Paddy Power Betfair is to pay £2m for acting too slowly on concerning customer behaviours, including one player who staked £86,000 over 16 days and another who placed 300 bets in eight hours.
The Gambling Commission found social responsibility failures in a review of the firm last year and said some customer interactions “fell far short”.
John Pierce, the watchdog’s director of enforcement, said the £2m settlement reflected the seriousness of the case.
Betting firms must have systems and processes to monitor activity and identify worrying behaviours, but Paddy Power Betfair’s were found to be lacking in some cases.
The commission said, “The velocity of spend, increasing deposits, overnight gambling, and changing betting patterns did not appear to be identified by the licensees or acted upon until the next day.”
The firm failed to intervene fast enough despite a customer betting £86,000 and losing £6,000 over 16 days, with a manual review only starting when the losses mounted.
It also didn’t promptly identify another gambler who went on a 17-day spree, including one session of seven hours and 46 minutes in which they put up £20,000 in more than 300 bets.
Another gambler deposited £25,000 over 25 days before being interacted with, according to the commission’s statement.
“Operators must ensure systems to identify and address harm work effectively and at the right time,” said Mr Pierce.
“Over-reliance on automation and failure to intervene when clear harm indicators are present exposes consumers to unnecessary risk.”
The commission described the £2m as “a payment in lieu of a financial penalty”.
However, it said the firm had quickly instigated a plan to fix the failings and fully cooperated with the investigation.
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The commission also fined Paddy Power.
In 2023, the commission also fined Paddy Power and Betfair £490,000 for sending messages to the phones of vulnerable customers who had asked to be excluded.
A spokesperson for Flutter Entertainment – which owns Paddy Power Betfair – said it takes safer gambling responsibilities “incredibly seriously” and has industry-leading safeguards.
“Customer safety is our number one priority and there is no suggestion that any of the customers reviewed by the Gambling Commission experienced any harm,” the spokesperson said.
“Our controls have evolved significantly and we recently introduced a next-generation customer safety platform, with the vast majority of checks now happening in real time.
“As such, we are confident that the issues highlighted by the commission in its public statement would not be repeated today.”
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar removes the hijab of a newly recruited doctor during an official event on December 15, 2025. — X/@SouthAsiaIndex/screengrab
In yet another incident of hate crime against religious minorities in India, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar removed the hijab (veil) of a newly recruited Muslim doctor during an official event on Monday, drawing widespread criticism worldwide.
The shameful incident took place at “Samvad”, the CM’s secretariat, where appointment letters were being handed over to newly recruited doctors, The Indian Express reported.
Meanwhile, the flustered appointee was hastily pulled aside by an official standing near the stage.
The shocking incident triggered a wave of anguish among minorities in the country and drew strong criticism from the opposition parties, especially the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
Reacting to the video, the Congress accused Kumar of inappropriate conduct towards the woman official, calling it a “vile act”.
In a post on X, the party said, “This is Bihar’s Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Look at his shamelessness—a female doctor had come to collect her appointment letter, and Nitish Kumar pulled off her hijab. A man occupying the highest position in Bihar is openly indulging in such a vile act.”
The RJD questioned Kumar’s mental health.
“What has happened to Nitish ji? His mental state has now reached a completely pitiable condition,” the party said in a post on X.
In India, hate crimes against religious minorities have alarmingly increased during the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Last month, a US report recommended designating India as a country of “special concern” due to religious prejudice and serious violations of religious freedom.
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom, in its report, exposed religious discrimination in India and extremist policies of the RSS and the BJP’s Hindutva agenda.
The report revealed that Modi and the BJP had implemented discriminatory policies against minorities in line with the Hindutva ideology.
The report highlighted violent acts against minorities, particularly Muslims and Sikhs.
It added that the BJP, as the political wing of the RSS, promotes Hindu nationalism.
The RSS has been involved for decades in violent acts against minorities, particularly Muslims and Sikhs.
The position of the earthquake on the Richter scale is shown in the picture. – Reuters/File
The epicentre of the earthquake was about 85 km north of the Panjgur district.
