Epal European Palestinian Media Center Bulletin, Issue No. 2350, Date: Monday, February 9, 2026

1. Six martyrs killed by occupation fire in Gaza amid continued air and artillery bombardment

Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza continue for the 120th consecutive day, with ongoing air and artillery bombardment and attacks by occupation vehicles and aircraft across the Strip. Six civilians were killed by Israeli occupation forces as ceasefire violations persist for the 120th day in a row, through air and artillery strikes and targeting in various parts of the Gaza Strip.
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**2. The Cabinet approves new decisions to expand settlements in the West Bank**

The Israeli political and security cabinet approved a package of new decisions related to the occupied West Bank, presented by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz. The decisions include fundamental changes to land administration mechanisms and to planning and construction in the occupied territories. According to an official statement issued after the meeting, the decisions aim to remove what the occupation government described as obstacles that have existed for decades, allowing the acceleration of settlement development and expansion projects. These measures include repealing the Jordanian law that prohibited the sale of property in the West Bank to Jews, a step the government said would open the way for expanding land purchases.
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**3. Rights center: Unprecedented escalation in the use of administrative detention to exhaust Palestinian prisoners**

The Palestine Center for Prisoners’ Studies confirmed that Israeli occupation authorities have intensified their use of administrative detention orders against Palestinian prisoners, as part of a policy aimed at draining their lives inside prisons without legal basis and beyond the limits imposed by international law. The center’s director, researcher Riyad Al-Ashqar, stated that occupation authorities have sharply escalated the use of administrative detention since the start of the genocidal war on the Gaza Strip. The number of administrative detainees rose from around 1,300 before October 7, 2023, to more than 3,500 by February 2026—an increase of approximately 270%.
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**4. Journalists’ Forum calls for urgent action to break the media blockade on Gaza**

The Palestinian Journalists’ Forum called on Reporters Without Borders to take concrete measures and practical steps to condemn the Israeli occupation authorities’ continued prevention of foreign journalists and international media delegations from entering the Gaza Strip. In a legal memorandum addressed to the international organization, the forum urged that these systematic violations be included in its annual and periodic reports, stressing that the continuation of this ban constitutes a blow to the core of journalistic work and a blatant violation of the international community’s right to access independent information, free from directed military narratives.
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**5. Legal adviser: Opening the Rafah crossing under the current mechanism circumvents international law**

Legal adviser Osama Saad said that the reopening of the Rafah land crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt in early February 2026, after more than two years of closure, came within the framework of implementing the second phase of the ceasefire agreement, but does not represent a real change in the policy of siege imposed on the Strip. Saad explained that Israeli occupation authorities have, for decades, evaded their legal and moral responsibilities as an occupying power and failed to meet their obligations under international humanitarian law, whether regarding freedom of movement or the guarantee of basic rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the two International Covenants.
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**6. Palestinian mother discovers her daughter is a prisoner in occupation jails after believing for months she was martyred**

Palestinian mother Tahrir Abu Madi lived for many months believing that her daughter Malak, a nursing student, had been martyred after being burned inside the family home in the Japanese neighborhood west of Khan Younis. She recently discovered a shocking truth that turned her grief into a new trauma: her daughter is still alive and detained in occupation prisons. Abu Madi recounts that her daughter Malak went in February 2024 to the family home to retrieve some personal belongings amid the forced displacement imposed by the ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza. At the time, the trip seemed short and safe, and she did not expect it to be the last before all news of her was cut off. After days of uncertainty and searching, the family received accounts stating that those inside the house had been burned to death, followed by the issuance of a death certificate in Malak’s name—without allowing the family to see her body or know precise details of what happened—plunging the mother into a harsh period of mourning for her daughter, who dreamed of becoming a nurse to care for Gaza’s wounded.
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**7. Occupation forces a Jerusalemite and his son to self-demolish their homes in Sur Baher**

Israeli occupation authorities forced Jerusalemite resident Raed Abdulaziz Dabsh to demolish his home and his son’s home himself in the town of Sur Baher, southeast of occupied Jerusalem, on the pretext of building without a permit. The Jerusalem Governorate explained that the two homes cover an area of about 90 square meters and house eight people, noting that they were built in 2014 amid occupation policies that restrict the issuance of building permits to Jerusalemite residents. It added that occupation authorities had imposed exorbitant construction fines exceeding 100,000 shekels on the two homes, as part of a systematic policy aimed at pressuring Jerusalem’s Palestinian residents and targeting their presence in the city.
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## **European**

**8. Dutch parliament obliges the government to reduce imports of Israeli weapons**

The Dutch parliament adopted a proposal calling for reducing the Netherlands’ reliance on Israeli arms imports. The proposal pointed to the need for greater strategic autonomy and concerns over dependence on industries suspected of involvement in war crimes. A Dutch official source told the Israeli newspaper *Haaretz* that the decision obliges the government to submit periodic reports to parliament on the measures taken to limit Israeli arms imports, reflecting a trend toward strengthening European defense independence.
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**9. #Video | Solidarity demonstration against Israeli genocide in Germany**

