Palestine News Today: UK sanctions on settlements take effect as Gaza ceasefire deaths pass 1,500
15 October 2026. Britain's new sanctions regime against Israeli settlements came into force today, alongside fresh UK political pressure over the Palestine Action ban and a British war crimes probe call. Meanwhile, Gaza's health ministry reports over 1,500 Palestinians killed since last October's ceasefire, and the West Bank sees continued raids, settler violence and olive harvest attacks.
UK sanctions regime against settlements comes into force
The United Kingdom's global sanctions regime targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank came into effect on Thursday, according to Middle East Eye. The timing, ahead of a 19 October deadline for bids on the contentious E1 settlement construction tender, follows Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband's announcement last month of Britain's strongest sanctions package against settlement activity to date. The Guardian reports the expanded powers allow the government to freeze assets and target those enabling illegal settlements, obstructing humanitarian aid, or unlawfully holding prisoners.
Sources: Middle East Eye, The Guardian
MP calls for Palestine Action ban to be lifted
British MP Ian Byrne has urged the government to reverse its proscription of Palestine Action, Middle East Eye reports, after novelist Sally Rooney said she could no longer sell her books in the UK because of her support for the group. Byrne said he had warned when voting against the ban that it would bring severe consequences, adding that thousands have since been affected.
Sources: Middle East Eye
British ex-soldier faces war crimes probe calls over Gaza photo
A British former soldier pictured posing in front of a burning Gaza school is facing calls for a war crimes investigation, according to Anadolu Agency, following findings by Declassified UK. The investigation reportedly links the military company he is believed to have served with to destruction in Khan Younis.
Sources: Anadolu Agency
Gaza death toll since ceasefire passes 1,500
Gaza's health ministry says 1,501 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the October 2025 ceasefire, Middle East Eye reports, including three deaths on Wednesday. The ministry recorded 17 injuries in the past 24 hours, bringing total injuries since the ceasefire to 5,323. Separately, Middle East Monitor reports four Palestinians were killed and several injured in Israeli airstrikes, including a strike on a tent sheltering displaced civilians near Khan Younis.
Sources: Middle East Eye, Middle East Monitor
Israel blocks construction of international Gaza stabilisation base
Israel is refusing to allow construction of a military outpost that forms part of the US-led Board of Peace plan for Gaza, the Guardian reports. The outpost, contracted in August to a Louisiana-based firm, was intended to house 150 international troops as the vanguard of an international stabilisation force, but Israel has yet to permit the project to proceed.
Sources: Middle East Eye, The Guardian
West Bank raids, settler attacks and land seizures intensify
Israeli forces shot and arrested a Palestinian man during a raid on family homes in Tammun, with another Palestinian hospitalised after an alleged assault at a checkpoint, Anadolu Agency reports. Separately, Anadolu reports Israeli forces seized a vehicle and olive harvest from West Bank farmers, demolished agricultural structures and blocked access to groves, while Middle East Monitor reports settlers entered Palestinian-owned groves near Hebron and stole olives. A church leader has called for international action after settlers attacked a West Bank centre for disabled children, according to Middle East Monitor.
Sources: Anadolu Agency, Anadolu Agency, Middle East Monitor, Middle East Monitor
UN urges Israel to end crackdown on Palestinian civil society
A UN deputy spokesperson said partner organisations have called on Israel to stop its crackdown on Palestinian civic space, Middle East Eye reports, after Israeli forces raided the premises of Palestinian civil society groups and a medical complex in Ramallah, confiscating files and equipment and detaining people. Democracy Now! reports the raids on Palestinian NGOs, which a child was injured during, came ahead of Israeli elections and have been described by critics as politically motivated.
Sources: Middle East Eye, Democracy Now!
Report details detention of Palestinian children and prisoner abuse
Israel has detained more than 2,000 Palestinian children since 2023, with at least 350 currently held in harsh conditions, according to an Al Jazeera report. Separately, Anadolu Agency reports medical records show Israeli prison guards shot Palestinian prisoners with rubber bullets, severely injuring them, with one prisoner having a testicle removed and another undergoing surgery for a fractured shin.
Sources: Al Jazeera, Anadolu Agency
Colombia's Jerusalem embassy opening condemned as illegal
Colombia has opened an embassy in West Jerusalem, becoming the tenth country to do so despite the city's disputed international status, Middle East Monitor reports. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said the move violates international law and UN resolutions and urged Bogota to reverse it, while Algeria separately condemned the decision as an illegal attempt to alter Jerusalem's legal status, according to Middle East Eye.
Sources: Middle East Eye, Anadolu Agency, Middle East Monitor, Middle East Monitor
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