Monday, October 26, 2026

10/26 Links Pt1: Israel’s moment of truth: Knesset election pivotal to future US-Israel relationship; Israel Is Just the Pretext, The Real Target is the West; UN commission accuses Israel of war crimes in West Bank

From Ian:

Jonathan Tobin: Liberal Jewish insecurity doesn’t come from Israeli policies
For years, liberal American Jews have sought to find a pretext to justify injecting themselves into Israeli election contests, in which those who share their blind faith in reviving the failed “two-state solution” myth have consistently been defeated. Some, like the left-wing J Street lobby, make no bones about their desire to override the verdict of Israeli democracy and to repeat the catastrophic mistake made in 2005 by the late Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon when he withdrew from the Gaza Strip. They seek that for the far larger and more strategic “West Bank.”

As far as Gaza is concerned, that not only led to the creation of a Hamas terrorist state, but set in motion the events that would lead to the horrors of Oct. 7, 2023, as much as the miscalculations of the Israeli military, intelligence and political establishment.

It is entirely true that both Israeli and Diaspora Jews should recognize the need to care about and defend each other, despite the fact that—aspirational rhetoric about Jewish unity notwithstanding—they don’t understand or really know that much about each other.

But the notion that “bad” nationalistic and religious Jews in Israel are embarrassing and hurting “good” liberal American Jews dedicated to coexistence is a misnomer. Whatever you may think of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and those who support the current government, their primary responsibility is to defend a still besieged and beleaguered Jewish state. It’s not to make suicidal concessions to opponents who don’t want peace just so American Jews can feel better about themselves.

Diaspora Jews have every right to express their opinions about Israeli politics and policies, albeit while also showing a little humility about the fact that the Israelis are doing the fighting and dying required to ensure their nation’s survival.

American responsibilities
Instead of second-guessing their brethren, American Jews should realize that their role in the battle against international antisemitism is not to stand on the sidelines kibitzing about Israelis doing wrong. It’s to speak up and defend their own communities from people like El-Sayed, Uygur and Piker, as well as institutions that tolerate and encourage the hatred and bigotry that results in violence against them, not to mention targeting their children on college campuses.

A more realistic and productive approach to “shared responsibility” is not for liberal Jewish denominations to pat themselves on the back for not joining in antisemitic boycotts of Israel promoted by the left. Nor is it to prepare to help Democrats or even those Republicans who are hostile to the Jewish state to override Israeli voters if they don’t cast their ballots the way they want them to.

Rather, it is to deploy all of their energy and strength in confronting a growing antisemitic movement on their own front door. If they were truly interested in shouldering their responsibility to defend Jews, then they would be holding accountable those groups and politicians who prioritize partisan goals over Jewish security and well-being, betraying their constituents by supporting El-Sayed.

The failure of liberal advocacy and faith groups to mobilize against the rise of antisemitic politicians like El-Sayed, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and their “progressive” allies is evidence of their inability to focus on what truly matters. That moral bankruptcy gives the lie to the high-minded rhetoric they deploy when bashing Israelis who don’t conform to their notions of how Jews are supposed to behave when attacked.

As they’ve made clear over and over again, these enemies of the Jews make no distinctions between the “good” Israelis that Jewish liberals root for and the “bad” ones like Netanyahu and his allies. Their complaint isn’t really about what Israel does but what it is: a Jewish state in the Middle East. And that intolerance for Jewish sovereignty and power is what is also motivating the post-Oct. 7 surge of antisemitism Americans have experienced.

If liberal denominations and their supporters want to exercise responsibility for the Jewish future, they’d stop trying to second-guess Israelis and concentrate their minds on opposing the haters around them. If they don’t, their failings will be their own fault, not that of the Israelis.
Bassam Tawil: Israel Is Just the Pretext, The Real Target is the West
Why should anyone expect peace between the Palestinians and Israel while Palestinian leaders glorify terrorism and armed groups continue to attack Israelis?

Above all, how can there ever be peace in the Middle East if the Iranian regime is standing on its feet and supporting the jihad (holy war) to destroy Israel?

[A] central obstacle to peace: the continuing willingness of Palestinians to celebrate violence against Israelis while presenting terrorism as supposedly legitimate national resistance.

This central obstacle is not all that different from what we are seeing this month in France, as well as Belgium, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Albania and even South Korea, where there virtually are no Palestinians or Jews.

Israel is just the pretext. If you think that a Palestinian state, or an election defeat of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, or even the disappearance of Israel itself — would solve anything, you would be wrong. What the West is up against is the desire of Muslim extremists, with a leg-up from Marxists, to overthrow the "corrupt" West and replace it with Islamic Sharia law and eventually global caliphate. Only after this transformation will the world have the "peace" part of the "Religion of Peace." Until then, as the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, vowed, "there will be struggle" (lit. jihad).

