November 3: AG accuses Shin Bet chief of hindering investigation into alleged voter fraud

Saudi defense minister says he spoke with Hegseth about deescalating regional tensions, amid continued Houthi attacks

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, right, participates in a welcoming ceremony with Saudi Arabia’s Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, February 24, 2025, at the Pentagon in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Saudi Arabia discussed strategic defense cooperation and efforts to deescalate regional tensions with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in a phone call, Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman says.

The two also discussed regional and international developments, including efforts to contain tensions in the region and the continued attacks by the Houthis on the kingdom.

US, Ukraine and Russia to hold trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi next week — Witkoff

US President Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff, right, and Jared Kushner wait to attend the talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, on September 5, 2026. (Gavriil Grigorov/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Ukrainian, Russian and US officials will hold a trilateral meeting in Abu Dhabi next week in a bid to push forward peace negotiations, President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff says.

“The United States will mediate working-level negotiations between Ukraine and Russia on November 10–11 in Abu Dhabi, advancing President Trump’s mission to end the war,” Witkoff writes on X.

“Discussions will focus on post-war security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian efforts, and next steps toward peace,” he says, adding that US negotiators will also meet European and NATO officials this week in Brussels.

US official: Strike on Qeshm targeted ‘Iranians using surface to air missiles against US assets’

Illustrative: Backdropped by ships in the Strait of Hormuz, damage, according to local witnesses caused by several airstrikes during the US-Israel military campaign, is seen on a fishing pier in the port of Qeshm island, Iran, April 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Asghar Besharati)

WASHINGTON — The United States has conducted defensive strikes on some Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz, a US official says, on the eve of crucial midterm elections.

Iranian state television reports that explosions were heard on Qeshm Island. The official, who isn’t authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, says that “Iranians using surface to air missiles against US assets” had been targeted.

Russia launches massive strike on Ukrainian energy facilities, Interfax reports

Russia launched a massive overnight strike on Ukrainian energy facilities in the Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv regions, the Interfax news agency says, citing the Russian Defense Ministry.

It adds that Russian forces also hit port infrastructure in the Odesa region and vessels used for military purposes. Reuters is not able to independently verify the information.

Two men executed in Iran over killing of police officers during January protests

Iran executes two men convicted in the killing of four police officers in the central city of Isfahan during protests in January, the semi-official Fars news agency reports.

Amirhossein Maleki and Amirhossein Ebrahimi were sentenced to death for their alleged role in the killing of security forces on January 8, 2026. Their sentences were upheld by the Supreme Court, Fars says.

The regime is believed to have killed thousands of protesters during the unrest, and according to some reports, tens of thousands.

Asian Cup latest event in Saudi Arabia to be postponed over regional safety

The 2027 Asian Cup soccer tournament in Saudi Arabia will be postponed from January to December due to “exceptional circumstances” in the region, the continent’s governing body says.

A number of sports events in Saudi Arabia have been canceled or postponed in recent weeks following Houthi attacks on the country.

The Asian Cup was originally scheduled to take place from January 7 to February 5 next year. The new dates for the continental showpiece are December 23, 2027, to January 21, 2028.

“The organizing committee for AFC Asian Cup approved to reschedule the flagship national team tournament in light of the current exceptional circumstances arising from developments in the region,” the Asian Football Confederation says in a statement.

The AFC also cites “substantial logistical complexities and travel disruptions.”

“The new dates of the tournament will be presented to FIFA for approval,” it adds.

Local organizers insisted last month that the Asian Cup was “on schedule,” despite growing fears for the fate of the tournament because of the security situation in Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East.

The Saudi cities of Jeddah, Riyadh and Al Khobar are set to stage the monthlong competition.

Iranian police officer killed in attack in restive southeast

Iranian police say that one of their officers has been killed in an attack by unidentified assailants in the country’s restive southeast, state media reports.

“Following an armed attack by unidentified individuals on a Criminal Investigation Police officer in Saravan county (Sistan-Baluchistan province), Third Lieutenant Hojat Vafakardeh attained the honour of martyrdom,” state television quotes a police statement as saying.

“Efforts by police and security forces to identify and arrest those responsible for this cowardly attack are ongoing,” the statement adds. It’s not immediately clear who was behind the attack.

Sistan-Baluchistan province, one of Iran’s poorest, has long been the scene of clashes involving security forces and armed groups, including separatist factions.

Reports: Settlers set fire to vehicles and building in 2 locations in West Bank

Palestinian media outlets report that extremist settlers set fire overnight to two vehicles and part of an unoccupied building in the South Hebron Hills.

Hebrew graffiti was sprayed on the building, reading: “Evictions = chaos. Regards from the Or Yehuda eviction.”

Givat Or Yehuda is an outpost that has been repeatedly evacuated in recent months.

עוד ריסוסי גרפיטי על 2 בתים בוואדי א-ראקים מדרומית לחברון: "פינויים = בלאגן דש פינוי אור יהודה" pic.twitter.com/ouXMXcx8q0

— Arbel – أربل – ארבל ✊ (@ArbelReports) November 3, 2026

Separately, Palestinian media outlets report that settlers set fire to several vehicles overnight in the village of Majdal Bani Fadil in the Nablus area.

No injuries have been reported.

