Following the recent wave of international recognition of the State of Palestine, senior Israeli military officials have recommended imposing targeted sanctions on top Palestinian Authority (PA) leaders, including President Mahmoud Abbas and his deputy Hussein al-Sheikh.
According to Israel Army Radio, the proposed measures would severely restrict the movement of senior officials based in Ramallah.
Under the plan, they would be barred from leaving the city without explicit Israeli approval, and the Allenby Bridge crossing with Jordan, used for international travel, would remain closed to them.
This marks a sharp departure from current arrangements, which allow PA leaders to travel freely in armored convoys and receive personal protection from Israel’s internal security agency, Shin Bet.
The recommendations also include economic sanctions targeting the private business interests and income streams of senior PA figures.
Officials propose blocking the import of goods linked to their families and personal enterprises—particularly high-value items that generate substantial profits.
These measures are intended to exert financial pressure without directly impacting the broader Palestinian population.
Israeli security officials reportedly advised against sweeping punitive actions, such as restricting movement across West Bank roads, disrupting the Palestinian banking system, or revoking thousands of work permits for Palestinians employed inside Israel.
The goal, according to sources cited by Israeli media, is to isolate and penalize the leadership “without triggering widespread unrest and causing more escalation in the occupied West Bank.”
The recommendations are expected to be presented to Israel’s political leadership for final approval in the coming days.
They follow mounting frustration within Israel over the PA’s diplomatic campaign for statehood recognition, which has gained momentum in recent months with endorsements from several European and Latin American countries.
Before dawn on Thursday, Israeli forces executed two Palestinian young men b after besieging a home in the town of Tammun, south of Tubas in the northeastern part of the occupied West Bank.
The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the two young men killed by occupation forces as Mohammad Qassem Suleiman, 29, and Ala’ Jawdat Bani Odah, 20, adding that the army confiscated their bodies.
Since the beginning of the year, Israeli forces and colonizers have killed 211 Palestinian citizens in the occupied West Bank, including 39 children and 6 women.
Occupation forces have killed 71 Palestinians in Jenin, 37 in Nablus, 29 in Tubas, 17 in Tulkarem, 16 in Hebron, 15 in Ramallah, 9 in Bethlehem, 7 in Jerusalem, 6 in Qalqilia, 3 in Salfit, and 1 in Jericho, according to the Shireen Observatory.
In the Gaza Strip, the overall death toll since October 7, 2023 has increased to 65,417 including women and children, while at least 167,160 Palestinians have sustained various degrees of injuries as a result of Israel’s military onslaught.
