A man was killed in a truck rollover in the Lower Galilee, another in a motorcycle crash near Anatot; one person was critically hurt; a Palestinian illegally in Israel was found dead in Umm al-Fahm; MDA treated 3,322 people during the fast Or Hadar, Idan Bloemhof, Hassan Shaalan https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/19/HJei5LhFze/HJei5LhFze_0_185_1280_721_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h13yge1qmx Mon, 21 Sep 2026 21:17:50 +03:00 A suspected killing and fatal road accidents during Yom Kippur: Bashar Khatib, a man in his 40s from Kafr Kanna, was killed Monday afternoon when a concrete truck overturned in the Lower Galilee town of Bu’eine Nujeidat. Footage of the crash shows the truck rolling downhill before overturning. Also during Yom Kippur, the body of Omar al-Sada, a Palestinian man in his 40s who was staying in Israel without a permit, was found in Umm al-Fahm. He was found inside a home under circumstances that remain under investigation. Residents said al-Sada had fallen from a height several days earlier and was seriously injured, but they said he avoided seeking medical treatment because he feared being caught over his illegal stay in Israel. They added that he also suffered from other illnesses. Police said an investigation had been opened into the circumstances of his death and that all possibilities were being examined, including murder. In another fatal accident Sunday evening, a 45-year-old motorcyclist was killed on Route 4370 near Anatot in the Jerusalem area after the motorcycle he was riding with a 37-year-old woman was struck by a vehicle. Magen David Adom teams called to the scene found the man unconscious and suffering from severe multisystem trauma and pronounced him dead at the scene. The woman riding with him suffered serious injuries to her limbs. MDA medics stopped life-threatening bleeding with a tourniquet, and she was evacuated by intensive care ambulance to Hadassah Mount Scopus Hospital. Two other people who were in the vehicle suffered minor injuries and were also taken to a hospital. MDA said a total of 46 people were injured in road accidents across Israel: the two people who were killed; a man about 50 who was critically injured in Shefa-Amr and suffered a head injury; the 37-year-old woman who was seriously injured in her limbs; three people who were moderately injured; and 39 who suffered minor injuries. According to MDA, 40 people were hurt in violent incidents across the country during Yom Kippur: the Palestinian man whose body was found in Umm al-Fahm; a 33-year-old man who was seriously wounded in Beersheba; five people who were moderately wounded; and 33 who suffered minor injuries. In the fatal crash in Bu’eine Nujeidat, four firefighting crews from the Tiberias station worked at the scene for more than an hour. Using hydraulic equipment and specialized rescue tools, they managed to extract Khatib from the driver’s cab. Medical teams examined him but were forced to pronounce him dead at the scene. A mechanical malfunction in the truck is believed to have caused the crash, though the circumstances remain under investigation. Senior Fire Officer Shmulik Ahituv, the incident commander, said: “When we arrived at the scene, we saw a concrete pump truck that had overturned, with the driver trapped inside the cab. Firefighters carried out a complex rescue operation using specialized equipment, at the end of which the driver was extracted with no signs of life.” According to Magen David Adom’s summary of its Yom Kippur operations, its teams were dispatched to provide medical treatment to 3,322 people across Israel, 2,268 of whom were taken to hospitals for further treatment. A total of 368 people fainted, became dehydrated or felt unwell as a result of the fast. Another 299 people required medical treatment for injuries sustained while riding bicycles, rollerblades, scooters and skateboards. Nine suffered moderate injuries and 290 were lightly injured. MDA teams were also called during the fast to transport 155 women in labor to hospitals. Five gave birth with the assistance of MDA teams before reaching the hospital: boys were born in Bnei Brak, Jerusalem and Hashmonaim, while girls were born in Ashdod and Yavne’el. MDA’s blood services supplied 152 units of blood and blood components to hospitals across Israel during Yom Kippur. message 9mnycfcz0 Gil Hillel, 44, was killed in Slovenia while trying to save his 7-year-old son after the boy fell into a river; his son was airlifted to hospital; wife Rotem shared their final photo, writing, 'For 20 years, you've been my anchor' Israel Moshkovitz https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/20/BkkuZ8pYMe/BkkuZ8pYMe_109_124_430_242_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/9mnycfcz0 Mon, 21 Sep 2026 20:25:59 +03:00 Gil tried to save his son after he fell into a river — and was killed after plunging into a ravine: Gil Hillel, 44, from Kibbutz Yizre’el, was killed on Saturday during a family trip in Slovenia. According to details shared by his brother Ben on Facebook, the tragedy occurred after Gil’s seven-year-old son fell into the river from the canyon where the family was hiking. “During a hike along the canyon of one of the rivers, his youngest son slipped and fell into the water, hitting rocks on the way down,” his brother wrote. “Gil, trying to save the boy, apparently lost his grip and fell into the ravine. His son was injured and airlifted to the hospital. He has a broken leg and other injuries, but he will be okay.” His brother said that Gil, who grew up in Mikhmoret, studied agricultural engineering at the Technion, “and above all, devoted himself to his family and his children. His three children were the most important thing in the world to him, and he invested an enormous amount of his energy in them — so much thought, time and everything that comes with it. And it seems that it certainly paid off, because all three are remarkable, each in their own way. He was always ready to physically jump in and rescue them from any danger. He was agile and strong, without fear.” “It’s hard for me to believe that I’ll never again hear his calm, measured voice of reason on the other end of the phone; that I won’t be able to hug him again at another family gathering; that I won’t hear him proudly talking about his children, his work or another project at the kibbutz,” he added painfully in his Facebook post. “My world has been turned upside down. I’m deeply saddened, and I will always miss him.” Rotem, Gil’s wife, shared the last photograph of them together on her Facebook page. “People are sending me messages of condolence and offering to surround me with love. But I want your hug. The one I relax into, the one that changes my breathing. I’m waiting for you to come out of some hiding place and for this nightmare to end. I’m not ready to talk about you in the past tense. You are my home. What home am I supposed to go back to?” “I can’t imagine my life without you,” she continued. “For 20 years, you’ve been my anchor when the sea around me was stormy — and now what am I supposed to do? I’m not even allowing myself to mourn you because there’s a seven-year-old boy fighting to recover right now, and soon I’ll have to tell him that the hug from Dad that he wants, too, isn’t coming. “I wish I could erase this day. But thank you for the keepsake you left me. I love you, and I’m grateful I told you that in the morning, when I woke up in your last warm embrace.” message r1pmjcrkgx Netanel Shakron was killed at Ein Raya spring in Binyamin; probe found the terrorist had visited a day earlier and exploited Yom Kippur crowds; an IDF tracker wounded him, saving Shakron’s son; forces later raided his town; Palestinians say dozens detained Elisha Ben Kimon, Idan Bloemhof, Einav Halabi https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/20/SkDWYIptzl/SkDWYIptzl_0_0_850_479_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/r1pmjcrkgx Mon, 21 Sep 2026 19:45:47 +03:00 The terrorist who murdered Netanel at the spring was shot and wounded by a tracker from the Binyamin Brigade, effectively saving Netanel’s 16-year-old son, who was beside him. Details of the attack at Ein Raya spring, also known as Banaba spring, show that the terrorist, 37-year-old Hamas operative Kadri Samara, had been in the area a day before carrying out the attack and exploited the fact that many people come to immerse in the spring on the eve of Yom Kippur. Following the attack, IDF forces raided the town of Bidu, northwest of Jerusalem, where the terrorist lived, and according to Palestinians surrounded a mosque. Palestinians said Monday that about 50 people were detained and held in one of the town’s homes after troops took control of the building. An initial investigation found that the terrorist acted alone throughout the attack. He drove to the area of the spring near the Binyamin community of Neve Tzuf, then opened fire on the vehicle of Netanel Shakron, a father of six from the community of Ali Zahav. His eldest son, who was in the vehicle, was not hurt. The terrorist was arrested at a clinic in Ramallah following a manhunt. He fled there wounded after the tracker, who was in the area in an armored vehicle, opened fire on him. Duvdevan troops who rushed to the scene apprehended him in his bed and were photographed surrounding it in images later circulated on Palestinian social media. Netanel, a high-tech professional who worked as an information systems analyst at Hachshara Insurance Company, is survived by his wife, Meirav, and six children. The eldest, an 11th-grade student, had accompanied him to the spring, while the youngest is 4. His funeral will be held Monday at 11 p.m. Residents of Ali Zahav said: “Netanel was a kind, humble, modest and beloved man, a devoted husband to Meirav and a devoted father to his six children. The Shakron family is a longstanding and deeply rooted family in the community and an inseparable part of the Ali Zahav community. We are all embracing Meirav and the children and will stand by them at this difficult time and in whatever they may need. May his memory be a blessing.” message s1b6dhptfg Jewish community sources say 8 of 9 suspects described by local media as Israelis are actually local Jews whose dual citizenship is unclear, while Jerusalem says it still does not know how many Israelis are among 201 people detained in massive fraud probe Itamar Eichner https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/19/Hy10twnFzx/Hy10twnFzx_30_460_535_301_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/s1b6dhptfg Sun, 20 Sep 2026 17:27:54 +03:00 In an unusual situation, Israeli officials still cannot say with certainty how many Israeli citizens have been arrested in connection with a massive fraud investigation in Turkey. Jerusalem does not even have an estimate of how many of the 201 detainees are Israeli, although Turkish authorities and media have reported that nine Israeli citizens were among those arrested. Turkey says the operation targeted an alleged international forex and cryptocurrency fraud network and involved 201 detainees, including nine people identified by authorities as Israeli nationals. Sources in Turkey’s Jewish community, however, told ynet that eight of the nine are local Turkish Jews and that it is unclear how many of them also hold Israeli citizenship. The community also believes additional Jews were arrested in the case but do not appear on the list of nine people described in Turkish reports as Israelis. Israel has contacted the Turkish authorities and requested an official answer on how many Israeli citizens were arrested and what allegations they face. The detainees themselves have not contacted Israel’s Foreign Ministry, nor have relatives approached the ministry on their behalf. The Foreign Ministry said it had received reports that Israeli citizens had been detained in Turkey on suspicion of involvement in criminal activity and was “working to ensure that the rights of the Israeli citizens are protected.” There is concern in Jerusalem that the handling of the case could be influenced by the severe political tensions between Israel and Turkey, particularly given Ankara’s increasingly hostile rhetoric toward Israel in recent years. Israel expects it could take several days for Turkey to respond formally. Israel currently has no consul physically stationed in Turkey, with consular affairs handled from a third country, meaning communication between officials is largely conducted remotely. So far, Jerusalem’s public response has been considerably more restrained than the tone of some Turkish coverage. The Foreign Ministry has neither confirmed nor denied the allegations against the suspects and has focused instead on ensuring their legal and consular rights. The Turkish framing The affair erupted Friday when Turkish authorities announced what they described as a major international investment fraud investigation and emphasized alleged Israeli links to the network. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan subsequently lashed out at Israel in a post on X, accusing what he called the “Zionist massacre network” of seeking to undermine Turkey and declaring that his government would cut off the resources of what he described as enemies benefiting from the “terror industry.” According to Turkish authorities, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, working with the National Intelligence Organization, or MIT, police and Interpol, carried out raids at hundreds of addresses in Istanbul and Muğla. The detention count later rose to 201. Turkish officials said the investigation focused on dozens of call centers and financial offices connected to companies allegedly offering fraudulent forex and cryptocurrency investments. Turkish prosecutors allege that the operation lured victims through social media advertisements and websites promising high returns. Turkish reporting says the alleged scheme generated approximately 13 billion Turkish liras in transaction volume over two years, while prosecutors have also alleged that losses to victims worldwide exceeded $3 billion. Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said Israeli-linked figures were prominent among the alleged owners and beneficiaries of the operation. Turkish media subsequently published names of nine people described as Israeli citizens. But according to the Jewish community sources who spoke to ynet, at least some of those people are Turkish-born Jews, some of whom may hold dual citizenship while others may not be Israeli citizens at all. That distinction complicates the national framing adopted by parts of the Turkish media, which have presented the investigation as an Israeli operation inside Turkey. Yeni Şafak, a newspaper closely aligned with Erdogan’s government, went further, publishing a headline describing the alleged network as a “Mossad fraud ring” and asserting links to Israeli intelligence. The report did not publicly provide evidence establishing such a connection. The uncertainty over the suspects’ citizenship also leaves Israel with little ability at this stage to determine who may be entitled to consular assistance. Israeli officials are particularly concerned that the suspects’ Israeli or Jewish identities could become part of the political narrative surrounding the case. At present, however, there is no public evidence that Turkish courts have treated the detainees differently because of their nationality or religion. The allegations in Turkey According to Turkish reports, the alleged fraud network recruited potential clients through advertisements on social media and websites that promised high returns from foreign currency and cryptocurrency investments. People who expressed interest were allegedly transferred to representatives who spoke their native languages and persuaded them to deposit relatively small amounts at first. They were then shown purported profits on trading platforms and encouraged to transfer increasingly large sums. When investors tried to withdraw their money, prosecutors allege, they were told that their accounts had been blocked and that they needed to pay additional amounts described as taxes, fees or payments to unlock the funds. The money was allegedly never invested as promised and was instead transferred to bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets controlled by the network outside Turkey. Turkish officials say hundreds of complaints collected through international law enforcement channels formed part of the investigation. Turkish prosecutors also claim that those running the operation instructed employees not to target Israeli or American citizens. According to findings attributed to MIT, Israeli-linked operators shifted activity abroad after Israel banned the sale of binary options to overseas customers in 2017. Turkish authorities have not provided a detailed public breakdown establishing the individual roles of each foreign detainee. The latest official figures cited by Turkey say nine detainees are Israeli citizens and 11 are Pakistani, alongside nationals of Azerbaijan, Syria, Jordan, Ukraine, Thailand, Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, the Philippines, Iran, China, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Mexico, Egypt, Mozambique, Argentina and Bangladesh. For now, that leaves Jerusalem waiting for Ankara to answer the most basic questions: exactly who is being held, which of them are actually Israeli citizens and what each individual is suspected of doing. message rycwsrhyml Photo taken less than two weeks before Hamas attack shows three 401st Brigade soldiers saluting fallen comrades from the 1973 war; two were later killed in Gaza, leaving the third to grapple with the image’s haunting meaning Elisha Ben Kimon https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/19/ry1rg8hYMl/ry1rg8hYMl_0_35_1280_720_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rycwsrhyml Sun, 20 Sep 2026 15:28:03 +03:00 Between the days of Selichot and the sound of the shofar on the eve of Yom Kippur, there are images that refuse to leave the mind. One of them, taken on the eve of Yom Kippur 2023, less than two weeks before the October 7 attack and subsequent war, now looks like a chilling prophecy. The photo shows three Armored Corps soldiers from the 401st Brigade standing at attention and saluting the graves of brigade soldiers who fell in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The three had been sent by their unit as part of an IDF remembrance and commemoration project intended to connect generations, remember and honor the fallen. They stood there, proud in uniform and black berets, with no way of knowing what fate awaited them only a short time later. Of the three who stood that day before the row of cold marble headstones, Staff Sgt. Itay Saadon, 21, from Har Halutz, who served as a tank commander in the 52nd Battalion, was killed in battle in the northern Gaza Strip in November 2023. Nearly a year later, in October 2024, his friend in the photograph, Staff Sgt. Ofir Berkovich, 20, from Modi’in-Maccabim-Reut, also of the 52nd Battalion, was also killed in the same sector. The third soldier in the photograph, Staff Sgt. Gabriel, is the only one still alive. “My memory of that day is very blurry,” Gabriel said in a special interview with Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth. He remembers the special dynamic between himself, Itay and Ofir. “Looking back, I understand just how chilling this picture is. I’m the only one left from it. The terrible news that Itay had fallen, during the first weeks of the ground operation in Gaza, was impossible to comprehend. I felt as though my world had collapsed. I didn’t know how to react, but I understood that I was in the middle of a war and that we had to keep going. To this day, it is hard for me to put into words what you feel in a situation like that. When Ofir was also killed, almost a year later, the feeling became even harder.” “It’s a chilling coincidence. I’m the only one left alive from that picture,” Gabriel said. “If more people had been photographed there, it would not have felt like such a personal coincidence for me. “On the one hand, you look at it and smile — what a beautiful picture of us standing there and saluting at the grave. On the other hand, it is very sad when you know what happened to the people in it. “My message to anyone who has lost friends is that, no matter where you are, stay open and share what you are feeling, even when it is difficult. Whether it is now, in Gaza or in Lebanon — open up to the people around you. That is what helps you get through it more easily.” The parents of Staff Sgt. Ofir Berkovich first saw the haunting photograph during the shiva mourning period for their son, when a casualty officer brought it to their home. Ofir, whom his parents described as a child full of joy, tremendous energy and a love of extreme sports, summed up his outlook on life in a unit project called “Tankers’ Quirks” with a short sentence: “You have to collect as many experiences as possible and live.” His father, Baruch, recalled the day he drove his son to the cemetery where the photograph was taken. “Ofir emphasized that he had been specially chosen for this assignment and that he had prepared himself mentally for it,” he said. “He felt there was something honorable about visiting the grave of a fallen IDF soldier.” His mother, Simona, described the painful emotions the photograph stirred. “At first, I couldn’t bring myself to look at it. We are trying to hold on to life, and this picture is another tangible confirmation that your child is no longer here. “This connection between past, present and future reflects our fate — apparently we are destined to live by the sword. What happened 50 years ago is continuing today, and all that remains is to hope for the best.” The photograph also sends chills through the Saadon family. Liat, Itay’s mother, recalled another picture he sent her that day, in which he stood alone in front of the grave. “I remember the picture of him standing in front of the grave, and what I thought at the time — that I would have preferred him to visit wounded soldiers rather than graves. Today, when I am on the other side, I understand the profound meaning of that act.” Itay, who dreamed of becoming a pilot when he was younger, found his place as a tank commander in the armored corps. According to his mother, members of the company liked to joke about the special way he communicated with Ofir, whom he commanded, and how the two would sometimes communicate through notes. “When I saw the picture with Gabriel standing alongside them, the only one who remained alive, I was very afraid for him. Those were days of fighting, and we were truly afraid that, God forbid, something might happen to him. It is important for me to tell Gabriel how happy I am that he is here with us,” Liat said emotionally. She also stressed what she sees as an important point about Israeli society. “At the military level, there is a deeply rooted tradition, and we are very much embraced. But in society as a whole, I sometimes feel that there is less attention being paid to bereavement," she said. “People want to return to routine, and that is natural and understandable in a society that has known so much loss. Still, I am certain that soldiers from the 401st Brigade will always come to Itay’s grave and that this bond will be preserved over the years.” On this eve of Yom Kippur, the photograph of Ofir, Itay and Gabriel has become more than a chapter in a unit’s memory. It has become a symbol of Israeli society as a whole. The IDF and the brigade’s investment in commemorating the soldiers who fell in 1973 brought the soldiers of 2023 to stand before their graves, without knowing that many of them would go on to write the next chapter in the book of remembrance with their own blood. message bjfvhqkfgl Trevor Asserson, who authored study accusing the broadcaster of anti-Israel bias, tells ynet Global that years of negative coverage damaged Israel’s standing, and says the focus must now shift to limiting the impact of new British measures Sivan Hilaie https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/20/H1Kl3HaKfx/H1Kl3HaKfx_0_0_1335_752_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/bjfvhqkfgl Sun, 20 Sep 2026 15:08:08 +03:00 Trevor Asserson spent years trying to document what he says was systematic anti-Israel bias at the BBC. Now, the British lawyer argues that the consequences have moved beyond journalism and into government policy — with potentially significant implications for Israeli companies, banks and exporters. Asserson, senior partner at British law firm Asserson, whose largest office is in Tel Aviv, led a 2024 study examining BBC coverage of the Israel-Hamas war. The report analyzed the broadcaster’s English- and Arabic-language output between Oct. 7, 2023, and Feb. 7, 2024, and accused it of repeatedly violating its own editorial standards. “The BBC was a problem because the reputation of Israel was being undermined by the world's most well-respected media organization, the BBC, and it had a huge influence,” Asserson told ynet Global. “So I needed to demonstrate in a proper legal way that it was breaking its own rules and was entirely biased, unfortunately, in its reporting.” The Asserson Report said it identified 1,553 alleged breaches of BBC editorial guidelines and was particularly critical of BBC Arabic. Its analysis claimed that more than 90% of the Arabic service material it assessed reflected pro-Palestinian or anti-Israel sentiment. The BBC rejected allegations that its reporting was biased and said it would consider the research, while maintaining that its coverage sought to meet its standards of accuracy and due impartiality. For Asserson, however, the problem was not confined to individual errors. “The level of anti-Israel feeling within the BBC is such that we, for instance, have been representing employees in the BBC who have been literally persecuted for expressing a view that something was not accurate,” he said. “So it's really become an institutional problem.” He described BBC Arabic in still harsher terms, saying his research found its performance comparable to Al Jazeera on the measurements used by his team. “BBC Arabic is essentially the same as Al Jazeera,” he said. “They're both about the same level on an international measure.” The BBC has faced criticism of its Middle East coverage from opposing directions. Jewish organizations and pro-Israel critics have accused it of hostility toward Israel, while more than 100 BBC employees were among signatories to a 2024 letter alleging that the broadcaster’s Gaza coverage favored Israel. The corporation has repeatedly said it is committed to accurate and impartial reporting. Resignations and a wider BBC crisis Asserson believes the debate that followed his report contributed to broader scrutiny of the broadcaster. He pointed to the eventual departures of BBC Director-General Tim Davie and BBC News chief Deborah Turness. “So the report had some effect,” he said. Davie and Turness resigned in November 2025 amid a separate controversy over the editing of a Donald Trump speech in a BBC Panorama documentary and broader allegations concerning the corporation’s impartiality, including its reporting on Gaza and transgender issues. Turness rejected claims that BBC News was institutionally biased, while Davie said mistakes had been made and that he had to take ultimate responsibility. Asserson argued that the Trump controversy reinforced his broader criticism of the broadcaster. “It literally fakes news in order to try and make Trump look bad, to say things that he didn't say,” he said, referring to the disputed Panorama edit. BBC Chairman Samir Shah later apologized for what he called an “error of judgment” in the editing of the Trump speech. ‘We have to move on’ Asserson said his attention is now shifting away from the BBC itself toward what he sees as the political consequences of years of damaging coverage of Israel. “I think that Israel has to move on from the BBC coverage and media coverage,” he said. He pointed in particular to Britain’s increasingly restrictive policy toward Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank. The British government announced another package of measures on Sept. 8, including plans to ban imports from Israeli settlements it considers illegal and sanction individuals and companies that support, facilitate or benefit from settlement activity. Earlier in June, London coordinated sanctions with several other governments against individuals and organizations accused of financing or enabling settler violence. Asserson acknowledged allegations of violence in the West Bank and criticized Israel’s handling of the issue. “What’s happened, the recent decision by the British government to impose sanctions on Israel is obviously to some extent the result of things which were going on in the West Bank, which clearly are, where the government is failing to deal with it, you know, shameful,” he said. But he argued that British policy cannot be separated from a broader deterioration in Israel’s public standing. “What has happened is the reputation of Israel has been so undermined and so damaged by the media coverage for such a long time that you've reached a stage where there's a very general mood within the Labour Party to impose sanctions on Israel,” he said. Could sanctions spread beyond the settlements? Although Britain has said its measures are directed at settlement activity rather than Israel as a whole, Asserson warned that the practical distinction could prove difficult to maintain. “The UK has expressly announced that its sanctions will be aimed at the ‘settlements,’ but not against Israel,” he said. “It remains to be seen if that division will stick.” He said Israeli businesses that could potentially be affected should begin reviewing their operations before the final rules are published. Companies, he said, should conduct audits to determine whether any part of their business could fall within the measures and seek legal advice where necessary. Once the precise language is published, which Asserson expects could take several months, companies should reassess any steps they have taken to reduce their exposure. His firm is already advising some Israeli companies that have been sanctioned, he said. “We believe that steps to mitigate the dangers can and should be taken,” Asserson said. He also warned companies against viewing the issue as exclusively British, arguing that they should prepare for the possibility that other European governments and Canada could adopt similar measures. “That considerably widens the threat Israel faces,” he said. Could companies inside Israel also be affected? Asserson said businesses operating within Israel’s pre-1967 boundaries could also face consequences, even if they have no direct activity in West Bank settlements. He described one danger as “contagion”: Foreign companies, he said, may find it difficult or costly to verify whether an Israeli supplier has any connection to settlement activity and could decide that doing business elsewhere is easier. “They will go elsewhere for their dates, avocados or semiconductors,” he said. “The fear of a fine imposed by the regulator will have a chilling effect on trade with Israel.” A second potential problem, he said, stems from modern supply chains. Depending on how the British rules are ultimately drafted and interpreted, questions could arise over products that receive only a small portion of their added value in the West Bank. “The risk lies, one, with the wording of the sanctions when drafted, and, two, with how the regulators and ultimately the courts choose to interpret those rules,” Asserson said. He warned that a broad interpretation by regulators or courts could expand the practical reach of the measures beyond what the British government says it intends. Asserson also expressed concern that officials’ personal views of Israel could influence how discretion is exercised, though he offered no evidence that British regulators had done so. How would Britain determine where a product comes from? Much will depend on the final wording of the measures, Asserson said. He expects authorities to draw on existing British or European rules governing the origin of goods, including customs frameworks and principles already used in trade. Exporters generally certify the origin of their products and make declarations to British customs authorities under rules that vary by category of goods. Customs officials can accept those declarations but also retain the power to investigate them. For Asserson, the greater concern is what happens when questions arise. An intensive customs inspection could lead to lengthy delays even if the Israeli exporter ultimately establishes that its goods are not covered by the measures, he said. A foreign customer could decide that waiting is not worth the trouble and turn to another supplier. “The fact that the product might eventually be given a green light could be academic if the ultimate customer has lost interest in the meanwhile,” he said. That, he argued, is another way measures intended to target settlements could have wider effects on Israeli trade. ‘Support, facilitate or profit’ could have broad reach Asserson said the principal risk is not necessarily limited to physical goods produced in settlements. He pointed to language targeting companies or individuals that “support, facilitate or profit from settlement activity,” which he said could potentially encompass financial institutions and other service providers depending on how the final measures are written and enforced. Asserson offered deliberately broad examples to illustrate his concern: an international accounting firm preparing year-end accounts for a grocery store in a West Bank settlement, a plumber providing services in East Jerusalem or a supermarket chain with one outlet in a settlement. Whether such examples would actually fall within the British measures would depend on their final wording and subsequent regulatory or judicial interpretation. For Asserson, however, the uncertainty itself presents a commercial risk. “Rather than supply an Israeli company, a UK manufacturer might be overwhelmed by the risk that the Israeli purchaser might have some minor relationship with the West Bank,” he said. “The UK supplier might choose to find customers elsewhere.” Why Israeli banks are a particular concern Asserson sees the banking sector as the most serious potential vulnerability because international commerce depends on access to financial institutions. “If Israeli banks are frozen out of international banking, the effect could be catastrophic,” he said. He outlined a worst-case scenario in which Israeli companies could struggle to receive payments from foreign customers, Israeli banks could encounter difficulty borrowing on international markets and routine transactions involving Israeli accounts could become harder to process. Britain has said it does not intend to isolate Israel’s banking system, but Asserson worries that a bank could potentially expose itself to sanctions through even limited business connected to settlements. He cited the hypothetical example of an Israeli bank changing the interest rate on a mortgage for a West Bank household. If regulators interpreted such an action as prohibited support for settlement activity and sanctioned the bank, he argued, other financial institutions could become reluctant to deal with it. “The danger is acute,” he said. What is driving Britain’s tougher approach? Asserson attributes the British government’s policy partly to domestic politics, an interpretation that reflects his own political assessment. He pointed to Labour’s losses in recent local elections to the Green Party and independent pro-Palestinian candidates and argued that taking a tougher line toward Israel offers the government an electoral incentive. “Hitting Israel hard is a cheap electoral card for Labour to play,” he said. Asserson also accused Labour’s progressive wing of longstanding hostility toward Israel and invoked the antisemitism crisis under former party leader Jeremy Corbyn. His firm represented a principal complainant in proceedings involving the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which found in 2020 that Labour had committed unlawful acts of harassment and discrimination related to antisemitism. But Asserson said responsibility did not lie solely with