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Key updates, 6 November 2026:
Trump says Iran can’t do anything on its nuclear program ‘without our approval’
US President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, DC, on November 5, 2026. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP)
US President Donald Trump claims Iran cannot do anything pertaining to its nuclear program without “approval” from the US.
He is asked by reporters in the Oval Office about reports that Iranian negotiators are reviewing a new proposal for an agreement to curb its nuclear program.
“They’re not doing anything without our approval… It doesn’t make a difference what they’re looking at. They’re not going to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump claims.
“Now we will make a decision [on Iran]. Do we want to go further… and certify it… so that it will never happen again. I would rather not destroy the rest of the country if possible, but maybe I will have to. You will know soon enough,” Trump repeats.
Key Update
Turkey’s parliament ratifies defense pact with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia
From left, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif pose after signing a trilateral defense agreement in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, August 7, 2026. (Saudi Press Agency via AP)
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish legislators have ratified a defense cooperation agreement among Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia as Riyadh seeks increased regional support in its conflict with Iran-backed Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen.
The vote also comes as countries in the region remain anxious about the prospects of a new escalation in the US-Iran war, which would likely spill over into neighboring countries. During previous rounds of fighting, Iran has lashed out at US-allied Gulf Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia.
The 16-article Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, signed in August, commits the three countries to regard an attack against one as an attack on all three, to work together to deter threats and deepen military cooperation, share intelligence and strengthen defense industry ties.
It is approved by 279 votes to 119 in the 600-seat Turkish parliament, despite objections from opposition parties who argue that the agreement can embroil Turkey in regional wars and put Turkish soldiers in harm’s way.
“They brought this agreement to send Turkish soldiers to the deserts of Yemen,” says Murat Emir, deputy leader of opposition New Party lawmakers. The loss of Ottoman soldiers in early 20th century conflicts in Yemen looms large in Turkish cultural memory.
Fuat Oktay, chairman of parliament’s foreign affairs committee and a member of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party, says Turkey will “not be drawn into an uncontrolled process against its will.” He ads that the deployment of troops will only be possible with future parliamentary approval.
The Turkish officials have said Ankara is considering sending military assistance to Saudi Arabia but insist that the agreement is defensive and that no Turkish troops would be deployed to fight in Yemen or to attack the Houthis.
Court documents show Trump administration held talks with Iran on deporting Iranians amid the war
A US flag is seen through the flag of Iran, April 8, 2026, in New York. (AP/Ryan Murphy)
WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump’s administration held secret talks with Iran on deporting Iranians even as the war there dragged on, court documents obtained by the Associated Press show.
The court documents unsealed Thursday show the Republican administration as recently as mid-October saying it had plans to deport the Iranians through an unnamed third country, although they did not specify when that would be carried out. The judge in the case ordered the government to give the court 24-hour notice of any finalized plans to deport Iranians to Iran or to any other country and five days’ written notice before any such deportation is carried out.
A legal group representing Iranians held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement says at least a dozen Iranian detainees have been notified over the past week that they are being deported to Iran, with some told it could be as soon as this coming Sunday. The legal group, the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund, brought the lawsuit in which the new court documents were released.
Earlier court filings and emails show the administration held talks with Iran on deportations that took place last year and shortly before the war. But the revelation that it’s maintaining those contacts even after the war broke out highlights the administration’s resolve in carrying out its hardline immigration crackdown, which has involved ramping up removals, including to places that critics say could endanger the lives of the returnees.
The court documents show that the administration maintained contacts with Iran during the war over the removals, specifically for submitting travel documents and figuring out “possible avenues for removal.”
The State Department says it generally does not comment on pending litigation or private diplomatic discussions. It refers other questions to the Department of Homeland Security, which doesn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Rubio denies reports he’ll resign from Trump administration ahead of 2028 presidential run
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio makes the sign on the cross at the media before walking into the West Wing of the White House, November 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
WASHINGTON — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio rejects reports he will leave Donald Trump’s administration to run for president, telling the New York Times in an interview that working for Trump until the end of Trump’s term has “always been my plan.”
“I literally will not talk about 2028 anymore,” Rubio is quoted as saying by the Times. “I just won’t do it.”
Jewish voters stuck with Democrats in congressional midterm races — J Street poll
Seventy-two percent of Jewish voters supported Democratic congressional candidates in Tuesday’s US midterm elections, compared to 24% who backed Republicans, according to a poll commissioned by the dovish J Street lobby.
The figures indicate almost no change when the poll was conducted after the previous elections in 2024 and shows 72% of Jews voting Democrat and 26% voting Republican.
A clear majority of Jewish voters (76%) in the latest poll also back sanctions against violent Israeli settlers in the West Bank
According to our 2026 Election Survey of Jewish voters, 72% of American Jews voted Democrat last night. There was no exodus.
We'll have deeper results at our briefing tomorrow at 1 PM ET – RSVP here: https://t.co/FpZZe4mAOm pic.twitter.com/8Qy8e4jk3K
— J Street (@jstreetdotorg) November 4, 2026
Sixty-six percent of respondents to the J Street poll say campaign spending by rival AIPAC against candidates who criticize Israel increases antisemitism in the US.
Eighty percent of Jewish voters also believe Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank increase antisemitism in the US, according to the poll.
The survey of 800 Jewish voters was conducted by GBAO from October 28 to November 3 and had a 3.5% margin of error.
“American Jews remain a core Democratic constituency with firmly held political beliefs and values, and their voting behavior has remained remarkably consistent despite the emergence of controversial issues each election cycle,” says GBAO Strategies founding president Jim Gerstein.
“Conventional wisdom about the impact of Jewish concerns over antisemitism and what it means to support Israel often misses the mark on how Jews process these issues in America’s political context,” he continues. “The reality is that Jews express nuanced thinking on these issues that is frequently missing in the extensive media coverage of the Jewish community.”