#Watch… Under the slogan “Stop the genocide,” the German capital Berlin witnessed a massive demonstration in support of Palestine, condemning Israeli crimes in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Police intervened and arrested around four people.
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**10. Protest in Gijón, Spain, against Carrefour for financing the genocide**

Pro-Palestine activists in the Spanish city of Gijón organized a protest in front of a branch of the multinational retail company Carrefour, headquartered in France, calling for a boycott of the company due to its involvement in supporting Israeli occupation crimes against the Palestinian people, including colonization and apartheid. Protesters emphasized the continuation of the global boycott movement and called on society to stand in solidarity with Palestinians. Carrefour supports the Israeli occupation by selling products from illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and financing companies involved in settlement activity and the confiscation of Palestinian land.
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**11. Dozens of families in Brighton boycott Israeli goods**

In the British city of Brighton, the “Apartheid-Free Zone” campaign was launched, with more than 70 households pledging to boycott Israeli products, in a move aimed at strengthening solidarity with the Palestinian people and pressuring for an end to Israeli occupation and discriminatory policies against Palestinians. Campaign organizers, Brighton PSC—a group of local activists—said the initiative seeks to build a grassroots movement to boycott Israeli goods, inspired by historical experiences opposing apartheid, including the anti-apartheid march from Brighton to London in 1964.
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**12. Artists renew call for Malta to boycott Eurovision**

Activists, artists, and cultural workers renewed their call for Malta to withdraw from the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, stating that culture cannot remain neutral in the face of genocide and crimes against Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Demonstrators gathered outside the studios of the Maltese Broadcasting Authority as part of a campaign titled “Malta: No Music for Genocide,” demanding that the occupation not be allowed to participate in the contest. They emphasized that art and culture carry political and ethical dimensions. The campaign is supported by around one hundred organizations, activists, and artists, while some European countries—including Iceland, Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Slovenia—have announced their boycott of the event in protest against Israeli crimes.
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**13. Australia’s Queensland state intends to ban a pro-Palestine slogan**

Australia’s state of Queensland announced its intention to ban the use of the slogan “From the river to the sea,” which expresses solidarity with the Palestinian people, under new hate-speech laws. The move sparked widespread anger and criticism among Palestinian activists and human rights supporters, who view the ban as targeting peaceful solidarity with Palestinians and restricting freedom of political expression. Activists said the slogan reflects support for Palestinian rights and their aspiration for freedom and dignity, and that targeting it is part of attempts to silence voices exposing ongoing Israeli violations against Palestinian civilians. They added that restricting solidarity symbols will not stop the global solidarity movement, but will strengthen civil society’s determination to expose the occupation and defend Palestinian rights on political, cultural, and media fronts.
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## **International**

**14. U.S. documents reveal Jeffrey Epstein’s donations to the Israeli army and settlement funding**

Documents recently released by the U.S. Department of Justice revealed that American billionaire Jeffrey Epstein made financial donations to the Israeli army and contributed to funding settlement activities. According to tax documents filed by Epstein in 2005, he directed financial assistance to both the Israeli army and settlers who seized Palestinian land. The documents show that on March 3, 2005, Epstein donated $25,000 to the “Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces.” He also donated $15,000 to the Jewish National Fund, which funds settlers in the West Bank, in addition to $5,000 to the National Council of Jewish Women.
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**15. Event calls for halting arms exports to the occupation in the United States**

The Houston Arms Embargo campaign continues its activities across the city, where volunteers organized a series of awareness events in neighborhoods and local markets. The events focused on explaining Houston’s role in facilitating arms shipments to “Israel,” presenting information and facts about U.S. complicity in the genocide. An information booth was set up allowing visitors to sign a petition demanding the halt of all military cargo shipments bound for “Israel” through the Port of Houston, along with short talks on boycott strategies and international accountability.
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**16. Greek authorities arrest Mohammed Al-Khatib, coordinator of the Samidoun network in Europe**

Greek authorities arrested Mohammed Al-Khatib, coordinator of the Samidoun network in Europe, hours before his participation in a seminar dedicated to discussing the conditions of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli occupation prisons. Activists and institutions supporting the Palestinian cause confirmed that the arrest comes as part of an escalating series of pressures and restrictions targeting Palestinian activists and civil organizations in Europe seeking to shed light on ongoing Israeli violations against the Palestinian people. Sources close to Al-Khatib said the authorities provided no clear reasons for the arrest, raising questions about attempts by some states to restrict freedom of expression and solidarity activism with Palestinians. They added that these measures coincide with European calls to confront restrictions on defenders of Palestinian rights, viewing Al-Khatib’s arrest as a warning message to anyone working to spread the truth about Palestinian prisoners and the violations committed against them.