These statements, coming from terrorist groups backed by the Iranian regime, reveal a political culture in which murdering Jews is not merely celebrated as an achievement and the terrorists are elevated as national heroes — the same wish holds true for all "infidels" wherever they are.

The October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre demonstrated the devastating consequences of an extremist Islamist ideology that treats people of other religions, in this instance Jews, as a legitimate target. In Nigeria, Islamists treat Christians as legitimate targets. In India, they treat Hindus as a legitimate target. In France and the West, they treat democratic governance as a legitimate target. It is the same war. A few clearly terrified leaders in the West — in France, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Portugal and Spain — might think that if there were a Palestinian state, it might keep the mob quiet for a while. Yes, until breakfast. That is also why US President Donald Trump should not make a "deal" with the rulers of Iran.

Hamas and other likeminded jihadists have no problem murdering civilians — whether in the US on 9/11, the London transit system, the Barcelona and Madrid attacks, Paris's Bataclan Theater, Nice on Bastille Day, German Christmas Markets, the Manchester concert or anywhere else. They are convinced they will be rewarded for it, not just by European politicians in this life, but by Allah in the next — so that no matter how many babies or elderly people they kill torture or mutilate, it is all good.

Iran's regime has recently slaughtered more than 36,500 of its own citizens, and continues to kill — so why should they care if they inflict the same horrors on anyone else?

Palestinian factions such as Hamas and PIJ, like the protesters throughout the West, continue to regard violence as a source of pride and a means of advancing their primary objective — in Israel, the elimination of the "Zionist entity" (Israel), and in the rest of the world, overthrowing man-made (as opposed to Allah-made) infidel democracies.

The silence of the Palestinian Authority — and other Arab and Muslim leaders — is also significant. No public statements condemning the Hebron attack have been issued by Palestinian leaders or representatives or any other Muslim world leader. They object only when it is their territory that is being bombed — which it often is by other Muslims.
Why does Moody’s rate France above Israel? The economic gap deserves scrutiny
Moody’s decision to keep France’s credit rating well above Israel’s raises a question: How much weight does the agency put on each country’s economic performance?

The US-based credit rating agency affirmed France’s sovereign rating at Aa3 over the weekend. Israel remains at Baa1, four notches lower. Both ratings are investment grade, meaning they fall within the categories generally considered suitable for mainstream institutional investment. The difference nevertheless signals that Moody’s considers lending to France substantially safer.

Sovereign credit ratings assess a government’s ability and willingness to repay its debt. They can influence borrowing costs and determine which investors are permitted to buy a country’s bonds.

Such assessments necessarily extend beyond a comparison of growth and debt figures. War, political stability, institutions, and access to financing all matter. Even so, the contrast between the French and Israeli economies deserves closer scrutiny.

Moody’s first downgraded Israel from A1 to A2 in February 2024, roughly four months after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack triggered the war in Gaza. In September 2024, it cut Israel’s rating another two notches to Baa1, where it has remained.

Israel’s economy has nevertheless demonstrated considerable resilience, acknowledged in assessments by the International Monetary Fund, the international institution that monitors economies and provides financial assistance to member countries.

France, meanwhile, has struggled with weak growth, substantial budget deficits, and political resistance to efforts to repair its public finances. Protests and unrest have added to the pressure on its government.

The question is whether the size of the ratings gap adequately reflects those competing realities.

A substantial gap in growth, debt
Consider economic output per person, a widely used measure of a country’s average prosperity.

According to the IMF figures cited here, Israel’s nominal GDP per capita is expected to reach approximately $72,400 in 2026, compared with about $51,400 in France. These figures measure output in current US dollars and are influenced by exchange rates; they do not directly measure household income or purchasing power.

The growth forecasts also differ sharply. The IMF projects Israeli economic growth of approximately 4.5% this year, while the Bank of Israel, the country’s central bank, forecasts 5.6%.

France’s economy is expected to expand by approximately 0.4%, according to both the IMF and the Banque de France, the French central bank.


Israel’s moment of truth: Knesset election pivotal to future US-Israel relationship
America’s enemies – namely the Axis of Aggressors, consisting of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea – are engaged in unprecedented cooperation. Our foes understand the value of partnerships.

America needs partners, too, especially capable and motivated partners like Israel. We need Israel’s muscles in the Middle East so we can focus more on deterring and defeating aggression by Beijing, Moscow, or Pyongyang. Americans also benefit from Israel’s defense-technology expertise and defense-acquisition agility, which can help ensure American warfighters wield the best weapons.

