Israeli authorities have continued to exert control over the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, resulting in the deaths of at least 18 people in the last week. The majority of those killed were victims of Israeli air strikes in Gaza, with three people killed in the West Bank due to settler and army shootings.
The violence has been escalating in recent weeks, with settler attacks increasing as the joint US and Israeli war on Iran continues. Israeli forces have also restricted worship at Palestinian holy sites, citing the threat of Iranian attacks. The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound has been closed to Muslim worshippers since late February, with authorities extending the state of emergency until mid-April.
On Sunday, Israeli forces prevented Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in occupied East Jerusalem to perform Palm Sunday mass, a move the Latin patriarchate described as the first time in centuries that the head of the church had been barred from doing so.
In Gaza, a surge in Israeli air strikes and artillery fire has targeted police forces, with aid workers and United Nations officials warning that the campaign risks creating dangerous vacuums in public order and civilian services in the devastated Strip. Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace's high representative for Gaza, has proposed a framework for disarming Hamas, establishing the principle of one authority, one law, and one weapon.
The Israeli government has approved a record $45.8bn budget for its Ministry of Defence, comprising 17 percent of the entire government budget for 2026. The Knesset has also passed a bill imposing the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of "terrorism", empowering military courts in the occupied West Bank to hand down sentences without prosecutorial request or judicial unanimity.
When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will enable church leaders to worship at the holy site in the coming days, that means he is trying to placate the international community while maintaining control over the West Bank and Gaza. The fact that he is willing to make concessions to the church, but not to the Palestinian people, highlights the Israeli government's priorities.