Britain. He argued that the Israeli government had provided London and other governments with an opening through its policies in the West Bank, including plans for construction in the E1 area. “The Israeli government gave the UK, and the other 11 countries that moved with it, a gift,” he said. He also sharply criticized Israel’s response to settler violence against Palestinians and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of statements and actions by far-right members of his government. “By appearing to condone, and possibly even support, settler violence, including murder, against Palestinians, Israel was placed in a morally indefensible position,” Asserson said. He characterized the British sanctions as an “overreaction,” but said they represented “the culmination of years of growing frustration with Israeli conduct.” ‘The problem has now arrived’ Asserson also accused successive Israeli officials of underestimating how deteriorating perceptions abroad could eventually translate into political and economic measures. “I don't think that the Israeli government has dealt in an adequate way in dealing with that problem,” he said. “It's a problem which we've seen coming over the hill for many years. It's now arrived in a material way.” For Asserson, the dispute over BBC coverage is therefore no longer primarily about winning an argument over individual reports. “The BBC and other media organizations have created an atmosphere in which what has just happened has been possible,” he said. “We need a government that will actually recognize the danger and deal with it.” Could Israel’s election change the picture? Asserson argued that the outcome of Israel’s upcoming election could affect how the country is received internationally, though his assessment is necessarily speculative. If Netanyahu returns as prime minister, Asserson said, he believes the result would further damage Israel’s standing among governments and institutions already highly critical of him. If Israelis elect a different government, he argued, foreign governments could be more willing to reassess their approach. But he cautioned that repairing Israel’s international standing would not happen quickly. “Immense damage has been done to Israel’s standing,” he said, adding that any future prime minister would also inherit Israel’s continuing military and security challenges. Even if repairing relations with the international community became a priority, Asserson said, “it will still be a long and painful climb back.” He said responding to the threat of international sanctions should therefore rank high among the next government’s priorities. ‘The sanctions point a dagger at Israel’s commercial heart’ Despite his warnings, Asserson said he does not regard the broader economic consequences he described as inevitable. “The sanctions point a dagger at Israel’s commercial heart,” he said. “But the concerns I have outlined are by no means inevitable.” He noted that Britain has said it wants to avoid broader spillover and limit the impact of its measures to settlements and settlement-related activity. Asserson believes Israeli businesses and the government can substantially reduce the risks if they prepare for the rules, scrutinize supply chains and financial relationships and engage seriously with the potential consequences. “If an Israeli government grapples intelligently and sensibly with this threat, I believe it can be materially mitigated,” he said. “But if this threat is met with hollow bravura, I fear for the future.” Trevor Asserson is the founder of Asserson, an international English law firm with its largest office in Israel. The firm advises clients on commercial matters, including British sanctions law. The views expressed by Asserson are his own. message sjuhevttfg More than 102,000 immigrants from Russia and Ukraine since the 2022 invasion are eligible to vote in the October 27 election; several tell ynet that democratic institutions, minority rights, regional investment and immigrant integration are shaping their priorities Matan Keselman https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/18/r175bYqYGg/r175bYqYGg_0_0_850_479_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sjuhevttfg Sun, 20 Sep 2026 14:42:47 +03:00 “Elections in Russia were meaningless. We used to call them a day of pointless bureaucracy with no real choice. We would go and cast our ballots knowing that nothing was going to change.” For Oleg Yakovlev, 40, who immigrated to Israel from Moscow after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the October 27 election will offer a very different experience. “The opportunity to vote in an election where I can have a real influence on my representation and on advancing values I believe in is something that should never be taken for granted,” Yakovlev said. About 120,000 new immigrants from Russia and Ukraine have arrived in Israel since the war began, according to the Immigration and Absorption Ministry. More than 102,000 are over 18 and eligible to vote, adding a sizable new constituency to the electorate. The scale of the immigration wave has been exceptional. Official figures show that 41,800 people immigrated from Russia between the start of the war and the end of 2022 alone, while Knesset data show that 19,474 immigrants arrived from Russia and 1,002 from Ukraine in 2024. Many members of this new electorate arrived only months before Israel’s previous election in November 2022. Now, four years later, they are entering an Israeli election campaign with political experiences shaped by the countries they left behind. For Yakovlev, the issues at the top of his list are not security, the economy or military conscription. “For me, someone who came from a country that doesn’t protect democratic values or treat minority communities equally, what matters is LGBTQ rights, separation of religion and state and protecting minorities,” he said. “We learned in Russia that once minority rights are damaged, it is only a matter of time before everyone’s rights are harmed. When the same people remain in power for a long time, they begin to lose touch with reality, and that ultimately damages our basic values too.” Yakovlev said many recent immigrants want to become involved in Israeli politics, participate actively in its democratic institutions and make use of a political voice they felt they lacked before immigrating. ‘They want to integrate and have an influence’ Alester Moran, 35, immigrated from Russia in 2014 and is now active in helping newer immigrants settle in Israel. He is also involved in initiatives designed to deepen their understanding of Israeli politics. “I would often see the level of political discussion among people in the Russian-speaking community on social media and feel that it was extremely poor,” he said. “So we started a new initiative, focused meetings where people come together for political discussions. Each person gets a subject, prepares for it and has to defend a position.” The result, he says, is that participants learn how Israel’s political system works and gain a better understanding of the issues dominating the election campaign. Moran believes the latest immigration wave differs in important ways from earlier ones. “Many of the people taking part in our activities arrived in Israel only recently, and they are already holding discussions and researching in depth all the issues at the center of the election,” he said. “This wave brought people who want to live somewhere better than the country they came from. They understand how important it is that their vote has value, and they intend to study as much as possible so they can use it properly.” Some, he added, had already spent years opposing the government in Russia. “For much of their lives, a significant number of these immigrants were opponents of the government and tried to fight and have an influence. Now they have arrived somewhere where they genuinely have a chance to do that. “It is like training for years in a theoretical sport and then finally reaching a real competition where you can demonstrate everything you know.” But democratic institutions are far from the only concern. Tatiana, 43, who lives in Nof HaGalil in northern Israel, says her main priority is improving infrastructure and public services outside the country’s center. “I have two daughters, and when I want them to have enriching activities, things to do after school other than watch television, and a good education system that will help them develop, unfortunately that simply isn’t realistic where I live,” she said. Soon after arriving, she says, she encountered a complaint familiar to many residents of northern Israel. “They invest much less in all the smaller cities,” Tatiana said. “In the center and in the big cities, there is everything. In the periphery they simply don’t invest. There is nothing.” She has been attending meetings with party representatives and traveling to other cities to hear politicians speak. “It is important for me to hear and understand as much as possible about what they want and what their goals are,” she said. “Unfortunately, many of the promises and things politicians say today are mainly things that will never really change. That’s how the system works now. “I wish ministers in Israel were appointed professionally, people with experience in the areas they are responsible for, who could actually change things and move them forward.” Tatiana also says she feels Russian-speaking Israelis lack adequate political representation. “It is important to me that parties include people who come from the same background as so many Israeli citizens,” she said. “People who understand and represent the basic values that matter to many of us. “Only people who came from Russia can understand and emphasize how important limits on a prime minister’s tenure can be, and how critical the separation of powers is.” For some of those who arrived in 2022, immigration and absorption policy itself has become a central political concern. Polina Golnik, 36, from Karmiel, remembers extensive assistance when she first arrived. “When we came to Israel, we received a lot of help,” she said. “The country absorbed us in an organized manner. There were many assistance programs, help with housing, Hebrew lessons and many services adapted especially for us.” Golnik says that after the current government took office, many of those programs disappeared. “The feeling was that, as far as the government was concerned, the main thing was to cancel and change what the previous government had done without finding an adequate replacement, and we were left with nothing,” she said. Her description reflects her own assessment of government policy. Israel has continued to operate immigrant integration programs during this period, while the Knesset’s Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee has also documented continuing challenges involving budgets, pensions and services for immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Golnik said she believes quality of life has deteriorated in recent years. “Everyone understands that the war and the cost of living cannot be solved overnight. These are processes that will take time,” she said. “But there are things that can be done immediately, restoring things that worked and improving our quality of life.” “If we don’t put democratic values, protection of minority rights and separation of powers at the top of the agenda, nothing else will change for the better.” ‘Democracy was something we lacked in Russia’ Sergei Zorkovsky, 41, who immigrated during the same period, voiced similar frustrations. “When the current government took office, it felt as though the new immigrants had simply been forgotten,” he said. “We were ignored. The past few years have left me with a negative feeling that we are not accepted here. “It felt as if parties in the current government did everything they could to make things harder, to prevent our relatives from coming to Israel and to make it harder for us to integrate here.” Those are Zorkovsky’s allegations and political assessment, rather than independently established findings. As a father and a self-employed business owner, he says education and the economy are among the issues that affect him personally. “I hope there will be change after the election,” he said. “We lost the sense of security and liberalism. It frightens us. This is exactly what we fled.” He also described concerns about violence, racism and the way Russian-speaking immigrants are perceived. “What matters is that a government is elected that advances democratic and liberal values, values that will improve our lives here,” he said. Zorkovsky also argues that Russian-speaking Israelis remain underrepresented in national politics and civic organizations. “Many of the new immigrants came with a desire to take an active part in democracy. That was something we lacked in Russia,” he said. “There are not enough people today fighting for the things we need. Some of the newer immigrants are elderly people who fled because of the war and now have no pensions after working their entire lives. There are not enough Russian-language services for people who have difficulty learning Hebrew. Many of us still have family there who cannot come under the current restrictions.” The difficulty receiving pension payments from Russia and other former Soviet states is a documented problem that reached the Knesset’s Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee in February, with lawmakers describing bureaucratic obstacles that have harmed some immigrants’ pension rights. “The Russian-speaking community deserves more respectable and meaningful representation in the Knesset,” Zorkovsky said. “I hope that changes in the future.” For this group of new voters, the election is therefore about more than casting a ballot for the first time in Israel. Their concerns range from schools, infrastructure and the cost of living to immigration policy and democratic institutions, shaped both by their experience in Israel and by the political systems they left behind. message rkdahfpfzx Before Yom Kippur, a father of six found unconscious in a car near Ein Riya spring by Neve Tzuf died at Beilinson; his son was unharmed; a soldier fired at the gunman, who fled and was captured by Duvdevan; a ramming attacker was killed near Ganim Elisha Ben Kimon, Idan Bloemhof https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/20/BJkZ1mTFMe/BJkZ1mTFMe_0_0_850_479_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rkdahfpfzx Sun, 20 Sep 2026 18:17:38 +03:00 Terror on the eve of Yom Kippur: Netanel Shakron, a father of six from the community of Alei Zahav, was murdered Sunday afternoon in a shooting near Ein Riya spring, close to Neve Tzuf in the Binyamin region. He was found in a vehicle in serious condition and evacuated by Magen David Adom ambulance to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, where doctors later pronounced him dead. His eldest son, who was in the vehicle, was unharmed. Security forces launched a manhunt for the terrorist who carried out the shooting, a 37-year-old resident of the village of Biddu. Troops from the elite Duvdevan unit captured him about three hours later at a hospital in Ramallah, where he had fled after being wounded when a soldier opened fire at him. Shortly after the shooting at the spring, before the terrorist was captured, troops from the Paratroopers Brigade’s 890th Battalion killed another terrorist who attempted to carry out a car-ramming attack near the community of Ganim in the Menashe Brigade sector. Another terrorist who was in the vehicle was arrested. No IDF troops were wounded in the incident. Footage from the scene showed several terrified bathers at the spring as gunfire could be heard in the background. “Is there an army here? Police here?” one of them could be heard asking. The report of the shooting in the Binyamin region was received by Magen David Adom’s 101 emergency hotline in the Jerusalem region at 11:29 a.m. Medics and paramedics treated Shakron at the scene while he was unconscious. Paramedic David Trachtenberg said emergency crews pulled the wounded man from the vehicle and immediately began lifesaving treatment. “We got the wounded man out of the vehicle and immediately began providing lifesaving medical treatment,” Trachtenberg said. “We put him in the ambulance and, with the help of a doctor and another paramedic, immediately began evacuating him to the hospital while fighting for his life, providing medical treatment and blood products in the hope that his condition would stabilize.” Doctors at Beilinson Hospital later pronounced him dead. His funeral is scheduled for 11 p.m. after Yom Kippur. An initial investigation found that the terrorist drove to the area of the spring and then opened fire at Shakron’s vehicle. A soldier who was nearby in an armored vehicle opened fire at the terrorist, wounding him. The terrorist fled with his weapon to a hospital in Ramallah. Special units, including Duvdevan, were rushed to the area. Israeli Air Force aircraft, including an attack helicopter, were also dispatched, while roadblocks were set up throughout the sector. During the manhunt, security officials feared the armed terrorist could carry out another attack. Security cameras captured the terrorist’s red Mitsubishi Outlander. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir arrived at the scene and ordered additional forces deployed to continue the manhunt. The terrorist was eventually captured. Judea and Samaria District Police chief Maj. Gen. Moshe Pinchi and Samaria subdistrict commander Brig. Gen. Avi Cohen also arrived at the scene. The Shin Bet later received intelligence indicating that the terrorist had fled, wounded, to a hospital in Ramallah after being shot at the scene. Duvdevan troops rushed to the hospital and detained him in his bed. Images later circulated on Palestinian social media showing the troops surrounding his hospital bed. Police also took part in the capture. Later, the chief of staff ordered the terrorist’s home sealed and demolished. 'No one will drive us away from here' Binyamin Regional Council head and Yesha Council chairman Israel Gantz said at the scene: “Residents come ahead of Yom Kippur to immerse themselves in the spring, and a terrorist arrives armed with an M-16 and opens fire at them. This is a very difficult incident, but we are strong and we will get through it. God willing, on Sukkot this place will be filled with hikers. No one will drive us away from here.” After the terrorist was captured, Gantz said: “He sought to take lives and break our spirit, but he failed. The people of Israel will not be deterred or broken by terrorism.” Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan said: “I demand that the security forces intensify their operations inside the villages, go from house to house, collect illegal weapons and dismantle terrorist infrastructure. Security checkpoints must immediately be restored to the roads. “Terrorists must not be allowed to move freely, and we must not wait for the next attack. The State of Israel must move from defense to offense and restore deterrence and security for residents. The settlement enterprise will never be broken.” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for the death penalty to be imposed on the terrorist. “We demand enforcement of the death penalty law for terrorists that Otzma Yehudit passed,” he said. “This is the first case in which the death penalty for terrorists can be carried out. In this case, the punishment is mandatory. The law is the law.” The attacks came amid heightened IDF alert in the West Bank ahead of the Jewish fall holidays. The military said Nahal Brigade troops have searched more than 1,200 buildings and other sites across the territory in recent months, uncovering, among other things, a laboratory used to manufacture explosive devices. Large numbers of armored vehicles have also recently been seen operating around Nablus. IDF forces are operating across the West Bank under the military’s regional brigades in the areas of Judea, Menashe, Ephraim and Samaria. According to the military, troops have questioned about 930 suspects in the field and arrested about 230 wanted Palestinians as part of the recent operations. More than 100 weapons have been seized, including M-16 rifles, submachine guns, handguns, magazines and large quantities of ammunition, the military said. The increased military presence has also been visible around Huwara, near Nablus, where advanced Eitan armored personnel carriers carrying Nahal troops have been seen alongside forces conducting routine operations. Images distributed by international news agencies showed the armored vehicles traveling in relatively large convoys. The military has raised its readiness to the highest level ahead of Yom Kippur, with particular attention also being paid to the upcoming Sukkot and Simchat Torah holidays. Thousands of Israeli visitors are expected to travel through the West Bank during the holiday period, visiting tourist sites, established settlements and recently established settlement outposts. The military has reinforced troops along major roads and around areas of heightened friction to provide security for visitors. message bkjcaa2yml Demand for pre-military academies has jumped about 50% since October 7, with thousands of Israeli teens volunteering, training and seeking meaningful IDF service as they responds to war with a growing sense of responsibility Yossi Yehoshua https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2018/04/27/8495966/8495966_0_135_1300_732_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/bkjcaa2yml Sun, 20 Sep 2026 06:17:43 +03:00 Amid all the noise, arguments, political battles and the constant sense that Israeli society is locked in an internal war, there is another story as well. It is less loud, far removed from the Knesset and the television studios and, in my view, it is one of the most important stories in Israel since October 7: the story of the younger generation. After nearly three years of war, it is precisely Israel’s teenagers who are offering no small reason for optimism. They volunteer, sign up for a year of national service, join pre-military academies, seek to prepare for the army and want to perform meaningful service. Above all, many of them understand that the country is living through a period in which it is not enough merely to talk about responsibility. You also have to take it. It is almost like a parallel universe. Since October 7, war is no longer something they know only from textbooks. Teenagers have seen communities evacuated, hostage families, funerals, reservists returning to the front again and again and the ongoing fighting. How have they responded? Since the war began, demand among teenagers to join pre-military academies has jumped by about 50%, while demand for those programs, for gap-year service programs and for combat service in the IDF has reached an all-time high. Since the start of the war, 32 new pre-military academies and branches have been established. About one-third of their activity centers are located in the Gaza border communities, along the northern border, in the Jordan Valley and in outlying areas. Israel currently has 69 pre-military academies with 122 branches, attended by about 6,700 young men and women. Alongside them are some 3,700 young people in year-of-service programs, around 2,400 in six-month programs and about 2,600 in hesder yeshivas, which combine Torah study with military service. Together with other preparatory tracks, roughly 14,000 young Israelis are currently enrolled in programs preparing them for military or national service. Competition for places in the most sought-after academies is intense. In some, the number of applicants reaches into the thousands, several times the number of available spots. There is something symbolic about it. At a time when the state evacuated residents from border areas, young people are choosing to go there. To volunteer. To work with local communities. To be close to the places where the greatest disaster in the country’s history took place and to try to become part of their recovery. It also creates an interesting problem for the IDF. There are tens of thousands of requests to defer military service. If the army’s manpower needs allowed it, more of those requests could be approved. But after nearly three years of war, the IDF needs personnel, especially combat soldiers. Delaying the service of thousands of prospective recruits means fewer soldiers in the immediate term. That is why the option of postponing enlistment is limited. The story of the “launch” pre-military programs illustrates this best. More and more teenagers have recently sought to prepare for military service, but not all of them wanted or were able to postpone enlistment for a full year. The IDF identified the demand and developed a response: a short, intensive and focused program lasting three to eight weeks, without requiring a lengthy enlistment deferral. In the pilot year, 450 teenagers participated in the project. This year, more than 1,200 have already gone through the programs, and the number is expected to rise further. They train, take part in navigation exercises, meet commanders, learn about military units and roles, work on their physical fitness and mental resilience and arrive at the army better prepared. One figure is particularly striking: Motivation for combat service has risen since the start of the war. For example, 96.5% of graduates of the “launch” academies who enlisted entered what was defined as meaningful service. Forty-seven percent serve in combat roles. For many of them, this stems from a desire to be on the side that protects the country. Amid all the political battles and the harsh public discourse, there is a younger generation showing responsibility in a different way. Not through slogans. Through actions. They willingly give the country another year of their lives. They volunteer. They go to the periphery. They go to the northern border and the Gaza border communities. They train. They ask to become combat soldiers. They want to enter the army better and better prepared. In my view, this is about much more than pre-military academies. It is a story about a generation. Within the divided, angry and exhausted Israel that has emerged from the war, there are thousands of young people choosing a different path. They do not ignore the arguments, but they do not allow those arguments to run their lives either. They simply ask where they are needed. And then they go there. Perhaps that is the optimistic story that should be told at the start of the year. Not that everything is fine. Far from it. But despite everything, there is a younger generation here that understands the magnitude of the moment, wants to contribute and is prepared to take responsibility. And in times like these, that is no small thing. message sy00wpinfmg An Emirati source said security matters are handled through official channels, stopping short of denying that MBZ warned Netanyahu of a looming Sinwar attack, as new details emerge about how the message allegedly reached Israel Itamar Eichner, Lior Ben Ari https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/05/13/r1ajlVGJMx/r1ajlVGJMx_0_0_850_479_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sy00wpinfmg Sun, 20 Sep 2026 04:23:30 +03:00 For more than a week, Israel pressured Abu Dhabi to deny a report alleging that Mohammed bin Zayed, or MBZ, gave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an explicit warning before October 7 that Yahya Sinwar was planning an “earthquake.” On Saturday night, The National, the English-language newspaper based in Abu Dhabi, published a statement from an Emirati source saying: “The UAE discusses security issues with other countries through the relevant bodies and does not discuss details of this kind at the level of national leaders.” In other words, even after pressure from Israel, the source did not explicitly deny that a conversation between bin Zayed and Netanyahu took place, did not say the report was false and did not rule out that Israel had received a warning. The National’s report said the source was responding to the allegations because they had become “a major issue for politicians campaigning on security.” The investigation — and the UAE’s initial response Already on Sept. 8, the day the investigation was published, Israel pressed the United Arab Emirates to issue an official clarification denying the report. The UAE, however, preferred not to engage with the details and released an official statement saying it would not comment on them. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms that the UAE government does not comment on media reports or speculation regarding conversations,” the statement said. “Since October 7, the UAE’s efforts have focused on de-escalation, promoting regional stability and reducing violence.” The UAE Foreign Ministry also said that since diplomatic relations with Israel were established more than five years ago, “government bodies in both countries have maintained open and direct channels of communication. When necessary, all relevant intelligence information is shared and continues to be shared between the relevant parties.” At the time the report was published, speculation arose that the person who passed along the information was Mohammed Dahlan, a former senior figure in the Palestinian Preventive Security Force in the Gaza Strip, who for years was regarded as a senior Fatah official, a major rival of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and a possible candidate to lead Gaza in a post-Hamas era. Dahlan, however, has remained silent amid the controversy surrounding October 7 and the alleged conversation with bin Zayed — but he has not denied it. The report about the conversation appeared in a new book by journalists Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval, Hostages: 843 Days of Abandonment. According to the investigation, bin Zayed called Netanyahu after receiving information that Sinwar was planning an “earthquake” in Israel. “They have conversations that are conducted in a unique way. There is a special application developed by the Emiratis. A representative from the embassy arrives with the application and a phone, and they hold a conversation that lasts 45 minutes,” Eldar said. According to the investigation, Netanyahu tried to reassure bin Zayed during the conversation and told him: “We are prepared in Gaza.” He also reportedly assessed that if there were a problem, it would be in the West Bank. After that conversation, Netanyahu did not update then-IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, then-Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar or then-Mossad chief David Barnea. Palestinian politician: ‘I am the source who passed message from Sinwar’ On Wednesday, Palestinian politician Dr. Sufian Abu Zaida, a Fatah and PLO member and former Palestinian Authority minister for prisoner affairs, revealed in a video posted to Facebook that he was the source referred to as “Coal Eyes,” who passed along a warning in mid-September that Sinwar was planning an attack on Israel. He said that “in the coming days” he would elaborate on the message he received from Sinwar, as well as on mediation efforts in contacts between Israel and Hamas. The story was first revealed in the book by Eldar and Yuval, who wrote that Abu Zaida — whose name was withheld in the book out of concern for his safety — received the message from Sinwar in the course of contacts between Israel and Hamas over the return of the bodies of Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, as well as the two captives Hisham al-Sayed and Avera Mengistu. According to Eldar, at some point in early September, when the talks had stalled, Sinwar dropped off the Shin Bet’s radar. He then summoned Abu Zaida and told him: “Tell the Israelis that I am planning a big surprise for them if they do not make progress.” According to Eldar, Sinwar used the word “zilzal” — earthquake — for the first time. Eldar said Abu Zaida left the conversation frightened and passed the message to an associate who now serves as an adviser to UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed. That adviser emphasized that Abu Zaida initially did not pass the message to the Shin Bet because he feared being accused of collaborating with Sinwar. But after the adviser updated bin Zayed on the matter, bin Zayed asked him to determine whether Sinwar truly meant war. Abu Zaida was therefore sent to speak with Sinwar again and, during that conversation, told him that he had not passed the message to Israel as requested. According to the account, Sinwar then clarified to Abu Zaida: “Tell them that I am preparing a surprise for them from the land of surprises. A terrifying operation. Something extraordinary,” and repeated the word “zilzal” for a second time. He demanded: “Please pass on to the Israelis what I am saying, word for word.” Abu Zaida then called the Emirati president’s adviser again and, on September 15, also passed the warning to the Shin Bet. Following that, then-Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar spoke with Netanyahu, and security discussions were held in which he recommended taking action to neutralize the threat or implementing “strong defensive efforts” in the Gaza Strip. At that time, the mistaken assessment was that Sinwar intended to seize Elizabeth Tsurkov, the Israeli researcher who had been abducted and held in Iraq. message skv1vs2kzg Hundreds of detainees, a $3B sting and Erdogan's attacks on "'Zionist massacre network': Exposure of the crypto fraud network made waves in Turkish media, and with the announcement of the arrest of 'Israelis' in Ankara, they saw an opportunity  Itamar Eichner https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/19/ryqpY8nFfl/ryqpY8nFfl_1_299_759_428_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/skv1vs2kzg Sun, 20 Sep 2026 03:39:17 +03:00 After Turkey announced over the weekend that it had uncovered one of the largest financial fraud cases in the country’s history, in which Israelis also were arrested, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched a fierce attack on Israel Saturday night, writing on X: “We know which elements, foremost among them the 'Zionist massacre network', are disturbed by the ‘Terror-Free Turkey’ process. God willing, we will not give them the opportunity they are seeking.” He added: “One by one, we will cut off the supply lines of the enemies of the people and the homeland, who feed off the terror industry. We are determined to do so and, God willing, we will succeed.” According to a statement issued by Turkish authorities Friday, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, together with Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization, or MIT, police and Interpol, raided hundreds of addresses in Istanbul and Mugla province and arrested more than 201 suspects out of about 240 who were indicted. According to prosecutors, the network operated under the cover of dozens of ostensibly “legitimate” companies in the forex and cryptocurrency sectors, ran call centers and extracted more than $3 billion from victims around the world. Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said the network was headed by “Israeli fraud barons,” while the indictment reportedly refers to figures “linked to Israel.” Turkish media published the names of nine Israeli citizens who were arrested and were allegedly employed at the network’s customer service centers. The headlines It is no secret that in today’s Turkey, the moment Israel’s name is linked to any affair, it automatically becomes a major headline. Anyone with a political agenda uses Israel to gain public support, and sometimes also the personal favor of President Erdogan. In that sense, there is nothing surprising about the scale of the coverage the affair has received. Turkish law requires forex companies to register with the local Capital Markets Board and subjects them to various restrictions, including a leverage cap. According to reports, the companies involved exceeded the permitted leverage limit, which would ostensibly constitute a regulatory violation. At this stage, however, it is unclear whether the specific companies were registered in the first place or exactly which violations were committed. The conduct may indeed have failed to comply with the law, but that is a long way from “an Israeli gang robbing Turkey,” and there is concern that the affair is being inflated, at least in part, for political reasons. Once there is an allegation involving an international network, it is almost natural for Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization to become involved in the investigation, since it is also responsible for dealing with serious crimes such as money laundering, and not only terrorism and nationalist offenses. The central question is whether the Israeli suspects, if and when they are brought to trial, will receive a fair hearing. In the current climate of Israel-Turkey relations, that is difficult to believe. There appear to be genuine irregularities in the financial activity, but it is impossible not to wonder whether the suspects’ Israeli identity will complicate their legal situation beyond what is warranted. One point tends to disappear from the headlines: Turkish media published the names of the nine Israeli suspects, and at least some have been identified as Turkish Jews with dual citizenship, or as having no Israeli citizenship at all. In other words, the “Israeli network” portrayed in the headlines consists, at least in part, of native Turkish citizens who are also Jewish — a fact that casts doubt on the national framing of the affair as “Israelis versus Turks.” The timing The timing is not coincidental. The affair is being publicized as Turkey itself faces accusations that it is allowing money from Iran to flow to its proxy organizations — Hezbollah, the Houthis and Hamas — through Turkish banks. In that situation, there is a clear political logic to shifting public attention toward “an Israeli gang robbing Turkey,” rather than discussing the more painful question for Ankara: Turkey’s own role in financing terrorist organizations in the region. Also notable in this context was a report in the pro-Erdogan newspaper Yeni Safak, which claimed that a “Mossad cell” had been arrested. The claim is completely baseless and only heightens concern that the entire affair — or at least the way it is being presented to the Turkish public — is being inflated for political reasons. Turkish media published the names of the nine Israeli suspects, and at least some have been identified as Turkish Jews with dual citizenship, or as having no Israeli citizenship at all The affair also comes against the backdrop of continued hostile rhetoric by the Turkish president toward Israel. In his statement Saturday night, Erdogan emphasized the phrase “terror industry network,” implying that the fraud network was in effect feeding Israel. By contrast, Jerusalem’s official response was far more measured and restrained than the tone of the Turkish headlines. According to Israel’s Foreign Ministry: “Yesterday, reports were received regarding the arrest of several Israeli citizens in Turkey on suspicion of involvement in criminal activity, apparently as part of a broader wave of arrests. The Foreign Ministry is handling the matter and is working to ensure that the rights of the Israeli citizens are protected.” The carefully worded statement neither confirms nor denies the allegations themselves and focuses solely on the rights of those detained — an indication that Jerusalem, too, is aware of the political sensitivity of the moment and is not eager to be drawn into a dispute over “Israeli gangs.” Most likely, this is a real financial fraud case with real victims around the world. But the way it is being presented in Turkey — as an organized “Israeli network” robbing innocent Turkish citizens — overlooks a more complicated picture: suspects who in some cases are Turkish Jews and not Israeli at all, unresolved questions about the regulatory licensing of the companies involved and timing that is particularly convenient for Ankara amid accusations that Turkey itself is helping finance Iranian terrorism. In the current public climate in Turkey, it is difficult to believe that the Israeli suspects will receive a fair process that is not prejudiced in advance by their nationality. One can only hope that their Israeli identity will not determine their legal fate beyond the evidence itself. One Turkish website published a list of the Israeli citizens allegedly arrested under the headline: “The traitors among us have been exposed.” The allegations According to reports in Turkey, this is how the alleged fraud network operated: Potential clients were recruited through advertisements on social media and websites promising high returns from investments in foreign currency and cryptocurrencies. Those who showed interest were passed on to representatives who spoke their native language and persuaded them to transfer small sums at first. They were later convinced to transfer larger amounts, while being shown fictitious “profits” on trading platforms. When investors asked to withdraw their money, they were told that their account had been “blocked” and that they had to make additional payments, such as a “tax” or an “unblocking fee,” in order to release the funds. In practice, according to the allegations, the money was never invested at all but was transferred to bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets outside Turkey that were controlled by the network. According to Turkish prosecutors, the “fraud barons” instructed their operatives not to target Israeli or American citizens. The central question is whether the Israeli suspects, if and when they are brought to trial, will receive a fair hearing. In the current climate of Israel-Turkey relations, that is difficult to believe According to findings by Turkey’s MIT intelligence organization cited in the indictment, the Israeli figures began shifting their operations to Turkey and other countries after Israel banned binary options businesses in 2017. Turkish authorities did not provide a precise breakdown of the nationalities involved, but according to reports, those arrested include 156 Turkish citizens, 11 from Pakistan and nine from Israel. There were also two detainees from each of the following countries: Azerbaijan, Syria, Jordan, Ukraine, Thailand, Indonesia and Morocco. In addition, one detainee was reported from each of the following: Kazakhstan, the Philippines, Iran, China, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, Mexico, Egypt, Mozambique, Argentina and Bangladesh. Overall, the detainees include foreign nationals from 20 countries. This article includes videos and images under Section 27A of Israel’s Copyright Law message sjtmdwntfg Security chief Mohsen Rezaei says Tehran wants the war ended on all fronts, frozen assets released and US naval blockade lifted; he threatens NPT exit as Houthi gains raise doubts Saudi Arabia can reverse them alone Lior Ben Ari https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/19/Bk455I3Yfe/Bk455I3Yfe_0_0_850_479_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sjtmdwntfg Sat, 19 Sep 2026 23:04:43 +03:00 President Donald Trump has again raised the possibility of a major new military escalation against Iran while keeping the door open to negotiations, but Tehran is responding with demands of its own. Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei said Saturday that Qatar had conveyed Tehran’s conditions to Washington and that Iran was awaiting Trump’s response, while warning that the country’s nuclear doctrine could eventually change. Trump told Axios on Thursday that he was approaching a major decision over whether to restart large-scale attacks against Iran, asking whether he wanted to “go in and annihilate” the Iranian regime. At the same time, he has publicly said he remains open to diplomacy and has claimed Iran wants a deal. Tehran has disputed that negotiations have resumed and has insisted there will be no talks until its conditions are met. Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told Al Jazeera that Tehran remained in contact with mediators in Qatar and Pakistan. He said the three conditions publicly presented for ending the war were an end to fighting “on all fronts,” the release of frozen Iranian assets and an end to the U.S. naval blockade. Reuters independently reported the same three demands. Iranian reports have referred more broadly to seven conditions communicated to Washington through intermediaries, particularly in connection with reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The complete official list has not been publicly released, though earlier Iranian statements have also demanded sanctions relief and an end to U.S. military pressure. Rezaei argued that Washington would ultimately have to accept Tehran’s position and said Iran was prepared for what he called a “decisive war.” He also claimed Iran had identified vulnerabilities in the U.S. military and had recently tested an anti-ship missile near an American aircraft carrier. Those claims have not been independently verified. Rezaei also sharpened Tehran’s nuclear warnings, saying U.S. and Israeli actions could provide grounds for Iran to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. He said no decision had yet been taken and that Tehran’s next steps would depend on Washington’s conduct. Iran, he said, remained committed to the religious ruling issued by Ali Khamenei prohibiting nuclear weapons and had not changed its declared nuclear doctrine. But he added that Tehran could not say what would happen in the future, leaving open the possibility of a later shift. The warning comes amid a renewed confrontation between Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency. The IAEA’s Board of Governors this month referred Iran’s nuclear noncompliance to the UN Security Council, saying the agency still lacked access to key sites and information about nuclear material following the attacks on Iranian facilities. Tehran has blamed the U.S. and Israel for creating the situation and continues to say its nuclear program is not intended to produce weapons. The nuclear and diplomatic standoff is unfolding alongside a major escalation in Yemen, where the Iran-backed Houthis have made rapid gains against forces aligned with the internationally recognized Yemeni government and supported by Saudi Arabia. The Houthis have seized strategic positions along Yemen’s Red Sea coast and around the Bab al-Mandab Strait, one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints. Their advances have increased their ability to threaten shipping at the western entrance to the Red Sea at the same time that the Strait of Hormuz remains severely disrupted by the Iran conflict. Rezaei told Al Jazeera that Iran wanted the Saudi-Houthi fighting to end and said he believed the Houthis were also interested in an agreement with Riyadh. Iran provides extensive support to the group but maintains that the Houthis make their own decisions. The fighting has meanwhile moved deeper into Saudi territory. On Saturday, the Houthis said they had attacked “sensitive” sites in Riyadh with missiles and drones after flames and a large plume of smoke were seen near the Saudi capital’s main airport. They also claimed an attack on an Aramco facility in Yanbu, a crucial Red Sea oil export hub. Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm what had been struck in Riyadh. Yanbu has become particularly important because Saudi Arabia has relied on its Red Sea export infrastructure to bypass disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz. But Saudi energy routes have themselves come under growing pressure, including attacks on the kingdom’s East-West pipeline and other infrastructure. The Houthi offensive has also exposed growing unease in Washington and Gulf capitals about whether Saudi Arabia and its Yemeni allies can reverse the group’s advances. Multiple U.S. and Gulf sources told CNN that neither Washington nor Riyadh currently has a clear plan for pushing the Houthis back. U.S. intelligence and targeting assistance has increased, but sources expressed doubt that Saudi Arabia could stop the Houthis without additional support. Former U.S. diplomat Joey Hood told CNN that the Houthi advance in the Red Sea was strengthening the position of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and complicating any effort to negotiate separately with Tehran. Other regional officials argued that the Yemen front can no longer easily be separated from the wider confrontation with Iran. A Gulf official summed up the dilemma to CNN: “No one wants to fight alone.” The official said Riyadh would ultimately have to either expand its military campaign or pursue an agreement with the Houthis. Trump has so far resisted direct U.S. offensive action against the Houthis. CNN reported that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman asked Trump for U.S. strikes but that the request was rejected, while American assistance has remained focused on intelligence and targeting support. The Washington Post similarly reported that Washington has stopped short of military intervention despite Saudi and Yemeni appeals. U.S. officials also met Houthi representatives in Oman this month, according to Reuters. Sources said the Houthis reiterated their commitment to the 2025 ceasefire with Washington and said they did not intend to attack American vessels. One Yemeni source said they also pledged not to target Israeli or other commercial vessels, with the exception of Saudi ships. The State Department did not formally confirm the meeting. The widening regional conflict has also intensified economic pressure in the United States. Oil prices have remained around or above $100 a barrel, while higher gasoline and diesel costs have become an increasingly prominent political issue ahead of the November midterm elections. Trump has publicly insisted that electoral politics do not determine his Iran policy and has defended higher energy costs as a price worth paying to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Privately, however, The Washington Post reported Saturday that Trump has listened more closely in recent weeks as advisers presented discouraging polling and has indicated in some conversations that he understands the Iran war has contributed to the difficult political environment facing Republicans. One person in frequent contact with Trump disputed that he had accepted responsibility, saying the president instead believes the biggest problem is that his own name will not be on the ballot. The Post reported that advisers have become more direct with Trump about the political environment and that he intends to increase his involvement in Republican campaigns as the midterms approach. The extent to which the Iran war, oil prices and the widening confrontation in Yemen ultimately shape voter decisions remains uncertain. message sywzh4htgx Azaria was convicted of manslaughter after shooting a wounded Palestinian terrorist in Hebron in 2016; Herzog sided with Katz over IDF chief Zamir Itamar Eichner https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2025/01/07/S1OZpn9IJe/S1OZpn9IJe_0_156_3000_1689_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sywzh4htgx Sat, 19 Sep 2026 19:50:29 +03:00 President Isaac Herzog announced Saturday evening that he had decided to shorten the remaining erasure period on Elor Azaria’s criminal record, effectively clearing it despite the opposition of IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir. Defense Minister Israel Katz had recommended approving Azaria’s request, while Zamir and the IDF opposed it. In an opinion submitted in July, the military said Azaria had not demonstrated sufficient remorse or taken responsibility for his actions and argued that there were no new exceptional circumstances warranting a change from previous decisions. Katz, by contrast, argued that after nearly a decade and the completion of Azaria’s sentence, he should be allowed to rebuild his life. The President’s Residence issued the following statement: “On the eve of Yom Kippur, President Isaac Herzog decided to grant Elor Azaria’s request, shorten the remaining period of his criminal record and allow him to move forward with his life. After many years in which Azaria bore the consequences of his actions, the president believes that the totality of the circumstances, the passage of time and the remorse he expressed justify allowing him to open a new chapter in his life. The decision was also made in the spirit of these days and out of a belief in the importance of rehabilitation, reconciliation and the ability to move forward.” Herzog signed the decision Saturday night, September 19, after reviewing the circumstances of the case and the considerations presented in Azaria’s request. According to the President’s Residence, Herzog gave weight to the significant period that has passed since the case, the fact that Azaria served the sentence imposed on him, the expiration of the statutory limitation period relating to his offenses, changes in his personal and family circumstances and his desire to remove employment barriers that he says the criminal record continues to create. Azaria told Herzog in his request that he respects the IDF’s values and holds them dear, and that as the father of two young children he now seeks to raise them according to those values. He also expressed regret over the serious consequences of the affair. The President’s Residence noted that in an earlier appeal to then-president Reuven Rivlin, Azaria said that, when examining the incident in hindsight, the shooting had been an operational mistake and that he would not have carried it out knowing what he later came to know. Herzog also considered what his office described as complex medical circumstances faced by Azaria’s family over the years and the changes in Azaria’s life since the incident. Azaria, then an IDF soldier, was convicted of manslaughter after fatally shooting Abdel Fattah al-Sharif in Hebron in March 2016. Al-Sharif had taken part in a stabbing attack on an Israeli soldier and was wounded and lying incapacitated on the ground when Azaria shot him several minutes later. A military court sentenced Azaria to 18 months in prison. Then-IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot later reduced the sentence to 14 months, and Azaria was ultimately released in May 2018 after serving nine months. Herzog stressed that his decision does not overturn or undermine the judicial proceedings in the case and does not constitute a reexamination of Azaria’s conviction. The president said he views the military justice system as essential to maintaining the rule of law, the IDF’s values and principles, and particularly the principle of purity of arms. The President’s Residence also emphasized that presidential clemency is an act of mercy and is not an appellate process. Israel’s presidential clemency authority includes the power to shorten the period before a criminal record is erased. Azaria likewise stated in his request that he did not intend to reopen the underlying case. Taking those considerations into account, as well as the positions presented by relevant officials past and present, Herzog accepted Katz’s recommendation and ordered the immediate shortening of the remaining criminal-record period. message hyoqne3ffe Skydagger’s short promotional clip labels a tank resembling Israel’s Merkava the ‘problem’ before a drone attack turns it into the ‘solution’; the Turkish company signed a counter-drone cooperation agreement with US defense giant L3Harris in June Lior Ben Ari https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/19/HyZ0IBRiKMg/HyZ0IBRiKMg_2_0_1279_720_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hyoqne3ffe Sat, 19 Sep 2026 19:15:40 +03:00 Turkish drone technology company Skydagger has released a short promotional video on its social media accounts showing a tank bearing a blue flag and closely resembling an Israeli Merkava being attacked by one of the company’s drones. The tank, which is not explicitly identified in the video, initially appears alongside the word “problem.” After the strike, as the vehicle is shown burning, the word changes to “solution.” Turkish news outlet Istanbul Post identified the tank as an Israeli Merkava, writing that the drone “dives and leaves the Merkava burning on the screen.” The outlet noted that although Skydagger does not name the tank in the clip, the flag on its turret and the shape of the vehicle closely resemble the Israeli-made tank. The Merkava is Israel’s domestically designed and manufactured main battle tank and forms the backbone of the IDF’s armored forces. It has been extensively used in Israeli ground operations in the Gaza Strip. Istanbul Post described the video as the first instance in which a Turkish defense company had openly presented an Israeli military tank as the target in a promotional campaign. The outlet also noted that the Merkava is equipped with the Trophy active protection system, while pointing to the war in Ukraine as evidence of how relatively inexpensive first-person-view, or FPV, drones can threaten even heavily armored vehicles. Skydagger is a Turkish drone technology company founded in 2024. According to the company, it develops unmanned systems and defense technologies, including tactical drones and autonomous systems. “With our unique expertise in the defense industry, we provide value-added engineering solutions in advanced information technologies,” the company says on its website. Its stated vision is “to become a global leader and a reliable solution partner in autonomous systems by producing world-class technology.” The promotional video comes only months after Skydagger entered into a cooperation agreement with major U.S. defense contractor L3Harris Technologies. In June, the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on advanced counter-drone technologies. Under the agreement, they are exploring the integration of Skydagger interceptor drones into L3Harris’ VAMPIRE counter-unmanned aircraft system. L3Harris said the planned drone-on-drone capability would be manufactured in the United States for allied operations, with the partnership intended to expand VAMPIRE’s ability to detect and defeat unmanned aerial threats. message bklg9ghygl An Israeli advance team had already traveled to Texas to prepare for a meeting with Elon Musk, but Netanyahu canceled the stop; despite efforts by his aides, no meeting with Trump is currently scheduled, with US officials citing ‘scheduling constraints’ Itamar Eichner https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2023/09/18/rkP7001I1T/rkP7001I1T_0_0_850_479_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/bklg9ghygl Sat, 19 Sep 2026 17:22:53 +03:00 An Israeli advance team had already traveled to Texas to prepare for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned meeting with billionaire Elon Musk, but the team has now been told that the visit is off. According to Israeli officials, the decision to cancel the meeting was made by Netanyahu. The Texas stop had from the outset been described as a complicated logistical undertaking, since Netanyahu’s aircraft cannot fly nonstop from Israel to Texas and would have required a refueling stop in the United States. Beyond canceling the meeting with Musk, Netanyahu is also expected to significantly shorten his entire visit to the United States. Under the current plan, he is likely to spend only a few hours in New York and return to Israel immediately after addressing the annual United Nations General Assembly. Rather than arriving in New York on Wednesday, speaking Thursday and then returning to Israel, Netanyahu is now expected to land in the United States only on the morning of his speech, deliver his address at 2 p.m. local time, 9 p.m. in Israel, and depart shortly afterward. The visit would be unusually brief compared with Netanyahu’s previous trips to the United States. Despite efforts by Netanyahu’s aides, no meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump is currently scheduled during the visit. U.S. officials said this weekend that Netanyahu was not among the leaders on Trump’s current UN General Assembly meeting schedule and cited scheduling constraints. Netanyahu’s office has said the prime minister’s itinerary is still being finalized. Had a meeting with Trump been arranged, Netanyahu was prepared to alter his schedule accordingly. Trump, who has met Netanyahu several times since returning to the White House, is due to address the General Assembly on Tuesday. Under the current schedule, he is expected to leave New York before Netanyahu arrives. The UN General Debate is scheduled to run from September 22 through September 28, with Netanyahu expected to speak on Thursday, September 24. Senior Trump administration officials also said Saturday that a Trump-Netanyahu meeting on the sidelines of the gathering was unlikely because of the two leaders’ schedules. Another U.S. official said Netanyahu’s presence in the United States was expected to be particularly limited as Israel approaches elections. message b100yrfhkfx Turkish prosecutors say an Israeli-linked network used dozens of call centers and fake forex and crypto platforms to lure victims worldwide, while allegedly instructing employees not to target Israelis or Americans Itamar Eichner, Lior Ben Ari https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2023/04/06/SJ5Zxt2W2/SJ5Zxt2W2_1_97_1000_563_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/b100yrfhkfx Sat, 19 Sep 2026 17:03:29 +03:00 Turkish authorities have detained more than 200 people in a sweeping investigation into an alleged international investment fraud network that prosecutors say operated from Turkey and defrauded victims around the world of more than $3 billion. The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said the network operated through companies posing as call centers, consulting firms and tourism businesses. Turkish authorities allege that Israeli-linked figures dominated the companies’ ownership and ultimate beneficiary structures, describing some of those behind the operation as “Israeli fraud barons.” As of Saturday, 201 people had been detained in the investigation, including nine Israeli citizens, according to Turkish reports. One of the Israelis reportedly also holds a Portuguese passport. The investigation involves 248 suspects, with authorities continuing efforts to locate those still at large. Turkey’s Justice Minister Akın Gürlek announced the operation on Friday. It was carried out by the Interior Ministry, Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization, known as MIT, the Financial Crimes Investigation Board, or MASAK, Istanbul police and Interpol. According to Turkish prosecutors, the network operated through 29 companies and 44 call centers that presented themselves as legitimate businesses offering consulting, tourism and customer services. Potential victims were allegedly recruited through advertisements on social media, search engines and websites promising high returns from foreign currency and cryptocurrency investments. People who responded were connected with representatives who spoke their native language and initially persuaded them to deposit relatively small amounts of money, prosecutors said. They were then shown fictitious profits on trading platforms controlled by the network and encouraged to invest increasingly large sums. When investors attempted to withdraw their money, they were allegedly told their accounts had been “blocked” and that additional payments, described as taxes or fees to remove the restriction, were required before their funds could be released. In reality, Turkish authorities allege, the money was never invested and was instead transferred to bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets controlled by the network outside Turkey. Prosecutors also allege that those running the operation explicitly instructed employees not to defraud Israeli or American citizens. Among the countries whose citizens were described as major targets were the United Arab Emirates, Britain, Canada, Australia, Ireland, Russia, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Switzerland, Belgium, Sweden and South Korea. According to findings by MIT cited by Turkish prosecutors, Israeli figures behind the operation began moving their activities to Turkey and other countries after Israel outlawed the binary-options industry in 2017. Turkish authorities said investigators raided 286 addresses in Istanbul and the southwestern province of Muğla as part of the operation. Real estate, vehicles, bank accounts and cryptocurrency assets suspected of being linked to the proceeds of crime were seized or frozen. The Interior Ministry said assets worth approximately 1.5 billion Turkish liras, about $31 million, were targeted, including 80 vehicles and 12 properties. Authorities have not released a comprehensive official breakdown of the suspects’ identities. Turkish reports, however, said 156 of those detained were Turkish citizens and 45 were foreign nationals. The foreign detainees reportedly include nine Israelis and 11 Pakistanis; two citizens each from Azerbaijan, Syria, Jordan, Ukraine, Thailand, Indonesia and Morocco; and one each from Kazakhstan, the Philippines, Iran, China, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Mexico, Egypt, Mozambique, Argentina and Bangladesh. The nationality figures are based on Turkish reporting and have not been independently confirmed. Turkish authorities have also not publicly identified the Israeli-linked figures they allege controlled the companies or clarified whether those individuals are among the detainees. Both Gürlek’s initial announcement and subsequent statements by Turkish prosecutors focused on what investigators described as the network’s ownership and ultimate beneficiary structure, saying figures with links to Israel played a dominant role in the companies behind the alleged scheme. message rkoohzhfge Longtime Israel ally Rep. Brad Sherman urges Israelis to confront polling showing a dramatic decline in US favorability, warning the shift could eventually threaten arms access and diplomatic backing and calling Ben Gvir’s place in government an ‘existential risk’ Itamar Eichner https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2022/10/06/SkzUSGnMo/SkzUSGnMo_283_14_1400_788_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rkoohzhfge Sat, 19 Sep 2026 16:28:55 +03:00 One of Israel’s most consistent Democratic supporters in Congress is issuing an unusually stark warning: Israelis, he says, are failing to grasp how sharply American public opinion toward their country has changed. Rep. Brad Sherman, a California Democrat who has served in the House since 1997, posted a series of messages on X on Friday urging Israeli officials and voters to watch a CNN segment from July detailing a steep decline in Israel’s standing among Americans. Sherman is a longtime member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and has repeatedly identified strengthening the U.S.-Israel relationship as a central part of his work in Congress. “Every Israeli official and voter should watch this clip, and it needs to be translated into Hebrew,” Sherman wrote. He said he had spoken a day earlier with Israeli Ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter and added: “I don’t think he or the majority of Israelis realize what is at stake.” Sherman argued that the danger goes far beyond the question of annual U.S. aid. If the trend continues, he warned, it could eventually affect Israel’s access to American weapons as well as the diplomatic backing it has received from Washington and other allies. He also sharply criticized Israel’s handling of its international image, arguing that the country is unwilling to take even basic steps that could improve its standing abroad and has failed to devote sufficient resources to its Foreign Ministry. Sherman singled out National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, saying his presence in the government represented an “existential risk” to Israel, and warned that Israel could not survive without friends around the world. Sherman has criticized Ben Gvir before, including ahead of Israel’s 2022 election, when he urged Israeli political leaders to ostracize politicians he described as extremists and warned that they could damage U.S.-Israel relations. Sherman also addressed violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank. He argued that dismissing international criticism simply because Israelis believe it is unjustified reflects a misunderstanding of Jewish history, and said such incidents would continue damaging support for Israel unless the government bodies responsible for addressing them were led by officials committed to stopping the violence. From +51 to -16 in eight years The CNN segment Sherman highlighted aired July 24 and featured chief data analyst Harry Enten reviewing polls from Ipsos, Fox News, Marquette University Law School and the Pew Research Center. In every survey cited, Israel’s net favorability was negative: minus 10 points in Ipsos, minus 11 in Fox, about minus 20 in Marquette and minus 23 in Pew. Enten said the shift was no longer confined to Democratic voters. “We’re not just talking about the Democratic base anymore,” he said. “We’re talking about the general electorate as well.” The historical comparison was even more striking. According to the polling average presented by CNN, Israel had a net favorability rating of about plus 51 points at the comparable point in President Donald Trump’s first term in 2018. By July 2026, the figure stood at roughly minus 16, a 67-point swing over eight years. “Israel used to be a consensus issue in American politics, and that was a pro-Israeli position,” Enten said. The shift, he added, was appearing “poll after poll after poll.” The 67-point figure represents a change in net favorability, not a 67% decline. Net favorability measures the difference between the share of respondents expressing a favorable view and the share expressing an unfavorable one. Pew’s March 23-29 survey found that 60% of U.S. adults held an unfavorable view of Israel, compared with 37% who viewed it favorably. In spring 2022, the balance had been reversed, with 55% favorable and 42% unfavorable. Marquette University Law School recorded a similar trend. Its April survey found 54% of U.S. adults viewed Israel unfavorably and 33% favorably. By late July, favorable views had slipped to 31%, while 55% held an unfavorable opinion. Growing pressure over US military aid The CNN segment also pointed to mounting opposition to U.S. military assistance for Israel. Enten cited Washington Post-Ipsos polling in which 55% of Americans said Washington should reduce or end military aid, including 51% of respondents without college degrees and 62% of college graduates. For Sherman, the numbers carry particular significance because of his political record. He has served in Congress for nearly three decades, is a senior Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and has long been associated with congressional efforts to strengthen ties with Israel. His official House biography describes him as the committee’s second-ranked Democrat and lists the Israel Allies Caucus among his caucus memberships. Sherman has repeatedly backed the U.S.