Locals say that in the past day, several new outposts – clusters of settler homes unauthorised by the government – have been set up in areas where the Palestinian Authority is meant to have full control.

Settler violence has continued to surge in the West Bank since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran at the end of February.

Mohammad al-Malhi was the seventh Palestinian killed during this period.

His family said he was shot in the head by settlers who had erected an outpost on their land near Bethlehem.

Malhi’s family said Israeli soldiers had come to dismantle the outpost – but that after the army left, settlers returned to rebuild it, which is when the shooting took place.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said there had been a clash between settlers and Palestinians, during which an Israeli civilian opened fire.

They said one person was killed and three others were injured.

Video circulating on social media shows how another attack on Thursday left a 75-year-old man bruised and covered in blood. Residents say he was attacked in his home in Tayasir, near Tubas in the north, after settlers raided the village and shot at young men who confronted them.

The surge in settler violence follows a trend seen during the Gaza war, triggered by the Hamas-led attacks on Israel in October 2023; it has been accompanied by settlement growth fast-tracked by the Israeli government.

Last year set a record for the most extensive expansion of settlements and planning approvals since the UN began its monitoring.

All settlements are seen as illegal under international law. Outposts are set up without Israeli government approval.

In recent days there have been multiple new outposts set up – including in Palestinian Authority areas which Israeli law prohibits Israeli citizens from entering.

Some have been removed by Israeli forces. Settlements, backed by the Israeli government, are seen as illegal under international law, but outposts are set up without government authorisation.

According to Israeli media reports, this week, the security cabinet retroactively legalised 30 outposts throughout the West Bank.

Israel has built about 160 settlements housing 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East war – land Palestinians want, along with Gaza, for a hoped-for future state. An estimated 3.3 million Palestinians live alongside them.

Locals say that in the past day, several new outposts – clusters of settler homes unauthorised by the government – have been set up in areas where the Palestinian Authority is meant to have full control.

Settler violence has continued to surge in the West Bank since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran at the end of February.

Mohammad al-Malhi was the seventh Palestinian killed during this period.

His family said he was shot in the head by settlers who had erected an outpost on their land near Bethlehem.

Malhi’s family said Israeli soldiers had come to dismantle the outpost – but that after the army left, settlers returned to rebuild it, which is when the shooting took place.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said there had been a clash between settlers and Palestinians, during which an Israeli civilian opened fire.

They said one person was killed and three others were injured.

Video circulating on social media shows how another attack on Thursday left a 75-year-old man bruised and covered in blood. Residents say he was attacked in his home in Tayasir, near Tubas in the north, after settlers raided the village and shot at young men who confronted them.

The surge in settler violence follows a trend seen during the Gaza war, triggered by the Hamas-led attacks on Israel in October 2023; it has been accompanied by settlement growth fast-tracked by the Israeli government.

Last year set a record for the most extensive expansion of settlements and planning approvals since the UN began its monitoring.

All settlements are seen as illegal under international law. Outposts are set up without Israeli government approval.

In recent days there have been multiple new outposts set up – including in Palestinian Authority areas which Israeli law prohibits Israeli citizens from entering.

Some have been removed by Israeli forces. Settlements, backed by the Israeli government, are seen as illegal under international law, but outposts are set up without government authorisation.

According to Israeli media reports, this week, the security cabinet retroactively legalised 30 outposts throughout the West Bank.

Israel has built about 160 settlements housing 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East war – land Palestinians want, along with Gaza, for a hoped-for future state. An estimated 3.3 million Palestinians live alongside them.

The Bani Odeh family were travelling in their car in the town of Tammum, in the northern West Bank, when Israeli forces opened fire.

Two of their other children were injured but survived.

Israeli authorities said a joint operation by the army and Israel’s paramilitary border police had been taking place in the town at time. They claim the car accelerated towards Israeli forces, who felt endangered and responded by shooting.

“As a result, four Palestinians in the vehicle were killed,” a statement from the Israeli military and police said, adding that the circumstances of the incident were being investigated.

The Palestinian health ministry said that four of the family members – parents Ali and Waad, and two of their children, five-year-old Mohammed and seven-year-old Othman – were killed.