Tony Blair reportedly to meet with Eisenkot after talks with Herzog and Netanyahu
In addition to meeting President Isaac Herzog, former British prime minister and Board of Peace senior envoy Tony Blair met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday while in Jerusalem, the Haaretz daily reports.
The newspaper says the meetings were aimed at advancing US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan following the recent Israeli elections, adding that Blair is also supposed to sit down Friday with Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot in a bid to establish a rapport.
Holocaust survivor, 90, wounded in Bondi Beach shooting dies almost a year after attack
Mourners gather in front of tributes laid in memory of victims of the mass shooting at Bondi Beach, in Sydney on December 20, 2025. (DAVID GRAY / AFP)
A 90-year-old woman who was seriously injured during the Bondi Beach terror shooting has died in hospital nearly a year after the attack, Australian authorities say.
Eva Geller was among dozens of people wounded when two gunmen opened fire on a crowd at a Hanukkah celebration at the Sydney beach on December 14 last year.
Geller, a Holocaust survivor, had since been “in and out of hospital” as a result of her injuries, public broadcaster ABC reports.
She died in a Sydney hospital overnight, reportedly of an infection related to her injuries.
Absolutely devastating 💔
Eva Geller, 90, shot during the Bondi terror attack, has just died, following complications from her injuries, becoming the 16th victim of the massacre. Eva was a HOLOCAUST survivor!
May her memory and life always be a blessing! pic.twitter.com/jLBglc5KMu
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) November 6, 2026
Police say in a statement that they are aware of the death.
“Police are now awaiting further advice and are working with the office of the coroner,” New South Wales police says.
A total of 15 people were killed in the mass shooting, Australia’s deadliest in decades.
Police say the alleged gunmen, Sajid Akram and his son Naveed Akram, were inspired by Islamic State.
Police shot dead Sajid Akram at the scene, while Naveed Akram, who was also shot but survived, is currently facing charges including 15 counts of murder and a terror offense.
A government-backed inquiry into antisemitism called in the wake of the attack is also due to hand down its findings on December 18.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he is saddened to hear of Geller’s death.
“Almost a year on, the devastation of that awful day continues to cause pain for families, and today we recognize that more than ever,” he says. “We are wrapping our arms around Eva’s family, friends and the Jewish community at this very sad time.”
Geller’s funeral is scheduled to take place next week, ABC reports.
Key Update
3, including 2 Israelis, charged in US in scheme to use AI to impersonate CEOs and attorneys to steal $129 million
Three people accused of using artificial intelligence to impersonate corporate executives and attorneys to steal about $129 million have been indicted on charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, US prosecutors say.
Over more than a year and a half, Jacob Soall, 41, Sharon Hazan, 54, and Guy Sheetrit, 42 — the latter two of whom are Israeli — targeted thousands of companies across the world in their AI scheme, according to the indictment filed in a US District Court in New York.
Their victims included hospital systems in Missouri and California, a bank in Rhode Island, a financial technology company in the United Kingdom, a mutual fund company in Massachusetts and a pet food company in Florida, according to court documents.
The defendants, from Spain, the UK, Israel and the United Arab Emirates, have also been charged with money laundering, according to the indictment.
Lawyers for Soall and Sheetrit did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment. It is not clear whether Hazan has an attorney. The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York also did not immediately respond to a voicemail The Associated Press left.
The three were arrested between June and September. In 2008, Hazan was convicted in a New York court of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, according to the US Attorney’s Office.
The trio, who have nicknames that include “Rocky Balboa,” “Superman Cash,” and “Fat Boy,” often targeted the companies’ accounting departments. They would send an email purporting to be from the CEO and ask for help with a confidential financial transaction, according to court documents.
They would also coordinate a phone or video call where the defendants used AI to mimic the voice and sometimes the image of the CEO, according to the indictment.
The defendants would then tell them to contact an attorney at a major law firm, whom the group was also ready to impersonate, according to court documents.
Israel’s NY consul general predicts mass Jewish exodus from North America to Israel
Ofir Akunis, Israeli Consul General in New York, attends the Israel Day Parade in New York City, May 31, 2026. (Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90)
Israel’s consul general in New York anticipates that many US Jews will emigrate to Israel, presumably due to the sweeping midterm victory by the Democratic Party.
“The next government formed in Israel must prepare for a huge wave of aliyah from North America and from the United States in particular,” Ofir Akunis tweets. “I said so half a year ago. I repeat it today.”
A recent poll has shown that 72 percent of Jews voted for the Democratic candidate in the midterms, the same as in 2024.
Costa Rica’s Grynspan extends lead in informal UN chief poll, sources say
Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan attends a meeting with other Latin American and Caribbean candidates for UN secretary-general to discuss their proposals in Montevideo, Uruguay, August 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)
An informal poll by the United Nations Security Council shows former Costa Rican Vice President Rebeca Grynspan has extended her lead as frontrunner in the race to become the 10th UN secretary-general, people close to the process say.
Grynspan received 12 votes in favor and three against on the 15-member council, marking her strongest showing in eight closed-door ballots conducted in recent months to replace Antonio Guterres as he finishes his second five-year term this year.
Whoever takes over will have to tackle multiple crises, including several wars, cutbacks in US contributions to the UN, and the 193-member body’s declining political relevance as Washington has pulled out of dozens of its agencies.
Securing the council’s recommendation will require a formal vote, expected once one candidate shows a strong chance of prevailing, with at least nine positive votes and no “discourage” votes from the five permanent members — France, Britain, the US, Russia and China. Thursday’s ballot has not disclosed the preferences of those five members.