-Israel alliance and argued that support for Israel must remain bipartisan. His decision to publicly warn Israelis about the erosion of American support therefore represents a notable intervention from a lawmaker who has spent much of his career defending the relationship. message hyeoix3ymx The soldiers were evacuated for medical treatment and their families were notified; the IDF said it struck Hezbollah terror infrastructure in response Gal Ganot https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/06/21/HySERsrMzl/HySERsrMzl_1_52_1601_901_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hyeoix3ymx Sat, 19 Sep 2026 15:16:12 +03:00 The IDF said Saturday that an engineering vehicle operated by Israeli troops struck a Hezbollah explosive device earlier in the day in the security zone in southern Lebanon. Two IDF soldiers were lightly wounded in the blast. They were evacuated for medical treatment and their families were notified. The military said it struck Hezbollah infrastructure in response. According to the IDF, several terror infrastructure sites in different areas of southern Lebanon were targeted immediately after the incident. The military said the targets included observation posts and other infrastructure used by Hezbollah operatives to plan and carry out attacks against Israeli forces. “IDF soldiers continue to be deployed in the Security Zone in southern Lebanon in accordance with the agreement, and will continue to operate to remove threats to Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers,” the military said. “The IDF is currently operating, and will continue to operate with determination against Hezbollah's repeated attempts to harm IDF soldiers,” it added. On Sept. 7, troops from the Golani Brigade reconnaissance unit encountered a Hezbollah operative inside a building in the Beaufort area of southern Lebanon. The operative opened fire at the troops, who returned fire and killed him. Two soldiers were lightly wounded in the clash. message s1wi6k3yge A film on France’s next-generation weapons aired by RMC Découverte showed a nuclear mushroom cloud over Tel Aviv; the channel and director apologized 2½ weeks later; the footage came from a video game Itamar Eichner https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/19/Bk8x50sFze/Bk8x50sFze_0_0_480_270_0_small.gif https://www.ynetnews.com/article/s1wi6k3yge Sat, 19 Sep 2026 14:33:32 +03:00 French television channel RMC Découverte publicly apologized and removed a documentary about the future of French weaponry from all its platforms after it emerged that a 3D simulation used to illustrate a future nuclear strike actually depicted Tel Aviv as the target. The documentary, “Nouveau Rafale, drones et canons: la révolution dans l'armement français” — “New Rafale, Drones and Cannons: The Revolution in French Weaponry” — aired Sept. 1 and examined the next generation of French weapons systems, including the Rafale F5 fighter jet and the future ASN4G hypersonic nuclear missile, which is designed to be launched from the aircraft. The missile, which reports say could be 10 to 20 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb and have a range of more than 1,000 kilometers, does not yet exist operationally. According to the Brussels Signal website, France’s defense procurement agency, the DGA, commissioned its development in early June with the aim of introducing it into service around 2035. To illustrate the weapon’s capabilities, the documentary used a 3D simulation showing a fighter jet launching a missile toward a coastal city, followed by a nuclear mushroom cloud rising above it. According to Libération, French researcher Héloïse Fayet, who specializes in nuclear issues at the French Institute of International Relations, identified the city in the simulation as Tel Aviv rather than a fictional location and alerted the channel. An independent Jewish-owned production company involved in making the documentary had taken the explosion footage from a video game, apparently without realizing the location depicted. On Sept. 18, RMC Découverte posted a statement on X, rather than on its official website, saying it was “immediately removing the documentary from all its platforms” and “suspending any further broadcast.” The channel explicitly acknowledged that the simulation “uses an image of Tel Aviv” in Israel rather than a fictional city and offered its “sincere apologies” to viewers. According to the broadcaster, the clip “came from a professional image database, which incorrectly identified and cataloged it.” The channel added that it would consider “any appropriate legal action against those responsible for the error” and said a corrected version of the documentary, without the disputed segment, would be released later. The apology came about 17 days after the original broadcast, which was watched by about 241,000 viewers, according to figures published in France. Israel’s ambassador to France, Joshua “Yosh” Zarka, brought wider attention to the incident when he shared the clip on X, describing it as “an animated demonstration of a French nuclear strike on Tel Aviv.” He also noted that the explosion shown was significantly less powerful than the yield attributed to the ASN4G missile. Zarka said, however, that he did not believe there had been malicious intent behind the use of Tel Aviv in the simulation. The film’s director, Alex Gary, said he was “deeply shocked” by the incident. He said the description accompanying the clip in the image database did not indicate at any point that it depicted a real city or a location in Israel and that, had he known, he would not have included the simulation. By then, however, the footage had already circulated and was amplified by figures hostile to Israel. message r1mynfjfzx Hundreds joined search for 61-year-old Fatma Rajabi; her son accused police of acting too slowly, while commander said efforts began immediately and rejected claims her background affected response Liran Tamari https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/16/ByQNGk00KGl/ByQNGk00KGl_0_0_850_479_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/r1mynfjfzx Fri, 18 Sep 2026 22:45:49 +03:00 Police arrested an East Jerusalem resident Friday on suspicion of murder and involvement in the disappearance of 61-year-old Fatma Rajabi, who had been missing from her home since the beginning of the week. Later Friday, officers located the body of a woman in East Jerusalem. Police said the body had been transferred to the National Center of Forensic Medicine for identification and an examination of the circumstances of her death. They have not yet formally confirmed that the body is Rajabi’s. Hundreds of volunteers, including many East Jerusalem residents, took part in searches for Rajabi throughout the week. Large police forces also conducted an extensive and unusual search operation in open areas near Mevaseret Zion, with investigators indicating that they suspected a criminal background to the disappearance. Rajabi’s son sharply criticized the police response, claiming substantial search efforts began too late. “On the first day, they didn’t take it seriously. Only afterward did they really start searching, and we felt the police were doing something just so they could say, ‘Look, we’re searching too,’” he said. “If she had been a Jewish woman, they would have acted within the first hours after she disappeared and found her,” he added. “We went to the police station and gave them everything they needed, but we didn’t feel the sensitivity and urgency we expected.” Shalem police station commander Lt. Col. Shalom Cohen rejected the family’s allegations, saying the investigation had begun immediately after the missing-person report was filed and had proceeded on several fronts simultaneously. “This is one of the missing-person investigations in which the greatest effort and technological resources have been invested,” Cohen said. “We worked from the first moment, and there is no connection to the missing woman’s background.” Police said the suspect, an East Jerusalem man in his 60s, was being questioned on suspicion of murder. He is expected to be brought before the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on Saturday, where police will seek an extension of his detention. A gag order covering the investigation has been partially lifted, allowing publication of the arrest and the discovery of the body. Other details of the case remain under a publication ban. message r111v92qkze The former Palestinian Authority minister and senior Fatah figure spent 12 years in Israeli prison, later worked closely with Israel and remained tied to Mohammed Dahlan and Hamas figures, a rare network that placed him at the center of the secret channel carrying Sinwar’s warning Einav Halabi https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/18/HJ11iM9q9FMg/HJ11iM9q9FMg_0_0_533_301_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/r111v92qkze Fri, 18 Sep 2026 16:39:24 +03:00 Long before Sufian Abu Zaida identified himself as the Palestinian intermediary who says he carried Yahya Sinwar’s warning to Israel weeks before Oct. 7, he had built the kind of political résumé that made such a role possible. A former Palestinian Authority minister and senior Fatah figure who speaks fluent Hebrew, Abu Zaida spent about 12 years in Israeli prison before later working closely with Israeli officials. He also remained tied to Mohammed Dahlan’s camp and maintained contacts with figures inside Hamas. That unusual network has now placed the 66-year-old at the center of renewed scrutiny over what Israel knew before Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Abu Zaida said Wednesday that he was the previously unidentified intermediary who received a message from Sinwar and passed it onward to the United Arab Emirates and Israel. According to an investigation by journalists Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval, Sinwar warned in September 2023 that he was preparing a major “surprise” if negotiations with Israel did not advance, repeatedly using the Arabic word “zilzal,” meaning “earthquake.” Abu Zaida said in a video that he would reveal more “in the coming days” about the message and his role in indirect contacts between Israel and Hamas. His disclosure answered one of the central questions surrounding the story: Who was the Palestinian intermediary Sinwar allegedly trusted to carry such a warning? From Israeli prison to the Palestinian Authority Born in the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza, Abu Zaida has been a familiar figure in Palestinian politics for decades. He spent about 12 years in Israeli prison for involvement in terrorist activity, then entered the institutions of the Palestinian Authority after his release and became closely involved in dealings with Israel. He served in senior roles connected to Israeli-Palestinian relations, including as minister for prisoner affairs and later as minister for civil affairs, a portfolio dealing with coordination between Israel and the Palestinians. His fluent Hebrew and years of contact with Israeli officials gave him extensive familiarity with both the Israeli system and the politically sensitive issue of Palestinian prisoners. Those connections later became relevant in negotiations involving Israelis held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. During talks over the release of abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, Abu Zaida helped map out prisoners who could potentially be included in an exchange. The Dahlan connection Another central part of Abu Zaida’s political story is his close relationship with Mohammed Dahlan, the former Fatah security chief in Gaza and longtime political rival of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Abu Zaida was for years considered one of the senior figures associated with Dahlan’s camp and was expelled from Fatah in 2014 along with other officials identified with him. That relationship is particularly important because Dahlan has close ties to the United Arab Emirates. Abu Zaida remained associated with his camp even after losing his formal position in Fatah, creating another bridge between Gaza, Palestinian politics and Abu Dhabi. In 2019, the Palestinian Authority seized Abu Zaida’s home in Ramallah, prompting him to return to Gaza. During the war, he moved to Egypt and continued appearing in Arab media as a political commentator. Ties inside Hamas Abu Zaida’s contacts were not limited to Fatah, the Palestinian Authority and Israel. Despite the bitter rivalry between Fatah and Hamas, he also maintained relationships with figures inside Hamas. In 2010, he met in Gaza with senior Hamas official Fathi Hamad, with the two described at the time as childhood friends. Those ties did not shield him from the conflict between the factions. In 2006, Abu Zaida was briefly abducted by armed men identified with Hamas. The result was an unusual political position: a former Fatah official aligned with Dahlan, deeply familiar with Israel and the prisoner issue, yet also capable of communicating with Hamas figures. According to Eldar and Yuval, it was that network that eventually brought Abu Zaida into indirect contacts with Sinwar. The secret channel with Sinwar For roughly a year and a half before the war, Abu Zaida was involved in a channel between Israel and Hamas aimed at advancing a prisoner and hostage deal, according to the investigation. The talks focused on the return of the bodies of IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul and the release of Israeli civilians Hisham al-Sayed and Avera Mengistu, who were being held in Gaza at the time, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and measures easing conditions for residents of the Strip. Eldar said the negotiations stalled in early September 2023. Sinwar then disappeared from the talks and later summoned Abu Zaida, telling him to warn the Israelis that if there was no progress he was preparing a “big surprise.” Sinwar used the word “zilzal,” or “earthquake.” According to the investigation, Abu Zaida left the meeting alarmed and passed the message to a Palestinian associate who now serves as an adviser to UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. He initially did not pass it directly to the Shin Bet because he feared being accused of collaborating with Sinwar. After the adviser informed bin Zayed, the Emirati president wanted clarification over whether Sinwar was threatening war. Abu Zaida was sent back to him. Eldar said Sinwar then told Abu Zaida: “Pass them a message that I am preparing a surprise from the land of surprises. A formidable operation. Something unusual.” He again used “zilzal” and asked that his words be conveyed to Israel verbatim. Abu Zaida contacted the Emirati adviser again and, according to the investigation, passed the warning to the Shin Bet on Sept. 15. Then-Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar subsequently spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and security discussions were held in which Bar recommended either acting to neutralize the threat or significantly strengthening defenses around Gaza. The warning, however, was interpreted differently. According to the investigation, officials believed Sinwar might have been referring to an attempt involving Elizabeth Tsurkov, the Israeli researcher who had been abducted and was being held in Iraq. The disputed Netanyahu warning Eldar and Yuval’s investigation also alleges that bin Zayed later contacted Netanyahu personally after seeing no apparent Israeli response and wanting to make sure the warning had reached him. According to their account, the two spoke for about 45 minutes, with Netanyahu reassuring the Emirati leader that Israel was prepared in Gaza and suggesting that serious trouble was more likely to emerge in the West Bank. The journalists further alleged that Netanyahu did not inform then-IDF chief of staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, Bar or Mossad director David Barnea about the purported conversation. Netanyahu strongly denies that account. His office said no conversation between Netanyahu and bin Zayed took place from the beginning of September through Oct. 7, 2023, and said records held by the Prime Minister’s Office, National Security Council and military secretariat showed no such call. Netanyahu later threatened legal action over publication of the allegation. Eldar has stood by the investigation, saying the journalists possess recordings, documentation and corroborating evidence. “People in the security establishment said, in the Shin Bet and the IDF, that if we had known about this conversation, it would have given us another assessment of the information that had already arrived on Sept. 15,” he said. The investigation also examined an Oct. 1 security discussion, six days before the attack, concerning unrest along the Gaza border and intelligence indicating Hamas intended to carry out an attack in the West Bank. According to the journalists, Bar again recommended considering targeted killings of senior Hamas figures, including Sinwar. Netanyahu told security officials to prepare plans for his consideration. A senior Shin Bet official quoted in the investigation said knowledge of the additional warning could have changed how the agency interpreted the information already in its possession. “If we had known about the warnings, there is a chance it would have given much greater weight to the first message we received from Sinwar,” the official said. Abu Zaida has not yet publicly detailed the entire chain himself. But by identifying himself as the man who says he carried Sinwar’s pre-Oct. 7 warning toward Israel, he has put a name and political history to the mysterious intermediary at the center of the account. His decades moving between Fatah politics, Israeli officials, Dahlan’s camp and contacts inside Hamas help explain why Sinwar may have chosen him for that role, and why his testimony now matters to the continuing debate over what warnings reached Israel before Oct. 7. message skkilqqfgg Sufian Abu Zaida identifies himself as secret intermediary who says he passed along Sinwar’s ‘earthquake’ threat weeks before Hamas attack Einav Halabi https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/08/S173yX6OGe/S173yX6OGe_0_0_850_479_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/skkilqqfgg Fri, 18 Sep 2026 13:27:12 +03:00 Palestinian politician Sufian Abu Zaida, a senior figure in Fatah and the Palestine Liberation Organization and a former Palestinian Authority minister for prisoner affairs, said Thursday that he was the previously unidentified intermediary who relayed a warning in September 2023 that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was planning a major attack on Israel. In a video posted on Facebook, Abu Zaida identified himself as the source referred to by the pseudonym “Coal Eyes” in a recent investigation by Israeli journalists Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval. He said he would disclose more details “in the coming days” about the message he received from Sinwar and his role as an intermediary in contacts between Israel and Hamas. The account was first detailed in a book by Eldar and Yuval, who initially withheld Abu Zaida’s identity because of concerns for his safety. Their reporting has drawn renewed scrutiny in Israel over what warnings Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli security officials received before Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Netanyahu has strongly denied a central part of their account involving a purported warning from the president of the United Arab Emirates and has moved to sue the Haaretz newspaper over its publication of the allegations. According to Eldar and Yuval, Abu Zaida was involved in indirect contacts between Israel and Hamas over the return of the bodies of Israeli soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul and the release of two Israeli civilians, Hisham al-Sayed and Avera Mengistu, who were being held in Gaza at the time. Eldar said the talks stalled in early September 2023, when Sinwar abruptly dropped out of contact. About a week later, according to Eldar, Sinwar summoned Abu Zaida and told him to warn the Israelis that if they did not make progress in the negotiations, he was preparing a “big surprise.” Sinwar used the Arabic word “zilzal,” meaning “earthquake,” Eldar said. In a CNN interview this month, Eldar gave a similar account, saying Sinwar disappeared from the negotiations in early September and subsequently instructed the intermediary to tell Israel that he was preparing a major surprise. According to the investigation, Abu Zaida was alarmed by the encounter and relayed Sinwar’s message to a Palestinian associate who now serves as an adviser to United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Sinwar later repeated the message to Abu Zaida and insisted that it be passed to Israel, again using the word “zilzal,” according to the journalists’ account. Other reporting on the investigation says Sinwar described what he was planning as an extraordinary and formidable operation and asked that his words be conveyed verbatim. Eldar and Yuval reported that the warning eventually reached Ronen Bar, then head of the Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic security agency, on Sept. 15 and was passed to Netanyahu. The journalists also reported that bin Zayed later sought to make certain Netanyahu had received the warning and spoke directly with the Israeli prime minister for about 45 minutes in late September, roughly 10 days before the Oct. 7 attack. According to their account, Netanyahu sought to reassure the Emirati leader, saying Israel was prepared for developments in Gaza and assessing that any major trouble was more likely to occur in the West Bank. The investigation alleges Netanyahu did not subsequently inform the military chief of staff at the time, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, Bar or Mossad director David Barnea about the purported conversation with bin Zayed. Netanyahu disputes that account. His office has said no conversation between Netanyahu and bin Zayed took place from the beginning of September through Oct. 7, 2023. It said the Prime Minister’s Office, National Security Council and military secretariat examined Netanyahu’s call records and found no record of such a conversation. Netanyahu has instructed his lawyers to pursue a defamation suit against Haaretz, Eldar and others over the report. The UAE has not publicly confirmed the purported call. In a statement reported by CNN, it said it does not comment on media reports or speculation about conversations between government leaders. Eldar has stood by the investigation, saying the journalists possess recordings, documentation and corroborating evidence supporting their account. “People in the security establishment said — in the Shin Bet and the IDF — that if we had known about this conversation, it would have given us another assessment of the information that had already arrived on Sept. 15,” Eldar said. The investigation also examined an Oct. 1, 2023, security discussion, six days before the Hamas attack, concerning unrest along the Gaza border and intelligence indicating Hamas intended to carry out an attack in the West Bank. According to the journalists, Bar again recommended considering targeted killings of senior Hamas figures, including Sinwar, whom officials believed was displaying signs of increasing arrogance. Netanyahu responded by asking security officials to prepare plans for his consideration, according to the investigation. “He never said ‘no,’” one senior security official was quoted as saying. “That was always his way of postponing dealing with the problem.” Another senior official who attended the meeting said Netanyahu instructed officials to continue developing the capability while focusing for the time being on calming the situation. According to the investigation, Netanyahu did not mention during the meeting the warning that Eldar and Yuval say had been conveyed through Abu Zaida and the UAE. A senior Shin Bet official quoted in the investigation said knowledge of the additional warnings might have caused the agency to give greater weight to the earlier message attributed to Sinwar. “If we had known about the warnings, there is a chance it would have given much greater weight to the first message we received from Sinwar,” the official said. The information, he added, might have prompted officials to interpret Sinwar’s sudden withdrawal from the negotiations differently and “changed our entire assessment.” message hkpu6fqfmg Teen suspected of firing military anti-tank rocket at Jaljulia residential compound, exposing alarming flow of IDF weapons into organized crime; no one was hurt Hassan Shaalan https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/16/BkWRyOd00Yfg/BkWRyOd00Yfg_0_216_1280_721_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hkpu6fqfmg Fri, 18 Sep 2026 13:12:41 +03:00 Israeli police arrested a 16-year-old boy suspected of firing a military anti-tank rocket stolen from the Israeli military at a residential compound belonging to a crime family in the Arab town of Jaljulia, authorities said. No one was injured in the attack, which occurred Wednesday in the town in central Israel’s Sharon region. Police said the investigation is part of a broader effort to combat violent feuds and organized crime in Israel’s Arab communities, as well as the flow of weapons stolen from Israeli military stockpiles into criminal hands. The teenager was brought before the Kfar Saba Magistrate’s Court at the request of police. The court ordered him released under restrictive conditions. As part of the investigation into organized crime figures and violent feuds in the area, officers from the Kafr Qasim police station, including detectives and intelligence investigators, carried out searches at several compounds in Jaljulia under court-issued warrants. They were joined by members of the National Guard and Border Police. During a search of one compound, officers found a Beretta handgun concealed inside a false wall in a kitchen and an FN handgun hidden in an attic, police said. Officers also seized a drum magazine, additional magazines and ammunition. In a separate search at another compound in the town, officers using engineering equipment seized 14 surveillance cameras, including some positioned to monitor public areas. The cameras were taken to the Kafr Qasim police station for further examination as part of the investigation. Police said large numbers of officers were dispatched to the scene after the rocket was fired. They searched the surrounding area and collected evidence and other findings from the site. Authorities allege the rocket had been stolen from the Israeli military. The investigation into the shooting and the broader criminal feud remains ongoing. message sylbekcyme Shin Bet says Hamdan Hamdan, 32, knew he was dealing with a foreign agent in Lebanon and carried out security-related tasks for attempted payment Elisha Ben Kimon https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2021/08/12/rJfrauNGlF/rJfrauNGlF_0_73_3000_1689_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sylbekcyme Fri, 18 Sep 2026 12:30:16 +03:00 The Shin Bet domestic security agency and police said Friday they recently arrested a 32-year-old Israeli man suspected of maintaining contact with a foreign agent from Lebanon and carrying out security-related assignments at her direction. Hamdan Hamdan, a resident of Majd al-Krum, an Arab town in northern Israel, was arrested on suspicion of offenses including contact with a foreign agent and carrying out security-related tasks on the agent’s behalf, the agencies said. According to the investigation, Hamdan was in contact with the foreign agent for several months and was asked to carry out a series of assignments at her direction. Investigators said Hamdan knew he was communicating with a foreign agent based in Lebanon, a country that remains technically at war with Israel. Authorities said attempts were made to compensate Hamdan for completing the assignments through an unusual payment method: The foreign handler allegedly arranged for products to be purchased in Israel and transferred to him. The investigation was conducted jointly by the Shin Bet and the Israel Police’s Lahav 433 national crime-fighting unit, including its division responsible for investigating international and serious crimes. The case was overseen by the Haifa District Prosecutor’s Office. Prosecutors are expected to file an indictment against Hamdan on Sunday. Police and the Shin Bet renewed their warning to Israelis against communicating with foreign actors from enemy states or unidentified individuals, particularly when they are asked to perform assignments in exchange for payment or other benefits. “We again warn the citizens and residents of the State of Israel against maintaining contact with foreign elements from enemy states and/or unidentified parties, and all the more so against carrying out tasks for them in exchange for payment or for any other reason,” the agencies said in a joint statement. Security authorities said intelligence and militant organizations from enemy states continue attempting to recruit Israelis to carry out security-related, espionage and terrorist activities inside Israel, including during the current war. The agencies said such recruitment efforts have also included approaches to Israelis through social media. message rksf0pcyfl Prosecutors say Tamra man, 31, repeatedly contacted Hamas’ military wing and Iranian intelligence but was arrested before carrying out tasks Eitan Glikman https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/18/H1THzI5FGg/H1THzI5FGg_0_0_848_464_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rksf0pcyfl Fri, 18 Sep 2026 10:58:44 +03:00 Prosecutors were expected to file an indictment Friday against a 31-year-old resident of the northern Arab city of Tamra on security-related charges after an investigation found that he had repeatedly sought contact with Hamas’ military wing in the Gaza Strip and later established contact with Iranian intelligence operatives, Israeli authorities said. Sultan Abu al-Hija was arrested Aug. 28 in a joint operation by the Shin Bet domestic security agency and the Israel Police Northern District’s central investigative unit. Officers from the Border Police’s northern National Guard unit carried out the arrest. According to the Shin Bet and police investigation, Abu al-Hija repeatedly approached the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, seeking to secretly assist the group. Prosecutors also allege that Abu al-Hija established contact with Iranian intelligence operatives. Authorities said he was arrested before he was able to carry out any assignments on their behalf. The indictment was expected to be filed Friday in Haifa District Court by attorney Shir Moshiyov of the Haifa District Prosecutor’s Office. The Shin Bet and police said they viewed “with great severity any involvement by Israeli citizens in activity that endangers the security of the state and its citizens.” The agencies said they would continue using the powers and measures available to them under Israeli law to investigate and prosecute people involved in such activity. Abu al-Hija is an Israeli citizen from Tamra, an Arab city in northern Israel. The allegations against him remain unproven unless and until established in court. message s1ihnwcfme Recently discharged IDF soldier dies after paraglider crashed near Medellín amid strong winds; Colombian pilot was seriously injured Itamar Eichner https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/18/SkZspNcYGx/SkZspNcYGx_0_65_509_287_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/s1ihnwcfme Fri, 18 Sep 2026 10:16:54 +03:00 A 23-year-old Israeli man who had recently completed his military service died in a paragliding accident in Medellín, Colombia, after the glider he was riding in lost control and crashed into a cliff in a wooded area, according to local reports. The accident occurred around noon local time Wednesday. The Colombian pilot operating the paraglider was seriously injured and taken to a hospital for treatment. According to reports in Colombia, weather conditions are believed to have contributed to the crash. The paraglider apparently lost control before plunging into a forested area and striking a cliff. Witnesses reported strong winds in the area shortly before the crash. Firefighters and rescue crews were dispatched to the scene, where they recovered the Israeli traveler’s body. He was pronounced dead at the scene, while emergency personnel evacuated the injured pilot to a hospital. Investigators from the Colombian Attorney General’s Office Technical Investigation Corps, known by its Spanish initials CTI, arrived at the crash site to conduct a forensic examination and collect evidence as authorities began investigating the circumstances of the accident. Authorities also inspected the paragliding company involved in the flight and found that its documentation was valid and in compliance with legal requirements, according to the reports. The business was not ordered to close, though authorities said the investigation would continue to determine what caused the crash. The Israeli was traveling in Colombia as part of the extended overseas trip commonly taken by young Israelis after completing their mandatory military service. Following news of the accident, Rabbi Levi Vanunu, a Chabad emissary in Medellín, began working closely with the Israeli Embassy and Colombian authorities to expedite the necessary procedures for repatriating the man’s body to Israel for burial. Israeli officials and the local Chabad representative were working to complete the bureaucratic arrangements as quickly as possible so his remains could be returned to his family in Israel. message symgrayfmg At a Likud campaign event, Netanyahu said action against Iran saved Israel from destruction, while leaving Oct. 7 and the war’s toll out of his security pitch; public intelligence showed serious nuclear risk but not an assembled Iranian bomb Itamar Eichner https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/17/BkKxOTFFMe/BkKxOTFFMe_0_0_850_479_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/symgrayfmg Thu, 17 Sep 2026 23:57:42 +03:00 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used a Likud campaign event Thursday to return to one of his most dramatic claims about the wars with Iran: that Israel had faced imminent destruction from Iranian atomic bombs and that his decisions prevented it. “Iran was about to make atomic bombs to destroy us,” Netanyahu said. “If we had not acted in time, we would not be meeting here tonight, and there might not be a State of Israel.” The claim was central to a speech in which Netanyahu portrayed his government’s military record as having transformed Israel’s strategic position. He told supporters that Israel had “saved the State of Israel from annihilation” and argued that the campaign against Iran had achieved what previous governments would not dare attempt. Contemporary reports of the speech confirm that Netanyahu framed the Iran campaign in those terms and said Israel still had to “complete the mission.” But the assertion that Iran was on the verge of producing actual atomic bombs goes further than the public intelligence picture that preceded the wars. There was no dispute that Iran had amassed a deeply concerning stockpile of highly enriched uranium. The International Atomic Energy Agency estimated that, as of June 13, 2025, Iran held 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%, a level far beyond normal civilian requirements and technically much closer to weapons-grade material. The agency called Iran’s stockpile a matter of serious concern. That is not, however, the same as possessing a functioning nuclear weapon. Enriched uranium is not an assembled bomb Producing a nuclear weapon requires more than accumulating highly enriched uranium. Fissile material must be enriched to weapons grade and then incorporated into a functioning explosive device, requiring specialized engineering, components and testing. A usable missile warhead adds another layer of weaponization and integration. Public U.S. intelligence assessments before the 2026 war did not conclude that Tehran was building a nuclear weapon. The U.S. intelligence community said in its 2025 threat assessment that Iran was “not building a nuclear weapon” and that then-supreme leader Ali Khamenei had not authorized the weapons program he suspended in 2003, while warning that Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile had reached unprecedented levels for a state without nuclear weapons. After the U.S. and Israeli attacks, the 2026 U.S. intelligence assessment said Iran’s enrichment capability had been devastated and that Washington was watching for signs that Iran’s leadership might authorize a nuclear weapons program. That language again distinguished the capability to pursue a bomb from an already completed weapon. An Associated Press review in July similarly found that Netanyahu’s earlier assertion that Iran had already obtained atomic bombs was unsupported by publicly available evidence, citing both the IAEA and U.S. intelligence assessments. Netanyahu has repeatedly escalated his language on the issue. In June, he said that without Operation Rising Lion and Operation Roaring Lion, Iran “would already have atomic bombs.” In a July interview, he went further, saying he had acted to save Israel from atomic bombs that Iran “already had obtained,” prompting public rebuttals from former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot and former prime minister Naftali Bennett. Eisenkot said Iran “had no nuclear bombs whatsoever” and accused Netanyahu of trying to frighten the public. Bennett likewise rejected the assertion that Iran already possessed nuclear weapons. A senior Israeli official with access to the intelligence on Iran also challenged Netanyahu’s account in comments to Ynet. “This is hysterical nonsense,” the official said. “Iran increased its uranium enrichment, but the weaponization group was very far from developing a nuclear weapon, and they also had no authorization from the elder Khamenei to break out. The strike on Iran was not, and no one claimed it was, the result of extraordinary intelligence about progress on the nuclear program. “The strike was a decision by President Donald Trump following the failure of the talks in Oman, and President Trump said he decided to launch a preemptive attack following intelligence indicating that Iran was planning a surprise attack.” The official’s account cannot be independently verified, but it tracks the distinction made in public intelligence assessments between Iran’s advanced enrichment capability and evidence that its leadership had authorized and completed a nuclear weapon. The costs absent from the campaign pitch Netanyahu’s election speech focused heavily on Israel’s military achievements. In the portion devoted to his security record, he did not address the Oct. 7 massacre or the intelligence and command failures that preceded it, nor did he dwell on the human and economic costs of nearly three years of war. Those costs have been substantial. During Operation Roaring Lion, 22 people were killed in direct missile and rocket strikes on Israel, according to a ynet tally after the 40-day campaign. Seven others died in accidents while seeking shelter, traffic incidents or medical emergencies associated with the fighting. The wider campaign also saw 12 soldiers and one civilian killed in fighting against Hezbollah. One of the deadliest attacks came in Beit Shemesh, where an Iranian missile struck a residential area and shelter on March 1, killing nine people and wounding 51. The property damage was also extensive. By March 10, only days into the fighting, the Israel Tax Authority had already received 9,115 compensation claims, including 6,586 for damage to buildings, 1,044 for contents and equipment and 1,485 for vehicles. The economic impact showed up in national data as well. Israel’s economy contracted sharply in the first quarter of 2026 as the Iran war disrupted businesses, schools, consumption and trade. An initial estimate placed the annualized contraction at 3.3%; later official data revised it to 3.8%. None of that negates the documented military damage inflicted on Iran’s nuclear, missile and military infrastructure. What remains disputed is the much narrower and politically potent question Netanyahu placed at the heart of his campaign message: how close Iran actually was to possessing usable atomic bombs, and whether Israel was therefore facing the immediate nuclear annihilation he described. The public record supports the assessment that Iran represented a serious and rapidly developing nuclear proliferation threat. It had amassed large quantities of highly enriched uranium, operated advanced centrifuges and had sharply reduced international visibility into parts of its program. The IAEA itself warned that its ability to account for Iranian nuclear material deteriorated after inspections were interrupted. What the public record does not establish is that Tehran already possessed an assembled nuclear bomb or that one was ready for imminent use against Israel. Netanyahu nevertheless made that existential framing central to his election pitch Thursday, while also making clear that he does not regard Israel’s broader campaign as finished. “We have to complete the mission to the end,” he said. “We have to bring down the Iranian regime. That is my directive and our supreme mission. And also eliminate Hezbollah and Hamas.” The statement underscored the tension running through his campaign message: Netanyahu is presenting the wars to date as having saved Israel from existential danger while simultaneously telling voters that several of the government’s central military objectives still remain ahead. message rykrt3yyzx Herbert Kickl called Oct. 7 a crime against humanity, acknowledged Austria’s Nazi-era responsibility and reached out to Jewish communities; Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said his remarks could allow ‘substantive, open and sincere dialogue’ Itamar Eichner https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2024/09/26/SJcNXXXCC/SJcNXXXCC_0_0_3000_1688_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rykrt3yyzx Thu, 17 Sep 2026 22:04:52 +03:00 Israel has signaled a possible opening toward Austria’s far-right Freedom Party after its leader, Herbert Kickl, condemned Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack, apologized directly to Jews over Austria’s role in the Holocaust and sought a new relationship with Jewish communities. Kickl delivered the remarks Wednesday at a conference in the European Parliament in Strasbourg attended by representatives of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and other right-wing European parties. The gathering focused on antisemitism and Islamism and reflected the FPÖ’s growing efforts to build ties with Israel despite the party’s controversial history. