikh Radwan Market, wounding three people. Israeli forces also shelled areas south of Khan Younis and opened fire in the vicinity, according to the report.

Sources: Anadolu Agency, Middle East Eye

Gaza's Rubble Hides Thousands of Bodies, Aid Workers Say

Aid workers face the task of clearing 61 million tonnes of rubble in Gaza, which may conceal up to 10,000 bodies along with unexploded Israeli bombs, The Guardian reported. A UN engineer described the effort as one of the largest debris-clearance operations in modern history, comparing the work to emptying the sea with a spoon. The scale of destruction continues to complicate recovery and reconstruction even as the ceasefire holds.

Sources: The Guardian

UN Expands Blacklist of Firms Tied to Settlements

The UN human rights office added 61 more companies to its blacklist of firms linked to human rights violations against Palestinians through business ties to Israeli settlements, The Guardian reported. The list now totals 214 companies, based in 11 countries and mostly Israeli, though five previously listed firms were removed. Israel rejected the publication, saying the listed businesses committed no wrongdoing.

Sources: The Guardian

New Settlement Outposts Rise Near Hebron and Jenin

Israeli settlers established a new outpost near the town of Adh Dhahiriya, south of Hebron, while Israeli forces uprooted olive trees near Jenin, according to a Palestinian rights group cited by Anadolu Agency. The expansion came as settlers separately set fire to two vehicles in the villages of Turmus Ayya and Abu Falah near Ramallah, according to Middle East Eye, and attempted to torch the home of an American citizen from Turmus Ayya.

Sources: Anadolu Agency, Middle East Monitor, Middle East Eye

UK Marchers Demand End to Arms Sales to Israel

Hundreds of pro-Palestine protesters marched on the Labour Party's annual conference in Liverpool, calling for an end to British arms sales to Israel, Middle East Eye reported. Some demonstrators urged the government to expand recent sanctions on West Bank settlements to cover all of Israel. Separately, Al Jazeera reported that a singer from the band Massive Attack was arrested during a related pro-Palestine protest in the UK.

Sources: Middle East Eye, Al Jazeera

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