مجموعات من المستوطنين الإسرائيليين تحرق عددًا من المركبات، وخطّت شعارات عنصرية في قرية مجدل بني فاضل، جنوب شرق نابلس بالضفة الغربية المحتلة. pic.twitter.com/0uU4qQNIwO

— Eye on Palestine (@EyeonPalestine) November 3, 2026

Cause of strong odor in Rishon Lezion may be fuel dumped into sewers – ministry

The Environmental Protection Ministry announces that it might have found the source of a strong gas-like odor that has prompted a flood of complaints from residents of western Rishon Lezion in central Israel since Sunday: the illegal dumping of wastewater containing fuel into the sewer network.

During the night, a Home Front Command team checked manholes and sewer shafts in the area and found the fuel in wastewater in one of the manholes. A sample was taken for testing.

The ministry notes that it is still working to rule out other possible causes. It is working with the municipality and other bodies to coordinate the next steps.

French judges probe war crimes complaint against Israeli army in Lebanon — lawyer

France has opened a judicial investigation into a war crimes complaint over an Israeli strike on a residential building in Lebanon in 2024, lawyer Clemence Bectarte tells AFP.

French-Lebanese artist Ali Cherri, whose parents were killed in the Beirut strike, filed the complaint as a civil party last spring alongside the International Federation for Human Rights, prompting the appointment of two investigating judges from the crimes against humanity unit of the Paris Judicial Court, Bectarte says.

Spanish soccer player Jesus de Miguel dies after collision with goalkeeper

Tenerife striker Jesus de Miguel has died as a result of injuries he suffered in a sickening collision with FC Andorra’s goalkeeper in a Spanish second division match, his club says.

De Miguel, 30, was fouled in the middle of the pitch by Equatorial Guinea international keeper Jesus Owono, who had raced out of his goal.

🔵⚪️ | Golpe fortísimo de Owono sobre Jesús de Miguel que hace que salten todas las alarmas. 🇪🇸👀

🙏🏼 Pronta recuperación a Jesús y que todo quede en un susto

🏟️ Tenerife – Andorra pic.twitter.com/NXopIJ7p9H

— Laliga News (@laligaa_neews) November 2, 2026

The incident happened toward the end of the match, which was subsequently abandoned.

Spanish media said De Miguel suffered a cardiac arrest on the way to hospital in the ambulance and was resuscitated, but later died.

Lapid: We’re facing an attempt to undermine election results; we need to remove Netanyahu

B'Yachad party member Yair Lapid speaks at the “Law and Lies” conference on October 12, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/FLASH90)

The heads of the Zionist opposition parties are meeting this morning in Herzliya to coordinate their moves ahead of parties’ meetings with President Isaac Herzog, where political leaders will recommend who will be handed the mandate to attempt to form the next government.

The meeting will bring together Yashar chief Gadi Eisenkot, B’Yachad leader Naftali Bennett and no. 2 Yair Lapid, Yisrael Beytenu party leader Avigdor Liberman, and Democrats chief Yair Golan.

Entering the meeting, Lapid says: “We are facing a grave and dangerous attempt to undermine the election results. We must form a government. The conduct of recent days is just another reminder that we need to remove Netanyahu from the Prime Minister’s Office.”

Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted drone in Mecca region

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis says it intercepted a drone in the region of Mecca, Islam’s holiest city, following repeated waves of attacks by the pro-Iran militants on the kingdom.

“Interception and destruction of a drone in the Mecca region,” Turki al-Malki, the coalition’s spokesman writes on social media, without elaborating on the source of the attack.

Iran unveils huge billboard with threat against Trump’s life

A woman crosses a street beneath a billboard depicting US President Donald Trump behind bars and calling for his killing in central Tehran, Iran, November 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran unveils a massive billboard and banners pledging to kill US President Donald Trump across Tehran, bringing to a new level the official rhetoric displayed in the capital.

“We will kill Trump,” reads the billboard towering over the busy Enghelab Square in Tehran, which depicts the US president behind bars with his head bowed.

Another billboard nearby shows Trump along with US Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with bloodied faces and ragged suits against the background of worn-out Israeli and US flags.

Dozens of people gather in the square waving red flags and carrying banners reading, “There will be blood,” while calling for revenge for slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israeli attacks on February 28, at the start of the war.

IDF’s top lawyer: Troops must intervene in settler violence against Palestinians

Military Advocate General Maj. Gen. Itai Ofir says Israeli soldiers must intervene in incidents of violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank against Palestinians.

“The fact that the arrest and investigation of Israeli civilians are the responsibility of the Israel Police does not exempt IDF soldiers from their obligation to act in the field, in real time,” the IDF’s top lawyer says at a conference of the International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists (IJL) in Jerusalem.

Ofir says that the IDF’s orders “are clear: soldiers who encounter violence are not permitted to stand by.”

“They must intervene, stop the violence, detain the suspects and hand them over to the police. We are not shirking our responsibility,” he continues.

“When soldiers are involved in this kind of violence — including reservists serving in regional defense (hagmar) units — the policy is unequivocal: their reserve service is terminated, their weapons are confiscated, and, where appropriate, the matter is referred to the relevant authorities — the Military Police or Israel Police,” Ofir says.

Regarding the film “NAZA,” which is centered on allegations that Israel intentionally killed civilians in the Gaza Strip using artificial intelligence, among a slew of other war crimes, Ofir says that the documentary “is disconnected from reality.”

“The film distorts the meaning of the term it is named after. NAZA means ‘collateral damage.’ Collateral damage assessments are intended to estimate the expected harm to civilians. Their sole purpose is to prevent such harm, or at the very least minimize it as much as possible under the circumstances,” he says.