Some panicked residents went out as a precaution.
There were no immediate reports of any casualties or damage.
Panjgur: An earthquake of 3.3 magnitude hit parts of Panjgur in Balochistan early on Wednesday, with its epicentre about 85 kilometres north of the district.
It said the epicentre of the earthquake was about 85 kilometres north of the district headquarters.
Residents reported feeling brief aftershocks, prompting some to evacuate as a precaution. However, officials said there were no immediate reports of any casualties or damage after the earthquake.
The earthquake had a moderate magnitude of 5.2.
A moderate earthquake of 5.2 magnitude struck Karachi and parts of Balochistan in the early hours of 15 December, causing panic among citizens.
NSMC said the epicentre of the earthquake was at Sonmiani in Balochistan at a depth of 12 kilometres, and its epicentre was about 87 kilometres from Karachi.
Earthquake tremors were felt in Hub, Winder and Gadani in Balochistan.
On December 14, an earthquake of 3.2 magnitude hit Sibi City and surrounding areas in Balochistan, with its epicentre 53 kilometres away from the city, while on December 3, mild tremors were felt in Khuzdar and Sibi districts.
A magnitude 3.3 earthquake struck Khuzdar at a depth of 15 km, with its epicentre about 80 km southwest of the city, while a magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck Sibi at a depth of 10 km, with its epicentre about 50 km southwest of Sibi.
Some parts of the province had earlier faced mild tremors in November also.
On November 8, PMD’s seismic centre reported that tremors, with a magnitude of 5.0, hit Ziarat and surrounding areas.
The epicentre of the earthquake was reported to be 67 kilometres northeast of Quetta.
The last major earthquake in Ziarat occurred in 2008, killing more than 200 people and injuring about 500.
Entire villages were destroyed, and hundreds of homes and government buildings were reduced to rubble, forcing more than 15,000 people from their homes.
The country has long been vulnerable to natural disasters, from the 2005 northern earthquake that killed 73,000 people to the devastating 1935 earthquake in Quetta that took nearly 30,000 lives.
Balochistan province sits along a massive seismic hotspot, where the Indian Plate pushes against the Eurasian Plate.
As the country’s largest province, it has a very small population, making rescue and relief operations particularly difficult.
Who are resident doctors, previously called junior doctors?
Resident doctors are qualified doctors who have completed a medical degree.
They make up nearly half of all doctors in England and work across the NHS, including in A&E and GP surgeries.
After their initial degree and the mandatory two years of postgraduate foundation training, many choose to specialise in a particular area of medicine or surgery.
They used to be known as junior doctors, but in September 2024 the government agreed to change the name of their role to better reflect their expertise.
Full training can take a long time, so although some resident doctors may have only recently finished medical school, others could have more than a decade of practical experience and be responsible for most aspects of care.
How much do resident doctors earn?
During their first foundation year after finishing their medical degree, resident doctors in England earn a basic salary of £38,831. In their second year, this rises to £44,439.
Medics are often expected to work night shifts, weekends and longer hours, for which they receive extra payments.
After eight years or more, resident doctor salaries can progress to around £73,000.
The BMA has called a series of strikes in England over pay and working conditions since 2023.
It argues that resident doctors’ pay is 20% lower in real terms than it was in 2008, even after the 2025 increase.
The government uses the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure of inflation to calculate public sector pay increases.
However, the BMA says many resident doctors have large student loans and that interest on these is calculated using a different inflation measure called RPI, which is higher.
But analysis from the Nuffield Trust think tank suggests pay has fallen 5% since 2008 if CPI is used, compared with nearly 20% with RPI.
What have the government and the BMA said about the dispute?
Health Secretary Wes Streeting says resident doctors have received the largest pay rises of any public sector employees over the last three years, totalling nearly 30%. He insists the government will not offer any further increases.
Instead, the government’s latest offer promised to accelerate the expansion of specialist training posts, which resident doctors move into in their third year of training.
In 2025, there were more than 30,000 applicants for 10,000 of these jobs – some from abroad.
The government said it would increase the number of posts by 4,000 by 2028 – with the first 1,000 available from 2026.
