Israel’s Defence Minister called on Friday (August 14, 2026) for the police to take over law enforcement in the occupied West Bank from the military, which has come under fire from the right-wing for trying to remove settlers harassing Palestinians.

The measure, if implemented, would be a step towards Israeli annexation of the occupied Palestinian territory — something several Ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government openly call for.

The announcement comes almost a week into a siege by Israeli settlers who have blockaded Palestinians inside their homes in the northern West Bank, repeatedly returning despite attempts by the military to remove them.

Palestinian residents of three houses in Qusra near Nablus say they have been effectively cut off from food and other supplies since the siege began on Sunday. Against the backdrop of the blockade, Defence Minister Israel Katz’s office announced he had “instructed the IDF to prepare a plan to transfer all enforcement powers regarding civil matters among Israeli communities and population in Judea and Samaria to the Israel Police,” using the Biblical term for the West Bank. The military would continue to exercise power over Palestinian residents of the West Bank.

“The IDF’s role is to fight Palestinian terrorism, focus on defending borders and communities against threats… and not chase boys on the hilltops,” Mr. Katz said, referring to the Hilltop Youth.

Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna, a 2028 U.S. Presidential aspirant, on Saturday (July 11, 2026) said he was detained by gun-wielding Israeli settlers while on a visit to Palestine.

Mr. Khanna, a Democrat from California, was visiting on Wednesday (July 8, 2026) the ruins of Khirbet Zanuta, a Bedouin village in the southern West Bank that was abandoned after attacks from Israeli settlers when the incident took place.

“Israeli settlers, brandishing American-made M4S, detained me and other Americans on my trip to Palestine. When the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) arrived, they sided with the settlers and continued our detention. They made a huge mistake,” Mr. Khanna said in a post on X.

Mr. Khanna’s experience was reported by a photographer of The New York Times, who was accompanying the Congressman.

“I felt powerless in that situation, which is not an easy thing, as I have a lot of privilege in life,” the New York Times quoted Mr. Khanna as saying.

The report said Mr. Khanna was eventually allowed to continue his journey after calls to the U.S. embassy and Israeli police.

“Imagine how people feel every day, Palestinians under the occupation, if they could make an American congressperson feel powerless for 90 minutes,” Mr. Khanna said.

U.S. politicians – Democrats and Republicans alike – have been visiting the West Bank from time to time since the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas started a war in the region.

Republican Mike Johnson, the House Speaker, and Democrats Chris Van Hollen and Jeff Merkley visited the region last year. Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is also on a visit to Israel.

Mr. Emanuel, who briefly served as the White House Chief of Staff during President Barack Obama’s tenure, is also considered a presidential aspirant.