Six of seven polls conducted in recent months have shown Grynspan — who is Jewish and has family and personal ties to Israel — narrowly ahead, with one poll in August placing Guyana’s UN ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett in the top spot.
In the latest poll, Rodrigues-Birkett received eight votes in favor, coming in third, while Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, the director general of the UN nuclear watchdog, came in second with nine “encourage” votes.
The results were very close to the outcome of last week’s poll, except for Grynspan’s gain of one vote.
Also identical to last week was the result for United Arab Emirates diplomat Lana Nusseibeh, a late entrant to the race, who again came in fourth with seven votes in favor, six against and two marked as “no opinion.”
Man, reportedly an inmate heading to work outside prison, shot dead in north
A man in his 30s has been shot dead in northern Israel, in what police say was a criminal incident.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service says a civilian at the scene — a bus stop on Route 65, near Nahal Tsalmon Interchange, west of the Sea of Galilee — started resuscitation efforts that were continued by medics, but the critical wounds proved fatal, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police say they are looking into the circumstances and searching for suspects.
Hebrew media reports say the victim is a prisoner — Eyal Heib, 37, from the Bedouin town of Tuba-Zangariyye, convicted of manslaughter in 2015 and serving an 18-year sentence — who was on his way to work outside Hermon prison, to which he returns every evening.
The incident comes after two other young men were shot dead last night in Arab towns in the north.
Iran’s IRGC says two oil tankers hit mines, catch fire in Strait of Hormuz
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards say two oil tankers have caught fire after striking mines while attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz using unauthorized routes, state media reports.
Saudi-led coalition says it downed two Houthi missiles fired toward Saudi Arabia’s Najran
Air defenses have intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles fired by Yemen’s Houthi group toward Saudi Arabia’s Najran, the Saudi-led coalition says.
Debris fell following the interception and damage is being assessed, the coalition says in a post on X.
Trump talks to Qatar’s emir, who cautions him against further escalation with Iran
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani gestures next to US President Donald Trump at Al Udeid Air Base, May 15, 2025, in Doha, Qatar. (AP/Alex Brandon)
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani discussed diplomatic efforts to ease regional tensions in a phone call with US President Donald Trump today, a Qatari statement says.
According to the statement, the leaders discussed Qatar’s mediation efforts toward a comprehensive agreement with Iran to end the regional crisis.
The statement adds that during the call, the Qatari ruler stressed the importance of avoiding further escalation, ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, and securing energy supplies.
Liberman confirms he’s open to coalition with Haredi parties, compromise on enlistment law
Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman at the party’s election headquarters in Tel Aviv, on election night, October 27, 2026. (Tal Gal/Flash90)
Yisrael Beytenu party chief Avigdor Liberman confirms reports that he has backtracked on years of vows to not join a coalition with ultra-Orthodox parties, saying in a statement that he is prepared to compromise on his continuous pledges to pass a law mandating the enlistment of Haredi men into the IDF.
In a statement posted on X, Liberman says the election results require Israel’s political leaders to “rethink our course” and “look several moves ahead.”
Liberman says the current political reality requires “difficult decisions” and “painful compromises.” He reiterates three red lines he has set: “The Netanyahu era must end”; Israel must not be dragged into another election; and no government should rely on the Joint List and Ra’am.
He reiterates that he opposes forming a government that depends on the two Arab parties’ support, and says Yisrael Beytenu “will vote against such a government.” On other issues, however, he says, “it is permissible and desirable to be flexible and compromise,” including on the ultra-Orthodox draft law.
“It pains me, and I know it’s painful to many others. But in light of the range of challenges we are facing today, the national interest must stand above any other consideration,” he says.
He warns that forming a minority government could pave the way for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to return to power with an even larger majority, saying “the road to the destruction of the Third Temple will be short.”
He points to the 2021 Bennett-Lapid change government, which lasted a little over a year before Netanyahu returned to office with 64 seats. A minority government, he warns, would last “much less time,” and then “we will get Netanyahu back with 70 seats for another four years.”
Liberman blames Gadi Eisenkot and his Yashar party’s campaign to become the “largest party,” as well as talks of forming a minority government, for hurting the change bloc in the final days of the election campaign. Liberman claims the bloc lost seven to eight seats in the last 10 days before the election, including three to four Yisrael Beytenu seats that purportedly went to Netanyahu’s Likud. No experts, data analysts or observers have made such claims since the election.
However, Liberman rejects reports that his agreement to work with the Haredim has come in exchange for a potential power-sharing, or rotation agreement by which he and Eisenkot would alternate as prime minister.
He says he has not discussed a rotation government with anyone, “not even with myself,” and calls the mechanism harmful to the country’s governance.
He urges political leaders to make every effort to form a 61-seat coalition without the Joint List and Ra’am, saying it may later be possible to bring in “three or four Likud lawmakers.” He calls this “the only strategy that reflects the interests of the State of Israel and the Jewish people” and says it could produce a stable government for four years.
The statement comes after Eisenkot received recommendations from 67 lawmakers to become the next prime minister, compared with 46 for Netanyahu, during consultations with party leaders held by President Isaac Herzog. Herzog said he would continue deliberating with party leaders and announce on Sunday whom he will task with forming a government.
Key Update
Yair Golan ‘optimistic’ about prospect of new government, citing ‘substantial progress’
Yair Golan, chairman of the Democrats party, attends the Shabtai Shavit World Summit on Counter-Terrorism at Reichman University in Herzliya, October 6, 2026. (Tal Gal/Flash90)
The Democrats party leader Yair Golan says he is more optimistic than before that a new government is within reach, after Yisrael Beytenu chief Avigdor Liberman declared a years-long end to boycotts of the ultra-Orthodox parties.