The deal also included emergency legislation that would let the NHS prioritise doctors who have studied and worked in the UK when filling these posts, and it restated an earlier offer to cover the cost of some other expenses, such as exam fees.
Responding to the offer, BMA resident doctors committee chairman Dr Jack Fletcher said, “It does nothing to restore pay for doctors, which remains well within the government’s power.”
In an online poll carried out days before the strike was due to begin, 83% of respondents said they wanted to continue with the strike. The turnout was 65%.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was “gutted” by the result, describing it as “irresponsible” given the rising pressures faced by the NHS with soaring flu cases.
The BMA’s current mandate for industrial action runs out in early January, but it has started asking its members whether they want to extend the dispute.
What happens if I’m ill during the strike?
The strike in England is due tolast from 0700 GMT on Wednesday, 17 December, until 0700 on Monday, 22 December.
The NHS is already under huge pressure this winter, with rising flu cases and other winter infections doing the rounds.
It’s also a busy time for hospitals as they discharge as many patients as possible so they can be at home for Christmas.
That means anyone with a life-threatening emergency should call 999 and attend the emergency department if needed.
For urgent, non-life-threatening issues, the advice is to use the NHS 111 website or to call the helpline. GP surgeries will be open as normal.
During previous industrial action, hospitals were told they should only cancel routine appointments in exceptional circumstances.
But at such a busy time of year for hospitals and GP surgeries, appointments and operations are likely to be disrupted for thousands of patients.
This planned walkout does not affect Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland.
What pay rises have other public sector staff had?
In May 2025, the government announced pay rises for a number of public sector workers, including:
4.5% for members of the UK armed forces, with 3.75% for senior military staff
4% for other doctors, dentists, and teachers in England, as well as prison officers in England and Wales
3.6% for some NHS staff in England, including nurses and midwives
3.25% for civil servants
However, because a medical degree can take five or six years to complete—longer than most other degree courses—the BMA argues that resident doctors’ salaries should reflect the fact that they may have more student debt than other graduates.
Watch: Prosecutor announces charges against Nick Reiner in parents’ deaths
Prosecutors in Los Angeles have filed murder charges against Nick Reiner over the deaths of his parents, Hollywood director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele.
Nick Reiner is facing two counts of first-degree murder with a special circumstance alleging multiple murders, District Attorney Nathan Hochman said.
He could be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole or the death penalty if found guilty. He will be brought to court to formally face charges and enter a plea after he is medically cleared by prison officials, Mr Hochman said.
The charges came two days after the couple were found dead in their home in Brentwood, California, with multiple stab wounds.
The charges also include a “special allegation” that Reiner used a knife.
During a news conference on Tuesday, Mr Hochman said no decision had been made about whether prosecutors would seek the death penalty.
The suspect, 32, was also accused of using a “dangerous and deadly weapon”—a knife”.
He was expected to appear before a judge later on Tuesday for an arraignment hearing, where he would have been formally charged. The district attorney later said it would be scheduled for a later date.
Rob Reiner has directed a handful of iconic films.
Rob Reiner has directed a handful of iconic films in a variety of genres, including This is Spinal Tap, Misery, and A Few Good Men.
Michele Singer Reiner was an actress, photographer and producer, and the founder of Reiner Light, a photography agency and production company.
Getty Images
Nick Reiner (right) is accused of killing his two parents
LA Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell told the news conference: “This case is heartbreaking and deeply personal, not only for the Reiner family and their loved ones, but for the entire city.”
“We extend our deepest condolences to everyone affected by this tragedy.”
Asked whether the murder weapon was recovered, Mr Hochman said that would be revealed in court.
Officials stated that the completion of autopsies would ascertain the exact cause, manner, and timing of death.
‘We will miss them forever.’
Director Reiner’s other major works included Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, and When Harry Met Sally.
Billy Crystal, who played Harry in the seminal romantic comedy, was one of many actors, writers and directors – who were close to the Reiners – paying their respects in a joint statement shared with the Associated Press.
