News Update

The UN Security Council approved President Trump’s plan for Gaza yesterday. Both Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Herzog applauded the vote. Netanyahu said the plan “will lead to peace and prosperity because it insists upon full demilitarization, disarmament and the deradicalization of Gaza,” and that it would “lead to further integration of Israel and its neighbors as well as expansion of Abraham Accords,” which will ultimately “help lead the region to peace and prosperity.”

The plan, now approved by the UN, allows the IDF to remain in over half of Gaza, as opposed to demanding a full withdrawal like in past proposals. Hamas rejected the UN decision. The plan will be overseen and implemented by the “Board of Peace”, led by Trump. The approved plan does not explicitly call for the establishment of a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria, although it does say that they could be a pathway to a state in the future, but only if the Palestinian Authority reforms and transforms into a peaceful, non corrupt, body committed to living peacefully with Israel (so we have nothing to worry about). Meanwhile, the PA has formally shut down its system for transferring monthly salary payments to Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

Two terrorists attempted to run over pedestrians at the Gush Etzion junction before getting out of their car with knives and stabbing people. A man in his 30s was killed, a 40yr. old woman was seriously wounded, and a 30yr. old man and a 15yr. old boy were moderately hurt. The terrorists were shot and killed by soldiers.

President Trump said yesterday that he plans to approve the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. Trump is meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Washington today. Saudi Arabia has requested to buy as many as 48 of the jets. It’s unclear yet whether Trump will demand that Saudi Arabia normalize relations with Israel in order to get the jets.

News Update

The body of Meny Godard, 73, was returned to Israel last night from Gaza. A resident of Kibbutz Be’eri, he was murdered on October 7 alongside his wife Ayelet, 63. The bodies of 2 Israelis and one Thai remain in Gaza. Meanwhile, Hamas is consolidating its power on its part of Gaza, which includes the overwhelming majority of civilians, and is not disarming. Residents say Hamas is imposing taxes on goods and fines on merchants. At the same time, a US State Department spokesperson stressed that “Hamas cannot and will not govern Gaza.” How will this play out?

With the current 10-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) expiring in 2028, Israel is seeking to double the next MOU’s length from 10 to 20 years. Israel is also reportedly proposing that some of the funds be used for joint U.S.-Israeli research and development, rather than direct military aid — partners rather than dependents.

MK Zvi Sukkot (Religious Zionist Party) submitted a bill signed by 26 Knesset members to remove the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron from the ownership of the Waqf and place it under Israeli governance. It also calls for all restrictions upon Jewish visitation and prayer at the site to be removed. The United Arab Emirates condemned the move, calling it a “grave violation of the historical and legal status quo at the Ibrahimi Mosque”.

Indonesia’s defense minister said that Indonesia has trained up to 20,000 troops to take on health and construction-related tasks during a planned peacekeeping operation in the Gaza Strip, if it is approved to do so. For more, click here.

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President Herzog today received a letter from President Trump urging him to pardon Prime minister Netanyahu. While emphasizing that he respects “the independence of the Israeli justice system,” Trump described the criminal proceedings against Netanyahu as “a political, unjustified prosecution,” adding that Netanyahu “has fought alongside me for a long time, including against the very tough adversary of Israel, Iran.” Herzog responded that before considering it, Netanyahu would first have to request a pardon, according to Israeli law.

Here is the letter:

Head of the IDF Central Command, Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, reportedly is demanding expanded legal powers to tackle a growing wave of settler violence, including the authority to impose heavy fines. His request came amid mounting pressure from IDF field commanders urging the reinstatement of administrative detention orders for Jewish extremists, Defense Minister Katz canceled earlier this year. Yesterday, Bluth, leading an IDF exercise, happen to witness around 100 settler youth attacking a Palestinian village in northern Samaria.

Since the start of the year, 400 people have died in car accidents in Israel. 28% of those killed this year were pedestrians, 22% were motorcycle or electric-bike riders, and 21% were drivers or passengers in private vehicles. The last time the figure was this high was in 2005, when 465 people were killed. The Transportation Ministry is preparing a proposal to present to the government for funding a national road safety program.

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The remains of IDF officer Lt. Hadar Goldin were returned to Israel by Hamas on Sunday. Goldin fell in battle and was abducted in 2014 during Operation Protective Edge in Gaza. He was 23.

The return of Goldin comes as Hamas tries to obtain the release of around 200 of its terrorists trapped in tunnels in Rafah, on the Israeli side of the yellow line. Jared Kushner, representing the U.S., is reportedly pressuring Israel to prove the terrorists with safe passage instead of eliminated them. The return of Goldin gives Prime Minister Netanyahu some political room to accept a negotiated outcome of the situation. Turkey said yesterday that it is working to secure safe passage for 200 “civilians” trapped in Rafah, after being instrumental in orchestrating the release of Goldin. Hamas has said that its fighter will not surrender.

Iran reportedly still possess enough enriched uranium to produce 11 nuclear bombs. The stockpile is believed to have been secretly relocated prior to the Israeli and American strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Iran is said to be developing a new enrichment site, codenamed “Pickaxe Mountain,” which it refuses to open to international inspectors. Iran is also reportedly rebuilding its ballistic missile industry, using chemicals imported from China. Israeli officials now believe that Iran has rebuilt at least half of their original arsenal of 2,700 missiles and is working to expand it ahead of a potential new confrontation. Meanwhile, Iran is experiencing a major draught and is facing severe water shortages in Tehran and other major cities.

The first reading of a bill to impose the death penalty on terrorists convicted of murder will be voted on in the Knesset today. It is expected to narrowly pass and move forward through the legislative process.

News Update

The IDF has begun demobilizing thousands of reservists. If no major fighting ensues, the IDF intends to call up reservists next year for only one extended deployment of about two to three months, including leave periods.

An IDF drone struck a Hezbollah construction unit’s facility near the coastal city of Tyre. The terrorist activity at the site was a violation of the ceasefire agreement. The IDF is preparing major strikes against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon. The Lebanese army is due to present a report on their progress in disarming Hezbollah and deploying to positions in southern Lebanon.

The U.S. is reportedly planning to establish a presence at an airbase in Damascus in order to monitor the results of a potential peace agreement President Trump is brokering between Israel and Syria. The U.S. already has troops stationed in northeastern Syria, as part of a decade-long effort to help a Kurdish-led force there combat Islamic State. For more, click here. 

Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the IDF to declare the area adjacent to the Israel–Egypt border a closed military zone and to change rules of engagement to confront a surge in drone-enabled weapons smuggling. Until now, the smuggling has been classified as criminal activity, but since it has grown to massive proportions, the government has decided to treat it as a military threat. Katz said, “Smuggling weapons by drone is part of the war in Gaza and is meant to arm our enemies. We must take every measure to stop it. Just as we created deterrence against Hezbollah in Lebanon on the issue of unmanned aerial systems and attacks on communities, we must create deterrence here and make clear to those involved in smuggling that the rules of the game have changed and they will pay a very heavy price if they do not stop.”

The government is planning to offer new immigrants and returning residents zero-percent tax on their income for their first two years after moving to Israel.