“This is why collateral damage assessments are a basic tool in law-abiding militaries around the world. They help a commander estimate how many people are in an area, examine the legality of a strike, and determine what precautions are required, including whether the strike plan should be changed or canceled, as happened many times during this war,” Ofir says, adding that “the film takes this protective mechanism and presents it as an expression of indifference.”

“An indifferent army would not count [potential civilian casualties]. It would simply strike,” he says.

Relatives of Oct. 7 victims call on opposition leaders to form ‘government of change’

Familiy members of victims of Oct. 7 gather in Herzliya on November 3, 2026 (Adar Eyal)

Relatives of people who were killed and taken hostage during the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack stand outside the meeting of members of the anti-Netanyahu bloc of party leaders this morning in Herzliya.

They call on party leaders not to legitimize the leaders who were at the helm during the October 7 massacre and to form a new government.

“You have a mandate to create a government of change,” says Merav Swirsky, whose parents, Orit and Rafi Swirsky, were killed at their home in Kibbutz Be’eri and whose brother, Itay Swirsky, was abducted and killed in captivity. “We ask you to make every effort to form a government of change, with no members of the previous government. Any cooperation with the government responsible for the October 7 massacre would legitimize the abandonment we endured.”

Golan discusses coalition coordination with Joint List leaders

Democrats chairman Yair Golan (right) meets with Joint List leaders Yousef Jabareen (center left) and Ahmad Tibi (left) for the first time since the October 27 election, November 3, 2026. (The Democrats)

Democrats chairman Yair Golan met with Joint List leaders Yousef Jabareen and Ahmad Tibi this morning for the first time since last week’s election, the Democrats party says.

According to the statement, the three discussed “coordination between the factions and the steps needed to use their parliamentary majority to replace” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, as well as “key issues affecting the Arab public and the need to advance practical solutions.”

“The sides agreed to continue coordinating ahead of the next political moves, with the aim of forming a ‘change government,'” the Democrats say.

Golan has openly backed cooperating with Arab parties to form a government and has said they could join a future coalition. He is the only leader in the four-party Jewish-led opposition bloc to publicly support that approach.

Other opposition bloc leaders have ruled out sitting with Arab parties. Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman has also rejected a minority government that relies on their support.

Qatar says it’s still passing ideas between US and Iran, while Tehran reportedly expects return to war

Iran believes that a return to war against the US is the most likely outcome of the ongoing back and forth between the sides, Al Arabiya reports, citing anonymous sources.

Despite that assessment, Iran’s civil leadership — President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi — have urged the security leadership to move forward with the latest Qatari proposal for finding a diplomatic solution with Washington, according to the Saudi outlet.

Qatari mediators are in Tehran to hear Iran’s response to the proposal, says Al Arabiya.

Both Iran and the US “remain committed to the negotiation process. As we mentioned, we are facilitating the real-time exchange of proposals between them,” says Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari. The two sides “are currently reviewing the ideas and proposals we have presented.”

According to the Abu Dhabi-based Erem News, Iran’s top security official Mohsen Rezaei rejected a Qatari proposal to open a direct channel with the US in Doha.

Bennett vows to help Eisenkot form government, urges opposition to act quickly

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett reasserts his B’Yachad party’s full support for Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot’s efforts to form a government, following a meeting of Jewish opposition party leaders in Herzliya.

“The entire B’Yachad party will mobilize all its efforts to help Gadi Eisenkot form a government as soon as possible,” Bennett says. “We have no time to waste. We need to act with great urgency.”

The B’Yachad leader calls on members of the bloc to swiftly replace Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana of Likud and secure the mandate to form a “Zionist government of national repair” that will bring about a “revolution for those who serve.”

Health chief who led Israel’s response to pandemic and war announces resignation

Health Ministry Director-General Moshe Bar Siman-Tov attends a Health Committee meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, on January 8, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Health Ministry Director General Moshe Bar Siman-Tov will step down in the coming weeks.

“I conclude my tenure knowing that the Israeli healthcare system is robust, professional, and prepared for any challenge,” Bar Siman-Tov writes in his resignation letter to Health Minister Haim Katz.

Bar Siman-Tov led the Israeli healthcare system through some of the most complex and challenging periods in its history, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the multifront war.

He will join Columbia University in New York in the coming months as a research fellow, writing about how healthcare systems cope with national trauma, with a particular focus on the experience gained in Israel in recent years.

“I deeply value the significant contribution Moshe Bar Siman-Tov has made to Israel’s healthcare system throughout his years of public service,” Katz says in a statement.

German textbooks present Judaism well but fall short on Mideast conflict, study finds

German school textbooks provide balanced information on Judaism, Jewish history and the Holocaust, but present an uneven picture of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to a new report by the educational monitoring organization IMPACT-se.

The study examined 12 textbooks used in upper-secondary schools in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, as part of its Europe-wide research program measuring school curricula against UNESCO-based standards for peace and tolerance in education.

It finds that textbooks present Judaism as an integral part of German society and explicitly reject collective Jewish responsibility for the crucifixion of Jesus. Holocaust education is seen as detailed and historically grounded, covering Nazi antisemitism, Jewish resistance, societal complicity and Germany’s postwar reckoning. One textbook characterizes the Holocaust as the destruction of Jewish civilization in Germany.

However, the report says, textbooks sometimes focus on Palestinian grievances and Israeli military actions while downplaying Israeli security concerns and Palestinian terrorism.

In one example cited, a textbook presents an image of an Israeli soldier alongside an operative from Hamas’s armed wing under the heading “Mutual threats and violence,” without explicitly identifying Hamas as a terrorist organization.