Curb Your Enthusiasm star Larry David, Martin Short and Albert Brooks also put their names to the statement, which remembered Rob and Michele as “a special force together – dynamic, unselfish and inspiring”.
“Absorbing all he had learnt from his father, Carl, and his mentor, Norman Lear, Rob Reiner not only was a great comic actor, but also became a master storyteller,” the statement read.
“There is no other director who has his range. From comedy to drama to ‘mockumentary’ to documentary, he was always at the top of his game. He charmed audiences. They trusted him. They lined up to see his films.”
It continued: “Rob was also a passionate, brave citizen, who not only cared for this country he loved, but also did everything he could to make it better and with his loving wife, Michele, he had the perfect partner.”
It went on to note how the “strong and determined” couple had “devoted a great deal of their lives for the betterment of our fellow citizens.
President Donald Trump has expanded the US travel ban, barring citizens of five additional countries and people travelling with documents issued by the Palestinian Authority from entering the US.
The White House said the sanctions were intended to “protect the security of the United States” and would go into effect on January 1.
People from Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria, along with holders of Palestinian Authority passports, will face a full-entry ban.
The administration also moved to Laos and Sierra Leone, which were previously subject to partial sanctions and a full ban list and imposed a partial ban on 15 other countries, including Nigeria, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
Trump has tightened immigration controls.
Trump, who has tightened immigration controls since returning to the White House in January, said the extended travel ban was necessary because of what his administration described as failures in screening and testing systems abroad.
Officials cited high visa overstay rates, unreliable citizenship records, corruption, terrorist activity, and lack of cooperation in accepting deported citizens.
The announcement followed the arrest of an Afghan national suspected of shooting two National Guard soldiers over the Thanksgiving weekend, an incident the White House said highlighted its security concerns.
This is the third time Trump has imposed a travel ban.
During his first term, he introduced a similar order in 2017, which led to protests and legal challenges at home and abroad. The US Supreme Court later upheld this policy.
The White House said the sanctions would remain in place until the affected countries demonstrated “credible improvements” in identity management, information sharing, and cooperation with US immigration authorities.
A number of exceptions apply, and the ban will not affect lawful permanent residents, multiple existing visa holders, or diplomats or athletes travelling for major sporting events. Officials said case-by-case exemptions will also be available where travel is considered in the national interest.
Countries with a complete ban:
afghanistan
Burkina Faso
Burma
piece of paper
equatorial guinea
eritrea
haiti
iran
laos
Libya
gardener
niger
republic of congo
Sierra Leone
somalia
South Sudan
Sudan
Syria
yemen
Persons traveling on travel documents issued or endorsed by the Palestinian Authority may also be subject to a blanket ban on entry
The backlog of driving tests grew after the covid-19 lockdown
Learner drivers face months of delays booking practical tests because a backlog will not be cleared until November 2027, a watchdog has warned.
The National Audit Office (NAO) said there was a backlog of 1.1 million tests that were not carried out in the 2020/21 financial year because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and around 360,000 of these had still not been booked.
The average waiting time was 22 weeks in September, but at 70% of test centres the wait has hit 24 weeks – the maximum allowed.
The Department for Transport (DfT) said it was “taking decisive action to address the backlog”, including employing military driving examiners.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) had planned to cut waiting times to seven weeks by the end of 2025.
The NAO’s inquiry found delays have led people to pay third parties to secure tests, some of whom were “paying significantly inflated prices of up to £500″—nearly eight times the official DVSA fee of £62 for a weekday slot.
It said the DVSA struggled to “understand the real demand for tests” because third-party websites quickly book slots using automated programs known as bots.
“These delays can have a serious impact on learner drivers’ income and the economy, with 30% of respondents to a DVSA survey saying they need to be able to drive for their jobs,” the watchdog said.
The NAO also reported a lack of examiners and found many were leaving “due to uncompetitive pay and safety concerns”. Despite running 19 recruitment campaigns since 2021, DVSA has only hired 83 extra examiners, far short of its 400 target.
In the 2023/24 financial year, DVSA had a total of 220 staff at its 240 test centres who were qualified examiners.
