Israel is accelerating its annexation of the West Bank through legal maneuvers that grant settlers direct ownership of Palestinian land.

At least 70 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in the occupied West Bank since the start of this year, the Health Ministry said on Monday. The victims included 10 children, one woman and two elderly people, the ministry added in a statement.

Over 2,970 attacks launched by illegal Israeli settlers in West Bank in 2024, according to Palestinian figures - Anadolu Ajansı

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the assault on Jenin would be “extensive and significant,” as the military erected new checkpoints across the West Bank.

The Treasury Department on Friday officially removed U.S. sanctions against dozens of Israeli groups and individuals accused of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank as part of President Donald Trump’s major reversal of Biden-era policy in the region.

The action came a day after President Donald Trump said he will lift sanctions on ultranationalist Israeli settlers who attacked Palestinian villages.

The sudden expansion of Israeli security operations in the West Bank has killed at least 10 people and follows the start of the delicate ceasefire process in Gaza, by which Israeli hostages are released in stages and will also see the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces.

An Israeli air strike killed 10 Palestinians in the north of the occupied West Bank on Wednesday night, the Palestinian health ministry says. Video footage reportedly from the town of Tamun showed chaotic scenes,