But we are witnessing a sad paradox with Israel. On one hand, Israel has demonstrated that it is the most powerful military in the Middle East, worthy of closer cooperation with the United States. Israel has battled back and gained the upper hand in a regional war that it neither started nor wanted. And yet, in the United States, Israel is more unpopular than it has been in years. This is clear in recent polls from Pew, Gallup, and the Ronald Reagan Institute.

This is a strategic liability for Israel. A steep decline in approval could lead the next Congress and US administration to adopt policies that undermine our bilateral relationship, including defense cooperation. That would materially damage the security of both the US and Israel.

Some in Israel may respond by shrugging and saying, “Fine, Israel will just become independent and self-sufficient in its defense production and arm itself.”

But that is not possible. Israel is heavily reliant on major American-made platforms and will remain so for decades.

True defense production independence doesn’t just require assembly lines in Israel. It also requires suppliers and raw materials in Israel. Many of the inputs for Israeli-produced weapons are imported, meaning a hostile administration could try to block them.

Israel’s enemies are actively working to drive a wedge between Washington and Jerusalem. The goal is to slowly but surely deprive Israel of the means to defend itself. Unfortunately, those enemies are capitalizing on some Israeli unforced errors.

It is certainly true that some of the withering criticism of Israel will continue regardless of the country’s policies. It is also true that enemies are increasingly well-organized and funded, and they are conducting information warfare against the United States and Israel.

But explaining the negative shift in opinion in America solely through those dynamics is simply unrealistic. Such efforts ignore the agency of the Israeli government and encourage a dangerous apathy in terms of undertaking necessary reforms. The rule of law and the distinction between combatant and noncombatant are a primary difference between defenders of Western civilization and the terrorists who murdered innocents on September 11, 2001, and October 7, 2023.

US-Israel security cooperation needed more than ever
As threats to Americans grow, we need US-Israel security cooperation more than ever. And Israel needs continued American diplomatic and defense cooperation. But this could prove difficult if some Israeli policies continue.

Battles against the terrorist regime in Iran and its proxies will continue, as will the fight against disinformation and blind hate that unfairly targets Israel. But that does not absolve Israel from making some crucial decisions about its own conduct. The fate of the US-Israel alliance could hang in the balance.
Jake Wallis Simons: Israel’s existential election
This is indeed an existential election, but not for the reasons the West thinks. In Britain, the assumption is that Netanyahu’s crime lies in his supposed disregard for civilians as he conducted the war in Gaza. In Israel, his critics generally argue the opposite: that he moved too slowly, stopped too soon and left the job unfinished. Eisenkot’s charge on Iran is that Netanyahu failed to destroy its nuclear programme. After Hamas’s pogrom, nobody serious is offering Israelis a dovish future. As for the two-state solution that has become an article of faith in the West, it is clearly not going to happen any time soon – not only have the Palestinians rejected it repeatedly in favour of terror, but, well, 7 October.

No, the real danger for Israel is domestic, and it lies less with Netanyahu himself than with the people on whom his power would once again rest. Because the parties of the centre and left refuse to sit with him, a Netanyahu victory would leave him dependent, as before, on Ben-Gvir, Smotrich and the ultra-Orthodox parties. That would very likely mean more violence on the West Bank. There would still be no conscription for the ultra-Orthodox, whose refusal to serve while other people’s sons die in Gaza and Lebanon is, in my view, an offence against the state. There would be a renewed attempt to neuter the Supreme Court, the same body that has just restored the Arab parties to the ballot. We would see an acceleration of a creeping theocratic culture and more of the anti-Arab racism that has crept into the mainstream since the war.

For those reasons, it may very well be best for Israel’s future if Netanyahu loses tomorrow. As I have long argued, Israel should be treated as a normal country with normal faults, criticised where it deserves it and defended where it does not. And that means judging it by the standards of Western democracies – consider Britain’s past conduct in wartime! – not by the standards of the region in which it sits.

That, in the end, is the point the ‘apartheid’ crowd will never grasp. Israeli voters are concerned about coalition arithmetic, court reform, conscription and the treatment of its Arab minority, and its Arab citizens may decide the outcome of this fiercely contested national election tomorrow. In the West Bank, Gaza and the surrounding region, meanwhile, nobody gets to decide anything at all.

