Israel News for 5-21-2026
News Update
According to U.S. media reports (including CNN, WSJ, Axios), Prime Minister Netanyahu has been urging President Trump, in several phone calls this week, to resume strikes against Iran, while Trump has been pushing for continuing negotiations. CNN reported that Trump told Netanyahu he wanted to allow several more days for a deal to emerge in order to save lives. The picture being painted is clearly one of Netanyahu trying to “pressure” Trump and drag the U.S. deeper into a war. But clearly, the President is running the show and making decisions based on what he feels is best. Israel is following his direction.
The U.S. is threatening to revoke the visas of the Palestinian delegation to the United Nations if the Palestinian ambassador refused to end his candidacy for the vice presidency of the UN General Assembly, according to an internal State Department cable seen by Reuters. In a cable dated Wednesday, U.S. diplomats in its embassy in Jerusalem are instructed to deliver the message that Palestinian ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour’s general assembly bid “fuels tensions,” risks undermining Trump’s Gaza peace plan and would therefore face consequences from Washington if it went ahead. For more, click here.
Israel has released all detained activists from the anti-Israel Gaza-bound flotilla from Ketziot Prison ahead of their deportation, except for Israeli activist Zohar Regev, whose detention hearing was scheduled for later in the day. Most of the activists were being transferred to Ramon Airport for flights out of Israel, while four had already departed through Ben Gurion Airport. Before they were released from prison, Minister of Internal Security Itamar Ben Gvir decided to come down to taunt the detainees, and video himself doing so. The incident sparked international condemnation, as well as from Netanyahu and other Israeli officials, and caused unnecessary diplomatic damage to Israel at a time when the country is not doing too great in the public opinion war.
Maj. (res.) Itamar Sapir, 27, a Maglan reserve officer and father of an 18-month-old boy, was killed Tuesday in a clash with Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon.
The holiday of Shavuot, which marks the beginning of the wheat harvest as well as the anniversary of the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, begins tonight. May we be blessed with health, success and peace.