Elsewhere, textbooks acknowledge Palestinian suicide bombings against Israeli civilians but place greater emphasis on Palestinian resistance to Israeli rule and Israeli military responses, it finds.

The findings come amid persistently high antisemitism in Germany, IMPACT-se notes. Berlin recorded 2,197 antisemitic incidents in 2025, more than double its annual average between 2018 and 2022, according to Germany’s Federal Association of Departments for Research and Information on Antisemitism (RIAS).

“German textbooks do an excellent job of confronting the horrors of the Holocaust and the country’s antisemitic past. But this commitment to historical accuracy must also extend to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” says IMPACT-se CEO Marcus Sheff. “Equating Israeli soldiers with Hamas fighters risks dangerously distorting young people’s understanding of the conflict.”

Trump faces midterm verdict with control of Congress and Senate at stake

US voters struggling with high prices and angry over an unpopular war with Iran will decide whether to drastically shift power in Washington in midterm elections today that will serve as a referendum on President Donald Trump’s second term.

Democrats are cautiously optimistic about their prospects as they’ve watched Republicans spend the campaign’s final stretch pumping tens of millions of dollars into states and districts that Trump won handily just two years ago. They are betting that discontent over Trump’s failure to deliver on his promise to tackle rising costs and perceptions that he has been more focused on gilding the nation’s capital than on their pain at the pump will depress Republican turnout and drive their own voters to the polls.

Republicans hold out hope that their overwhelming money advantage will help stem the tide, but they are bracing to lose control of the US House and fighting to hang onto the Senate — an outcome that seemed unlikely earlier this year, given a map widely seen as favoring their party.

Still, the margins are tight in both chambers, and just one or two seats could tip the balance. Democrats need a net gain of four seats in the 100-member Senate to win the majority, an uphill climb because many of the most competitive races are in historically red states. In the 435-member House, they only need three.

More than 57 million people had already cast ballots as of Monday, with turnout surpassing the early vote four years ago in many closely watched states.

Trump, whose party has struggled when he is not running to turn out the low-propensity voters who have fueled his victories, has told voters to act as though he is, even as many Republican candidates have tried to keep their distance.

“I really want you to pretend I’m on the ballot,” he told the crowd in Salina, Kansas, on Sunday evening at the final of several dozen rallies in the closing weeks of the campaign.

Trump’s aggressive schedule included stops in the reddest states, including Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas, underscoring his party’s challenges.

The president has also continued to make false claims about voting fraud, such as insisting noncitizens are casting ballots en masse. His administration has already filed lawsuits in Alaska and California, and Democrats fear interference and voter intimidation as his Justice Department threatens to prosecute local election officials.

Boy George visits site of Nova rave, meets survivors and families of victims

Boy George is guided around the Nova desert rave site, speaking to Nova survivor Jennifer Sibida and bereaved father Ofer Lior, one of the founders of the memorial site.

He is led by Ofir Amir, a survivor of the rave and co-founder of the Nova Foundation.

Former hostage Omer Shem Tov, who was kidnapped from the party, opens a press conference with the artist, commenting that it is his second time at the Nova site since his release following 505 days of captivity in Gaza.

“I have to say that it’s very strange to be here,” says Shem Tov, noting that he was at the site a year ago.

“I came to dance and enjoy my time with my friends, to have fun and to be free like thousands of people with me,” he recalls. “I never imagined this place would change my life.”

He thanks Boy George for coming to Israel, to applause in the audience.

“In the world we live in today, you need a lot of courage to do so, and not to just say words but to hop on a plane and perform here and to bring people closer,” says Shem Tov.

Eisenkot to finally get Shin Bet protection tomorrow, after recent security incidents

Yashar chair Gadi Eisenkot speaks at the party’s election headquarters in Tel Aviv, following the closing of polling stations, October 28, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/ Flash90)

Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot, the de facto head of the anti-Netanyahu bloc, will be given a Shin Bet security detail starting tomorrow, according to Hebrew media reports, following a lengthy saga over the issue.

The Shin Bet has long resisted providing its own security detail to Eisenkot despite repeated urging by his party. Initially, the agency allowed Eisenkot’s private guards to carry arms. Days before last week’s election, Eisenkot was given protection by a private company directly guided by the Shin Bet’s Unit 730, which provides security details to top Israeli officials.

However, there have been several incidents around Eisenkot’s personal security in recent days.

Yesterday, an unidentified woman entered the Herzliya building where Eisenkot resides and spent several minutes trying to locate his apartment, Channel 12 reported. Her motivations are unclear and the incident is said to be under investigation.

Eisenkot was away at the time, but his wife, Hannah, was home.

The day before, demonstrators outside their home called Eisenkot a traitor and accused him of being responsible for the death of his own son, Master Sgt. (res.) Gal Eisenkot, who was killed fighting in Gaza in December 2023. One protester also threatened Eisenkot’s wife.

Likud attacks opposition over possible cooperation with Arab, Haredi parties; Netanyahu slams ‘hypocrisy’ over Haredim

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party lash out at opposition leaders following their meeting in Herzliya, targeting two potential avenues for forming a government without Netanyahu: cooperation with Arab or with ultra-Orthodox parties.

“While Prime Minister Netanyahu extended a hand to establish a broad national government, they intend to form a dangerous government reliant on supporters of terrorism,” the party says, questioning how such a government would handle the ongoing conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran “when key members of it are unwilling to call Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist organizations,” referring to the Arab-majority Joint List and Ra’am.