Shiromi Gaughan urged the government to “do something about this because it’s completely unacceptable.”
Learner driver Shiromi Gaughan, a small business owner in London, says she has been trying to book a test for the past eight months since she passed her theory exam two years ago and felt “sick” when she found out it would cost her £350 for a slot from a third-party seller.
She told the BBC: “It’s really unfair and I’m extremely frustrated. As a small business owner from London, I’ve been really struggling over time.
“People like us are just so desperate.”
Learners must take their practical test.
Normally learners must take their practical test within two years of passing the theory test.
She urged the government to “do something about this because it’s totally unacceptable.”
She added, “I think the government needs to review the whole system, as they’re actually aware of what is happening with the scammers or the third-party agencies.
Martha Machiek fears she will not get a test slot before her theory certificate expires at the end of the month
Learner driver Martha Machiek, a single parent from Stockport, said she is “very stressed” trying to book a driving test slot.
She needs a licence to save time and money taking her children to and from school and football practice.
Ms Machiek says her theory test certificate expires at the end of the month, and if she cannot book a practical test in time, she will have to start over, which she cannot afford.
“The system is not being fair on people like us,” she said.
“I don’t have money to book another one.”
The NAO urged DVSA and the DfT to assess whether there was enough support for learners booking tests and to investigate how to boost the examiner workforce.
Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO, said “decisive action” needed to be taken to fix the delays and improve service.
“The current system for providing driving tests in England, Scotland and Wales is not working satisfactorily, with long waiting times and exploitation of learner drivers by resellers of test slots.”
The DfT said it had inherited a system which was “frustrating” and open to abuse, leaving learners waiting weeks for a test.
A spokesperson said the government was “seeing improvement” with the measures it had been taking.
From spring, only learner drivers will be able to book tests and limits will be placed on the number of times they can move or swap a test.
The government said it hopes this will stop third-party companies “exploiting vulnerable learners and make the whole process more transparent”.
Navid Akram, one of the suspected Bondi Beach attackers, is seen in this screengrab from a video. – daily Mail
Police in Australia said on Wednesday they have charged a man with 59 crimes, including a terrorism charge, after allegedly opening fire at a Jewish event on Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
Naved Akram, 25, is one of two men suspected of carrying out Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in three decades. He was shot by police during the Bondi Beach massacre and remains in a Sydney hospital under heavy police guard.
The alleged father-son perpetrators opened fire at the Jewish Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach on December 14, an attack that shocked the country and raised fears of rising anti-Semitism and violent extremism.
According to interviews, officials and media reports, the 15 victims included everyone, from a rabbi and a father of five to a Holocaust survivor and a 10-year-old girl named Matilda Britvan.
The New South Wales Police reported that two police officers were still in a serious but stable condition at the hospital.
Sajid Akram, 50, was shot dead by police at the scene, while his 24-year-old son, named in local media as Naved, also emerged from a coma on Wednesday after being shot by police.
The men accused of carrying out Sunday’s attack had visited the southern Philippines, a region long plagued by insurgency, weeks before the shootings, with Australian police saying they appeared to be inspired by Daesh, also known as IS.
Significantly, after several days of uncertain reports regarding the identity of the alleged gunman, who is now dead, Indian government officials on Tuesday confirmed that Sajid was a resident of Hyderabad, India.
Indian officials shared Sajid’s details after conducting background verification.
According to details, Sajid was a resident of Tolichowki, Hyderabad, who had moved to Australia on a student visa in 1998 and had returned to India only “two-three times” since relocating. He last visited India in 2022.
Meanwhile, the second attacker, his son Naved, was born in Australia in 2001 and holds Australian citizenship.
Man who underwent surgery hailed as a hero
Albanese said 43-year-old Ahmed al-Ahmad, the man who fought one of the shooters to disable his rifle and was wounded by the bullet, was scheduled to undergo surgery on Wednesday.
Mohammed al-Ahmad, al-Ahmad’s uncle in Syria, said his nephew left his hometown in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib to seek work in Australia about 20 years ago.