Israel is a democracy in trauma, flawed and frightened, but a democracy all the same. For all its faults, far from being the worst country in the Middle East, it is the best.
Commentary Podcast: Electoral Collage
We are back on this Monday to discuss tomorrow's Israeli election and next week's midterm election in the US, and whether other international electoral trends will come into play in both after Lula's victory in the Brazilian election, and a series of violent riots in European cities. Plus, the comments by Obama and Elissa Slotkin, Abdul El-Sayed's confrontation with Bret Baier, Ilhan Omar's new ad, fake polling firms, the Young Turks recycle their old antisemitic ad, and John recommends The Imaginary Invalid on Broadway.


Call Me Back Podcast: Live from NY: The Mother of Israeli Elections - Dan Shapiro, Bret Stephens & Dr. Dahlia Scheindlin
Israel’s election is days away, but the country’s political future is anything but clear. Is Netanyahu the problem—or is something deeper changing in Israeli society? And when it comes to Israel’s standing in the world, security, and the relationship with the United States, do the country’s leaders and voters even agree on what matters most?

Dan Senor is joined by a three-guest live panel from the Streicker Center at Temple Emanuel in New York City: (1) former U.S. ambassador Dan Shapiro, now with the Atlantic Council, (2) Israeli pollster and Haaretz columnist, Dahlia Scheindlin–and (3) New York Times columnist and editor-in-chief of the journal Sapir, Bret Stephens. Their conversation addresses the big electoral choices facing Israel—and the divides that may outlast the election.


MEPs Demand EU Answers on UNRWA's Claimed Reform Following UN Watch Investigation
Thirteen members of the European Parliament have submitted an official parliamentary question to the European Commission, citing a recent UN Watch investigation that refuted UNRWA's claims of implementing reforms to address terrorism, antisemitism and incitement within the UN agency.

The parliamentary challenge, led by Swedish MEP Alice Teodorescu Måwe and co-signed by 12 other EU lawmakers, demands that the Commission explain how it verifies UNRWA's claims of reform and whether future EU funding will be conditioned on independently verified progress.

The parliamentary question, numbered E-004153/2026 and submitted on October 13, forms part of the European Parliament's public record. Under Rule 144, the European Commission is required to provide a written answer within six weeks of receiving the question. Both the question and the Commission's response are published publicly.

The lawmakers cite UN Watch's recent report on UNRWA's implementation of the 50 recommendations issued in April 2024 by an independent review led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna.

Although UNRWA claimed this summer to have implemented 41 of the 50 recommendations, UN Watch's investigation found that many purported reforms existed largely on paper, while serious problems involving staff neutrality, terrorist affiliations, educational incitement and internal accountability remained unresolved.

“The European Commission must act when UNRWA misleads about reforms,” Teodorescu Måwe wrote on X, announcing the parliamentary initiative.

“UNRWA claimed that 41 of these 50 recommendations had been implemented, but UN Watch's review provides clear evidence to the contrary.”

Teodorescu Måwe said she and her 12 colleagues were demanding answers on whether the Commission would rely on objective, independent sources rather than UNRWA's own reports when assessing its claimed progress.

The parliamentary question asks the Commission to address three issues: how it assesses UN Watch's findings; what independent evidence it uses to verify implementation of the Colonna recommendations; and whether it will consider conditioning or suspending future funding when reforms cannot be independently demonstrated.

New Evidence Raises Questions About UNRWA Reform
The parliamentary initiative comes amid continuing revelations about UNRWA personnel and educational practices.

In June, UNRWA announced that it had terminated the employment of 70 Hamas-linked staff members in Gaza, citing operational safety and security concerns. An additional 1,500 UNRWA staff members remain under investigation by USAID for ties to terror organizations.

Just days ago, a new video emerged from within Gaza featuring an UNRWA teacher who described her colleagues “aggressively pushing” ideologies of killing and violence onto their students. Her testimony raises fresh concerns about whether the agency's promised educational reforms have taken effect in classrooms.

“UNRWA cannot claim to have solved its neutrality problem simply by rewriting policies while evidence of terrorist affiliations and incitement continues to emerge,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch.

“European taxpayers deserve accountability. The Commission must not confuse the adoption of new policies with their actual implementation. UNRWA cannot demonstrate that it has eliminated terrorist infiltration and incitement from its operations. The EU and its member states must end their financial support for an agency the foments war and terror.”


UN commission accuses Israel of war crimes in West Bank
The Foreign Affairs Ministry on Monday called the report from a United Nations commission accusing Israel of genocide a "propaganda document detached from reality, aimed at undermining Israel’s right to self-defense, delegitimizing the Jewish state, and legitimizing jihadist terrorism against its citizens."

The UN commission released a report Monday accusing Israel of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in the West Bank and Gaza.

