Palestine News Today: West Bank Faces Total Closure as Smotrich Calls for Gaza-Style War

27 September 2026. Israel has imposed a comprehensive weeklong closure on the occupied West Bank as a senior minister called for military escalation there, while in the UK protesters demanded an end to arms sales to Israel. Meanwhile, Gaza's humanitarian crisis deepens amid rubble clearance efforts and continued deadly strikes despite the ceasefire.

UK protesters march on Labour conference over Israel arms sales

Hundreds of pro-Palestine protesters marched on Labour's annual conference in Liverpool, the first since Andy Burnham became prime minister, according to Middle East Eye. Demonstrators called for an end to UK arms sales to Israel, with some urging the government to expand recent sanctions on West Bank settlements to cover all of Israel.

Sources: Middle East Eye

Massive Attack singer arrested at UK pro-Palestine protest

A singer from the band Massive Attack was arrested during a pro-Palestine protest in the UK, Al Jazeera reported. The arrest comes amid continuing UK solidarity demonstrations calling for justice for Palestinians.

Sources: Al Jazeera

Smotrich calls for 'Gaza-style war' across occupied West Bank

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called for Israel to wage war in the occupied West Bank and 'do there what we did in Gaza', according to Middle East Eye and Al Jazeera. He also called for dismantling the Palestinian Authority, which he labelled a 'terror authority', and for annexation, comments that come as Israel tightens restrictions across the territory.

Sources: Anadolu Agency, Al Jazeera, Middle East Eye

Israel shuts down all West Bank crossings for a week

Israeli authorities have imposed a 'comprehensive closure' on the occupied West Bank, shutting all crossings until 3 October, citing the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, according to Anadolu Agency and Middle East Eye. Roads and entrances to Ramallah and surrounding towns have been closed, severely restricting Palestinian movement, while a Palestinian girl was reported wounded by Israeli fire at the Qalandia checkpoint near Jerusalem during the same period.

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

Hamas warns of Israeli 'total control' plan over Al-Aqsa

Hamas political bureau member Khaled Meshaal has warned that Israeli actions around Al-Aqsa Mosque are paving the way for total control over the site, according to Middle East Eye. He pointed to a reported 40-day closure of the mosque and measures facilitating incursions by groups he described as extremist, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu toured tunnels beneath the mosque as hundreds of settlers raided the holy site.

Sources: Middle East Eye, Middle East Eye

Israeli drone strikes kill and wound Palestinians in Gaza

Israeli forces killed a 28-year-old Palestinian man in a drone strike in southern Gaza and wounded seven others, medical sources told Anadolu Agency, in fresh violations of the truce. Middle East Eye separately reported that Israeli drones injured three Palestinians in Gaza City's Al-Shati refugee camp and near Sheikh Radwan Market, while Israeli forces also shelled areas south of Khan Younis.

Sources: Anadolu Agency, Middle East Eye

Gaza's mountains of rubble conceal thousands of bodies

Aid workers in Gaza face one of the largest debris-clearance operations in modern history, with an estimated 61 million tonnes of rubble believed to conceal up to 10,000 bodies, the Guardian reports. UN engineers described the exhausting, dangerous work of clearing roads still littered with unexploded Israeli bombs alongside human remains and memories of lost lives.

Sources: The Guardian

UN blacklists more firms over West Bank settlement ties

The UN human rights office has added 61 more companies to its blacklist of firms it says are involved in violating Palestinian human rights through business ties to illegal Israeli settlements, the Guardian reports. The database now lists 214 companies across 11 countries, the vast majority Israeli, though Israel has categorically rejected the findings.

Sources: The Guardian

Israel establishes new settlement outposts near Hebron and Jenin

Israeli settlers have begun establishing a new outpost near Adh Dhahiriya, south of Hebron, according to a rights group cited by Anadolu Agency and Middle East Monitor. Israeli forces separately raided a Palestinian area near Hebron and uprooted olive trees near Jenin, while settlers also set fire to two vehicles in the villages of Turmus Ayya and Abu Falah near Ramallah.

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

Palestine News is published every day on Free Palestine Store. Each item recaps reporting from the named outlets in our own words; follow the source links for full coverage.