3,582: number of illegal Israeli settlement housing units built in the occupied West Bank from the beginning of 2026

 + At the UN, Trump ranted against the International Criminal Court, calling it a “rogue institution,” and demanding that its members resign.

+ Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada will impose trade restrictions on goods produced in Israeli settlements and provide around $71 million in assistance for the Palestinian government. Carney called restrictions on settlement products a “pragmatic, practical” measure to help foster“the possibility of a two-state solution, and ultimately a durable peace for Israelis and Palestinians.”

+ Since the Trump “ceasefire” of October 11, 2025, Israel has killed at least 1,402 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded 4,881.

+ Trump’s “Board of Peace” puts Gaza’s physical damage at $35.2 billion and estimates that full reconstruction costs will be around $71.4 billion over the next decade.

+ After being relentlessly battered by Israel, lied about and having its funding terminated by the US, UNRWA is confronting a $100 million deficit, forcing the vital lifeline to Palestinians to cut service hours by 20% and slash already meager salaries for its local staff in the Occupied Territories.

+ Number of Israeli checkpoints in the Occupied West Bank, an area smaller than the state of Delaware: 942. 

+ More than 160 Irish sports players signed an open letter urging Ireland’s men’s national soccer squad to boycott upcoming matches against Israel on September 27 and October 4. The letter urged players to “act collectively with conscience.” 

+ Alona Ferber on the hysterical reaction of the Israeli government to the new documentary NAZA:

Earlier this month Rachel Szor and Yuval Abraham won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival – and received a 25-minute standing ovation – for their documentary NAZA. Israelis branded the directors as traitors, not Jews, “Kapos”. There were calls for violence against them, for them to be ostracised, sent to Gaza or exiled elsewhere. The frenzy surrounding the film is fundamentally undemocratic. That is what happens after years of extreme right-wing populism, amplified by social media and new technology – in the context of decades of conflict, occupation, apartheid and impunity.

+ “A spectacle of shame”: how Emmanuel Macron at the UN described Trump’s Gaza policy. But was it really all that much less shameful than France’s over the last three years?

+ As Netanyahu gave a belligerent speech before the UN General Assembly, Sjoerd Sjoerdsma, the Netherlands’ UN representative, slammed Israel’s pitiless restrictions on aid and urged European governments to take further action. “It’s completely unacceptable. We should call it as it is; it’s a disgrace. While I appreciate the moment of silence, we cannot be silent. We need to speak up and we need to adhere to the call to action.”

+ 3,582: number of illegal Israeli settlement housing units built in the occupied West Bank from the beginning of 2026.

+ Days before the Palestinian olive harvest, the Israeli military bulldozed, uprooted and torched thousands of fruit-bearing trees in the Occupied West Bank. Olive orchards account for more than 8% of the West Bank’s GDP and provide more than 60,000 jobs.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/09/25/roaming-charges-the-freaks-of-caprice/