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar welcomed the remarks, calling them “an important and positive development.” “Against the backdrop of the complex history, Israel views these statements as an important and positive development, but building trust also requires translating commitments into actions,” Sa’ar said. “Kickl’s remarks make it possible to open a substantive, open and sincere dialogue aimed at deepening our understanding of his positions and commitments.” The response stops short of announcing an end to Israel’s longstanding policy of distancing itself from the FPÖ, but it marks a notable shift in tone. Israeli officials have traditionally avoided formal ties with the party because of its historical links to Nazism and repeated controversies involving antisemitism, although contacts between FPÖ figures and members of Israel’s governing coalition have expanded significantly in the past year. ‘A crime against humanity, not resistance’ In his Strasbourg speech, Kickl explicitly blamed Hamas for the Oct. 7 massacre and rejected efforts to portray the attack as legitimate resistance. “Antisemitism in Europe is on the rise. Experts are warning of ‘small October 7s’ across the continent,” he said. “October 7 was the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. It was a crime against humanity, not resistance. The deliberate killing of civilians and the taking of hostages are war crimes.” Kickl also named Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthis and Boko Haram while drawing a distinction between Islam as a religion and Islamism, which he described as an extremist political ideology. The FPÖ leader then addressed Austria’s Nazi past and apologized directly to Jewish Austrians, Holocaust survivors, their descendants and the Jewish people. The gesture was particularly significant given the FPÖ’s history. The party was founded in 1956, and its first leader, Anton Reinthaller, had served as a Nazi agriculture minister and SS officer. Its second leader, Friedrich Peter, was also a former SS officer. Kickl himself has sought in recent months to emphasize Holocaust remembrance. On International Holocaust Remembrance Day in January, he described the industrial murder of millions of Jews as “the darkest chapter in the history of our country” and said it must never be forgotten. FPÖ seeks closer ties with Israel Kickl also pledged that if the FPÖ eventually leads Austria’s federal government, it would make combating antisemitism and protecting Jewish life a priority. He reiterated support for the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism and offered Jewish communities what he described as a new partnership based on trust and practical cooperation. He also reiterated support for moving Austria’s embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and spoke of the Jewish people’s historical connection to the West Bank. Sa’ar welcomed Kickl’s recognition of “the dark chapter in Austria’s history and the responsibility arising from it,” as well as his condemnation of the Hamas massacre and recognition of Israel’s right to defend itself. The foreign minister also welcomed Kickl’s position on Jerusalem and his stated desire to deepen practical cooperation with Israel. Israeli officials said figures involved in the outreach included FPÖ European Parliament lawmaker Harald Vilimsky, Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli and Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan. Vilimsky has played a particularly prominent role in cultivating ties with Israel. He has visited the country repeatedly and in January was part of a European delegation received by Netanyahu, despite criticism from leaders of Austria’s Jewish community. He returned to Israel in May and met senior Israeli officials at events in Jerusalem. A party with growing political weight The question of Israel’s relationship with the FPÖ has become more significant as the party’s electoral strength has grown. The FPÖ finished first in Austria’s September 2024 parliamentary election with 28.8% of the vote and 57 seats, its strongest national election result, although it ultimately did not enter government. The party remains firmly associated with Europe’s far right and continues to face criticism over ties to nationalist and extremist circles. Austria’s Jewish community has been particularly skeptical of attempts by FPÖ politicians to portray the party as an ally of Jews and Israel, arguing that its pro-Israel positions do not erase its history or more recent controversies. Sa’ar’s response therefore represents an opening rather than a formal reconciliation. His statement made clear that Israel will judge any change in its relationship with the FPÖ not only by Kickl’s words, but by whether the commitments he outlined are followed by concrete action. message ryxbgjktmx Lt. Col. A. fought the move in court but judges ruled the dismissal process lawful; the IDF says he may appeal to Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, who held him among commanders bearing responsibility for the failures Elisha Ben Kimon https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2019/03/02/9094866/9094866_0_0_1921_1080_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/ryxbgjktmx Thu, 17 Sep 2026 20:17:01 +03:00 The IDF has formally dismissed the officer who served as the Gaza Division’s intelligence chief during Hamas’ October 7, terror attack, completing a months-long process after he unsuccessfully challenged the move in court. Lt. Col. A., whose full identity remains barred from publication pending further legal proceedings, was informed Thursday that the head of the IDF Personnel Directorate had decided to terminate his career-service commitment and end his military service. “The decision was conveyed to the officer in accordance with standard procedure,” the IDF said. “The officer may appeal the decision to the chief of staff.” IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir determined in November 2025 that A. was among commanders who bore command responsibility for failures connected to the Oct. 7 massacre and ordered disciplinary and command measures against a number of senior officers. A. challenged the process seeking to remove him from the military, but in June the Administrative Affairs Court rejected his petition and allowed the IDF proceedings to continue. The court ruled that the process to end his military service “was carried out lawfully and with full authority,” rejecting his arguments and finding that under military regulations the IDF may initiate the release of a career soldier who has suffered professional and command failures. Following that ruling, the military continued its internal review. The IDF said Thursday that all relevant considerations had been examined before the final decision, including the deputy chief of staff’s opinion, findings from the military’s investigations and professional assessments concerning A.’s performance in the period preceding Oct. 7. The military said it also considered all of A.’s arguments regarding the extent of his responsibility, which he submitted both orally and in writing to the advisory committee examining the termination of his career-service commitment. Separate fight over publication of his identity A. has also been fighting a separate legal battle over whether his name may be published. The Tel Aviv District Court sitting as an Administrative Affairs Court ruled earlier this month that his identity could be disclosed after the state withdrew its security objection to publication. A. sought to delay implementation of that ruling, arguing that he remained part of the IDF intelligence establishment. His identity remains under a publication ban while he pursues further legal proceedings over the issue. His dismissal, however, is now effective. The head of the Personnel Directorate, Maj. Gen. Dado Bar Kalifa, ordered his release from military service after the relevant military committee completed its review and recommendation. Broader reckoning over Oct. 7 failures Zamir’s decision regarding A. was part of a broader effort to impose command accountability following the military investigations into the failures surrounding Hamas’ surprise attack. The chief of staff summoned a series of senior commanders who had held key positions before or during Oct. 7 after reviewing the findings of a committee examining responsibility for the failures. They included senior officers from Military Intelligence, the Air Force, Navy, Operations Directorate, Gaza Division and Southern Command who held command roles in the period before the attack. A., however, became one of the officers whose case proceeded to a formal termination of military service. His remaining avenue within the military is an appeal directly to Zamir. message sj3qnyykme Tensions rise in the West Bank as IDF prepares for thousands of visitors after Yom Kippur and during Sukkot; hundreds questioned, dozens arrested; Nahal troops seen in Huwara with advanced Eitan APCs Elisha Ben Kimon https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/17/B1xxRxOKKGl/B1xxRxOKKGl_0_273_3000_1688_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sj3qnyykme Thu, 17 Sep 2026 19:00:22 +03:00 The IDF’s preparations for the Jewish holiday season are continuing after Rosh Hashanah, with troops from the Nahal Brigade carrying out a focused, large-scale operation to thwart terrorism across the West Bank. In recent months, forces have searched more than 1,200 buildings and sites in the area, uncovering, among other things, a laboratory used to manufacture explosive devices. Large numbers of armored personnel carriers have also recently been seen in the Nablus area. The troops are operating in the West Bank under the command of the Judea, Menashe, Ephraim and Samaria regional brigades. According to the IDF, about 930 suspects have been questioned in the field and about 230 wanted individuals arrested as part of the operation. More than 100 weapons have been seized and confiscated, including M-16 rifles, submachine guns, handguns, magazines and large quantities of ammunition. The military presence is also clearly visible on the ground. Advanced Eitan armored personnel carriers used by Nahal troops have been seen in the Huwara area near Nablus, alongside the forces’ routine operations. Images distributed by international news agencies show what the IDF describes as a deepening operational presence in the area and the deployment of heavy armored vehicles into some of the most volatile flashpoints. The vehicles were photographed traveling in relatively large convoys. The IDF says it is at a heightened state of alert and has raised readiness to the highest level ahead of Yom Kippur, with particular emphasis on Sukkot and Simchat Torah. Thousands of visitors are expected to travel throughout the West Bank during the holidays, visiting tourist sites, long-established communities and newly established settlement outposts. The military is therefore reinforcing troops along major roads and at friction points to protect those traveling in the area. message r1vwchkkgl Lebanese, Israeli and diaspora women say diplomacy alone cannot secure lasting peace, calling for civil society ties alongside security agreements ynet Global https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/17/SkIq9SKKMl/SkIq9SKKMl_132_0_887_499_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/r1vwchkkgl Thu, 17 Sep 2026 14:12:19 +03:00 Women leaders from Lebanon, Israel, Australia and the United States called for greater people-to-people engagement between Lebanese and Israelis, arguing that any future diplomatic agreement between the neighboring countries would need support from civil society to develop into a lasting peace. The discussion took place during a Sept. 15 webinar organized by Women Champions for Change, or WCC, a regional network that brings together women from across the Middle East and North Africa. Participants included figures involved in political advocacy, security policy, interfaith dialogue, civil society and public communications. Speakers acknowledged the significant political and security obstacles separating Israel and Lebanon but expressed cautious optimism that conditions could provide an opening for a different relationship. The webinar was part of WCC’s Women of the Middle East Briefing Series, which the organization says is intended to give women with direct experience of the region a greater role in diplomatic and policy discussions. ‘Peace must be built between people’ Maryam Younnes, a peace activist, content creator and WCC’s social media lead, moderated the discussion. “WCC is bringing together women who are not waiting for the region to become uncomplicated before they act,” Younnes said. “We are creating a space for women with direct experience of the region to bring perspectives that often do not make it into traditional diplomatic or policy conversations.” A central theme was the argument that any eventual peace agreement should extend beyond formal relations between governments and foster direct ties between Lebanese and Israeli society. Gadeer Kamal-Mreeh, the first Druze woman elected to Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, and now a strategic adviser on U.S.-Israel and Middle East affairs, warned against a “cold peace” limited largely to political leaders and official institutions. “We should not wait for governments. We must push governments towards peace through a creative, bottom-up and people-first approach,” Kamal-Mreeh said. “The people are ahead, pushing, ready and asking for peace before their governments.” Kamal-Mreeh said meetings in Washington and other international settings can provide opportunities for Lebanese and Israeli figures to move beyond narrow national perspectives and discuss shared interests including peace, democracy, equality and regional stability. Israel and Lebanon have no diplomatic relations and technically remain in a state of war. Decades of conflict, including repeated confrontations between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, have left relations between the countries deeply hostile. Against that backdrop, direct civil society engagement between Lebanese and Israelis remains politically sensitive. From political opening to lasting agreement Hagar Hajjar Chemali, co-founder of the Lebanon-Israel Peace Alliance and a former U.S. government official who served at the White House, Treasury Department and National Security Council, focused on the political and security conditions she believes would be necessary for progress. Chemali identified Hezbollah’s refusal to disarm as the leading obstacle to an agreement. She argued that the Lebanese government must give the Lebanese Armed Forces a clear mandate to assert state authority, while Washington must remain diplomatically engaged and Israel must continue participating in the process. “The train has left the station, and it is headed towards peace,” Chemali said. “The process will have its ups and downs, but all three parties must do their job simultaneously. The United States must keep this a priority, Lebanon must make the political decision to disarm Hezbollah, and Israel must remain committed to working with Lebanon every step of the way.” Chemali said the Lebanon-Israel Peace Alliance seeks to promote an eventual agreement through policy advocacy, coalition-building and efforts to reshape public discussion around what its members see as the benefits of peace. Her comments reflected the speakers’ advocacy rather than a consensus within Lebanon, where the future of Hezbollah’s weapons and relations with Israel remain deeply contentious political issues. ‘You have to speak up’ Carol Tannous Sleiman, the Australia-based founder of Brave Voices, discussed the role she believes non-Jewish communities should play in confronting antisemitism and defending democratic values. Brave Voices brings together Jewish and non-Jewish Australians for discussions aimed at helping participants challenge hatred and misinformation. Sleiman said people do not need extensive knowledge of Middle East geopolitics to speak out. “You cannot only speak up behind a keyboard. You have to speak up and do something,” Sleiman said. “People are willing to speak, but they need tools, encouragement and inspiration. When one person finds the courage to speak, it gives courage to others.” Sleiman, a Lebanese Maronite Christian, said her background often opens conversations with people who assume Lebanese and Israelis are natural enemies. She said her work attempts to turn that curiosity into dialogue and practical engagement. Women and the foundations of peace Astrid Mattar Hajjar, co-founder of the Abraham Women’s Alliance, said women can help create environments in which participants initially encounter one another as individuals rather than primarily as representatives of political, national or religious groups. The alliance brings together Jewish, Muslim and Christian women through dialogue, storytelling, film and collaborative projects. Hajjar described a gathering in Beirut at which women discussed their fears, hopes and views of peace and found common ground on issues including family, dignity, security, faith and their children’s futures. “Trust does not require agreement. It requires a willingness to remain in a relationship despite disagreement,” Hajjar said. “If we want sustainable peace between Lebanon and Israel, we must build peace not only between governments, but between people, and women must be at the centre of that work.” She said dialogue should eventually translate into practical cooperation in education, economic development, women’s leadership, humanitarian issues, environmental challenges and violence prevention. The participants concluded that any sustainable Israeli-Lebanese peace would require a combination of formal diplomacy and security arrangements with longer-term efforts to develop relationships between the two societies. WCC said the webinar was intended to bring policy specialists, political figures, interfaith advocates and community organizers together to explore ways civil society could complement official diplomatic efforts. The event was hosted by Women Champions for Change and supported by the organization’s co-founders, Danny Hakim and Ayelet Mavor. Women Champions for Change describes itself as a regional network connecting women leaders across the Middle East and North Africa and promoting relationships across national, religious and cultural divides. The organization says it supports initiatives aimed at advancing dialogue, cooperation and social change. message skcuumfkmg Blich High School in Ramat Gan, whose mock votes anticipated Israel’s 1977 and 1992 political shifts, gave Yashar! 32.2%, Beyachad 22.4% and Likud 15.5% after senior politicians spent days campaigning there to students too young to vote Maya Cohen, Meir Turgeman https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/17/rJN4TLWKYzg/rJN4TLWKYzg_0_124_1280_721_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/skcuumfkmg Thu, 17 Sep 2026 12:51:06 +03:00 Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar! party finished first Thursday in a closely watched mock election at Blich High School in Ramat Gan, the Israeli school whose student votes have acquired an outsized political reputation after anticipating two of the country’s most famous electoral upheavals. Yashar! won 32.2% of the vote among 11th- and 12th-grade students, followed by former prime minister Naftali Bennett’s Beyachad with 22.4%. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud finished third with 15.5%. Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit received 9.4%, while Yair Golan’s Democrats took 7.1%. Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu won 4.8% and Ofer Winter’s Amcha Israel 3.6%. The Reservists-Economic party received 2.8%, while Religious Zionism took 1.6%, leaving both below the electoral threshold in the school vote. The mock election carries no statistical weight as a national poll, and most, if not all, of the students who participated will be too young to vote in Israel’s Oct. 27 election. Yet parties have traditionally treated the event as a high-profile campaign stop, sending senior politicians to address the students before ballots are cast. This year was no exception. Eisenkot, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana and Constitution Committee chairman Simcha Rothman were among those who addressed students during the week. Bennett, Democrats No. 2 Naama Lazimi, Yisrael Beytenu No. 2 Rafi Ben Shitrit and Otzma Yehudit lawmaker Yitzhak Kroizer also appeared as part of the school’s election exercise. Ben-Gvir and Amcha Israel No. 2 Yoseph Haddad were among the politicians appearing Thursday. The campaign was not without friction: cups were thrown toward Beyachad lawmaker Merav Ben Ari after she criticized Ben-Gvir. Blich, considered a secular and liberal high school, also faced an online backlash after publishing comments by Rothman, with hundreds of responses criticizing both his invitation and the school’s decision to share his remarks. The school that became an election legend Blich has been staging mock elections for decades, with one held as early as 1969. Its reputation as a political “bellwether” was cemented in 1977, when its students anticipated the historic election that brought Likud to power, and again in 1992, when its vote pointed toward Yitzhak Rabin and Labor’s victory. Its record is far from perfect, however, and the exercise is neither designed nor weighted to represent the Israeli electorate. Blich’s student body comes from Ramat Gan, a city that has leaned toward the center-left in recent elections, making the school vote more a political ritual than a scientific predictor of the national result. In Blich’s previous mock election, Yesh Atid finished first with 45%, followed by Likud at 24% and National Unity at 12%. In Ramat Gan itself in the previous national election, Yesh Atid received 31%, Likud 22% and National Unity 14%. Yisrael Beytenu wins separate Lod school vote Blich was not the only school holding an election exercise this week. Atid Madaim High School in Lod hosted representatives from eight parties before students cast their own ballots. There, Yisrael Beytenu finished first with 23.5%, followed by Beyachad with 18.8% and Yashar! with 17.4%. The Democrats received 13.4%, while Likud took 11.4%. School principal Geula Sati said the exercise was intended to turn classroom civics into direct engagement with the political process. “Education for citizenship and democracy is not limited only to civics lessons in the classroom,” she said. “It must be translated into practice through familiarity with elected officials and their different positions. I am proud of the students for the involvement, curiosity and seriousness they showed during the day.” message sjsu17tyme Prosecutors say Mustafa Issa, 20, used his volunteer role with Israel’s fire service to scout potential targets, experimented with explosive mixtures and bought a drone and attachment equipment as he prepared the alleged attack over 18 months Maya Cohen https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/15/SJpCRUUFze/SJpCRUUFze_0_0_1280_722_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sjsu17tyme Thu, 17 Sep 2026 11:47:53 +03:00 The State Attorney’s Office filed an indictment Thursday against Mustafa Issa, a 20-year-old resident of Kafr Qasim, accusing him of planning a nationalist-motivated terror attack against a strategic site in Israel. Issa was charged at the Central District Court in Lod with offenses including preparing to commit a terror act involving malicious damage with explosives, weapons activity for terrorist purposes and training or instruction for terrorist purposes. According to the indictment, filed by prosecutor Assaf Harlopsky of the Central District Attorney’s Office, Issa decided against the backdrop of the war to carry out an attack against a strategic Israeli target. Prosecutors allege that for about a year and a half he explored ways to carry out the attack, including planting an explosive device or dropping one from a drone. During that period, according to the indictment, Issa volunteered with Israel’s Fire and Rescue Services and exploited the position to travel through different areas and collect information about potential targets. Prosecutors say he eventually decided to focus on an Amdocs server farm in Ra’anana, believing that damaging the facility would cause serious economic and national harm to Israel. As part of the alleged preparations, Issa downloaded guides, files and videos dealing with the manufacture of weapons and explosive devices as well as methods used by lone attackers, which prosecutors say he used as training material. The indictment further alleges that Issa attempted to assemble an explosive device by mixing flammable substances with the contents of fireworks and firecrackers he had purchased. In another experiment, he prepared a mixture containing sulfur, charcoal and other materials, but destroyed it after the attempt failed. Prosecutors say he also bought a drone and equipment that could be used to attach an explosive device to it, while watching instructional material on mounting explosives to drones. The State Attorney’s Office asked the court to keep Issa in custody until the end of legal proceedings. In its detention request, prosecutors argued that he posed a high risk because he had allegedly begun taking practical steps to carry out his plans. They also cited what they described as his nationalist motive, linked to the war and IDF operations, as well as his claim that he had been taught at school to hate the State of Israel. message sjfxomktmg Former attorney general who approved Netanyahu investigations and indictments is set to testify Oct. 11, just 16 days before election Netael Bandel https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/02/10/rylTgadv11x/rylTgadv11x_0_0_850_479_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sjfxomktmg Thu, 17 Sep 2026 10:41:28 +03:00 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s defense team has asked the court overseeing his corruption trial to summon former attorney general Avichai Mandelblit as its next witness, setting his testimony to begin just over two weeks before the Oct. 27 election. In a request filed with the court, Netanyahu’s lawyers asked that Mandelblit be ordered to testify on Oct. 11, Oct. 12 and again from Oct. 18 through Oct. 22. Mandelblit has not previously testified in the long-running trial, which began in 2020 and centers on three separate cases known as Cases 1000, 2000 and 4000. Netanyahu completed his own testimony in June after 98 hearings over about 18 months, and the trial has continued with additional defense witnesses. Mandelblit is a particularly significant witness because, as attorney general, he oversaw the legal process that led to Netanyahu’s prosecution. He approved the investigations and ultimately decided in November 2019 to indict Netanyahu in all three cases after a pre-indictment hearing. Netanyahu faces charges of fraud and breach of trust in all three cases and an additional bribery charge in Case 4000. He has denied wrongdoing and has repeatedly argued that the investigations and prosecution were politically motivated. Mandelblit’s expected appearance could put the origins and handling of the investigations at the center of the proceedings in the final weeks of the election campaign. The three cases Case 1000, commonly known as the “gifts case,” concerns allegations that Netanyahu and his wife received luxury goods, including cigars and champagne, from wealthy businessmen, principally Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan and Australian billionaire James Packer. Prosecutors allege Netanyahu used his public position to assist Milchan on several matters while receiving gifts worth hundreds of thousands of shekels. Netanyahu is charged with fraud and breach of trust in the case. Case 2000 centers on conversations between Netanyahu and Arnon “Noni” Mozes, publisher of the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper. Prosecutors allege the two discussed a potential arrangement under which Netanyahu would receive more favorable coverage in exchange for using his political influence to weaken Yedioth’s main competitor, the free daily Israel Hayom. Netanyahu is charged with fraud and breach of trust. Case 4000, the only case in which Netanyahu faces a bribery charge, involves allegations that he advanced regulatory decisions benefiting telecommunications giant Bezeq while serving as prime minister and communications minister. Prosecutors allege that in return, Netanyahu and his family received favorable treatment from the Walla news website, then controlled by Bezeq’s controlling shareholder, Shaul Elovitch. Netanyahu is charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust. Mandelblit, a former military advocate general who later served as Netanyahu’s Cabinet secretary before becoming attorney general, announced the final indictment in November 2019. The trial formally opened the following year. His scheduled testimony on Oct. 11 would come 16 days before Israelis are due to vote on Oct. 27, putting one of the central figures behind Netanyahu’s prosecution on the witness stand during the closing stretch of the election campaign. message h1ytogytzg Col. A., a veteran fighter pilot and former Ramat David Air Base commander, says civilian-risk assessments are built into every stage of strike planning and disputes the documentary’s claim that an attack was approved despite an estimated toll of 500 civilians Itamar Eichner https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2025/07/20/SJQeez2qLlg/SJQeez2qLlg_0_135_2368_1334_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h1ytogytzg Thu, 17 Sep 2026 10:03:28 +03:00 He does not want his name published, but he wants his argument heard. Reserve Col. A., a fighter pilot with the Israeli Air Force’s 101 Squadron who says he has taken part in thousands of strikes across multiple fronts and until about a year ago commanded Ramat David Air Base, rarely speaks publicly. But after the documentary NAZA won at the Venice Film Festival and reignited debate over Israel’s conduct in Gaza, he decided to respond. A. says he has not seen the film itself or heard the testimony in full, and is responding to descriptions and headlines about it. “I haven’t seen the film or heard the testimonies. I’ve seen paraphrases by people who have, and I’ve seen the headlines,” he said. “But whoever took a process whose entire purpose is to put the truth, transparency, dilemmas and morality directly in front of you, as clearly and precisely as possible, and turned it into a claim that we deliberately tried to harm civilians, has done something astonishingly cynical. They have turned the entire process on its head.” At the center of the controversy is nezek agavi, Hebrew for collateral damage and the phrase behind the acronym NAZA. A. describes it not as a single calculation but as part of an extensive system of intelligence, target verification, risk assessment and operational approvals developed by the IDF and Air Force over decades. He argues that the system was built to confront armed groups operating from within civilian areas. “The enemy does not separate the civilian population from terrorist infrastructure,” he said. “The missile is in the bedroom, the weapons depot is in the children’s room, the headquarters is on one floor of a densely populated civilian building and the hospital is used as a command center. That is not an accident. It is deliberate planning.” A. argues that Gaza’s density alone does not explain that deployment. “Gaza is crowded, but it also has open and agricultural areas. If the enemy wanted to separate itself from the population, it could have done so. It deliberately chose otherwise,” he said. ‘You ask yourself what the operational gain is compared with the risk’ Describing the planning of an airstrike, A. said a proposed target begins with intelligence and must be verified as being used for terrorist activity under what he described as highly stringent standards. If there is uncertainty, he said, the target is rejected. Once verified, it passes through additional approvals before the final strike configuration is generally authorized by a senior officer. “As a pilot, I’m the fourth stage in that process,” he said. “There are conditions that have to be met: weather, visibility, precise identification.” He said drones, helicopters or surveillance aircraft may scan the area before a strike to determine whether people are nearby, while aircrews can delay an attack or change the munition if conditions change. “If something doesn’t add up, I have discretion. Sometimes you change the size of the bomb. Sometimes you use a ‘roof knock’ to get people out of the building before the strike. An enormous amount of time is invested in trying to make sure nobody gets hurt.” The final moments before releasing a weapon, he said, can involve what he called an extremely difficult judgment. “You ask yourself what the operational achievement is compared with the risk. It’s a multistory building. The risk to civilians is this or that, and the operational gain is eliminating a Hamas brigade commander. They give you as much information as possible to help you decide what is right.” He recalled one operation in which an aircrew asked to wait because the conditions were not right. “I once saw an operational crew say, ‘I’m not carrying this out under these conditions. Let’s wait another two minutes,’” he said. “And during those exact two minutes, a barrage was fired from the launcher they were supposed to destroy.” One allegation surrounding NAZA has drawn particular attention: testimony that a strike was approved despite the possibility of causing hundreds of civilian deaths, reportedly as many as 500. A. emphatically disputes that account. “I was responsible for planning and carrying out thousands of strikes,” he said. “I never encountered a number like that, or anything close to it. I can say with a high degree of confidence: There was no such approved strike.” At the same time, he does not deny the civilian toll inherent in war. “Every strike carries a risk of harming uninvolved people, and on a human level that is terrible. War is genuinely hell,” he said. “Even five or 10 dead is unacceptable. I would want the number to be zero in every strike. But the alternative, raising a white flag and leaving the rockets where they are, is not an alternative.” For A., that calculation is also personal. “I know my brothers in Golani are on the ground below me, and my family is in Hamas’ sights in Sderot,” he said. “I know I am the solution. I am what stands between that rocket and the home or the force it is aimed at, and I am very proud to be the person who meets that threat before it reaches our civilians and our soldiers.” ‘What would you have done in my place?’ Despite his criticism, A. said he is not angry with filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. “They were, at the very least, wrong in their perspective. Maybe they even lost their moral compass,” he said. “But if I met them, I wouldn’t throw accusations at them.” He said he sees scrutiny of the military as an essential part of a democratic society. “I love investigations, criticism and transparency. That is what makes me proud to serve in the military of a democratic and liberal country, one that allows difficult questions to be asked even about itself,” he said. Instead, he would ask the filmmakers one question: “What would you have done in my place?” “I think anyone with a head on their shoulders and a heart in their chest would answer that they would have done exactly the same thing,” he said. “I sleep peacefully with regard to my duty to the paratrooper maneuvering below me, to my family in Sderot and to the Israeli public in whose name I fight.” “We don’t have a millimeter to be ashamed of,” he added. “But there is not the slightest bit of joy in us over what we were forced to do.” message bjwnhbykze Police say the 24-year-old Nablus resident was driving a stolen car when he struck a cyclist near Herzliya beach; officers arrested him at the scene and found an ignition computer, hammer and window-smashing tools inside the vehicle after the crash Roy Rubinstein https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/17/B1gtctbFFGx/B1gtctbFFGx_0_126_1280_721_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/bjwnhbykze Thu, 17 Sep 2026 09:58:27 +03:00 A cyclist in his 50s was killed Wednesday morning after being struck near Herzliya beach by a stolen car allegedly driven by a Palestinian man who was in Israel without a permit, police said. The 24-year-old suspect, a resident of Nablus, was arrested at the scene. Police traffic investigators were called in to examine the crash and collect evidence. According to police, officers found a bag inside the stolen vehicle containing equipment allegedly used to steal cars, including an ignition computer, a hammer and tools designed to smash windows. Magen David Adom said the report of an injured cyclist on Ariel Sharon Road in Herzliya, near the beach, was received at 8:22 a.m. Paramedics found the cyclist unconscious, without a pulse or signs of breathing, with an overturned vehicle nearby. They began CPR at the scene and evacuated him in critical condition to Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, where he was later pronounced dead. “This was a horrifying traffic accident,” said MDA motorcycle medic David Amichai. “We saw the cyclist unconscious, without a pulse and not breathing, with an overturned vehicle nearby. We began resuscitation efforts, including chest compressions, ventilation and medication, and evacuated him in critical condition.” message hk8xxtdfml Yom Kippur’s empty roads can be deceptive: crashes still occur, especially before and after the fast as traffic patterns shift rapidly, with many victims children and teens Sivan Hilaie https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/05/14/ryZMp9DQ1Gg/ryZMp9DQ1Gg_0_12_1000_563_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hk8xxtdfml Thu, 17 Sep 2026 05:02:04 +03:00 Yom Kippur is widely seen in Israel as a quiet, safe and unusual day, when the country’s roads largely empty of cars and become a vast urban cycling route for adults, teenagers and children. But behind the seemingly peaceful image of deserted streets lies a troubling reality: Hundreds of people are injured in road accidents during the holiday each year. Data from Israel’s National Road Safety Authority show that over the past decade, 1,959 people were injured in 1,389 road accidents that occurred on the eve of Yom Kippur and during the holiday itself. The crashes killed 17 people and left another 100 seriously injured. The figures for last year were also concerning. On Yom Kippur 2025, 204 people were injured in 148 road accidents, including two people who were killed and 13 who were seriously injured. That was above the multiyear average of 195 casualties in 138 accidents. The National Road Safety Authority says the most sensitive and dangerous periods are the hours just before the fast begins and immediately after it ends. During those times, traffic patterns change sharply and quickly, and pressure and congestion lead to a marked increase in serious road accidents. Gili Cohen, director general of the National Road Safety Authority, warned that Yom Kippur is a day when road conditions change completely but the risk of crashes and injuries remains. He said it is particularly important to remember that during the fast itself, many of those injured are children and teenagers, pedestrians and riders of small vehicles. Even when roads are quieter, he said, people should not lower their level of caution. He urged parents, children and all road users to act responsibly, keep a safe distance, slow down and remain alert even in places where there appears to be no traffic. The goal, Cohen said, is simple: for Yom Kippur to pass safely and for everyone to return home safely. National Road Safety Authority data also show that over the past decade, 43 people were killed or seriously injured in accidents that occurred during the fasting hours alone. The vast majority were children and young people ages 0 to 19, and nearly half of them — 20 people — were pedestrians or riders of small vehicles. Hospital medical teams see the consequences of such accidents every year. Prof. Neta Cohen, head of pediatric trauma services at Dana-Dwek Children’s Hospital at Ichilov Medical Center, said that every Yom Kippur, emergency departments treat children and teenagers injured while riding bicycles, electric vehicles and, in some cases, in collisions with motor vehicles. The injuries can range from bruises and fractures to head injuries and severe, life-threatening trauma, she said. Head injuries are among the injuries that concern doctors most. A helmet cannot prevent a crash, Cohen said, but it is an important form of protection that can reduce the risk of severe head injury, making it important to wear one even when riding a regular bicycle. Cohen also urged parents not to become complacent, warning that quieter roads should not be mistaken for completely safe ones. message byqclddyge Sa’ar and Moroccan counterpart meet in New York, agreeing to appoint ambassadors, expand direct flights and deepen economic ties Daniel Edelson, New York, Itamar Eichner https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/16/S1i00QD00Kzx/S1i00QD00Kzx_1_422_852_480_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/byqclddyge Wed, 16 Sep 2026 22:46:22 +03:00 Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar made an unannounced trip to New York for a trilateral meeting Wednesday with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, with Israel and Morocco agreeing on a series of steps to upgrade diplomatic and economic ties. Israel and Morocco, which already have formal diplomatic relations, agreed to elevate their liaison offices to full embassies and appoint ambassadors, according to Sa’ar’s office. The two countries also agreed to expand direct flights, complete economic agreements and arrange reciprocal visits by senior officials. Sa’ar was also expected to hold a separate one-on-one meeting with Bourita during his visit to New York. At the trilateral summit, Israel, Morocco and the United States reaffirmed commitments to a series of measures aimed at deepening Israeli-Moroccan relations, Sa’ar’s office said. “Israel and Morocco agreed to complete, by the end of 2026, agreements on investment protection and the prevention of double taxation, which will facilitate mutual investment and help advance economic and business ties between the peoples and countries,” the Foreign Ministry said. The countries also agreed to expand direct air service between Israel and Morocco to include flights operated by Moroccan airlines. Sa’ar said those flights were expected to begin within weeks. The two countries also agreed to hold reciprocal high-level visits in the coming months. The meeting came a day after Waltz hosted an event at his New York residence marking six years since the signing of the Abraham Accords, the U.S.-brokered normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab states. Representatives from Israel, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Kazakhstan attended Tuesday’s event. “The friendship between the Moroccan people and the Jewish people has deep roots and a glorious history,” Sa’ar said. “The declaration we signed today details practical ways to upgrade ties between Israel and Morocco for the benefit of both peoples, and we will work to implement it.” Morocco renewed diplomatic relations with Israel in 2020 through a U.S.-brokered agreement. Morocco, however, has maintained that the move represented the resumption of bilateral relations rather than formally joining the Abraham Accords. The 2020 joint declaration called for full diplomatic relations, direct flights and expanded economic cooperation between the countries. Israel currently operates a liaison office in Rabat rather than a full embassy, according to the Israeli Foreign Ministry. message bkmq88dfml PMO spokesman Doron Spielman calls the Venice-winning documentary a ‘targeted attack’ on Israel and says government agencies are preparing rebuttals despite not yet obtaining a copy Itamar Eichner https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/12/ByY1JXXtMx/ByY1JXXtMx_0_0_3000_1688_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/bkmq88dfml Wed, 16 Sep 2026 20:57:33 +03:00 Israel is preparing a coordinated response to claims made in the documentary NAZA, even as officials acknowledge that most of the uproar surrounding the film has so far remained inside Israel and that key government agencies have yet to obtain a copy. Doron Spielman, international spokesman for the National Public Diplomacy Directorate in the Prime Minister’s Office, sharply criticized directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor in an interview with Ynet, accusing them of mounting what he described as a deliberate campaign against Israel. Spielman was appointed to the role in July under directorate chief Tzipi Hotovely. NAZA, produced by The Guardian and directed by Abraham and Szor, features testimony from 24 anonymous Israeli military and intelligence personnel about Israel’s targeting practices in Gaza. The film won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival. ‘It hurts because it comes from within’ “From a communications standpoint, the film NAZA is an attempt at a targeted attack on the State of Israel,” Spielman said. “As of this moment, none of us has the film itself.” He accused the filmmakers of deliberately launching the documentary in an environment they believed would be receptive to criticism of Israel and said Israeli officials had not been approached for a response before its release. “They did not ask us for a response, and my approaches to The Guardian have not been answered at all,” he said. Spielman said Israel’s public diplomacy strategy rests on two elements: speed and credibility. The absence of access to the full documentary, he said, has made the second particularly difficult. “It is very difficult to operate credibly when you don’t know exactly what you are facing,” he said. “What do we know? Only what is in the trailer and what the winners said on stage. That is the material we have.” “And it hurts especially because it comes from within,” he added. Spielman compared the film with accusations made by commentators abroad about Israeli conduct in Gaza, arguing that the difference in this case was that the criticism came from Israeli filmmakers. “There are no excuses,” he said. “That is the situation.” Coordinating Israel’s response Spielman said the National Public Diplomacy Directorate began coordinating with the Foreign Ministry and the IDF shortly after the film screened in Venice. “One of the jobs of the public diplomacy directorate, which had not been functioning for several years, is to coordinate,” he said. “We aligned with the Foreign Ministry and the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit and began developing messages, both for use inside Israel and for influencers abroad.” He said the prime minister, military chief and Foreign Ministry had all responded based on the limited material available, while he had given interviews to Sky News, AP, Reuters and NBC. Hotovely, he said, had focused largely on European media. Despite the intensity of the controversy inside Israel, Spielman argued that the film had not yet generated comparable attention overseas. “What surprised us is that the film caused a huge uproar inside Israel, but it didn’t reach the world in the same way,” he said. “Almost nothing is running in the United States. It dropped completely off the agenda of the main media outlets in Britain. It wasn’t in the headlines.” “That gives us a certain advantage,” he added. “Maybe it bought us a few days before this becomes big abroad.” The film, however, is continuing its international festival run. Its North American premiere is scheduled at the New York Film Festival on Sept. 26, with a second screening the following day. Spielman said Israeli officials were monitoring international coverage and believed awareness of the film remained limited in the United States and relatively modest in Europe. “Inside Israel we are burning over this, but outside it hasn’t caught on,” he said. “It could catch on, and I don’t underestimate the danger of that.” Preparing the counter-case Israel is now assembling material intended to rebut the documentary’s allegations if the film gains wider international attention, Spielman said. “We have sent material to influencers, and I prepared an analysis that will go up on the Prime Minister’s Office website, a somewhat deeper analysis aimed mainly at answering the big questions,” he said. He said the effort involved military and intelligence officials and described coordination between the agencies as critical. “When we go into a battle like this, that synchronization is essential,” he said. Spielman accused the filmmakers of denying Israeli officials a meaningful opportunity to answer the claims before publication. “They did not give us a chance to defend ourselves,” he said. “Usually, when there is an investigation, for example by The New York Times or The Guardian, they ask you questions and request a response.” He argued that the anonymity of the film’s military and intelligence sources also made it difficult for Israel to examine their accounts. The documentary’s anonymous testimony is central to the film, with faces and voices altered to conceal the identities of the participants. The Guardian has said the film builds on investigations previously published by The Guardian, +972 Magazine and Local Call. Dispute over AI and civilian casualties Spielman also challenged the documentary’s portrayal of Israel’s use of artificial intelligence in selecting and assessing targets in Gaza. “Anyone who knows the military knows there is no such thing as an operation being carried out by AI,” he said. “Every operation was carried out following a human decision. AI only improves a person’s ability to make a decision regarding collateral damage.” Spielman said Israel uses technological systems to provide decision-makers with information about civilians near potential targets, arguing that their purpose is to help reduce civilian harm. “The filmmakers took one of the most ethical things we have, an AI system that gives you information about the population so you can try to hit the enemy with the least possible harm to civilians, and turned it around,” he said. “In the film, they say we have information about where civilians are, that the pilots press ‘go’ and that they are responsible for murder. That is completely distorted.” NAZA presents a sharply different account, alleging through anonymous military and intelligence testimony that Israeli targeting systems allowed strikes to proceed despite projected civilian casualties. The IDF has disputed key claims associated with the film, including an allegation that a strike was approved despite an estimate that as many as 500 civilians could be killed. For now, Spielman said, Israel’s strategy is to prepare its case before the documentary reaches a substantially larger international audience. “The film has not caught on outside yet,” he said. “But it can, and I am not minimizing the danger.” message rkbl2h00kzl Maglan and Yahalom commanders describe months of ambushes, close-range fighting and underground warfare before Israeli forces destroyed what the IDF called a strategic Hezbollah complex in southern Lebanon Elisha Ben Kimon https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/16/rkfcVz00Kze/rkfcVz00Kze_0_0_1087_612_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rkbl2h00kzl Wed, 16 Sep 2026 20:15:40 +03:00 Three months of exhausting ambushes, close-range fighting and underground warfare on southern Lebanon’s Ali Taher Ridge culminated last Thursday night when Israeli commandos and combat engineers blew up what the IDF described as a major strategic Hezbollah underground complex. Commanders from Maglan, the IDF commando unit specializing in operations deep behind enemy lines, and Yahalom, its elite combat engineering unit, told ynet how their troops gradually tightened control over the ridge, forced Hezbollah terrorists out of underground positions and destroyed the network just before the Rosh Hashanah holiday. “Soldiers slept outside in the brush, spending hours in ambushes, in the cold and the heat, to hunt the terrorists,” said Lt. Col. R., commander of Maglan. The operation followed months of fighting north of the Litani River, including at Beaufort Ridge, before Israeli forces moved toward Ali Taher. “We reached the ridge about three months ago,” R. said. “The unit captured the village of Mazraat Ali Taher together with Egoz, and then we began taking control of the ridge. We engaged Hezbollah terrorists, began moving into the ridge through ambushes and movement in the brush, built an intelligence picture and started to ‘choke’ the area.” Lt. Col. D., commander of a Yahalom company, said the mission was part of a series of operations known as “Merom Harim.” “First at Beaufort Ridge, we found many strategic underground routes intended to defend the ridge, prevent the IDF from crossing the Litani and provide Hezbollah with command and control,” he said. “When we arrived at Ali Taher Ridge about three months ago, our mission was to locate, investigate and destroy the infrastructure. It was an extremely complex mission, the most complex I have carried out in my military service and probably the most significant.” Fighting through brush, boulders and explosive drones The terrain made the operation particularly difficult. “It was very hard to reach the mountain and work there,” D. said, describing thick vegetation, boulders and the distance from other Israeli forces. “We were in terrain that was not operationally held, about a kilometer and a half from where the troops were positioned.” The topography complicated casualty evacuation and logistics, he said, while dozens of Hezbollah terrorists operated in the area and repeatedly targeted Israeli troops with drones and indirect fire. The early fighting was costly. During the battle for the village, Sgt. First Class Nir Ben Ari was killed by a rocket and several other soldiers were wounded. “I will never forget one moment,” R. said. “The incident in the village was very difficult, and you saw everyone moving forward, soldiers running into the fire to save their friends.” One badly wounded soldier survived because of the actions of those around him, R. said. “The doctor at the hospital told me he was one of the most seriously wounded soldiers of the war. Today he is rehabilitating. That is the fighting spirit. The next day after that incident, they got up and continued the operation to capture the same village.” Cameras in the brush and weapons underground As Israeli forces advanced, they began discovering the scale of Hezbollah’s preparations on the ridge. “We put together the intelligence picture on the ground and realized there was a fortified site that had been prepared for a very long time, a strategic asset,” R. said. Troops found terrorists inside infrastructure, surveillance cameras, booby traps, explosive devices, rocket launchers, Grad rockets, drones and unmanned aircraft, he said. “Suddenly we found cameras inside the brush. Some were closed-circuit cameras and some were intelligence-gathering cameras,” R. said. “Only when you move through the brush do you discover them and understand there is an enemy there.” The Israeli troops settled into a routine of prolonged concealed ambushes. “Every soldier would prepare for an ambush lasting several days, move covertly, reach the position, remain there hidden with special equipment and wait patiently,” he said. Food and cigarettes delivered by drone The biggest challenge was figuring out Hezbollah’s underground system. “We faced a puzzle: How do you crack Ali Taher Ridge and the underground infrastructure beneath it?” D. said. The IDF brought specialists from across the military and formed teams to devise methods to force Hezbollah terrorists out of the tunnels, according to the officer. Israeli forces cut off supplies being delivered by drones and conducted foot searches for shafts, using clues such as metal beneath rocks, openings in the ground and weapons positioned near suspected exits. Two underground routes were discovered at roughly the same time, D. said. One was penetrated after about a month and the second after roughly six weeks. The long ambushes eventually led to close-range encounters. “When you push deeper into the ridge, you see the enemy starting to shrink back,” R. said. “One day we took down a camera, and then you see terrorists fleeing and others trying to stick their heads out of shafts.” Israeli soldiers also saw Hezbollah trying to resupply those underground. “You see a drone above you and then a package drops,” R. said. “You open it and find food and cigarettes.” He said troops encountered two kinds of Hezbollah fighters. “One type came from outside and tried to help those underground. They came in uniforms with weapons and combat vests, and some tried to disguise themselves with blankets or camouflage suits. It was very professional equipment.” During the operation, he said, dozens of Hezbollah terrorists were killed either by drones or in close-range fighting. “The second type was the enemy fleeing from underground wearing civilian clothes and carrying Kalashnikov rifles,” R. said. “We applied tremendous pressure. Either the enemy abandoned the area or we killed them.” Forcing Hezbollah out of the tunnels Yahalom troops used a series of classified measures aimed at making it increasingly difficult for Hezbollah terrorists to remain underground, D. said. “Once we had a precise grip on the area and a full picture of who was inside, we carried out various classified actions that ultimately caused the enemy to leave the underground infrastructure,” he said. “We carried out actions that disturbed them and made them uncomfortable, to the point where it became almost impossible to remain on those levels. We brought them above ground in order to eliminate them.” The troops also used loudspeakers and attempted negotiations with those inside, he said. Once inside the tunnels, the soldiers found what commanders described as an unusually sophisticated complex stretching for several kilometers. “There were operating rooms and medical equipment, command rooms and operations centers, as well as toilets, ventilation systems and kitchenettes,” R. said. “There was important intelligence material and weaponry, and above all we saw that they had really planned for these moments of war, so they could attack and command from there.” He said the underground command infrastructure had been intended to support Hezbollah forces targeting northern Israeli communities and Israeli troops crossing the Litani. D. said the operating rooms were among the most striking discoveries. “It wasn’t a clinic,” he said. “It was a room with surgical equipment, medications, anesthetics and beds, something I had not seen elsewhere.” ‘An incredible generation’ The officers said maintaining the operation for months required soldiers to remain in harsh field conditions for prolonged periods. “The morale in the unit is among the most exceptional I have ever encountered,” D. said. “The soldiers of the company did not go home for three months. They didn’t wash their faces and didn’t eat like normal people. They slept outside in the brush, in the cold and the heat, for hours during long ambushes.” “They did what was needed to complete the mission because they understood its importance. They did not complain.” R. said the campaign had tested the unit after commanders were wounded and Ben Ari was killed. “We have an incredible generation,” he said. “Soldiers and commanders were wounded, returned and were wounded again during this round.” He said Maglan’s approach was built around finding ways to outmaneuver the enemy through concealment, patience and sustained pressure. “That is the spirit of Maglan, how do I get around the enemy,” he said. “That is what allowed us to move forward, camouflage ourselves and find the enemy through very long, painstaking work.” ‘We’re not leaving until we blow it up’ The operation reached its climax with the destruction of the underground infrastructure just before the holiday. Ahead of the demolition, R. took the soldiers to Beaufort, where they could see northern Israeli communities from the commanding heights. “You see everything from there,” he said. “You see the communities in the north, and you don’t need much explanation about what that commanding position means.” The soldiers were told the demolition might take place before or after the holiday. “They said, ‘Rosh Hashanah or no Rosh Hashanah, we don’t care about being home for the holiday. We are not leaving here until we blow it up,’” R. recalled. “In the end we made it and got out right at the buzzer. It was a battle that will be etched into the history of the unit.” message rymofhdfze Alexander Granovsky torched nine vehicles, photographed Benny Gantz’s neighborhood and energy sites and sprayed divisive graffiti for an Iran-linked operative, as four others were convicted in a separate Iranian recruitment case Maya Cohen, Gilad Cohen https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2025/07/03/SyZQcn7Bex/SyZQcn7Bex_0_0_850_479_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rymofhdfze Wed, 16 Sep 2026 19:50:56 +03:00 An Israeli man was sentenced Wednesday to 13½ years in prison after admitting that he carried out a series of paid assignments for an entity acting on behalf of Iranian intelligence, including setting nine vehicles on fire, spraying politically divisive graffiti and photographing the neighborhood of former IDF chief Benny Gantz and energy infrastructure. The Central District Court in Lod sentenced Alexander Granovsky under a plea agreement after he admitted to contact with a foreign agent, providing information to an enemy that could benefit it, nine counts of arson and multiple counts of defacing property. A separate case in which he admitted to threats and assault was also incorporated into the proceedings. According to the indictment, Granovsky’s contact with the Iran-linked operative began in late November 2024 and continued until his arrest on Dec. 15. The two communicated through the Telegram messaging app, and Granovsky received payments for some assignments through a digital wallet. His initial tasks involved spraying graffiti in public places with slogans including “We are all against Bibi” — using Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s nickname — and “We must put Netanyahu in prison,” as well as an internet address with an Iranian domain. He received payments worth hundreds of shekels for the graffiti. The assignments then escalated. The operative offered to pay Granovsky to set fire to vehicles and police cars and obtain the addresses of senior military officers and government ministers. Granovsky said he knew the neighborhood where Gantz, a former IDF chief of staff who later entered politics, lived but did not know his exact address. Granovsky agreed to set vehicles on fire and received instructions on how to carry out and document the attacks. He ultimately torched nine vehicles, according to the indictment. On some, he spray-painted the words “Children of Ruhollah,” an apparent reference to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran. For some of the arson attacks, he received 900 euros in cryptocurrency. The operative also instructed Granovsky to buy a handgun. Granovsky said he was unwilling to kill or wound people but indicated he would be prepared to fire at homes. He later photographed Gantz’s neighborhood and sent the images to the operative. Granovsky also photographed from a distance the smokestacks of the Reading power station in Tel Aviv. At the operative’s request, he traveled to the power station in Hadera, north of Tel Aviv, but said the heavy security made it difficult to complete the photography assignment and demanded additional payment. When the request was rejected, he left. In another instance, Granovsky bought an IDF uniform at the operative’s direction but later reported that the clothing had been stolen. He also agreed to make Molotov cocktails but said he could not carry out the assignment because an instructional video sent to him was in Ukrainian, a language he does not speak. Granovsky also provided the operative with information about two people with criminal records. The Central District Attorney’s Office asked the court to approve the parties’ agreed sentence of 13½ years. A prosecutor emphasized that the offenses were committed during wartime and as part of Granovsky’s relationship with an Iranian-linked operative, a connection she said Granovsky understood. She argued that deterrence should be given significant weight because of a growing phenomenon of Israeli citizens being recruited to carry out assignments for an enemy state. Prosecutors also cited mitigating factors, including Granovsky’s full admission to the charges, his mental health and the relatively short period during which the offenses were committed. They pointed, however, to his criminal record and the seriousness of his crimes. Granovsky’s public defenders, Anat Yaari and Frida Wall, argued that his case differed from other Iran-linked cases because his actions were not motivated by nationalism or ideology. They described Granovsky as living on the margins of Israeli society, struggling with drug addiction and complex mental health issues. They said he acted for financial gain to fund his drug use. The defense stressed that Granovsky was “not the classic spy” and had refused to harm innocent people. Granovsky expressed remorse and said he had not intended to harm Israel. Judge Merav Greenberg approved the plea agreement, describing the agreed sentence as “heavy and severe, but appropriate to the seriousness of the acts and warranted under the circumstances.” She described the case as “a serious series of offenses that severely harm the security of the state and its citizens,” committed for financial gain. The court took into account Granovsky’s confession, acceptance of responsibility and expression of remorse. Greenberg said his admission reflected “genuine and meaningful acceptance of responsibility” and noted that without it, he would have faced an even longer prison sentence. Although Granovsky refused some assignments and declined to harm innocent people, Greenberg said he nevertheless carried out numerous actions at the operative’s direction. “Even if the defendant committed the acts for financial gain, with outrageous indifference to the consequences of his actions, that does not diminish their great severity,” she wrote. The judge said some of the assignments were intended to damage Israel’s social fabric and create chaos and agitation. She said the timing made the offenses particularly serious because they were committed during Israel’s war following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Greenberg also addressed the growing pattern of Iranian efforts to recruit Israelis in exchange for money. “The phenomenon is gaining momentum, and the courts have a significant role in stopping it,” she wrote. “The need to deter others is the imperative of the hour.” ‘Threw a grenade — and sent the footage to the Iranian operative’ In a separate case Wednesday, the Jerusalem District Court convicted four residents of the Beit Safafa neighborhood of Jerusalem — Mamdouh Khader, Omri Abu Hamida, Mahmoud Khader and Mohammed Taha — of security offenses connected to assignments for an operative acting on Iran’s behalf. The four pleaded guilty to charges stemming from activities for which they received payment from the operative. According to the amended indictment, the operative contacted another defendant in the case and assigned him tasks intended to harm Israel's national security. Those assignments included forming a terrorist cell and working to assassinate a nuclear scientist and members of the scientist’s family, obtaining weapons and grenades and producing staged footage purporting to show attacks on a soldier’s home and a police vehicle. Prosecutors said Mamdouh Khader and Abu Hamida were convicted of failing to prevent an act of terrorism after joining a trip to the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, one of Israel’s leading scientific research institutions. During the trip, they were told that the visit was part of an assignment received from an Iranian operative, prosecutors said. After the group was prevented from entering the institute, they filmed its entrance and the videos were sent to the Iranian operative. Abu Hamida later asked why they had filmed the site and was told that a person the Iranians wanted to assassinate lived there, according to prosecutors. Neither man acted to prevent the alleged plot. Mahmoud Khader and Taha were convicted of assisting in contact with a foreign agent. Khader helped spray and document graffiti in Jerusalem, drove another defendant to collect two grenades and helped obtain a fake police license plate intended for use in staged footage purporting to show an attack on a police vehicle. Taha proposed throwing a stun grenade at an empty house in the village of Qatanna to create footage that would appear to show an attack on a Jewish person’s home. He arrived at the location with the grenade, asked his friends to throw it, filmed the act and sent the video to the defendant who was in contact with the Iranian operative, according to prosecutors. In another incident, Taha kept possession of the phone used to communicate with the operative in an effort to make it more difficult for authorities to locate it. message r13dleoyml Prime Minister’s Office records detail hotel bills reaching $172,701, thousands spent on makeup and hair, a $500 smoking fee, an embassy door repair and the cost of flying Israel’s official state aircraft  Itamar Eichner https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2024/07/26/HJOxVwbFC/HJOxVwbFC_0_0_3000_1690_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/r13dleoyml Wed, 16 Sep 2026 18:34:22 +03:00 New figures provided by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office to the Hatzlacha nonprofit reveal previously undisclosed details of expenses from his U.S. visits in 2025, including luxury hotel stays, flights aboard Israel’s official state aircraft and thousands of dollars spent on makeup, hair styling and other costs. The records detail expenses for Netanyahu, his wife Sara and the delegations accompanying them, ranging from hundreds of thousands of dollars for flights and hotels to comparatively small items such as coffee, a traffic ticket and repairs to an embassy door. $10,000 a night in Florida At the end of 2025, Benjamin and Sara Netanyahu traveled to Florida, where they celebrated the New Year at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. During the six-day visit, the couple stayed in a suite at the Four Seasons. According to the records, the suite cost $10,000 per night, with the total stay coming to $50,000. Regular rooms for members of Netanyahu’s 43-person entourage cost $250 per night. The flight aboard Wing of Zion, Israel’s official aircraft for the prime minister and president, cost Israeli taxpayers $423,407, according to the figures. New York suite, makeup and a traffic ticket The documents also detail Netanyahu’s trip to Washington and New York from September 25 to 30, 2025. The Wing of Zion flight cost $359,281. Netanyahu’s suite at the Loews Regency hotel was listed at $6,000 a night, with the total suite bill reaching $41,993. During the trip, the state also paid $1,200 for a makeup artist and roughly $1,500 for refreshments, coffee and tea. About $400 was spent on rental vehicles for the delegation, while another $125 was paid for a traffic ticket. $172,701 hotel bill in July During Netanyahu’s U.S. visit in July 2025, accommodation at the Willard InterContinental cost $172,701, according to the documents. Another roughly $520 was spent on refreshments and drinks. The records also list a $295 payment for repairing a door at the Israeli Embassy, described under the heading ‘malfunction during visit,’ as well as approximately $2,000 in customs expenses. Makeup, hair and office equipment Netanyahu made another three-day visit to Washington in April, when accommodation at the Watergate Hotel cost $51,000. The documents show payments of $3,036 for a makeup artist and another $3,036 for a hairstylist. Approximately $1,500 was spent on light refreshments, while another roughly $1,200 was listed for ‘printers and toner.’ A whiteboard and cork board cost an additional $240. $13,500 for grooming in February The highest grooming expenses listed in the 2025 visits came during a February trip to Washington. About $6,700 was spent on makeup and a similar amount on hair styling, bringing the combined expense to roughly $13,500. Separate records released through a freedom-of-information process have also identified that February trip as the most expensive for prime ministerial makeup and hair expenses during the period examined. The records also list approximately $4,800 for photography lighting and around $840 for flag pins. Netanyahu’s suite cost $25,000, while approximately $300 was spent on laundry in the suite. Among the smaller expenses was a $500 ‘smoking fee’ for the meeting room used for a press conference. Another $480 was paid for COVID-19 tests for two members of the delegation. The newly released figures provide a detailed look at the range of costs attached to Netanyahu’s overseas visits, from the operation of Wing of Zion and accommodation for large delegations to grooming, equipment, refreshments and incidental expenses recorded during each trip. message bjdd0700fzg Jihad Samih Mahmoud Ismail took part in the battle in which Shaked Dahan was killed and Omer Neutra, Oz Daniel and Nimrod Cohen were abducted, IDF says Elisha Ben Kimon https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/16/BJ112C7Otfg/BJ112C7Otfg_0_0_1280_720_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/bjdd0700fzg Wed, 16 Sep 2026 18:00:29 +03:00 The IDF said Wednesday that it killed a Hamas Nukhba commander who took part in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel and helped abduct three soldiers from an Israeli tank crew. Jihad Samih Mahmoud Ismail, a squad commander in Hamas’ military wing, was killed in an Israeli strike last Thursday in the Khan Younis area of the southern Gaza Strip, according to the military. The IDF said Ismail infiltrated Israel from southern Gaza during the Oct. 7 massacre and took part in the battle involving the crew of Tank No. 3. Capt. Omer Neutra, Staff Sgt. Oz Daniel and Sgt. Nimrod Cohen were abducted during the incident, while the tank’s driver, Sgt. Shaked Dahan, was killed. Neutra and Daniel were later confirmed dead, and their bodies were returned to Israel under the ceasefire agreement in late 2025. Cohen was also released under the agreement. Dahan’s body was recovered by IDF troops in August 2024. The military said Ismail remained involved throughout the war in ambushes aimed at Israeli troops. More recently, according to the IDF, he had been advancing attacks against Israeli troops and civilians in what the military described as systematic violations of the ceasefire. The IDF said Ismail was targeted ‘in order to remove the threat he posed.’ It added that precautions were taken before the strike to reduce the risk to civilians, including the use of precision munitions and aerial surveillance. Southern Command troops remain deployed in the area under the terms of the ceasefire agreement and will continue operating against what the IDF describes as immediate threats, the military said. Pressure on senior Hamas commanders continues The strike came amid a series of Israeli operations targeting senior Hamas commanders in Gaza. On Tuesday night, the IDF killed Nayal Abu Obeid, commander of Hamas’ Rafah Brigade, in a drone strike. Abu Obeid had replaced Mohammed Shabana, who was killed in Khan Younis in May 2025 alongside then-Hamas military chief Mohammed Sinwar. A night earlier, Ahmad Batash, commander of Hamas’ Jabalia Battalion in the terror group’s northern Gaza brigade, was also killed. The IDF said Batash had been responsible for managing and organizing weapons for the brigade and had helped coordinate the supply of weapons and military equipment to Hamas terrorists. According to the military, Batash had recently been working to rebuild Hamas’ capabilities and advance attacks against Israeli troops and civilians in violation of the ceasefire. The IDF said precautions were taken to minimize civilian casualties in that strike as well. Over the weekend, the IDF and Shin Bet also said they killed Mohsen Abu Hadaf, an Islamic Jihad rocket squad commander, in Khan Younis. According to the two agencies, Abu Hadaf took part in the Oct. 7 attack in the Kissufim area and had recently been advancing attacks against Israeli troops and civilians in violation of the ceasefire. message b1yqs11dtfg Authorities acted after the Tehran restaurant posted ‘Nothing beats Bibi’s cutlet,’ a play on Netanyahu’s nickname and ‘cutlet,’ slang used by regime opponents to mock senior IRGC figures killed in military strikes Itamar Eichner https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/16/HJvTuCvtfx/HJvTuCvtfx_0_7_345_195_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/b1yqs11dtfg Wed, 16 Sep 2026 16:24:51 +03:00 Iranian authorities blocked the Instagram account of a Tehran restaurant after it posted a play on words that was interpreted as a political jab at the Islamic Republic. The restaurant, called “Bibi’s Kitchen,” posted an Instagram story reading, “Nothing beats Bibi’s cutlet,” accompanied by Iranian pop star Moein’s song “Bibi Gol.” Shortly after the post went viral, the account was blocked by judicial order for what authorities described as “publishing criminal content.” On the surface, the post appeared to be promoting a dish on the restaurant’s menu. But in Iran’s political vocabulary, both words carry a double meaning. “Bibi” is an old-fashioned Persian term for grandmother. But it is also the well-known nickname of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and has appeared in anti-government memes and posts expressing support for Israeli strikes on the Islamic Republic. The term “cutlet,” meanwhile, became a political taunt after Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020, mocking the condition of his body after the attack. Since then, opponents of the Islamic Republic have used the word to refer mockingly to senior regime figures killed in military strikes. The combination of “Bibi” and “cutlet” was therefore interpreted as a reference to Netanyahu and senior Iranian officials killed by Israel, although the restaurant itself did not explicitly make such a political statement. Iranian authorities have acted against similar uses of the word before. In January 2023, prominent chef Navab Ebrahimi was arrested after posting a cutlet recipe around the anniversary of Soleimani’s killing. His restaurant was shut and his Instagram account was taken offline. Contemporary reports said social media users believed the cutlet post was connected to his arrest, although authorities did not publicly establish that as the reason. In January 2024, doctor and university professor Mohammad Shoja was detained in the northeastern city of Bojnourd after posting a photograph of a cutlet on the night senior IRGC commander Razi Mousavi was killed. In June 2024, the Iranian judiciary opened a case against playwright and theater director Hossein Pakdel for allegedly “disrupting the psychological security of society” after he wrote on Instagram that politics turns “stupid men into special diet cutlets.” Sensitivity surrounding references to Israel has intensified amid the current conflict. Iranian authorities said in March that more than 1,000 people had been arrested on accusations including sharing anti-government material online or cooperating with Israel and the United States. The judiciary has also warned that some forms of assistance to hostile states can carry the death penalty. message hy00fuwuygx The sides reportedly met in Oman after Houthi gains near the strategic strait; the group vowed to uphold its 2025 ceasefire with Washington and avoid US ships, while reserving the right to target Saudi vessels. ynet, News Agencies https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/13/S19r1AXYzl/S19r1AXYzl_0_0_850_479_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hy00fuwuygx Wed, 16 Sep 2026 16:16:23 +03:00 U.S. officials met earlier this week in Oman with representatives of Yemen’s Houthi rebels, just days after the Iran-backed militia seized a strategic strip along the Red Sea coast in an offensive that defeated forces loyal to Yemen’s Saudi-backed government, Reuters reported Wednesday. According to the report, the Houthis told the United States during the meeting that they intended to refrain from attacking American vessels in the critical Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which they have effectively taken control of. According to Reuters, the meeting was not made public but was confirmed by three sources. It took place Sunday at the U.S. Embassy in the Omani capital, Muscat, where the Houthis told American officials they remained committed to the ceasefire agreed with the United States in 2025 and therefore had no intention of attacking U.S. vessels. One source, a Yemeni official, also told Reuters that the militia’s representatives said they would not attack Israeli ships or any other commercial vessels, with the exception of those belonging to Saudi Arabia. The Trump administration designated the Houthis a “foreign terrorist organization” in March 2025, making any support for the group a criminal offense. Washington nevertheless continued negotiating with them afterward, and in May last year, after two months of U.S. strikes aimed at halting Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping lanes, the sides reached a ceasefire. The Houthis continued attacking ships near their coast but appeared to avoid striking American vessels. Over the weekend, following the Houthis’ territorial gains near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which effectively gave them control of the waterway, questions mounted over whether the United States and other countries would mobilize to help Saudi Arabia drive the Houthis from the area. The concern was that, alongside the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait could also be completely blocked, further disrupting global supplies of oil and goods. But on Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump said the Houthis had “called” his administration and asked the United States to stay out of the war in Yemen. On Monday, Vice President JD Vance said Washington was in direct contact with the group, without elaborating. At the same time, it emerged that Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, had called Trump last week to request U.S. military assistance in light of the Houthis’ dramatic advances, but Washington made clear to Riyadh that it would not intervene directly in the conflict. Houthis say they did not fire at Mecca, claim to have downed F-15 The current situation has left Saudi Arabia in a strategic bind. Even as the Houthis and other Iranian proxy groups fire into its territory and strike its oil facilities, Washington is not stepping in actively to assist, and neither are Riyadh’s new partners in the so-called “Mecca Alliance,” Turkey and Pakistan. The two countries signed the defense pact with Saudi Arabia only last month but have so far limited themselves to condemning the attacks on the kingdom. Officials in Turkey and Pakistan said efforts to “institutionalize” the alliance must be completed before it can become operational, and that Riyadh had not, in any case, asked either country for help. According to Wednesday’s Reuters report, one source who confirmed the meeting in Oman said the U.S. side was represented by embassy personnel and that one member of the Houthi delegation was Mohammed Abdulsalam, a senior official based in Muscat who is under U.S. sanctions. Those sanctions, it emerged, did not prevent the talks from taking place. The Houthis seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in 2014 and have been fighting for more than a decade against a coalition led by neighboring Saudi Arabia. More than 100,000 people have been killed in the war, while Saudi Arabia has faced heavy international criticism over its bombing campaign. In recent years, the fighting subsided following the declaration of a ceasefire, but it resumed in July after the Houthis announced a blockade on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea in response to a Saudi blockade of Yemeni ports. The current wave of attacks on Saudi Arabia has left the kingdom without a secure outlet for its crude oil, in part after pro-Iranian militias in Iraq struck one of its most important oil pipelines. According to Saudi Arabia, the Houthis on Tuesday launched a drone toward Mecca for the first time in the current round of attacks. Mecca is Islam’s holiest city and home to the Kaaba, with millions of Muslims making the pilgrimage there each year. Riyadh said it intercepted the drone but declared Wednesday that firing toward Mecca, about 1,100 kilometers from the Yemeni border, amounted to “crossing a red line." The Houthis, for their part, denied launching an unmanned aircraft toward Mecca. The last time they apparently attempted to attack the city was in 2017, when they fired a ballistic missile in its direction. Meanwhile, the Houthis claimed Wednesday morning that they had shot down an F-15 fighter jet belonging to the Saudi-led coalition over Marib province in central Yemen. They provided no evidence and did not say when the alleged shootdown took place. message sjph72wyzx Most parties back broader enlistment, civilian service alternatives and financial penalties for draft dodgers, while Haredi factions seek to preserve exemptions; Likud was the only party to refuse to answer the questionnaire at all ynet correspondents https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/06/16/S1ox21yzfx/S1ox21yzfx_1_137_3000_1689_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sjph72wyzx Wed, 16 Sep 2026 11:37:53 +03:00 Since the establishment of the state, compulsory IDF service has been a central principle of Israeli society. Over the years, Zionist parties on both the right and left have voiced support for integrating yeshiva students into military service. In practice, however, the arrangement that began in 1948 as a compromise allowing about 400 yeshiva students to defer enlistment gradually expanded. Through legislation and coalition agreements, a framework was preserved for decades that allowed the overwhelming majority of ultra-Orthodox men to dodge military service. Time and again, governments and Knessets tried to change that reality through enlistment targets, quotas and various arrangements, but the de facto exemption remained broad. The dramatic change came during the current Knesset term. In June 2024, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that, in the absence of a legal framework for an exemption, the state had no authority to refrain from broadly drafting yeshiva students. It also ruled that state funding could no longer be transferred to yeshivas for students who had not received a lawful exemption or whose service had not been legally deferred. The ruling effectively changed the legal situation, requiring the state to move away from a policy of broad deferments and exemptions to one in which the draft obligation also applies to yeshiva students, alongside enforcement mechanisms and sanctions. Ahead of the election for the 26th Knesset, Zionist parties are once again promising that this time they will actually enlist ultra-Orthodox men. They say doing so will not undermine women’s integration in the IDF, while also arguing that Arab citizens should now be required to perform civilian service. Likud Likud chose not to respond to inquiries from ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth regarding the draft law and draft dodging among yeshiva students. Yashar! The party plans to advance a “National Service for All” law after the election, under which “anyone who does not serve in the IDF will be required to perform mandatory civilian service.” On ultra-Orthodox enlistment, Yashar! said: “The only mechanism for deferring service will be an allocation of up to 3% of each annual cohort for outstanding individuals in various fields, including Torah scholars, through an open and equal selection process, with those individuals also undergoing induction and basic training.” On sanctions against draft evaders, the party said: “A draft evader or deserter will be subject to broad revocation of civil and economic benefits and to criminal proceedings. Sanctions will include disqualification from state tenders, scholarships from the Council for Higher Education and Labor Ministry, municipal tax discounts, housing benefits and tax benefits.” Beyachad “Every citizen of the State of Israel will enlist in the IDF or perform national civilian service under the Defense Service Law, without exemptions — that applies to Arabs and to the ultra-Orthodox alike,” the Beyachad party said, adding: “There are no quotas and no targets. Anyone who does not enlist will not receive a shekel from the state.” On sanctions, the party said: “We will change the incentive mechanisms so that citizens who serve and work receive priority. The formula is simple: anyone who does not enlist will not receive a shekel from the state. Not Zionist — not on my dime.” Among other measures, stipends for married yeshiva students would be abolished, while daycare benefits, municipal tax discounts and subsidized housing benefits would be redirected toward those who serve. Yisrael Beytenu The party says that “every young man and woman at age 18 — Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze and Circassians — will be required to perform military or civilian service. The IDF will determine who serves in the military track and who performs civilian service according to security needs. Those assigned to civilian service will serve, among other places, in the Prison Service, Fire and Rescue Authority, medical services and community assistance. No exemptions, no quotas and no deals.” The party proposes a series of sanctions against draft evaders, including: “They will be barred from leaving Israel, will not receive benefits, will lose tax benefits, will not be eligible for municipal tax discounts or state participation in daycare payments and will not be permitted to work in the civil service or local government.” The Democrats “The obligation to serve the state should apply to all citizens, within a national and equal framework,” the Democrats said. “The IDF’s needs will receive priority in the screening process, and anyone not required for military service will be directed to meaningful civilian-national service according to the needs of the state. Expanding the pool of those who serve must be done without harming the status of women or their service opportunities in the IDF.” Regarding sanctions against draft evaders, the party said: “The state must stop incentivizing non-service. Anyone who does not regularize their status and fulfill their service obligation should no longer be able to enjoy the same preferential benefits currently granted by the state, including benefits related to daycare, after-school programs and municipal taxes. “At the same time, we will work to ensure that public funding is not transferred to institutions or organizations that systematically encourage draft evasion or seek to thwart the service obligation. The details of the enforcement mechanism will be determined through legislation, but the principle will be clear: the state will reward service, not draft evasion.” Otzma Yehudit Party head, Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, said: “We have proven that it is possible to integrate ultra-Orthodox men into meaningful service and strengthen Israel’s security without harming their way of life. We opened dedicated tracks in the police and Border Police, with full observance of Shabbat, kashrut, prayers and Torah study, appropriate gender separation and the establishment of the ultra-Orthodox ‘Avnet’ company in the Border Police. “I sat with rabbis, we removed obstacles and created frameworks that allow a young ultra-Orthodox man to enter service as Haredi and leave it as Haredi.” Amcha Yisrael The party said: “Amcha Yisrael supports integrating ultra-Orthodox men into the IDF and will work to advance a Service Members Law that represents justice and fairness. Passage of this law before the government is sworn in is a prerequisite for our participation in any government. We will not be Goldknopf’s flak jacket, but the reservists’.” The Joint List The Joint List opposes drafting ultra-Orthodox men or any form of compulsory enlistment and believes that “sanctions should not be imposed on someone who chooses not to enlist. Instead of punishing citizens, we should work to end the occupation and wars and build a reality in which there is no need to draft more and more people into the military.” Ra’am Ra’am, naturally, opposes a draft law that would require young Arab citizens to serve in the IDF or perform civilian service. The faction also declined to respond on the issue of ultra-Orthodox enlistment, even though three Ra’am lawmakers voted in January 2022 in favor of a draft law that included annual enlistment targets for the ultra-Orthodox community. The Reservists-Economic Party The party says that “every citizen will report to the induction center, and from there will be assigned according to the military’s needs and the preferences of the prospective recruit, with military service receiving priority and national service tracks available for national missions. Except for medical exemptions, anyone who does not serve will face sanctions and lose state benefits.” Those who do not enlist would lose a broad range of benefits, including “cancellation of tax and municipal tax discounts, denial of benefits such as participation in subsidized housing and daycare subsidies, revocation of a driver’s license, a ban on leaving the country, exclusion from public-sector and government jobs and denial of funding to educational institutions that do not support service.” Religious Zionism Religious Zionism declined to address the question of sanctions against ultra-Orthodox draft evaders. It said Bezalel Smotrich’s plan includes “passing a Basic Law for Service Members under the principle of ‘first in equality’ — those who serve receive everything. We will anchor in a Basic Law the status of IDF service members and reservists, while granting priority to them and their spouses in housing and daycare.” The party also said that “expanding the pool of those who serve” would be achieved in part by drafting ultra-Orthodox men. Shas For years, most Shas lawmakers said that those who do not study Torah should enlist, but in practice they did not act to enlist students who had dropped out of yeshivas. In 2024, a recording was published of Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef saying: “Even someone who does not study is exempt from going to the army.” Now, following the Supreme Court sanctions, Shas acknowledges that it will no longer be possible to avoid drafting yeshiva students who have left their studies, and Knesset lawmaker Yinon Azoulay has said the military will need to adapt itself. United Torah Judaism Both the Hasidic Agudat Yisrael faction and the Degel HaTorah faction, which represents the Lithuanian ultra-Orthodox community, continue to oppose the enlistment of students who have dropped out of yeshivas and, of course, oppose a universal draft law. United Torah Judaism says the law it seeks to pass is intended solely to regulate the status of those who study Torah. From its perspective, it is not the party’s role to instruct those who do not study to enlist — that is the military’s responsibility. message bkzi53vyge Southern Command is fortifying positions along the Yellow Line and keeping up targeted strikes as Hamas rebuilds governance in areas outside Israeli control and troops remain on alert nearly three years after Oct. 7 Elisha Ben Kimon https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/08/24/SyfVyRKvMg/SyfVyRKvMg_1_161_1601_901_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/bkzi53vyge Wed, 16 Sep 2026 09:59:06 +03:00 No matter what the situation on the ground may look like, nerves remain raw during the holiday season nearly three years after October 7. That feeling is shared by IDF troops operating deep inside the Gaza Strip. The operational reality is vastly different from what it was in the past, with Israel now exercising far broader military control in parts of the enclave, but that control brings its own complex challenges. At the same time, the sense of security among residents of Israeli communities near Gaza remains fragile, despite what the military describes as substantial achievements that are continually being tested. Nearly three years after October 7, and after 472 IDF soldiers were killed since the start of the Gaza ground operation, Hamas remains armed and retains control over significant parts of the Strip. As long as the terrorist organization does not voluntarily disarm under the U.S.-backed framework, Israeli officials say the IDF may ultimately be ordered to do so by force. “Everyone understands that Hamas will not disarm and destroy all the tunnels, and the IDF is prepared, if given the order to eliminate Hamas, to finish the job so that we can also implement the migration plan,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday. Katz has previously said plans to facilitate Gazans’ emigration remain under discussion, while acknowledging that other countries have not agreed to receive them. For now, several kites recently launched toward Israeli communities near Gaza were enough to put the entire sector back on heightened alert. Southern Command has been working to counter the phenomenon, which has since subsided. The situation on the ground is stark: destruction is extensive, while fortified IDF positions known in military terminology as “meteors” are reinforcing Israel’s hold on the terrain and are intended to remain in place. The IDF is maintaining what officers describe as a high offensive tempo, including targeted strikes and the destruction of weapons depots. Southern Command views those attacks as pressure on Hamas to move toward an agreement that would include disarmament. “If you do not disarm, we will disarm you,” officials in the command say. At the same time, the military’s operational approach inside Gaza is changing. Reservists from the IDF’s 179th Brigade, who recently completed a deployment in Gaza, operated around Ridge 70 and opposite the south-central part of Gaza City while controlling the northern edge of the central Gaza camps. During the deployment, they dealt with several significant incidents, including the kite launches and an explosive device detonated against a remotely operated “Panda” bulldozer. The troops are feeling the cumulative strain of repeated deployments. At the same time, there is concern that the transition from the intense maneuver warfare of earlier phases to a forward-defense posture could eventually breed complacency. Security officials reject the idea that the military is settling into routine. “There is no intention of turning this into routine territorial brigade activity,” they say. “We are constantly initiating attacks and thwarting threats. That creates a tempo and prevents us from being drawn into routine.” At one IDF position, troops described the complex procedures used when people approach the Yellow Line, the ceasefire boundary behind which Israeli forces are deployed. The IDF began physically marking the line with yellow-painted posts and concrete barriers to provide what it calls “tactical clarity” on the ground. Contrary to claims sometimes made about Israeli activity near the line, officers say troops do not automatically open fire on every unarmed person who approaches it. According to soldiers and security officials, an unarmed person approaching the boundary is first monitored, warned and tracked. Troops may fire warning shots nearby and, when circumstances allow, attempt an arrest, they say, after assessing the situation. Officials say the rules are different when troops identify armed people or suspects who pose an immediate threat. The IDF has repeatedly said forces along the Yellow Line will act against threats to soldiers, while Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has said the military must remain prepared to move rapidly from defense to a broader offensive if ordered. The issue has taken on additional significance amid international criticism of Israel’s conduct in Gaza and the controversy surrounding NAZA (“collateral damage”), the Israeli documentary that won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival and leveled serious allegations against the IDF’s conduct in the enclave. Only weeks earlier, however, the military faced criticism from the opposite direction, with claims that troops were being forced to stand exposed and take risks because they were supposedly prohibited from opening fire. “It is neither one nor the other,” security officials on the ground say. “These are measured rules of engagement.” Zamir, speaking at an event honoring donors to the Association for the Wellbeing of Israel’s Soldiers, said: “The IDF is the most moral army in the world. Faced with deliberate attacks on our civilians, a barbaric raid deliberately targeting a civilian population and missiles fired at city centers, we adhere to the values of the IDF and international law and do everything in our power to avoid harming innocent people.” In areas of Gaza outside Israeli control, Hamas is trying to recover and reassert governance. Roughly 600 humanitarian aid trucks enter Gaza each day under the current system, broadly consistent with figures published by Israeli authorities since the ceasefire. According to Israeli security assessments cited by Ynet, Hamas is exploiting the flow of goods by establishing checkpoints and collecting levies that can approach 50% in some cases. Independent reporting has also documented Hamas authorities taxing goods and profiting from parts of Gaza’s wartime economy, though the amounts and mechanisms vary. Israeli officials say that money helps Hamas maintain elements of local governance even as its operatives remain under continuing military pressure. The situation, they argue, is a product of the continuing deadlock in negotiations: Hamas is adapting to the current reality and attempting to consolidate pockets of authority, while the IDF continues carrying out strikes against its operatives and infrastructure. The political environment is also complicating any step that could be interpreted inside Israel as rebuilding Gaza before Hamas is disarmed, including improvements to civilian infrastructure or the deployment of international forces. Netanyahu and Katz have publicly said there will be no reconstruction before Hamas is disarmed and the Strip is demilitarized. Against the backdrop of the Jewish holidays, political tensions and uncertainty over the future Palestinian political system, the IDF is entering another sensitive period. Commanders in the field are trying to prevent any decline in