The attack comes despite most of the Jewish opposition parties having ruled out relying on Arab parties to form a government, even though their support would give the anti-Netanyahu bloc a clear majority.

Opposition leaders have also rejected a unity government with Netanyahu, whom they hold responsible for the failures surrounding the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack and deeply distrust after he systematically undermined and sidelined partners in previous unity governments.

The premier separately accuses the opposition of hypocrisy over the possibility of cooperating with ultra-Orthodox parties despite its pledges to introduce universal conscription, after Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman stopped short of ruling out cooperation with Haredi parties at a press briefing yesterday, and amid reports that United Torah Judaism, a longtime Netanyahu ally, is considering supporting an Eisenkot-led government.

“For four years we have seen unrestrained attacks on the Haredi public, morning and night, by the media and the left-wing bloc. The hypocrisy we are seeing now cries out to the heavens,” he charges. “Suddenly it is no longer a ‘draft-dodging law’ but a ‘soft conscription law’; suddenly [the Haredim] are no longer ‘parasites,’ ‘draft-dodgers,’ ‘destroyers of the state,’ but are handed a blank cheque — all for the left’s lust for power, while breaking every one of its election commitments.”

Only Likud and the right-wing bloc “will act… so that anyone studying Torah can continue to study Torah under the law,” he says, “while ensuring that anyone who is not studying Torah in a yeshiva will enlist in the IDF, with his way of life fully preserved: He will enter Haredi and come out Haredi.”

Having lost his parliamentary majority in last week’s election, Netanyahu has no apparent path to forming a government of his own. With Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot expected to receive the first mandate from President Isaac Herzog to form a coalition, Netanyahu’s efforts appear aimed at preventing the opposition from assembling a government, potentially forcing another election.

Board of Peace envoys Mladenov, Blair visit Israel for Gaza talks after Knesset election

UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov, left, attends a round table meeting of the Palestinian Donor Group at EU headquarters in Brussels, July 13, 2026. (John Thys, Pool Photo via AP)

Top Board of Peace envoy Nickolay Mladenov visited Israel yesterday, with former UK prime minister and fellow envoy Tony Blair expected to arrive in the country later this week, a Board official tells The Times of Israel.

The visits come days after Israel’s inconclusive national election last week with the official saying the US-backed international body seeks to “see where things are” following the vote.

The official could not specify the agenda of either visit or with which Israeli officials the envoys are meeting, saying the Board is holding “broader discussions” with Israel as it works to advance US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza after months of mostly stalled efforts.

Mladenov did not meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to an Israeli official.

Police: 3 suspects in 2025 southern Israel murder arrested in West Bank after a year in hiding

Police say officers this morning detained three suspects who went into hiding in the West Bank for about a year after allegedly killing 21-year-old Samih Abu Arar in a mass brawl in the southern Bedouin town of Arara on October 31, 2025.

One of the suspects was detained at a bus stop near the settlement of Rehelim, and two others were detained in an apartment in the Palestinian village of Funduq, police say, adding that all three are residents of Arara.

The killing took place amid a “criminal dispute between families,” police say. Four other suspects have already been arrested and charged with murder and accessory to murder in the case, police add.

At Nova massacre site, Boy George says new song ‘We Will Dance Again’ eclipses ‘Karma Chameleon’

Boy George speaks on November 3, 2026, at the site of the Hamas-led 2023 massacre at the Nova desert rave, with former hostage Omer Shem Tov and philanthropist Sylvan Adams listening. (Jessica Steinberg/Times of Israel)

Boy George speaks at a press conference at the site of the Nova desert rave, where Hamas-led terrorists massacred hundreds of festival-goers on October 7, 2023.

“I was up early on October 7, and I saw what happened and it just horrified me,” he says.

“But what horrified me more was people who have no connection telling me it wasn’t true, that it was made up and I shouldn’t believe it,” he says. “But I know enough Jewish people in London who know people here who confirmed it pretty quickly.”

George says he wrote a lot in those first months.

“With a song you can’t waffle, you’ve got to get to the point,” he says.

He refers to the lyrics in his song, “We Will Dance Again.”

“I was thinking this will never get played on the radio, but I need to do something about what I feel deeply inside,” he says.

“I needed to write something that eclipses ‘Karma Chameleon,’ and I think I’ve done it,” he says.

Trump suggests ending US aid will refute criticism that Israel gets more than any other country

Explaining his support for ending military aid to Israel, US President Donald Trump suggests he doesn’t want to give ammunition to critics who knock Washington for giving more to the Jewish state than any other country.

“Why should we suffer the slings from lunatics like an El-Sayed when they don’t need it,” Trump tells Fox News.

“It’s a bad talking point. Because then you’d say, ‘Why don’t we give everyone $4 billion? Israel is our number one. We give them more than anybody else,’” he continues.

Trump insists that Israel doesn’t need the money and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the one who raised the idea — even though the premier has said he proposed ending aid gradually, not ceasing it immediately.

Moreover, the current aid package provides Israel $3.8 billion annually through September 2028, not this year as Trump claimed.

“If they did need it, I would say keep it going. But we reached an agreement on that,” Trump says

“And can I be honest with you, [Netanyahu] brought it up. He said, ‘I think it would be appropriate if we do not receive aid.’ Because he understands that this is one of the points of contention,” Trump says, appearing to acknowledge how unpopular aid to Israel has become in the US.

“Israel has been a great ally — much more reliable than most,” Trump notes.

