People will have the chance to hear from a speaker who has seen for himself what is happening in the illegally occupied West Bank. Between 7 October 2023 and 15 March 2026, 1,071 Palestinians – at least 233 of them children – were killed in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Of these, 25 have been killed since the beginning of 2026.

Brendan Stephens will be speaking at a meeting jointly hosted by Orkney Friends of Palestine and Amnesty Orkney on Saturday 28 March at 8pm, St Magnus Centre, Kirkwall.

From 6pm onwards there will also be a ‘bring and share supper’, to which all are welcome. The presentation by Brendan Stephens will follow.

This event is free, however, donations are welcomed.

Violence and intimidation by Israeli settlers has increased in The West Bank since October 7 2023.

Describing the situation in The West Bank, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns, commented:

“The accelerating expansion of unlawful settlements and the rise in state-backed settler violence and crimes across the occupied West Bank are a direct indictment of the international community’s catastrophic failure to take decisive action. “

“Land registration is yet another Israeli euphemism for land grabs and dispossession. Make no mistake: full annexation is the goal, and Israel has already laid much of the groundwork for achieving it. Ministers in the current Israeli government no longer feel any need to conceal their intentions,”

On 15 February 2026 the Israeli cabinet issued a decision that amounts to annexation under Israeli law. It allocated over 244 million NIS (Israeli shekels) for the establishment of a government mechanism to facilitate land registration in Area C, transferring the powers of land registration from the civil administration to Israel’s Ministry of Justice. – Amnesty International

Early on 15 March, Israeli forces opened fire on a vehicle, killing a Palestinian family of four, including two children, in Tammun in the northern West Bank. Two further children from the family were injured.

Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA said:

“Violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank continues unabated.

“The fact that large groups of settlers storm Palestinian communities, brutalise residents and torch buildings is an outrage in itself.

“But what is worse is that these egregious acts are accompanied by total impunity.

“The International Court of Justice has ruled that the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is illegal and must cease.

“Yet settlers run riot, settlements expand and de facto annexation accelerates.

“That must end.”

Fiona Grahame