vigilance. Although the Gaza front remains diplomatically frozen, Southern Command is maintaining a high tempo of strikes. Military officials say the aim is to sustain pressure on Hamas, prevent it from rebuilding its capabilities, continue targeting terrorists involved in the October 7 attack and reinforce among troops the message that Gaza remains an active combat arena. message syisdspkmx For nearly two years, Israel’s public diplomacy directorate lacked a permanent chief as controversies from Hind Rajab and World Central Kitchen to Gaza aid-site claims spread globally before a coordinated response emerged Nina Fox https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/15/Skz2PWPFzx/Skz2PWPFzx_0_0_850_479_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/syisdspkmx Wed, 16 Sep 2026 09:16:20 +03:00 Israel’s representation abroad has often been described as another front in the country’s conflicts, yet its public diplomacy operation has repeatedly struggled to keep pace in recent years. The battle for global public opinion has often appeared disorganized, a problem reflected not only in the fallout surrounding NAZA. For long periods, no single figure was in charge of Israel’s public diplomacy effort, the system did not operate with a unified line, and responses to controversies sweeping through the international media often arrived only after a narrative had already taken hold. Since the outbreak of the war following the October 7 massacre, Israel has faced an intense battle over international perceptions. Yet for extended periods, there was no single figure leading the country’s public diplomacy operation, while serious allegations against Israel were sometimes left unanswered or addressed only after they had already spread widely. The position of head of the National Public Diplomacy Directorate remained vacant for nearly two years. Only in April 2026 did the government approve the appointment of former Israeli ambassador to Britain Tzipi Hotovely. In July, Doron Spielman was appointed the directorate’s international spokesperson, a position that had not previously existed in that form. The ministry was dismantled, public diplomacy left without a clear address The story of Israel’s public diplomacy apparatus began before the war. At the start of 2023, a separate Public Diplomacy Ministry was established for Likud lawmaker Galit Distel Atbaryan, alongside the National Public Diplomacy Directorate already operating within the Prime Minister’s Office. The directorate itself had no permanent chief until August that year, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chose Moshe “Moshik” Aviv for the post and the Cabinet approved the appointment days later. The Public Diplomacy Ministry headed by Distel Atbaryan quickly ran into difficulties. She complained repeatedly that it lacked authority and even basic equipment, saying at one point that she was uploading videos from her spokesman’s phone because the ministry lacked the resources it needed and was forced to improvise. In the hours after the October 7 massacre, she said she wanted to engage in public diplomacy but did not know what she was permitted to say under military censorship rules. With the outbreak of the war, then-IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari became one of the most prominent Israeli figures communicating with audiences at home and abroad. Through frequent briefings and material released by the military, including battlefield footage and intelligence, Hagari provided updates on IDF operations and presented Israel’s account of the circumstances that led to the war and its military objectives. But changes to the structure of Israel’s public diplomacy operation began almost immediately. On October 13, 2023, Distel Atbaryan announced her resignation after responsibility for Israel’s international public diplomacy efforts was transferred to the Diaspora Affairs Ministry alongside the Foreign Ministry’s existing work, and her ministry was subsequently dismantled. Explaining her decision at the time, Distel Atbaryan said: “There is already a highly capable minister responsible for national resilience, there is the Home Front Command, and there are civilian organizations doing sacred work. And if I am being honest, I can no longer find any justification for this duplication of authority. Running a government ministry is expensive, and the people of Israel need every shekel.” She added: “When I see the Public Diplomacy Ministry stripped of the powers it was originally given, I have no choice but to honestly admit that every day it continues operating from this point on constitutes a waste of public funds. Under the current circumstances, this ministry cannot make a significant contribution to the country, and the good of the country is more important to me than anything else. For all these reasons, I have decided to resign as public diplomacy minister.” About 10 days later, on October 22, the government approved the ministry’s closure and transferred its 23.8 million shekel budget to the Tekuma Authority, established to rehabilitate Gaza border communities devastated in the October 7 attack. Twenty-nine positions from the ministry were also transferred to the rehabilitation authority. Foreign-language spokespeople instead of a structured system As the government tried to reorganize the operation, the Prime Minister’s Office recruited three spokespeople for the foreign media on October 24: Mark Regev, a former Israeli ambassador to Britain who had previously served as Netanyahu’s foreign-media spokesman; journalist Tal Heinrich; and British-born Eylon Levy, an Oxford and Cambridge graduate who became one of Israel’s most recognizable English-language voices online. But difficulties persisted inside the government system. On November 14, 2023, a Knesset hearing addressed the suspension of funding for the Foreign Ministry’s overseas public diplomacy efforts. Zeev Elkin, then chairman of the Knesset subcommittee dealing with foreign policy and public diplomacy, said it was “unthinkable that in the middle of a war, the Foreign Ministry’s ongoing public diplomacy operation is shut down because of a lack of funding.” A Finance Ministry representative said money had been allocated but had not yet received final approval. In December, the Knesset Finance Committee discussed increased funding for the Settlement Ministry and the National Public Diplomacy Directorate in the Prime Minister’s Office. A Finance Ministry representative said the directorate would receive an additional 40 million shekels. The discussion also included a monthly cost of 200,000 shekels for operating a television studio under Yossi Shelley, as well as 15 million shekels for a hostage administration that had yet to be established at the time. On March 31, 2024, Eylon Levy announced the end of his tenure as an English-language government spokesman. He had been suspended several weeks earlier after posting on X in response to then-British Foreign Secretary David Cameron. The post prompted a complaint from Britain and a request for clarification over whether Levy’s remarks represented the Israeli government’s position. It was not the only controversy during his tenure; Ynet also reported that he had auditioned for Israel’s Dancing with the Stars after the war began. Two months later, in May 2024, Aviv resigned as head of the National Public Diplomacy Directorate after roughly 10 months in the role. He had entered the job shortly before the war after previously overseeing state ceremonies and public diplomacy programs, and had not previously headed Israel’s national communications operation. His departure left the directorate without a permanent chief for an extended period. Only on April 26, 2026, after nearly two years without a permanent head, did the government unanimously approve Netanyahu’s decision to appoint Hotovely to lead the National Public Diplomacy Directorate in the Prime Minister’s Office. Hotovely had previously served as settlement affairs minister, diaspora affairs minister, deputy foreign minister and Israel’s ambassador to Britain. She entered the post on May 5. On July 1, Doron Spielman, 53, was appointed international spokesperson for the National Public Diplomacy Directorate. Formally, the position sits within the Prime Minister’s Office communications structure. Spielman had previously served as an IDF reserve spokesman to the foreign media with the rank of major during the war. No clear communications line The question, however, is not only who leads the National Public Diplomacy Directorate, but who sets Israel’s communications line in real time. Within the security establishment, no single figure has consistently filled the role of a dominant public communicator in recent years. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, who took office during the war, rarely appears in the media or addresses the public regularly in Hebrew or English. IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin has also maintained a lower public profile than Hagari did during the early stages of the war. More significantly, the gap between the speed at which events unfold and the pace of the Israeli response has been evident in several major controversies during the war, including the death of Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, the killing of World Central Kitchen aid workers and investigations alleging disproportionate use of force by Israel. In early 2024, six-year-old Hind Rajab became one of the most recognizable symbols of civilian suffering in Gaza. For days, her fate was unknown after she spoke by telephone with rescue workers and pleaded with them to reach the vehicle in which she was trapped. During the call, she said: “They’re shooting at us. There’s a tank in front of me.” Her body was later found in the car, along with members of her family. The bodies of two Palestinian Red Crescent paramedics dispatched to rescue her were found nearby. The story received extensive coverage from international media outlets, including the BBC, The New York Times, international news agencies and Britain’s Guardian, which led its report on the discovery of her body with words from her call with rescuers: “I’m so scared.” Israel’s initial response included the assertion that Israeli forces had not been present near the vehicle at the relevant time. The case was later subjected to further military review. In August 2026, the IDF acknowledged that Israeli troops had fired on the vehicle carrying Rajab and her family and ordered a criminal investigation over alleged failures surrounding the coordination of the Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance sent to rescue her. From a public diplomacy perspective, however, the damage had already been done. The emotional impact of the recordings of the child, combined with the gap between the initial Israeli account and later findings, made it harder for Israel to present a consistent and credible message in real time. Another major incident occurred on April 1, 2024, when seven World Central Kitchen aid workers were killed in central Gaza after an Israeli drone struck their convoy. The dead included citizens of Australia, Britain and Poland, a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen and a Palestinian employee. The strike triggered an international uproar. Images of the damaged vehicles, together with the fact that the victims were humanitarian workers and citizens of countries friendly to Israel, prompted harsh condemnation from Western leaders and heavy diplomatic pressure. Then-U.S. President Joe Biden demanded that Israel take action following the incident. A year later, another example emerged of the gap between the pace of reporting and the Israeli response. In June 2025, Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera, citing Palestinian sources, reported dozens of dead and wounded near a U.S.-backed aid distribution center in Rafah amid allegations that Israeli troops had opened fire. Within hours, the claims had appeared across major international media outlets. The IDF initially said it was “unaware of casualties caused by IDF fire inside the aid distribution compound” and that the matter was being examined. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said at the time that there had been no shooting at the center or in its immediate vicinity. But by then, the initial reports had already spread. The BBC reported deaths from tank fire near the aid distribution center, Sky News also reported fatalities and Reuters reported the Palestinian allegations while noting at the time that Israel had not yet responded. Israeli statements and security-camera footage later released by GHF, which showed no unusual incident inside the distribution site itself during the period shown, came only after the allegations had already received extensive global exposure. With no dominant Israeli voice responding immediately, former prime minister Naftali Bennett attacked the government’s handling of the episode. “Israel has no public diplomacy. The operation is not being managed,” Bennett wrote on X. “The global media is charging at Israel with a huge lie about a ‘massacre’ that did not happen. This is one of the government’s biggest failures in this war. The result is a diplomatic collapse and a dangerous embargo. The importance of public diplomacy cannot be overstated. The failure is simply chilling.” In another case, in May 2025, images from Gaza showing nine children from the family of Dr. Alaa al-Najjar, a pediatrician at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, also became a major element of international coverage. Images of the dead children appeared repeatedly on television and news websites around the world. As the Palestinian account received broad exposure, no prominent official Israeli spokesman appeared in the immediate aftermath to provide a counterweight or explain Israel’s position. The latest example is the controversy surrounding NAZA, the film by Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, which won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival and raises serious allegations about Israel’s conduct during the war in Gaza. Once again, critics argue, the Israeli response came late. According to Ynet’s reporting, the Israeli Embassy in Italy warned officials about the Venice screening a month in advance but was unable to prevent it. Israeli officials failed to obtain a copy beforehand and learned the full details of its content only after it was screened. The film is based on testimony from 24 anonymous Israeli soldiers and military intelligence personnel and makes serious allegations concerning Israeli targeting policy in Gaza. One of its most sensitive claims is testimony that, in one case, approval was allegedly given for a strike in which as many as 500 people could have been killed, an allegation that featured prominently in international coverage of NAZA. The IDF has categorically rejected the claim, saying: “The IDF has never planned, approved or carried out a strike in which approximately 500 civilians, or any number approaching that figure, were expected to be killed.” Israeli officials have also stressed that no independently verifiable evidence has been presented for the claim and that the anonymous source’s identity, role and knowledge of the alleged incident cannot be independently assessed. The film won the Special Jury Prize in Venice on September 12 and has since become the focus of a fierce debate in Israel and abroad. The domestic criticism of the film and its creators then became an international story in its own right. French newspaper Le Monde framed the controversy around the contrast between the film’s reception overseas and the reaction in Israel, highlighting accusations of “treason” directed at the filmmakers. The Guardian, which was involved in producing the documentary, issued a statement saying it was “deeply concerned” by what it described as an authoritarian response to NAZA in Israel. message sy0500cvtme In an interview with ynet, the US ambassador to Israel says Trump was never pushed into war with Iran, Hamas has no intention of disarming and ties between Trump and Netanyahu remain strong and solid Itamar Eichner https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/15/ByWNEAlDFfx/ByWNEAlDFfx_0_9_1280_721_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sy0500cvtme Wed, 16 Sep 2026 07:33:49 +03:00 Two objects in U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee’s Jerusalem office tell much of the story. In one corner stands a black bass guitar, the instrument he plays every Sunday with his church band. On a nearby wall hangs a map taken from a classroom in Gaza: a map of “Palestine” topped by a Kalashnikov emblem, with Israel and all its cities erased. Between those two objects, the believer’s guitar and the map of an enemy, sits the man who over the past year and a half has become one of the most openly pro-Israel American ambassadors in recent memory. When it comes to defending Israel, Huckabee does not hesitate. There is an intensity to the way he makes Israel’s case that can be difficult to find even among official Israeli spokespeople. He reaches for arguments that are not part of the standard political script: the growth of Israel’s Christian population from 34,000 in 1948 to nearly 200,000 today; Arab doctors heading departments at Hadassah Medical Center and supervising Jewish staff; and the fact that his own wife was treated by an Arab doctor and a Jewish doctor who have worked together for 20 years. “So if that’s apartheid, they’re not good at it,” he said. Appetizer and entree Asked what the United States would be prepared to do to defend Israel in a broader regional war, Huckabee turned the premise of the question on its head. “America has never defended Israel,” he said. “Not one time since 1948 has America ever put boots on the ground for Israel.” When Washington acts against Iran, he argued, it is not defending Israel but protecting its own interests. “When we are partnering against Iran, we’re not defending Israel, we’re defending the United States,” he said. “Israel is maybe the appetizer, but we’re the entree.” For nearly 50 years, he added, Tehran has been saying “death to America,” and Washington should take that threat seriously. In Huckabee’s view, the United States is not simply supporting Israel but partnering with it because that partnership also serves American interests. Asked whether Trump had been misled into believing the war with Iran would end in regime collapse, Huckabee was emphatic. “I disagree with the idea that he was nudged in or led or pushed or deceived. That simply didn’t happen.” He said he was in the White House Situation Room when the decision was made on Operation Roaring Lion. “A lot of what happened in that room I cannot disclose because it was classified. Someday maybe I’ll write a book and tell the whole story, but I don’t leak,” he said. “Nobody pushed President Trump into anything. Nobody misled him into anything.” Israel, he stressed, never pressured Trump to intervene. “He did it from his own volition.” Huckabee was more cautious about what comes next with Tehran. “I can’t predict what might happen in terms of a kinetic military activity,” he said. “It’ll be made in Washington by the president.” But he said Iran is now “the weakest that they have been probably in 47 and a half years,” both militarily and economically, and is “growing weaker.” In his view, the American definition of victory is clear: no Iranian nuclear weapon, no uranium enrichment and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, with possible limits on Tehran’s missile capabilities as well. Huckabee said Iran had expanded its missile range from 2,000 kilometers to 4,100 kilometers in a single year. “From Iran they can hit London, Paris, Berlin, Brussels, Rome, Athens. Pretty much all of Europe,” he said. “I was shocked that there was not a greater level of reaction from throughout Europe when that was evident once they hit Cyprus.” He described the relationship between Netanyahu and Trump as “still strong and solid.” The two continue to speak regularly, he said, and maintain a personal relationship built over years. Huckabee portrayed ties between Washington and Jerusalem as unusually close. “We’re partners. We work incredibly close together, more than most people will ever, ever understand.” On Israel’s approaching election, Huckabee was more guarded, particularly after earlier comments about a possible national unity government drew accusations of US interference in Israeli politics. “The US policy would be that’s a decision for the voters of Israel to make,” he said. “It’s not the US position to say this is how the government ought to look after October any more than it would be for Israel to say this is who we want you to vote for.” Whether Israelis return the current government, produce a different coalition under the same leadership or elect an entirely different government, Huckabee said the relationship will endure. “Our relationship to Israel is not built upon the next election, it’s built upon our mutual interest.” Asked how the US midterm elections could affect ties with Israel, Huckabee said: “I’d like to believe that people in America largely, mostly recognize Israel is an incredibly valuable, important strategic partner, not just an ally, but a partner.” He pointed to cooperation during Operation Roaring Lion, saying Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of US Central Command, had told him there had never been a US military operation with such seamless coordination. ‘Unsettlers’ Ten days earlier, Huckabee visited Turmus Ayya in the West Bank, where he used his phone to film extremist settlers who entered a Palestinian family’s property in a security vehicle while he stood at the family’s home. Huckabee said he distributed the footage widely but would not disclose Trump’s reaction. He acknowledged being surprised that the men entered the Palestinian property while his security detail and the media were present. “It was one of those things that I felt like people needed to understand,” he said. The individual, he said, “was not protecting or guarding his property. He was actually encroaching on someone else’s.” Huckabee added: “It’s perfectly legitimate to protect your own property. That’s something every person has a right to do. But what they don’t have a right to do is to go to someone else’s property and to drive around on it and to potentially intimidate or frighten people as to why you’re there.” He stressed, however, that he does not attribute such acts to settlers as a whole. “I have never attributed all of these actions to settlers,” he said. “In fact, I say they’re not settlers, they’re unsettlers.” Many of those involved, he added, do not live in the West Bank at all. Huckabee said he remains convinced that “probably 99.9%” of residents of West Bank settlements are responsible people. “People have built beautiful communities,” he said, citing Ma’ale Adumim and Efrat. “They’re just wonderful places where people live and they just want to raise their families.” He also criticized international media coverage that, in his view, too quickly labels anything that happens in the West Bank as “extreme settler violence.” “It’s not accurate,” he said, adding that such coverage unfairly “besmirches” the people who live there. On cases involving American citizens harmed in the West Bank, Huckabee acknowledged the limits of Washington’s authority. “We are guests in a foreign country,” he said. “The US government does not have the authority to investigate criminal activity or adjudicate criminal activity.” What Washington can do, he said, is exert influence, draw attention to cases and demand investigations and consequences. He cited one case in which an investigation was complicated because a Palestinian family declined, on religious grounds, to allow an autopsy. “I respect that may have been on religious grounds,” he said. “But the failure to have a forensic autopsy makes the investigation very challenging.” The Hamas challenge Huckabee rejected calls by Israeli ministers to encourage mass migration from Gaza, but he was equally critical of efforts to prevent Gazans who want to leave from doing so. “I know of no one in a position of genuine authority who is for the forced displacement of anyone in Gaza,” he said. “But I also find it incredible that some people seem to be in favor of forcing people to stay in Gaza who would like to leave. Why would there be such a desire to imprison people and to hold them hostage in a place that they no longer wish to live?” Huckabee said he had heard both Netanyahu and Trump address the issue directly. “Everyone that I have heard, from the prime minister to the president, has been crystal clear: no one’s going to be forced to leave. But neither should anyone be forced to remain who would like to leave and start a new life somewhere else.” On Hamas disarmament, Huckabee was categorical. Since the October 2025 ceasefire, he said, Hamas has not surrendered a single weapon. “Not one gun, not one bullet, not one bomb, not one rocket.” He added: “They have no intention of voluntarily doing it. At least they haven’t given any demonstration of it.” At the same time, Huckabee pointed to what he described as progress on the humanitarian front: 600 to 700 trucks carrying humanitarian and medical assistance entering Gaza every day, one million doses of polio vaccine supplied to Gaza, and a population he said had grown by 4% annually. “How do you commit genocide when you’re sending 700 trucks of supplies and food in?” he asked. “Israel deserves credit for ensuring that happens. They don’t get the credit. They’re accused of genocide.” Huckabee also addressed talks in which he is involved over a new US-Israel security memorandum of understanding expected to take effect in 2028. The next agreement, he said, is already being developed, after Netanyahu proposed rethinking the structure of US financial assistance, much of which ultimately returns to the United States through Israeli purchases of American military equipment. The chemist and the pharmacist Asked about the sharp decline in support for Israel among Americans, Huckabee said he believes much of it stems from misinformation. “I think most of it is misinformation, because I would ask myself, what are they critical of?” He rejected accusations of apartheid, pointing to Israel’s Arab population and Arab participation in public life. “Twenty percent of the population is Arab. Arabs serve in the Knesset. Arabs sometimes are the CEO of the largest bank in Israel. Arabs are on the Supreme Court. Arabs serve in the military,” he said. “They vote, so it’s nonsense.” On hostility toward Christians in Israel, Huckabee said: “I live here. I’ve been coming here for 53 years. I’m a Christian. I’ve never been heckled. I’ve never been spat upon.” He acknowledged isolated incidents but said they should not be used to characterize an entire country. “You cannot blame a country of 10 million people for the actions of a very small minority of thugs who do terrible things,” he said, adding that such incidents are widely condemned in Israel. On possible normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Huckabee said “only the Saudis can answer that,” but expressed hope that Riyadh would look to the United Arab Emirates and the benefits it has gained through the Abraham Accords. He cited “increased trade, increased tourism, decreased hostilities, better educational environment for everyone” and greater acceptance and tolerance. “A person can walk around Abu Dhabi, Dubai wearing a yarmulke and nobody’s going to attack them or even scream at them,” he said. “I think they’re the gold standard.” Asked whether he supports a two-state solution included in Trump’s 20-point plan, Huckabee answered cautiously. “It’s a great question, but it’s not one that I have the solid answer to because I don’t get to make the policy that determines it,” he said. “When the president makes a firm decision about that, I’ll let you know.” He then pointed to what he described as a long history of Palestinian leaders rejecting Israeli peace offers. In Huckabee’s view, opportunities dating back to Yasser Arafat were repeatedly turned down. Asked whether he could ever be required, as ambassador, to deliver a message to the Israeli government that he personally disagreed with, Huckabee did not hesitate. “Sure, that’s part of being an ambassador. You don’t make the policy, you carry it out.” He illustrated the point with an analogy. “I’m not the chemist. I don’t get to make the medicine and concoct the formula. I’m the pharmacist. I take the medicine that I’m given and I dispense it,” he said. “If I’m given an instruction by my president to deliver a message, it’s not my job to argue with the president or to agree or disagree. It’s my job to carry out what I’m here to do.” That led to the question of what Trump would do if Israel faced a genuine existential threat, even at the cost of direct confrontation with Iran or another major power. “That’s a loaded question,” Huckabee said with a smile. “I can only answer if it was in America’s best interest, the president would act. But that’s what he’s required to do.” He said Trump had already made that calculation twice during Huckabee’s tenure, first by sending B-2 bombers against Iran and then during Operation Roaring Lion. “He didn’t do that because Israel was over here begging, saying, ‘Please help us, we can’t handle it,’” Huckabee said. “Israel never begged anything. Israel never pushed President Trump into engaging. He did it from his own volition.” “He did it because he sees Iran as a threat to America and to Americans,” Huckabee said, adding that Trump is also mindful of the roughly 700,000 American citizens living in Israel. message sk0cmypffg Air Force Secretary Troy Meink says the Space Force has placed 'space control weapons' in orbit to deter rivals, prompting China and Russia to accuse Washington of fueling an arms race and call for space to remain weapon-free ynet, news agencies https://ynet-pic1.yit.co.il/picserver6/crop_images/2026/09/15/B1v4oAUtzl/B1v4oAUtzl_0_0_1000_563_0_small.jpg https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sk0cmypffg Wed, 16 Sep 2026 05:19:28 +03:00 The United States has disclosed for the first time that it has deployed weapons in space. The revelation came Monday from U.S. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink, who said the U.S. military’s Space Force has placed “space control weapons” in orbit around Earth, but declined to elaborate on the nature of the weapons or even say exactly when they were launched. Meink, speaking at an air, space and cyber conference in Maryland, made clear that the purpose of the disclosure was to deter U.S. rivals amid a growing race with Russia and China to weaponize space. Both countries are believed to be developing offensive satellites capable of disabling other critical satellites in the event of a direct confrontation between the powers. “Today, we continue to ensure we remain ready to meet the challenge of evolving threats — wherever they exist,” Meink said in his opening remarks at the conference. “This is why the Space Force now has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the joint force against hostile adversary action.” Later, in an interview at the conference, he said the announcement had been carefully considered, adding that maintaining U.S. superiority “not just in the air but also in space” is critical. “That is why we had to take steps aimed at ensuring that if we are under threat, we can deal with it,” he explained. Meink declined to detail the capabilities of the new weapon deployed in space, including whether it is kinetic or non-kinetic. He said that, while the disclosure was intended to create deterrence, revealing the specific capabilities could undermine that goal. “We’re not going to talk about the specifics of what we’re doing, what we’ve tested, what we haven’t tested, or anything else. I would just say that the space environment is critical for military and economic security, and we need to make sure that the U.S. can operate freely there,” he said. A U.S. Space Force spokesman said the term “space control,” which Meink used to describe the new orbital weapon, “includes the mission areas necessary to compete and control in the space domain — using kinetic and non-kinetic means to affect an adversary’s capabilities through disruption, degradation and even destruction, if required. These capabilities can be employed for offensive and defensive purposes, in accordance with command guidance.” The U.S. disclosure comes amid an intensifying race in recent years among the major powers to develop offensive capabilities in space, with particular focus on the ability to disable satellites in a future conflict. Such disruption could damage critical enemy capabilities, including communications, navigation and intelligence gathering. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty prohibits the placement of nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in orbit around Earth, but does not ban other types of weapons. The United States, Russia, China and India all have demonstrated the ability to shoot down satellites using missiles launched from the ground. In recent years, however, concern has grown in Washington that both China and Russia are developing offensive satellites capable, among other things, of attacking an adversary’s satellite systems. Satellites can be disrupted kinetically — for example, by one satellite launching a weapon at another that explodes or collides with it and causes physical damage. But this method is considered particularly dangerous because it creates large amounts of debris in orbit that can pose a serious threat to other satellites and spacecraft as well. Disruption also can be carried out through non-kinetic methods, such as electronic jamming of the kind now widely used on the ground to bring down drones. According to the BBC, it emerged in February that two Russian satellites had apparently succeeded in intercepting communications from at least a dozen European satellites since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022. The British broadcaster noted that the ability to intercept satellite transmissions could allow Russian intelligence services not only to obtain sensitive information but, in theory, to take control of the satellites themselves. Against this backdrop, President Donald Trump ordered the creation of a new military branch, the U.S. Space Force, in 2019. Its mission initially was defined as protecting U.S. assets in space, including the hundreds of satellites used by Washington and its forces for communications and intelligence. After returning to the White House last year, however, Trump signed an order defining the Space Force’s mission as not only defensive but offensive as well. Trump also is currently advancing development of the “Golden Dome” missile defense system, which is intended to intercept threats from space as well, including through interceptors stationed in orbit around Earth. At Monday’s conference, Meink also addressed the development of Golden Dome, saying that in just one year the program had advanced from initial contracts to “hardware ready.” He said the program, which now includes several companies competing to deploy interception capabilities in space, could yield an initial operational capability beginning in 2028. China and Russia both reacted angrily Tuesday to the U.S. disclosure and called on Washington to avoid an arms race in space, although both countries have themselves been accused of developing offensive capabilities in orbit. “We call on the U.S. side to stop expanding its military capabilities and preparing for war in space,” China’s Foreign Ministry said, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov argued that “we believe space must remain free of any type of weapon.” The spokesman for President Vladimir Putin added: “We expect broad international support for continued efforts toward the complete demilitarization of space.” In this context, it is worth recalling that, according to U.S. officials, Russia launched a satellite in 2022 that tested components related to an anti-satellite weapon — a kind of “prototype” for a satellite that has not yet been launched and which Washington fears could use a nuclear weapon to disable satellite constellations such as SpaceX’s Starlink. message