BREAKING: President Trump says the U.S. will end roughly $4 billion in annual aid to Israel by the end of the year, revealing that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to the decision. pic.twitter.com/qUhAyomiDb

— Jackson Gosnell (@jacksongosnell) November 3, 2026

3 Netanyahu-allied parties say they’ll recommend him as PM

Religious Zionism chairman Bezalel Smotrich, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Otzma Yehudit chief Itamar Ben Gvir address supporters after the October 27, 2026, election. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90, Jewel Samad/AFP, AP Photo/Leo Correa)

The Shas, Religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit parties say they will recommend that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu form the next government, as the premier reportedly holds talks with United Torah Judaism party leader Yaakov Asher.

Shas’s Council of Torah Sages has decided to endorse Netanyahu following his “clear and unequivocal” commitment to securing the status of full-time Torah students with regards to the contentious issue of military exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men, Hebrew media reports.

The party also lashes out at opposition parties over what it calls an “unprecedented campaign of vilification, defamation and persecution” against the ultra-Orthodox community.

Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism, meanwhile, intends to also recommend Netanyahu for premiership at the President’s Residence tomorrow and push opposition parties to abandon their “boycotts” of Netanyahu and establish a broad Jewish government under his leadership, noting that he heads the largest party and bloc.

Itamar Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit similarly says it will back Netanyahu as premier.

Netanyahu spoke this morning with United Torah Judaism leader Yaakov Asher, Hebrew media reports, amid speculation that the ultra-Orthodox party is considering backing an opposition-led government.

The announcements come after the pro-Netanyahu bloc lost its parliamentary majority in last week’s election, with Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot expected to receive the first mandate to form a government.

Global stocks erase losses, oil tumbles after Trump says US will end $4 billion funding to Israel

Stocks in Europe and the US reverse course to trade higher as oil prices drop after US President Donald Trump says Washington will stop $4 ​billion in military aid to Israel after the end of this year.

Speaking to Fox News’ “Fox and ‌Friends,” Trump said Israel no longer needs the funding. He has made a deal with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the aid, he says, even though the current memorandum of understanding between the countries provides Israel $3.8 billion annually through September 2028.

The comments send oil prices lower and help stocks reverse their losses. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rises 0.13% to 650.3 points, while futures tracking the benchmark S&P 500 index add 0.14%.

Top Iranian official: US response to truce offer ‘not convincing,’ Hormuz will not be opened

Mohsen Rezaei, the head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, attends a ceremony at Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's shrine in southern Tehran on June 4, 2026. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto)

Iran’s top security official says the US response to the latest ceasefire offer was “not convincing.”

“America’s response to Iran’s rights and demands was not convincing,” writes Supreme National Security Secretary Mohsen Rezaei on X, “and they must fully and explicitly address Iran’s seven conditions and act upon them; only then will the Strait of Hormuz be reopened.”

Among Iran’s demands are a permanent end to the war, including Israel’s operations against Hamas and Hezbollah; the lifting of the US blockade on Iran; the withdrawal of US forces; lifting sanctions; paying reparations for the war; and recognizing new arrangements for shipping in Hormuz that Iran will set.

Arkia workers protest moves by airline’s owners they fear will harm their rights

Arkia employees demonstrate in front of the Israeli airline's office in Bnei Brak east of Tel Aviv, November 3, 2026. (Courtesy/Histadrut Labor Federation)

Arkia Israel Airlines employees hold a demonstration in Tel Aviv, protesting moves by the carrier’s controlling owners ahead of a planned sale, which they fear will undermine workers’ rights and job protections.

An estimated 300 Arkia employees gather in front of the airline’s offices in Tel Aviv, threatening to fight any cost-cutting measures, workforce reductions, or dilution of employee shareholding carried out without their coordination and consent.

Over the past year, the Nakash brothers, Arkia’s controlling owners, have been seeking a buyer for their stake of more than 70% in the Israeli carrier. Arkia employees own 22.1% through the TUT — Aviation & Tourism Workers Corporation Ltd. — a holding that gives them a right of first refusal on material transactions.

“They simply want to end our ability to control the fate of employees, and we will not let them,” an Arkia employee shouts at the demonstration.

The protest comes after workers learned at a board meeting on Sunday that the Nakash brothers intend to inject fresh funds into Arkia by raising capital and issuing shares, a move that would dilute the employees’ stake in the airline. The need for fresh capital comes as Arkia is expected to record losses of more than $30 million in 2026, according to a report by the Calcalist financial daily.

In a letter sent this week on behalf of employees to Arkia’s controlling owners and Arkia CEO Oz Berlowitz, the Transportation and Seaport Workers’ Union charged that the steps were being considered over workers’ heads. The union warned that employees will not accept any violation of their rights, job security and status at the company, and threatened further action.

Reports: 17-year-old girl killed, several others injured in IDF strike in Gaza City

Hamas-affiliated Palestinian media outlets in Gaza report that a 17-year-old girl has been killed and several others injured in an IDF strike on a camp for displaced people near the municipal park in central Gaza City.

The IDF has yet to comment.

#عاجل: شهـ ـ ـيدة ومصابون بحالة خطيرة جراء استهداف طيران الاحـ ـتلال خيمة تؤوي نازحين محيط منتزه البلدية وسط مدينة غزة. pic.twitter.com/HLFxvDu1kk

— Musab Al-Shareef مصعب الشريف (@MusabAlShareef0) November 3, 2026

IDF Humvee stolen from base last week found in Gaza border community

A stolen army Humvee is found by police officers in the Gaza border community of Ami'oz, November 3, 2026. (Israel Police)

An army Humvee stolen from a base in southern Israel last week was located by police officers this evening in a community near the Gaza Strip.