The report also mentioned wrongdoings by the Palestinian Authority, claiming that it had pushed for arbitrary arrests, detention, torture and the targeting of journalists, activists and human rights defenders.

In contrast, Hamas is named exactly twice, and neither mention accused Hamas of committing a crime or other wrongdoing.

The UN reported an increase in the number of Palestinian deaths in the West Bank, with almost 500 Palestinians killed annually in the West Bank since 2022, which were the highest numbers recorded since the UN started collecting data on the topic in 2005.

The report also claimed that Israel is continuing to commit “genocidal acts” with the “intent to destroy the Palestinian people, in whole or in part” in spite of a ceasefire agreement that went into effect in October 2025.

The report focused on Palestinian casualties in the West Bank due to Israeli military action and settler violence, as well as analysis of elected MKs and senior military officials.

“The intentional killing and injuring of Palestinian civilians and destruction of homes in the West Bank combined with Israel’s persistent denial of responsibility form part of a broader strategy to exterminate and displace Palestinians and impose conditions of life that are unliveable,” said Srinivasan Muralidhar, an Indian jurist who currently serves as the chair of the Commission of Inquiry.

Report cites increase in West Bank airstrike deaths
The Commission reported a sharp increase in Palestinian deaths caused by airstrikes in the West Bank since October 7, 2023. Six Palestinians were killed by airstrikes between 2008 and October 6, 2023, compared with 254 between October 7, 2023, and September 30, 2026, according to the commission’s findings.

It said airstrikes had become more frequent following the launch of Operation Iron Wall in January 2025, particularly in refugee camps and areas around Jenin, Tulkarm, Tubas and Nablus.

The Commission described the operation as a shift toward widespread destruction of Palestinian housing and infrastructure and the clearing of refugee camps. It cited the IDF's stated aim to “dismantle and restor[e] the operational freedom of action for IDF forces”, while reconstruction of the infrastructure is considered to be “endangering the citizens of the State of Israel and the military forces”.


‘Offers no proof’: New York Times rejects ‘mediacide’ allegations from UN’s Albanese
The New York Times on Monday rejected a report criticizing its coverage from the UN special rapporteur for the Palestinians, Francesca Albanese, calling Albanese’s allegations baseless, misleading and biased.

Albanese has a history of antisemitism and extremist rhetoric against Israel, according to her critics, while she says she is a champion for Palestinian rights and an opponent of discrimination. The New York Times has previously described her as an expert on Palestinian and legal issues.

Albanese’s report, “Truth under the rubble: media in the time of genocide,” alleged killings of Palestinian journalists, media restrictions by Israel, and collusion by “influential international media” to “legitimize atrocities.”

Albanese dubbed the “assault on truth” a “mediacide.” Albanese has previously accused Israel of “genocide,” “cultural genocide,” “domicide,” “urbicide,” “scholasticide,” “medicide” and “ecocide.”

Albanese publicized the media report online on Monday before presenting the findings to the United Nations General Assembly later in the day.

The report accused the New York Times of advising editorial caution when using terms such as “genocide”; of providing “humanitarian camouflage” to Israel via coverage of “safe zones” in Gaza; and of mentioning sexual violence against Israelis too often.

Albanese also criticized the newspaper for referring to Hamas’s use of human shields and alleged that the newspaper “downplayed Israeli responsibility” in 65 percent of “relevant headlines,” citing an analysis by an activist group.

A spokesperson for the New York Times said Albanese’s report “is not impartial, nor are the sources she relies on.”

“Fact-based journalism by the New York Times and other independent news organizations has shed critical light on the issues that Ms. Albanese is reviewing, and no pressure campaigns or biased criticism will deter us from that work,” the spokesperson told The Times of Israel.

The paper said Albanese “offers no proof” for her assertion that Israeli officials and pressure groups influenced editorial guidance.

Albanese’s criticism of the newspaper’s “safe zones” coverage is “wrong and misleading,” the spokesperson said.

“If Ms. Albanese read our coverage of ‘safe zones’ in context, rather than relying on studies with flawed methodologies, she would see that in the majority of cases, our coverage refers pointedly to ‘so-called’ safe zones,” the spokesperson said, adding that the coverage often questioned whether the areas were actually safe.

“Ms. Albanese does not present any legitimate evidence to show ‘a pattern… of attribution of civilian deaths to Hamas’s tactics rather than to Israeli military actions’ or ‘downplaying Israeli responsibility’ as her report claims,” the New York Times said.