“I am more optimistic than I was on Wednesday morning, after the election results,” he tweets. “There is progress. There is willingness. And there is serious work done every day to turn the election results into a change government. There are difficulties, and I don’t intend to conceal them. But there is also substantial progress.”
“Israel is at a critical point. The responsibility resting on us, the heads of the change bloc, is immense. We are determined to form an emergency national government — and fast.”
Key Update
In 1st response, Netanyahu’s office doesn’t deny Trump’s announcement of imminent halt to military aid
US President Donald Trump listens as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, December 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Florida. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
In its first response to US President Donald Trump’s announcement that American military aid to Israel will be completely halted at the end of this year, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office doesn’t offer a denial.
On the morning of the midterm election on Tuesday, Trump said the United States would cease providing $4 billion in annual military aid to Israel by the end of 2026, in comments that reportedly caught Israeli security and financial officials off guard, given that the 10-year memorandum of understanding on US military assistance to Israel, which gives the Jewish state $3.8 billion annually, doesn’t expire until the end of September 2028.
While Netanyahu has previously spoken publicly and repeatedly about ending US military assistance to Israel, he has talked about doing so gradually over the next decade — not all at once.
“US military aid to Israel has always been a cross-the-aisle agreement. Israel has used it both to defend itself and to confront enemies who threaten America and the West,” the PMO says in a new statement, also appearing to allude to the Democrats’ victory in the midterms.
“Today, Israel has a strong and stable economy. The move by PM Netanyahu and President Trump from aid to partnership shows the strength and sophistication of our relationship, and its ability to adapt and stand strong over time,” it adds in an X post.
The post is accompanied by a clip of a Fox News interview with PMO spokesman Doron Spielman, who says, “While this aid has been incredibly important, the prime minister has been working with President Trump to make the correct transition out from aid towards partnership and mutual investment.”
Key Update
UTJ chief welcomes Liberman’s ‘flexibility,’ but says no partnership proposal received yet
United Torah Judaism party chairman MK Yaakov Asher attends the opening of the party’s election campaign headquarters in Jerusalem, October 11, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
United Torah Judaism party leader Yaakov Asher welcomes Avigdor Liberman’s change of heart regarding working with the ultra-Orthodox parties, while adding that no concrete partnership proposal has been sent yet.
After Liberman said he’s open to compromise on his longtime demand to legislate mandatory military service for Haredi men, Asher says: “I’m happy to discover the flexibility of all political players on enlistment.”
He adds a swipe at Liberman and the opposition bloc, which campaigned heavily on ending the sweeping exemptions and halting benefits to ultra-Orthodox draft evaders and their families: “It’s painful to think how much incitement and internal hatred could have been saved had such flexibility been displayed in the past few years.”
He says that if a proposal is received, it will be evaluated by UTJ’s spiritual leaders, who are the strategic decision-makers for the party.
UTJ this week declined to endorse any candidate for prime minister when meeting President Isaac Herzog, reiterating that the party no longer views itself as part of the bloc loyal to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Fellow Haredi party Shas, however, recommended Netanyahu and says it is part of the bloc. Shas’s support would also be needed for the anti-Netanyahu bloc to form a government.
IDF says 3 Palestinians planning terror attacks arrested in West Bank earlier this week
Three Palestinians who were planning to carry out terror attacks were apprehended by IDF commandos in the central West Bank this week, the military announces.
Soldiers of the Duvdevan Commando Unit raided the al-Am’ari Camp, a-Ram, and al-Bireh near Ramallah, following intelligence provided by the Shin Bet, and captured “three terrorists… who planned to carry out terror attacks and military activity against Israeli citizens and IDF troops,” the army says.
The trio was handed over to the Shin Bet for questioning.
IDF: Home Front Command carries out largest search and rescue drill in recent years
Soldiers of the Home Front Command’s Search and Rescue Brigade conduct a drill on November 4, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)
The Search and Rescue Brigade of the IDF Home Front Command carried out its largest military drill in recent years this week, aimed at improving its readiness for “multifront scenarios.”
The IDF says the “Orange Dawn” exercise, conducted on Wednesday at several locations across the country, was the largest drill held by the Search and Rescue Brigade in the past five years.
“As part of the exercise, the brigade’s standing army and reserve forces practiced multifront scenarios involving a range of complex emergencies in civilian areas, such as rescue operations at sites of destruction,” the military says.
The IDF says the drill aimed to “assess and improve rescue capabilities, operational responses across multiple simultaneous fronts, and cooperation with emergency services,” as well as strengthen the “readiness and operational preparedness” of the troops and “their ability to respond to multiple simultaneous fronts on the home front, including in complex emergency scenarios.”
Russia says Putin and top Iranian security official discussed Middle East at Moscow meeting
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran’s security council secretary Mohsen Rezaei discussed the situation in the Middle East and bilateral relations at a meeting in Moscow yesterday, the Kremlin says, according to RIA news agency.
Rabello notifies Knesset speaker that he won’t run for state comptroller
Attorney Michael Rabello is seen before a court hearing on the dismissal of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, April 15, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Confirming Hebrew media reports, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s lawyer Michael Rabello formally notifies Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana that he is withdrawing his candidacy for state comptroller.
In a brief letter, Rabello thanks Ohana and the lawmakers “who proposed my candidacy and put their trust in me.”
The move comes several months after the High Court of Justice froze his appointment over concerns that the Knesset vote in which he was elected was conducted improperly.
Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted drone in Mecca region
The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis says it has intercepted and destroyed a drone in the region of Mecca, Islam’s holiest city, following repeated attacks by the pro-Iranian group 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.
Fresh wave of bomb threats targets European flights, Irish media groups
A new wave of bomb threats causes disruption in European aviation for the third day this week, and also targets Irish media outlets.
