West Bank

Israeli settlers have been forced to flee as wildfires have started to spread through areas near to settlements in the occupied West Bank. According to a police spokeswoman on Saturday nearly 1,000 settlers were forced to leave the Halamish settlement near the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah as 45 settler units were either damaged or destroyed by the fires. The blazes, fueled by drought and high winds, were raging in many locations throughout the Israeli-occupied territories on Friday . The fire in Israels third largest city Haifa has forced some 80,000 people to flee.

The Israeli parliament has approved a draft bill that would legalize settler homes built on private Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, a measure that has drawn condemnation by left-wing MPs and Israel’s close ally, the United States. Pro-settlement nationalists that dominate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government voted to move the bill through the Knesset on Wednesday. Palestinians have condemned the bill and also the international community’s inaction.

Donald Trump says Israel should continue construction of illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank.

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside a military court in support of an IDF soldier who was caught on film shooting a wounded Palestinian man in the West Bank. They call for the release of the Israeli soldier whose identity remains under gag order. Footage emerged on Friday allegedly shows the soldier shooting the Palestinian man in the head as he lay injured on the ground after a stabbing attack. Protesters, as well as right wing politicians have criticized Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, who has said the soldier acted inappropriately.

Israel has been forced to withdraw their nomination of a settler leader as ambassador to Brazil. Brazil rejected the nomination of Dani Dayan months ago due to  his leadership role in Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian West Bank. Telesur reports: Netanyahu said in a brief statement Monday that Dayan would instead serve as consul general in New York, a post that focuses on Israeli outreach to U.S. Jews and business sectors. Meanwhile, Dayan dismissed the notion that his reassignment was bowing to Brazilian pressure. “I don’t think that we folded.