Saudi defense pact states hold talks in Iran as Yemen’s Houthis launch more attacks
Top officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan met Iranian officials in Tehran on Monday in a bid to de-escalate the Middle East conflict, as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis launched new attacks on Saudi Arabia and Egypt approved defense support for the Gulf kingdom.

The talks were the first high-level contact between Iran and the three nations — which signed the Mecca mutual defense pact in August — since a war that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran also spread to Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry said the visit was intended to open negotiating channels to “prevent the return of military escalation.”

Saudi Arabia was represented by Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, younger brother of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman; Pakistan by army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir; and Turkey by intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, Saudi and Iranian officials said.

Iranian state media published pictures of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, attending the meeting.

Pakistan and Qatar have led mediation efforts in the war. Qatari mediators were in Tehran on Sunday, an official told Reuters.

Earlier efforts helped produce an interim peace agreement in June but fighting between Iran and the United States soon resumed.

Conflict then flared between the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels and US ally Saudi Arabia, opening a new front.


5 Palestinians said killed in Gaza strikes; IDF targets nine terror operatives
Five Palestinians were reportedly killed by Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip on Monday, with the Israeli military also saying it had killed six members of the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups in earlier attacks, as well as striking three other terror operatives who emerged from a tunnel a day prior.

The Israel Defense Forces announced on Monday that a strike in the Strip on Thursday killed Ahmed Zahir Fuad Abu-Odeh, a Hamas engineering commander; a strike on Saturday in Gaza City killed Mohammed Halawa, a Hamas intelligence commander; and another strike on Saturday killed Mohammed Anan Mohammed al-Rawagh, the commander of a cell in Hamas’s elite Nukhba Force.

Strikes across Gaza on Sunday killed Alaa Abu Zaid and Hamdan Suleiman Ibrahim Abu Amra, both Islamic Jihad operatives, and Fawzi Salam Odat Allah Sawarha, a sniper operative in Hamas, according to the military.

The IDF said the six terror operatives had been advancing attacks on troops and Israeli civilians, and acted to restore the capabilities of the two terror groups, “in systematic violation of the ceasefire,” adding that they were killed to “remove the threat they posed.”

In another strike on Sunday, the IDF said it bombed a “military structure” in northern Gaza that had been used “as a sniper position targeting our forces.”

“Immediately after identifying it, the IDF struck and destroyed the structure to remove the threat,” the military said.


IDF finds underground shaft near West Bank home of Hamas terrorist who killed two soldiers
The IDF announced on Monday that it had discovered a concealed underground shaft near the home of one of the Hamas terrorists who killed two IDF soldiers in an attack on Friday.

According to the IDF, the shaft was approximately 15 meters deep and relatively narrow. It was found near the terrorist’s home in the Hebron area of the West Bank.

While the discovery was not unprecedented, underground shafts are extremely rare in the West Bank. Underground warfare has been more commonly associated with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, where tunnels have played a significant role in military operations, than with Hamas in the West Bank, where the IDF maintains greater control and surveillance.

The discovery came after the IDF searched approximately 500 Palestinian homes and other locations throughout the West Bank, particularly in the Hebron area, as part of its efforts following Friday’s attack.

The IDF also said it had found an unidentified electronic device inside the shaft. The device was transferred to investigators for examination.

Two troops killed after terrorists with machine gun open fire in West Bank
Staff Sergeant Ron Yonatan Roytman, 23, from Ashkelon, and Sergeant Yuval Shai Svilem, 20, from Hod Hasharon, were named on Friday as the two soldiers killed in the attack.

Roytman was a squad commander, while Svilem was a combat soldier in the Ari Battalion (775) of the Search and Rescue Brigade, according to the IDF.

Both soldiers were killed in combat at the Judea Junction when two terrorists traveling in a car, armed with an M4 machine gun and a pistol, opened fire on soldiers at the scene.


Jordan strikes terrorists in Syria after church shooting
Jordan said on Monday its air force struck what it described as militant hideouts in southern Syria after determining that the suspects behind last week's deadly church attack in the kingdom were linked to "terrorist groups" operating there.

The armed forces said the operation was conducted in coordination with Damascus. There was no immediate comment from Syrian authorities. Five civilians, including women and children, were killed as a result of the Jordanian strikes, a health official told Syria's state news agency.

There was no immediate comment from Jordan on that account.

Hours earlier, senior government security officials said their security forces had arrested two brothers and their brother-in-law after a shootout on Monday over the church violence that killed nine people.

"God willing, they only represent themselves," said Jordan's Director of Public Security, Major-General Obeidallah al-Maaytah.

Such violence is highly unusual in Jordan, a relatively stable US ally in the Middle East. Friday's attack on the Christian minority prompted King Abdullah to order security forces to respond with an "iron fist."