Authorities in Denmark, the Czech Republic, Portugal and France all report flight disruptions and scares after threats were received. Previous such threats have turned out to be hoaxes.
The offices of Irish media groups, including national broadcaster RTE, have also been evacuated following bomb threats that a presenter on one of the impacted radio stations, Newstalk, says have been deemed a hoax.
Newstalk later resumes programming after staff were told they could return to the building in central Dublin, presenter Claire Byrne says on air. The Irish Independent newspaper group reports that its offices in the capital were also evacuated.
Yisrael Beytenu member who didn’t win Knesset seat rejects any compromise on Haredi draft law, implies he may leave party
MK Dan Illouz (L) stands with Yisrael Beytenu chair Avigdor Liberman after joining the party following his resignation from Likud, on August 5, 2026. (Yisrael Beytenu)
A lawmaker who recently left Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and joined the secularist opposition party Yisrael Beytenu comes out publicly against his new party leader, Avigdor Liberman, for expressing openness to compromise on ultra-Orthodox enlistment, suggesting he may leave the party over the issue.
Dan Illouz, who left Likud due to the advancement of a Haredi-demanded law formalizing sweeping exemptions from military service for most ultra-Orthodox men, says the issue cannot be compromised on, stressing that “this was an explicit promise we gave voters before the election.”
Illouz is No. 10 on Yisrael Beytenu’s slate. The party got 7 seats in last week’s election, meaning he anyway won’t be part of the next Knesset unless three party MKs resign. (Some could do so under the “Norwegian Law” that lets new ministers resign as lawmakers and later return to the Knesset if they cease being a minister.)
Illouz says that he fought against the outgoing coalition’s exemption law efforts, and vows to fight it also “if it comes from the other side [of the aisle], even as a regular citizen” — a remark that could be interpreted as floating the possibility of leaving Yisrael Beytenu.
Rather than a coalition with Haredi parties, he throws his support behind a cross-bloc Zionist unity government, which would require Netanyahu’s Likud to join.
Iran demands practical US steps before diplomacy, senior security official says
Iran is not satisfied with “paper commitments” and must see practical US steps before the launch of any new diplomatic efforts, Ali Bagheri, the deputy head of Iran’s top security body, tells Iranian state television.
Iran has sent the United States a nuclear proposal via Qatar to be discussed only after Washington meets its seven demands, a senior Iranian official has told Reuters, adding that Washington is reviewing the proposal.
South Africa’s ANC continues decline as early municipal elections results show big losses
People wait in line to vote outside a polling station during local elections in Alexandra township, outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa, November 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — South Africa’s African National Congress is on track for a big drop in voter support in municipal elections, results from more than two-thirds of the votes counted show.
The results so far suggest coalition talks will decide control of major cities such as Johannesburg, extending the decline of the previously dominant party, which had to form a coalition to govern nationally after the 2024 election.
The ANC was on 32% of the vote, compared to 25% for its nearest rival, the Democratic Alliance, results from 71% of votes counted show.
If those figures hold, the ANC would be down about 14 percentage points from its last municipal election result in 2021, which was already its worst in history.
The ANC has been South Africa’s largest party since it led the country out of apartheid in 1994, but its share of the vote has fallen sharply as voters have punished it for high crime and unemployment, corruption scandals and failing basic services like water and electricity.
The DA is on course to win an outright majority in Cape Town, but projections are for hung councils in other large metropolitan areas, such as Johannesburg, South Africa’s biggest city, and Tshwane, home to the administrative capital Pretoria.
The outcome remains unclear in the early stages of the vote count in eThekwini, the municipality centred on Durban, where former president Jacob Zuma is hoping his party — a splinter from the ANC — can seize a majority.
Analysts have said the best option for stability in cities such as Johannesburg would be for the ANC to partner with the DA, mirroring the arrangement they have in national government. But the two are ideologically opposed on key issues such as racial redress.
South Africa has long been a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause, with the ANC often linking it to its own struggle against apartheid.
Tanker reports blast near Oman’s Khasab while transiting Hormuz, British maritime agency says
The master of a tanker crossing the Strait of Hormuz reported an explosion at the vessel’s port-side waterline, 16 nautical miles east of Oman’s Khasab, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency says.
The tanker remains under its own power and is continuing its voyage, UKMTO says, adding that all crew are safe and accounted for.
Liberman denies he has withdrawn support for Lapid as Knesset speaker
Yisrael Beytenu party head Avigdor Liberman at the Democracy Festival, at the BIG mall in Glilot, ahead of the election, on October 13, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/FLASH90)
Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman denies reports that he is no longer supporting B’Yachad No.2 Yair Lapid as Knesset speaker.
“I’m glad to discover something about myself I didn’t know,” Liberman wrote on X. “Even now, I believe Lapid’s appointment as Knesset speaker is the best move. But now the decision rests on Gadi [Eisenkot], Naftali [Bennett] and Yair himself.”
B’Yachad has proposed outgoing opposition leader and party No. 2 Yair Lapid, but Yashar reportedly wants the position for one of its own lawmakers, a demand rejected by the other parties.
Trump discusses new Iran strikes at White House, possibly under cover of Nov. 9’s new moon — report
US President Donald Trump talks to reporters during a tour of White House Ballroom construction at the White House, November 4, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
US President Donald Trump yesterday discussed the possibility of renewing strikes on Iran with his national security team at the White House, senior officials tell Fox News.
November 9, the start of a new moon in the Middle East, marks preferred conditions for the military to resume operations due to the cover of darkness, the officials add.
Ayalon Highway closures canceled as work completed; train delays still expected
The Israel Electric Corporation cancels planned weekend closures of the Ayalon Highway, Israel’s busiest road, after works were completed earlier than expected.
However, planned train delays in the Gush Dan area tomorrow night will proceed due to the assumption that the maintenance work would go ahead.
