Abdelraouf Arnaout and Mohammad Sio
10 August 2026•Update: 10 August 2026
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Monday used illegal settlement expansions in the occupied West Bank, assassinations and home demolitions in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran as part of his campaign ahead of the Likud party’s primary election.
Katz posted a video on the US social media company X showing assassination operations and destruction in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran under the title “Israel Katz Boom Boom,” an apparent reference to explosions.
He also posted another video highlighting illegal settlement activity in the occupied West Bank and support for Israeli occupiers’ violence against Palestinians.
“Our settlement revolution in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank): decisions to establish 104 new settlements, legalize 160 farms, cancel administrative detention orders against settlers and expand settlement activity in the Jordan Valley,” he said.
Katz also highlighted the displacement of 40,000 Palestinians from the Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps in the northern West Bank and the continued presence of Israeli forces in the camps.
He urged Likud members to vote for him in the party’s primary as a “right-wing defense minister.”
According to the daily Israel Hayom, Katz has intensified his political campaign ahead of the Likud primary election next week.
Alongside the settlement expansion, Israeli forces and occupiers have intensified attacks in the West Bank, including damaging and demolishing homes and other structures, burning mosques and vehicles, bulldozing agricultural land and preventing farmers from reaching their fields.
In Gaza, a ceasefire agreement was reached to halt Israel’s genocide, which has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians and wounded over 174,000 since October 2023. The war has caused extensive destruction, affecting 90% of the enclave’s civilian infrastructure, with reconstruction costs estimated by the UN at about $70 billion.
Despite peace negotiations with Beirut, Israel has continued its daily assaults in Lebanon, killing 4,335 people, wounding 12,277, and displacing more than 1 million since March 2, according to Lebanese authorities.
Israel also launched a joint offensive with the US against Iran in February, fueling regional tensions despite ongoing efforts to reach a peace deal between Washington and Tehran.