The vehicle had been identified as missing from the Julis base near Ashkelon on Thursday, prompting an investigation.

Police say officers from the Segev Shalom station located the Humvee hidden in a packing factory in the community of Ami’oz, following intelligence information on the vehicle’s location.

No suspects have been detained yet in the case.

Eisenkot assails Netanyahu, demands answers after Trump’s military aid halt announcement

A screen projects an image of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and his main rival, opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party, during a campaign rally for Eisenkot ahead of Israel’s general election, October 25, 2026, in Tel Aviv, Israel. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must give answers after US President Donald Trump says Washington will stop providing military aid to Israel by the end of the year.

“The fact that the defense establishment, along with Israeli citizens, is learning through the media about a change in the strategic relationship shows just how much Netanyahu’s conduct poses a real danger,” Eisenkot says in a statement. “He can no longer be trusted and must be replaced.”

“Netanyahu must provide answers to Israeli citizens, tonight,” he concludes.

The Prime Minister’s Office is expected to comment on Trump’s statement soon.

Trump said in a Fox News phone interview earlier today that he and Netanyahu had agreed months ago to end the aid. However, the current memorandum of understanding between the countries provides Israel $3.8 billion annually through September 2028.

Netanyahu has previously spoken of phasing out military aid over the next decade, not all at once as Trump is now claiming.

Israeli finance and defense officials have said they were surprised by Trump’s claim, according to Hebrew media reports.

Over 1,500 held up in Greece as bomb threat prompts checks on Israeli-operated cruise ship

The Crown Iris cruise ship. (Courtesy of Mano Maritime)

A bomb threat to an Israeli-operated cruise ship has prompted a security operation at the Greek island port of Syros after an unknown person claimed an explosive device had been attached to its hull, Greek authorities say.

The Panama-flagged Crown Iris — operated by Israeli company Mano Maritime — was due to sail to Haifa carrying 940 passengers and 597 crew members when the threat was received.

Coast guard personnel, assisted by an explosives detection dog and a private diver, searched the vessel, while a special coast guard unit was deployed to the scene.

Initial checks found no explosive device. Coast guard specialists are expected to arrive at 9:30 p.m. (1930 GMT) to carry out further inspections before the ship can resume its voyage.

Meanwhile, at least seven flights in Europe received bomb threats today, causing disruption at airports, although no devices were discovered.

Eisenkot lays out plan to nix outgoing government’s laws, implies UTJ no longer in pro-Netanyahu bloc

Yashar party chair Gadi Eisenkot gives an address on October 29, 2026. (Gadi Eisenkot/X screenshot)

After a meeting earlier today with the heads of parties in his bloc, Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot lays out immediate legislative plans and implies that a party often counted as part of the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu-led bloc is no longer aligned with him.

Calling the meeting with Naftali Bennett, Avigdor Liberman and Yair Golan “good and important,” Eisenkot says in a video statement that the bloc leaders are “coordinated and prepared for the coming days.”

Repeating his pledge to form an “emergency national government” based on his stated principles, Eisenkot says the parties will soon start working on more detailed guidelines and carrying out a raft of steps in the Knesset, including replacing the parliament speaker, passing unspecified “important” legislation, and “canceling laws that endanger democracy” — presumably the judicial overhaul laws passed by the outgoing government.

“We will act as quickly as possible to prevent the dragging of Israel to another election and the continuation of Netanyahu’s clinging to power,” Eisenkot adds.

He says that starting Tuesday, Netanyahu is “a transitional prime minister, backed only by 46 Knesset members.”

This remark implies that the 7-member United Torah Judaism party, which was part of the outgoing government until last year and is normally counted as part of the pro-Netanyahu bloc despite recently voicing public doubt about that, is indeed not a bloc member, potentially hinting at future cooperation with the ultra-Orthodox party. Some members of Eisenkot’s bloc staunchly oppose collaborating with the Haredi parties, however.

Eisenkot says the next few days will be “full of spins and ugly and false [press] briefings,” adding that he and his allies are determined and won’t be deterred.

Jews for Abdul co-founder: Younger Jews more willing to ‘think outside the “Israel at all costs” box’

Jews for Abdul co-founder Steve Gold holds up a sign against US President Donald Trump outside of a polling station in Huntington Woods, Michigan, on November 3, 2026. (Jacob Magid/Times of Israel)

HUNTINGTON WOODS, Michigan — US voters are trickling in to a polling station in the Detroit suburb of Huntington Woods, which is home to a large Jewish community that could play a decisive role in deciding who will win today’s Michigan Senate race between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers.

Standing alone outside the church-turned polling station is Steve Gold, the 79-year-old co-founder of Jews for Abdul.

Gold is holding a sign that sarcastically reads, “Vote MAGA Mike. Because Fascists do protect Jews,” above the pictures of US President Donald Trump and Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

Gold acknowledges that his views may be less common among older Jews, while insisting that an overwhelming majority of younger Jews back the progressive Democrat, who has been highly critical of Israel.

“Their parents and grandparents are closer to the Holocaust and have grown up with Israel and are having a real hard time separating Zionism — which was an unquestioned good for their entire lives — from Judaism itself,” he says.

“It’s a demographic split, and it’s a split in willingness to think outside the ‘Israel at all costs’ box,” Gold adds.

In Haredi yeshiva, IDF chief says army not seeking to change community members’ identity

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir speaks to Haredi yeshiva students at Derech Haim Yeshiva in Gan Yavne, November 3, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

Speaking to ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students who are set to enlist in the military, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir reiterates that the army needs to grow.