Ireland: Hoax bomb claims sent to media outlets, European flights likely part of coordinated campaign
A police car is seen in front of Vasil Levski Sofia Airport after three Ryanair flights bound for Sofia, Bulgaria, made emergency landings following bomb threats on board, November 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
DUBLIN, Ireland — Ireland’s government says that hoax bomb claims sent to Irish media outlets amid a spate of threats against Europe-wide flights were “likely” part of a “coordinated campaign.”
“These threats come on the heels of the ongoing disruption to aviation around Europe caused by similar threats, and it seems likely that this is a coordinated campaign of disruption,” it says in a statement.
Iran reportedly open to discussing its nuclear program with US
A giant banner depicting, from left, US special envoy Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Vice President JD Vance burns during an organized, symbolic denunciation of the United States and Israel by Iranian government supporters in Islamic Revolution Square in Tehran, Iran, November 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
The US and Iran are potentially moving toward a breakthrough in efforts to reach an agreement that would end the largely suspended war between them, Bloomberg reports, citing a diplomat with knowledge of the discussions.
A breakthrough has become more likely because Iran is willing to examine Qatari proposals for previously off-limits concessions on its nuclear program, according to the report.
The report comes after US President Donald Trump and Qatar’s Emir Tamim Al-Thani spoke by phone about efforts to de-escalate tensions, according to Al-Thani’s office.
Not everyone is impressed by the Bloomberg report.
“Talking is not necessarily conceding,” Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, tells The Times of Israel.
“The Iranian regime has been discussing its nuclear program with the US for decades,” he continues. “That’s really not a breakthrough. Eager mediators are trying to paint a rosy picture of progress in talks to stall and delay the US from escalation.”
“I would urge skepticism and caution.”
Eisenkot reiterates demand for mandatory national service after Liberman opens door to coalition with Haredim
Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot alongside members of his party at the party’s election headquarters in Tel Aviv, following the closing of polling stations and the release of exit poll results on October 28, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Yashar chief Gadi Eisenkot stands by his four demands for any party interested in joining a coalition he is working to build, including one mandating national service for all Israelis, after Yisrael Beytenu chief Avigdor Liberman opened the door to a government with the ultra-Orthodox parties.
In a lengthy social media post, Eisenkot begins by stressing that “Israel is in a state of genuine, tangible and dangerous emergency.”
“The current government poses a fundamental threat to the very existence of Israeli democracy — nothing less. This is occurring while war fronts remain active, yet are themselves subject to political and personal whims. Israel is already in the midst of a dangerous diplomatic tsunami.”
“Against this backdrop, over the past few days, I have been advancing a plan with my partners to form a national emergency government,” Eisenkot says, adding that he is working to swear in a new government as soon as possible, whose foundation will be the four Jewish-led opposition parties — Yashar (21 seats), B’Yachad (12 seats), The Democrats (8 seats) and Yisrael Beytenu (7 seats).
“Any other party or MK who agrees to my four core principles will be invited to join — whether immediately or at a later stage,” Eisenkot says, subsequently listing off the principles.
1. Recognition of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.
2. Acceptance of the values of the Declaration of Independence.
3. Mandatory service for all — whether military, national, or civilian service — to strengthen the IDF and expand its ranks.
4. Recognition of Hamas as a terror organization and a commitment to dismantling its military and governing power.
Eisenkot notably appears to have slightly altered the fourth principle regarding Hamas, using the word “dismantling,” rather than “destruction” of its military and governing power. This potentially leaves open the door to diplomatic solutions for Gaza, rather than military ones, which the Arab-led Ra’am party may have an easier time accepting. However, B’Yachad and Yisrael Beytenu have rejected a coalition with the party.
Eisenkot says it is the duty of Israel’s elected officials to prevent another round of elections, while also preventing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from remaining in power.
The costs of Netanyahu clinging to the premiership “have become even more starkly apparent in recent days,” says the Yashar chief, who has blasted the prime minister’s calls against ratifying the results of the election as well as Netanyahu’s handling of relations with the US.
Eisenkot points to the recommendations submitted by 67 MKs for him to form the next coalition, adding that the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party’s seven MKs did not recommend Netanyahu either, leaving the premier with just 46 MKs who support his continued rule.
He says his team has been working tirelessly behind the scenes to form a new government.
“We have made significant progress and achieved a breakthrough — working quietly and modestly, with much of our activity remaining out of the public eye,” Eisonkot says. “When there is something to report, I will update you myself — looking you, the citizens of Israel, straight in the eyes.”
“Citizens of Israel… both those who voted for me and those who did not, Israel is in a state of emergency. We must steady the ship and bring Israel back to safe shores,” Eisenkot writes, pledging to act responsibly with the mandate President Isaac Herzog is expected to give him on Sunday to form a new government.
“Anyone who attempts to undermine or sabotage the formation of this government for personal rather than substantive reasons will go down in history as someone who failed to rise to the gravity of the hour and failed to act to save Israel during a time of emergency. Such an act will not be forgiven,” he adds.
Key Update
Iran war spurs crackdown on clerics in tiny Gulf state Bahrain
Cars pass by a billboard as U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in the country to discuss an interim deal between the U.S. and Iran with Arab Gulf allies, in Manama, Bahrain, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (Eric Lee/Pool Photo via AP)
Shaken by the accuracy of Iran’s attacks on Bahrain and support for them among some Bahrainis, authorities in the Gulf island nation have launched a crackdown on Shi’ite Muslim clerics they accuse of fostering allegiance to Tehran at home.
Bahraini officials have framed the move in existential terms, saying Iran seeks to undermine and ultimately topple the leadership of the only Gulf country that is ruled by a Sunni Muslim family but populated mostly by Shi’ites.