In a press conference, al-Maaytah and Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya said the country would not tolerate extremist terrorism.

"The file has not yet been closed; investigations are still ongoing. As of today, there are no indications of any links between them and other cells," al-Faraya added.

At least 34 injured after gunmen attack funeral service
Friday's assault during a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in the village of Hamoud, about 120 km (75 miles) southwest of the capital, Amman, also wounded at least 34 people. Witnesses said gunmen opened fire for several minutes. The suspects, who lived near Hamoud, will face justice, said the security officials. The three suspects were named in the press briefing.

Reuters video footage showed a building pockmarked by the exchange of fire in the village of al-Judayyda, in Karak governorate.

Jordan's Public Security Directorate said in a statement carried by state media that security forces located the suspects while they were hiding in an abandoned house. They refused to surrender and attacked security forces, who returned fire and arrested all three after wounding them.

No security personnel were injured, and security forces found a number of firearms and rounds of ammunition in the suspects' possession.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the church attack.


Tikvah Podcast: Yonah Jeremy Bob and Elliot Kaufman on Israel's Wartime Decisions
A number of books have now been written about October 7, some of them very moving, even haunting. Today's podcast focuses on a different kind of October 7 book, and this one is valuable because it is a first cut of the history of what followed October 7, and focuses on decision-making and leadership in the war Israel waged against Hamas, Hizballah, and Iran. We get to see inside the decision-making process as the military and political leaders of Israel determined who would be fought first, how, and when, and how they argued, maneuvered, and bore the weight of those consequential decisions.

That focus invites a particular kind of reading. The ancient Greek historian Thucydides believed that the war between Athens and Sparta, for all its particularity, could instruct statesmen in the future. He called his history of the war "a possession for all time." Thucydides' method was to place before the reader the speeches and deliberations of the main actors as they happened, with imperfect information and without knowing how any campaign would turn out. A future general or statesman, pondering what he would have done in the same position, could use Thucydides' account to refine his own judgment.

Today's podcast treats the last three years of Israel's war in a similar way. Joining Mosaic's editor Jonathan Silver are Yonah Jeremy Bob, senior military correspondent and intelligence analyst at the Jerusalem Post, and Elliot Kaufman of the Wall Street Journal. Their new book, In the War Room: The Inside Story of Israel's Fight against Hamas and the Iranian Axis, draws on extensive access to Israel's political, military, and intelligence leadership, and to officials in the Biden and Trump administrations.

This episode takes up three of the war cabinet's decisions and tries, in each case, to understand the kind of problem the decision-makers thought they were responding to.

These decisions expose rivalries within the military establishment, that establishment's struggle with Prime Minister Netanyahu, and the ways each side used the American alliance against the other. We also see a Netanyahu many will not recognize, one who began the war cautious and only gradually became the author of its boldest strokes in Lebanon and Iran.


How I was targeted by Iran in a sophisticated intelligence operation
The fact Iran had deliberately targeted me personally in a two month operation was a serious security issue that has required NSW Police involvement, protection and monitoring.

Mr Burgess confirmed ASIO was working with intelligence partners on this matter, while the NSW Police CyberCrime division is also investigating alongside the United States Department of Homeland Security, given the infiltration began with them masquerading as an American citizen.

I wondered how common this was.

Mr Burgess told me there were two Australians who had been targeted by Iran this year in cyber operations.

The second, I was surprised to learn, was a commentator on my television program, senior Liberal figure, Michael Kroger.

“Michael is a strong supporter of the state of Israel and Jewish people, he clearly fit into their anti-American, anti-Israel agenda,” Mr Burgess said.

“We know he was targeted, we saw his details on a to-do list. He’s on a target list.”

ASIO had been able to detect the plot to target former Victorian Liberal Party president Kroger, and inform him, before any successful sting.

Kroger said he was shocked to learn he'd been targeted.

"ASIO informed me some weeks ago of the threat and I'm grateful they were able to pick up the threat so early on," he said.

"It's a chilling reminder of how dangerous the Iranian regime is. The Iranian Government constitutes the greatest threat to world peace."

Charming Kitten
Cybersecurity experts engaged by News Corp identified the Iranian intelligence operation that targeted me as “Charming Kitten”.

It’s a state-sponsored cyber-espionage group linked to the IRGC and active since 2014, according to a report by the British Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament on Iran, published in mid 2025.

“CHARMING KITTEN has been known to target activists, defence contractors, academia, government agencies, media organisations, and companies in the financial, energy and aerospace sectors,” it states.