They all arrived at the hospital with gunshot wounds to the face and head, the ministry said.

Two older children, aged eight and 11, who had also been travelling in the car and witnessed the deaths of their family, survived with minor injuries from shrapnel.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said in a statement that Israeli forces had initially prevented their crews from reaching the injured inside the car and ordered them to leave the area.

The UN says much of the occupied West Bank has remained under heightened movement restrictions since the outbreak of the war between the US, Israel and Iran on 28 February.

Violent attacks have also continued, according to Palestinian authorities and the UN.

More broadly, violence there has risen sharply since the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks, which triggered the war in Gaza.

Between 7 October 2023 and 8 March 2026, the UN’s humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, said 1,064 Palestinians were killed in the occupied West Bank, including at least 231 children.

This engagement came just a day after she hosted a diplomatic delegation from Israel in Accra.

Reaffirming Ghana’s stance on Palestine

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Prof. Opoku-Agyemang reflected on the meeting with the Palestinian envoy, emphasizing the shared philosophical foundations of Ghana’s relationship with Palestine.

She wrote: “In our meeting, we recommitted our agreed philosophical foundations of our relationship as a political party and as a country. I recalled my valuable experiences at UNESCO, particularly during the period of Palestine’s admission to the organization. Today’s visit allowed for a reaffirmation of the established position and commitment of Ghana in relation to the people of Palestine. Finally, I would like to thank His Excellency Abdalfatah Ahmed Halil for the wonderful gift given on behalf of the people of Palestine.”

The Vice President also drew on her past experiences at UNESCO, referencing Palestine’s admission to the organization as a significant moment in her career. She described the visit as an opportunity to reaffirm Ghana’s established position and commitment to the Palestinian people.

The meeting concluded with an exchange of goodwill, including a symbolic gift presented by the Palestinian envoy on behalf of his people.

Diplomatic engagement with Israel

The meeting followed Prof. Opoku-Agyemang’s inaugural day in office, during which she hosted a high-profile delegation from Israel led by Ambassador Roey Gilad and Sharren Haskel, Israel’s Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Discussions with the Israeli delegation centered on strengthening bilateral relations and addressing mutual priorities, including economic recovery and food security. The Vice President underscored Ghana’s need for support in revitalizing key sectors, highlighting food security as a critical focus area.

“Over the course of our discussion, I emphasized our willingness to collaborate with Israel and to align our priorities to achieve mutual benefits,” she stated in an earlier post.

Historic administration

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang, who was sworn in on January 7, 2025, alongside President John Dramani Mahama, is Ghana’s first female Vice President. Her ascension marks a historic milestone in the nation’s political evolution, symbolizing progress in gender equity and inclusive leadership.

Her meetings with the Palestinian and Israeli representatives underline her administration’s commitment to balanced diplomacy and its pursuit of international collaboration to advance Ghana’s development goals.

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On Tuesday, the company addressed the bug with the latest beta software release of iOS 17.5, just a few days after it said it was working on a fix.

Apple’s previous update was introduced on March 21, but the recent discovery of the bug upset some users on social media.

In one April 9 post on X viewed more than 2.3 million times, an iPhone user questioned whether Apple was aware of the error – and whether it was intentional. Apple said at the time the issue was a mistake and not coded into the keyboard intentionally.

But the user, who said she was Jewish, provided a long list of other cities that don’t surface a flag when entered into the emoji search box. It’s possible, however, Apple’s machine-learning technology determined the suggested emoji based on analysing texts from millions of its users.

The history of the region is complicated, and territorial claims in the ancient city are no less so. In 1967, Israel captured East Jerusalem along with other regions and later annexed that as part of Jerusalem to unify the city as its capital – although much of the international community recognizes East Jerusalem as Israel-occupied Palestinian territory.

For its part, Israel considers Jerusalem as its undivided capital. In 2017, the US administration of President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, reversing decades of American foreign policy.

So suggesting a Palestinian flag emoji for the search query “Jerusalem,” particularly when Israel is at war with Hamas, added tensions amid a long-running dispute.

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