Critics, including rights groups, say the arrests and the stripping of citizenship from 69 citizens of Iranian heritage are a new blow to free speech and religious freedom in a country that crushed 2011 Arab Spring pro-democracy protests.
“We are confronting an ideology that demands obedience to Iran’s leadership above Bahrain’s sovereign authority,” Lt. Gen. Tariq Al Hassan, head of Bahrain’s Public Security agency responsible for internal security, tells Reuters in an interview.
The crackdown is a sign of how the Iran war has destabilized regional states allied with the United States that did not support the war but have borne the brunt of Iran’s attacks.
In Bahrain’s case, it has reversed a trend of internal and regional detente.
The government had freed hundreds of prisoners in jail for political activity via royal pardons in 2024, rights groups say. The same year, Bahrain and Iran began talks to restore diplomatic relations, severed since 2016.
Now, divisions are deepening, particularly among some Shi’ite Muslims in the country who say they are being oppressed for their beliefs.
“They are directly targeting Shi’ites in the country and anyone who criticizes the Americans or the Israelis for the war they have launched,” says a relative of one of the clerics on trial, who spoke on condition of anonymity to protect their safety.
Bahrain denies targeting Shi’ite citizens, “most of whom are law-abiding and loyal citizens,” Al Hassan says.
A verdict is expected in the case on November 8, and the kingdom is bracing for potential protests.
One seafarer killed in missile attack on tanker in Gulf
One seafarer was killed in an explosion believed to have been caused by a missile attack on an oil products tanker in the Gulf on Thursday, the ship’s manager says.
The tanker MT Velos was sailing unladen towards Bahrain when it was hit, Greek management firm Velos Tankers says in a statement.
“The company is greatly saddened to report the death of one of its seafarers, who was found fatally injured on board after having initially been reported missing in the aftermath of the explosion,” it says.
There were no other injuries among the crew, who extinguished a fire on the ship caused by the explosion, and no reports of pollution, Velos Tankers adds.
The vessel was taken to Bahrain’s Khalifa Bin Salman Port and an investigation will be launched. The extent of the damage to the vessel’s hull was still being assessed.
Strikes on market in Yemen’s Taiz province kill 20, as sides exchange blame
Yemen’s Houthi rebels say Saudi strikes on a vegetable market in Taiz Province on Friday killed 20 people, while local authorities accuse the Iran-backed group of being behind the attack.
“Saudi enemy aircraft targeted with several missiles the vegetable market in Al-Waziya city, resulting in the death of 20 citizens and the injury of 10 others,” the Houthis’ health ministry spokesman Anis al-Asbahi says in remarks carried by their Saba news agency.
Local authorities, however, blame the strikes on the Houthis and say “military aircraft did not launch any aerial operations.”
Iran claims it downed US drone over Hormuz’s Qeshm Island
Iranian media, citing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, says that Iranian air defenses destroyed a US MQ-1 drone over Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.
There is no immediate confirmation from the United States.
Iran reviewing proposals to curb nuke program after long refusing to discuss issue — sources to ToI
This handout photograph taken and released by Qatar’s Amiri Diwan on October 6, 2026 shows Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani (R) speaking with Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni during their meeting at the Amiri Diwan in Doha. (Qatar’s Amiri Diwan/AFP)
Iranian negotiators are reviewing proposals that would see Tehran curb its nuclear program after long insisting that they would not even discuss the issue at the heart of the ongoing conflict with the United States, a US official and a diplomat familiar with the matter tell The Times of Israel.
The proposals were presented by Qatari mediators in several rounds of negotiations with the Iranians that have taken place in Tehran and Doha over the past week, the two sources say.
The proposals stop short of complete dismantlement, but do address Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, the diplomat familiar with the talks adds, saying that the offers would see Iran receive significant sanctions relief from the US.
Key Update
Syria aids Saudi Arabia with military advice and training amid Houthi attacks, sources say
Syria is aiding Riyadh with military advice and training as Saudi Arabia comes under attack by Yemen’s Houthis, and has sent a limited number of military personnel to the kingdom, two Syrian military sources and a senior US official say.
Saudi Arabia has been locked in worsening hostilities with the Iran-allied Houthis since July, when the Yemen war was reignited by the wider conflict in the Middle East, leading Riyadh to seek both defensive and offensive support from a range of allies.
The senior US official says advisers and training teams from Syria — where fighters became battle-hardened in years of war — have been traveling to Saudi Arabia to help train Saudi and Yemeni units inside the kingdom to improve their combat effectiveness.
The two Syrian sources, who have direct knowledge of the matter, say scores of military personnel had gone from Syria to Saudi Arabia in recent weeks. They say advisory and training work was involved, but that their mandate could be broader.
In response to a request for comment, a senior Syrian diplomat says “any suggestion of military deployments at this stage is premature,” and that Syria’s focus remained on internal security, protecting its borders and reconstruction.
The diplomat says a Syrian-Saudi defense cooperation deal signed on Wednesday “specifically includes advisory support, training and exchange of expertise.”
A senior Saudi official tells Reuters that ongoing expertise sharing with Syria was “mainly to restructure the Syrian forces … but that doesn’t mean also our Syrian partners don’t help us in their combat experience regarding fighting militias.”
Joint training exercises were underway and more were planned in both security and defense, the Saudi official adds in response to a request for comment.
Saudi Arabia and Syria signed the defense pact on Wednesday during a visit to Riyadh by Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, his second meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in less than a month.
US reports highest number of measles cases in 35 years
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks at a campaign rally with President Donald Trump at Alico Arena on the campus of Florida Gulf Coast University, October 23, 2026, in Fort Myers, Florida. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)
The United States has recorded more than 5,000 cases of measles this year, the highest number in 35 years, according to an official count released Friday.