“We found out through social media. I called his father and he told me it was Ahmed. Ahmed is a hero; we are proud of him. Syria in general is proud of him,” the uncle told Reuters.
The family of Jack Hibbert, the 22-year-old police officer who was shot twice on Sunday and had been on the force for only four months, said in a statement Wednesday that he has lost the vision in one eye and faces a “long and challenging recovery”.
The family said, “Faced with a violent and tragic event, he responded with courage, common sense and selflessness, continuing to protect and help others even when injured, until he was physically no longer able to.”
Health officials said 22 people were still in several Sydney hospitals.
Holocaust survivors among victims
According to interviews, officials and media reports, other shooting victims included a Holocaust survivor, a husband and wife who approached the gunmen before they began firing, and a 10-year-old girl named Matilda.
Matilda’s father told the Bondi vigil on Tuesday night that he doesn’t want his daughter’s legacy to be forgotten.
Local media reported her as saying, “We came here from Ukraine… and I thought Matilda was the most Australian name ever. So just remember the name, remember that.”
In Bondi on Wednesday, swimmers gathered at Sydney’s most popular beach and observed a minute of silence.
The fighting has intensified as the humanitarian crisis deepens, with cholera spreading and large-scale displacement.
At least 104 civilians have been killed in drone attacks in Sudan’s Kordofan region as fighting between rival military factions has reached deadly new heights in a brutal civil war in its third year.
Attacks have ravaged the central region since early December, after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured a key military base in Babanusa following a week of intense fighting.
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The surge has displaced thousands of people and strained health facilities already overwhelmed by cholera and dengue outbreaks, as the main fighting has shifted from Darfur in the west to the vast central region of Kordofan.
The deadliest attack was on a kindergarten and a hospital in Kalogi, South Kordofan, where 89 people were killed, including 43 children and eight women. UN human rights chief Volker Turk said he was “concerned by the further intensity of the hostilities” and warned that targeting medical facilities is a violation of international humanitarian law.
On 13 December, six Bangladeshi peacekeepers serving with the United Nations mission were killed in a drone attack on their base in Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounced the “appalling drone attacks”, stating that attacks on peacekeepers “may constitute war crimes under international law”.
A day later, the Dilling Military Hospital came under fire, with varying numbers of casualties. The Sudan Doctors Network reported nine deaths and 17 injuries, calling it “systematic targeting of health institutions”.
UN officials said six people were killed and 12 were injured, many of whom were medical workers.
The government-aligned Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have blamed the RSF for the attacks, although the paramilitary group has not responded to the allegations.
The epidemic is increasing
The violence has caused serious humanitarian consequences beyond the immediate death toll. North Kordofan’s Health Minister Iman Malik said the state has recorded 13,609 cases of cholera and 730 cases of dengue fever.
with 30 per cent of health facilities no longer functioning due to the conflict.
More than 40,000 people have fled North Kordofan, while civilians remain stranded in besieged towns, including Kadugli and Dilling.
In nearby Heglig, which the RSF captured before handing it over to South Sudanese forces under a tripartite agreement with the army, about 2,000 people were displaced into White Nile state.
The fighting in Kordofan represents a significant expansion of the conflict after the RSF captured al-Fashar, the army’s last stronghold in Darfur, in October.
Researchers at the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) found in a new report that the RSF killed civilians trying to flee the city, then began destroying evidence by systematically burying, burning, and disposing of the bodies.
The increase comes as international peacekeeping efforts have resumed. SAF chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on 15 December and expressed his desire to work with United States President Donald Trump on peace efforts.
The next day, Egypt and the US jointly rejected “any attempts to divide Sudan” and called for a comprehensive ceasefire.
Sudan has topped the International Rescue Committee’s emergency watch list for three years in a row. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the war that began in April 2023, according to UN figures, although aid groups believe the real toll is far higher.
Well over 14 million people have been displaced in what the United Nations calls the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
A lorry drives in the Jerusalem stone limestone quarry in Beit Fajar, eight kilometres south of the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, on November 10, 2025. — AFP
Despite the catastrophic state of the Palestinian economy, Faraj al-Atrash, operator of a quarry in the occupied West Bank, proudly points to an armada of machines busy eating away at sheer walls of dusty white rock that stretch into the distance.