“The IDF is not seeking to change your identity. Our goal is for you to enter the military as Haredim and leave as Haredim. This is our commitment as an army and mine personally,” Zamir says to the students at the Derech Haim Yeshiva in Gan Yavne.

The yeshiva for ultra-Orthodox men is part of the Hesder program, which allows religious men to combine several years of Torah studies with a shortened military service, currently set at 17 months.

“The events of October 7 highlighted the need for a larger, stronger and more prepared military. The lessons learned require us to strengthen the ranks of the military, expand the pool of those serving, and ensure our readiness to carry out our various missions,” Zamir adds.

US has plans to strike Iran as early as tomorrow — report

A woman crosses a street beneath a billboard depicting US President Donald Trump behind bars and calling for his killing in central Tehran, Iran, November 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

The US Central Command has a plan ready to attack Iran as early as tomorrow, The New York Times reports.

Such a strike would take place after today’s midterm elections.

Some top officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration are urging him to focus on the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, arguing economic pressure will bring down the regime, according to the report. Others argue that only military action will weaken the regime.

Egypt urges flexibility, restraint in call with Iran to avert regional escalation

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty has said in a phone call to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi that all parties need to demonstrate flexibility and seek a political solution to the regional crisis, calling for continued restraint to prevent military escalation, Egypt’s foreign ministry says in a statement.

In rare reaction to ‘false reports,’ AG bashes Shin Bet for hindering vote-buying probe by withholding evidence

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara attends a Knesset committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem on June 9, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara releases a statement she admits is highly unusual, in light of what she says are “false reports,” after a report about developments in the probe of an alleged vote-buying scheme caused the ruling Likud party to accuse her of blocking the investigation.

“In a lawful state, it is impossible to interrogate citizens or elected officials without evidence that justifies it,” she says. “If the Shin Bet or any other body has a piece of evidence that justifies an investigation, they are welcome to present it.”

The i24News outlet reported this evening that Shin Bet chief David Zini is seeking to question four Arab politicians in the case, but hasn’t provided prosecutors with evidence regarding three of them.

The three are Ra’am party head Mansour Abbas, Ta’al faction leader Ahmad Tibi and Balad faction chief Sami Abu Shehadeh. The fourth is a senior Joint List MK, whose name is barred from publication and against whom there reportedly is “wall-to-wall” agreement of compelling evidence.

The report said that though Baharav-Miara has asked to receive the evidence ahead of a decision on whether to approve the interrogations, the Shin Bet hasn’t yet provided it, except against the unnamed lawmaker.

The Shin Bet has also not provided police with the material, even though the two bodies decided two days ago to form a joint team, according to the report.

Appearing to confirm that part of the report, the attorney general says in her statement that for two days now, the Shin Bet has not handed over evidence to the joint investigative team, hindering the probe.

Tanker said hit by two unknown projectiles off Oman

A tanker has been struck by two “unknown projectiles” 14 nautical miles northeast of Oman’s Lima, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations says.

The monitor says no casualties or environmental impact have been reported so far.

Joint List denounces Shin Bet probe of Arab politicians; Eisenkot: Likud leading ‘pogrom against democracy’

The Arab-led Joint List Knesset alliance accuses Shin Bet chief David Zini of acting as a “political arm” for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, following reports that the security agency is seeking to question four Arab politicians over alleged election interference, including senior members of the party.

“Netanyahu is clinging to power and trying to delegitimize the Arab public, which turned out in droves to vote against his government,” the party says. “Zini, who was appointed by Netanyahu, is acting as a political arm in his service.”

“We will not allow Netanyahu and Zini to turn the votes of hundreds of thousands of Arab citizens into a security threat and their elected representatives into suspects,” it adds, describing the reported investigations as part of a broader campaign to delegitimize Arab voters and their political representatives.

Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot similarly warns that members of Israel’s security establishment and law enforcement agencies are “servants of the state, not the king,” accusing Likud and Netanyahu of attempting to drag the country into a “dangerous constitutional crisis.”

“In their desperation, Likud and Netanyahu are attempting to carry out a pogrom against democracy and the rule of law,” Eisenkot alleges. “At this difficult time, both politically and in terms of security, they are trying to undermine public trust in the election results.”

Democrats chairman Yair Golan also accuses Zini of turning the Shin Bet into “a political tool serving Netanyahu’s campaign to undermine the election results,” calling the reports a “grave warning sign” and urging opposition leaders to move quickly to form a government.

Golan says the next government must review Netanyahu’s appointments, including Zini’s, to ensure that security agencies serve the state rather than political interests.

The statements follow an i24News report that Zini is seeking to interrogate Ra’am chairman Mansour Abbas, Ta’al faction leader Ahmad Tibi, Balad faction chief Sami Abu Shehadeh and an unnamed senior Joint List lawmaker, but has provided prosecutors with evidence against only the latter.

In response to the report’s publication, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said investigators cannot question elected officials without supporting evidence, accusing the Shin Bet of withholding investigative materials from a joint team established with police two days ago.

Likud responds by accusing Baharav-Miara of “tying the Shin Bet’s hands” and covering up alleged foreign interference in the election.

The party also accuses Eisenkot, Golan and other opposition leaders of “inciting and stirring up rebellion against the heads of Israel’s security establishment” with the attorney general’s backing.

Likud has repeatedly claimed that the election was “stolen” by the Arab parties and sought to delay certification of the results.