“In 2019, Microsoft filed a complaint with the US District Court for Washington D.C. against CHARMING KITTEN for establishing a series of domains that mimicked login pages for Yahoo!, LinkedIn, Hotmail, Microsoft Live and other services.”

Royal Commission on Antisemitism failing Australia’s Jewish community
Chair of Australia's Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, Raff Ciccone, said "Any attempt by a foreign regime to target an Australian journalist is an attack on our democracy".

"ASIO has been clear that Iran continues to view Australia as a target," he said.

"Foreign state directed threats against journalists and the Jewish community are among the most serious our agencies face.

"I commend our security and law enforcement agencies for their work. Australians must be free to report, speak and worship without fear of intimidation.”

A recent investigation by London-based media outlet “Iran International” reports that “Charming Kitten” conducts surveillance of journalists, dissidents and foreign government employees. The report alleges that intelligence gathered by the “covert unit of cyber agents” was used in plots to kill Israelis in Turkey.

The Council on Foreign Relations describes it this way: “This threat actor uses watering hole attacks and fake profiles to lure targets from the US government for espionage purposes. Also believed to target scholars who study Iran, human rights organisations and the media.”

Why am I making this public?
Nearly three weeks on, I believe our political leaders need to understand the grave nature of the threats posed by the Iranian regime to Australians, particularly prominent Jewish Australians.

Iran orchestrated the firebombing of the Adass Synagogue in Melbourne and it was behind the arson attack on Mrs Lewis’ Continental Kitchen in Sydney, allegedly carried out by local criminals for hire.

Now, ASIO has confirmed that Iran targeted two Australians this year.

It has been concerning for my family and employer to learn that this dangerous and ruthless regime, with nefarious aims, has targeted me personally in a sophisticated operation spanning two months.

I am a journalist, but I'm also a mother with young children.

And why was I targeted? Because I have spoken in support of Australia’s long term ally, Israel, and against the scourge of antisemitism.

Many political leaders present the war in Iran as a distant threat.

Yet the Iranian regime has demonstrated that it is prepared to target Australians on our own soil.

Our politicians need to recognise that Iran poses a serious and ongoing threat not only to America and Israel, but to Australian citizens.

I’m grateful to NSW Police and ASIO for their protection, and to both Mr Burgess and Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon for their support and kindness.

But I shouldn’t need this.

The reach of the lethal Iranian regime should not be able to threaten the safety of Australians or undermine our democracy.
CNN’s Context-Free Profile of Iranian Jewry
In November 2018, HonestReporting called out PBS for whitewashing the theocratic Iranian regime in its profile of the country’s historic Jewish community.

At the time, we pointed out how PBS was selective in its coverage of Iran’s Jewish community, focusing on the seeming positives while covering up the structural discrimination that affects the Jewish community.

Now, almost eight years later, CNN has published a new profile of the Iranian Jewish community but has fallen for the same traps that marred PBS’s report.

This profile by Frederik Pleitgen, who we have previously critiqued for amplifying Iranian regime narratives, attempts to portray the Jewish presence in Iran as a story of a minority living in peace with the majority Muslim population, with Israel serving as the villain attempting to disrupt this largely tranquil status quo.

However, behind this rosy picture of cross-cultural camaraderie, there are systemic issues plaguing the Iranian Jewish community that are not addressed by either Pleitgen or CNN.

For example, Pleitgen interviewed Homayoun Sameyah, who was introduced as Iran’s “only Jewish member of parliament.” What isn’t said is that Sameyah is the only Jewish member of parliament because it is illegal for there to be more than one. According to the Iranian constitution, non-Muslims may not hold elected office or senior government positions, aside from the designated seats for religious minorities (in the Jewish community’s case, one parliamentary seat).

Pleitgen also makes much of Jewish schools in Iran, celebrating the fact that they teach both regular courses and Jewish studies in both Farsi and Hebrew. However, according to the U.S. State Department’s 2023 Report on International Religious Freedom (the last year that a report was published), Iranian authorities allowed these schools to operate so long as the principal was Muslim.

Other issues that are ignored by this picturesque profile are the negative portrayals of Jews by some Iranian media outlets, the fact that the community’s chief rabbi (as well as regular members of the community) are not free to publicly express themselves on political matters, and that, as non-Muslims, Jews are not treated the same as Muslims before the courts.

Frederik Pleitgen has a history of taking Iranian regime narratives and packaging them as seemingly objective and independent news items for CNN’s international audience. His latest one-sided profile of the Iranian Jewish community appears to be a continuation of this deceptive practice.





 




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Elder of Ziyon - حـكـيـم صـهـيـون



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