“This here is considered the main source of revenue for the entire region,” Atrash said at the site near the town of Beit Fajjar, close to the city of Hebron.
The quarry is a source of Jerusalem stone, the famed pale rock used throughout the Holy Land and beyond for millennia and which gives much of the region its distinctive architectural look.
Muhammed sits on a chair as he controls the stone crusher inside a Jerusalem quarry in Beit Fajar, eight kilometres south of the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, on November 10, 2025. — AFP
“Lately, I feel like the occupation (Israel) has begun to fight us on the economic front,” he said.
Atrash fears the confiscation of the quarry’s industrial equipment, the expansion of Israeli settlements; and the Palestinian financial crisis.
The war in Gaza, triggered by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, dealt a severe blow to a Palestinian economy that was already in poor shape.
The Palestinian territories are “currently going through the most severe economic crisis ever recorded,” according to a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development presented in late November.
Israel, which has occupied the West Bank since 1967, has recently set up hundreds of new checkpoints across the territory, paralysing commercial transport.
Beyond restrictions on freedom of movement, a halt in permits for West Bank Palestinians seeking work inside Israel has also had a severe impact.
Soaring costs
“There are problems with exports and market access because we used to export most of the stone to Israel, and after October 7, we ran into difficulties.”
explained Ibrahim Jaradat, whose family has owned a quarry for more than 40 years near Sair, also near Hebron.
Workers cut and shape a large block of Jerusalem stone inside a factory in Beit Fajar.
eight kilometres south of the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, on November 10, 2025. — AFP
The Palestinian Authority, which exercises partial civilian control over some of the West Bank, is on the brink of bankruptcy.
Public services are functioning worse than ever, Atrash said, adding that fixed costs such as water and electricity had soared.
Quarries account for 4.5% of Palestinian GDP and employ nearly 20,000 workers, according to the Hebron Chamber of Commerce.
Israeli municipalities mandate the use of Jerusalem stone, accounting for around 65% of exports.
“The people who buy the stones from us to resell them to construction sites are mostly Israelis,” said Abu Walid Riyad Gaith, a 65-year-old quarry operator.
He lamented what he said was a lack of solidarity from Arab countries, which he said do not buy enough of the rock.
A man walks among large blocks of Jerusalem stone inside a factory in Beit Fajar.
eight kilometres south of the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, on November 10, 2025. — AFP
Most of the roughly 300 quarries in the West Bank are located in Area C, the land that falls under full Israeli authority and covers the vast majority of its settlements.
“Many (Israeli) settlers pass through here, and if Israel annexes Palestine, it will start with these areas,” said one operator, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Some members of Israel’s government openly discuss plans to annex parts or all of the West Bank, making it one of the most right-wing in the country’s history.
Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law.
They are expanding at the fastest rate since at least 2017, when the United Nations began tracking such data, according to a recent report by the UN chief.
A tree is covered in white dust along a road that leads to a Jerusalem stone cutting factory in Beit Fajar, eight kilometres south of the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem on November 13, 2025. — AFP
The physical demands of working in a quarry are intense, but for many Palestinians there are few other options as the West Bank’s economy wilts.
“We are exhausting ourselves,” Atrash stated, gesturing to his ten labourers as they moved back and forth in the massive pits, covered in a white film of dust clouds.
In the neighbouring quarry, blinking and coughing as he struggled with the intense work, was a former geography teacher.
With the Palestinian Authority’s budget crisis meaning he was no longer receiving his salary, he had sought employment in the only local place still hiring.
All the labourers AFP spoke to said they suffered from back, eye and throat problems.
“We call it white gold,” said Laith Derriyeh, employed by a stonemason, “because it normally brings in substantial amounts of money.”
“People have no money, and those who do are afraid to build,” he added.
Jamaal (C), who says he has been cutting limestone for 40 years, uses a cutter as his colleagues look on at a Jerusalem stone cutting factory in Beit Fajar.
eight kilometres south of the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem on November 10, 2025. — AFP