So far in 2026, 5,182 confirmed cases have been reported across the country of the highly contagious but highly preventable disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the nation’s leading public health agency.
That compares with 2,289 cases during all of 2025, and is the highest level recorded by the CDC since 1991.
State health officials have reported at least eight measles-related deaths, including among very young children.
Measles was declared eradicated from the United States in 2000 thanks to vaccination, but in recent years it has made a strong comeback, fueled by declining vaccination rates and growing public distrust of health authorities.
US President Donald Trump’s Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. is accused of fanning that distrust. He is known for his vaccine skepticism and has repeatedly disseminated misinformation about the measles vaccine and downplayed the dangers of the disease.
Measles causes fever, respiratory symptoms and a rash, and in some cases more serious complications such as pneumonia and brain inflammation, which can lead to severe long-term health problems or even death.
Before the vaccine was developed in the early 1960s, measles killed hundreds of children each year in the US. It continues to claim tens of thousands of lives worldwide.
1,000 Diaspora Jews call for joint Jewish-Arab ‘coalition of change’
Ra'am, led by party chairman Mansour Abbas (2nd R), meets with President Isaac Herzog (C) at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem during consultations with political parties following the election to the 26th Knesset, November 5, 2026. (Oren Ben Hakoon/POOL)
Over 1,000 Diaspora Jews have signed a letter calling on the leaders of Jewish and Arab-majority opposition parties “to form a coalition of change” in order to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s current government.
Referencing Israel’s Declaration of Independence, the letter urges the leaders of Yashar, the Joint List, B’Yachad, The Democrats, Ra’am and Yisrael Beytenu to commit to “repairing Israel’s weakened liberal democracy,” noting that “this commitment necessarily embraces the inherent legitimacy and welcomes the inclusion of parties representing Israel’s Arab citizens.”
Signatories of the letter, facilitated by The London Initiative (TLI), include: prominent Jewish philanthropists such as Birthright Israel co-founder Charles Bronfman; former president of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies Dr. Jeffrey Solomon; former UK Conservative Party CEO Mick Davis; Clore Duffield Foundation chair Vivien Duffield; Israel Policy Forum past board chair Susie Gelman; and United Jewish Israel Appeal president Trevor Chinn.
Signatories also include: former British foreign secretary Malcolm Rifkind; former Canadian minister Ya’ara Saks; former UK Ambassador to Israel Matthew Gould; former Canadian Ambassador to Israel Jon Allen; and former UK envoy to the Middle East Michael Levy.
IDF Central Command chief reportedly told settlers not to tip off other commanders before Jericho entry
Israeli settler activists establish an outpost in the West Bank Palestinian city of Jericho, November 4, 2026. (Benyamin Regional Council)
IDF Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth was notified in advance of a plan by Israeli settlers to illegally enter eight homes on the outskirts of the Palestinian city of Jericho, Haaretz reveals, after the army claimed that the action by settlers was not coordinated.
Citing security sources familiar with the matter, Haaretz says Bluth even met with the settlers in advance of their illicit entry into Jericho on Wednesday and instructed them not to tip off top officers under his command until they had moved into the Palestinian homes.
Bluth also spoke to organizers of the settler action in Jericho and wished them luck on the eve of their illegal entry.
Responding to the Haaretz report, the IDF says that the allegations against Bluth are false, without elaborating.
The settlers have claimed to have legally purchased the homes, but the Palestinian neighborhood in question is located on state land, so there is no private owner from whom the homes could have been acquired.
The settler entry has forced the IDF to divert three platoons in order to protect the settlers.
In addition to Bluth, Channel 16 reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz were also tipped off ahead of time, but did not act to stop the settlers.
Settlements Minister Orit Strock has also visited the squatting settlers since their move-in.
Rights groups reported that some of the Palestinians living in the neighborhood have fled their homes due to fear of violence from the invading settlers.
“There is a sense that something is about to happen and that someone is trying to heat up the situation on the ground,” a senior IDF official tells Haaretz.
Key Update
IDF uses closed military zone order to block ex-PM from visiting area where Palestinians targeted by settlers
Ehud Olmert testifies during a hearing of the civil investigative committee on the October 7 massacre, in Tel Aviv, August 8, 2024. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)
IDF Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth has signed off on an order turning an area near the West Bank village of Burin into a closed military zone to prevent former prime minister Ehud Olmert from visiting the site where Palestinians have been the target of repeated settler attacks, Haaretz reports.
Olmert was supposed to be part of a delegation of senior former Israeli officials visiting the central West Bank area in the coming days.
Olmert’s presence would have required protection from the Shin Bet internal security agency.
Earlier today, Olmert accused Bluth of “effectively aiding Jewish terrorism,” adding that the Central Command chief’s actions “stand in complete contradiction to his professional obligations and his status as the sovereign authority of the State of Israel in the territories.”
The IDF responded by rejecting Olmert’s claims.
Key Update
Report: PM, Mossad chief planned Iran operation on eve of Israeli election, which was thwarted after US was accidentally tipped off
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, shakes hands with new Mossad chief Roman Gofman at a welcoming ceremony, June 2, 2026. (Haim Zach/GPO)
Channel 12 reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his loyalist Mossad chief Roman Gofman sought to conduct an operation against Iran on the eve of Israel’s October 27 election.
The unsourced, unconfirmed report claims the operation was not backed by other senior officials in the Israeli security establishment, who were concerned that it could spark a major escalation and prevent the election from taking place as scheduled.
Plans for the unspecified operation moved ahead. But ultimately, an Israeli security operative made a mistake that led the US to be tipped off about the operation, and Washington quickly moved to quash the operation, Channel 12 says. It notes that it is broadcasting the report under the limitations of military censorship.
The Prime Minister’s Office denies the report, saying: “The prime minister himself clarified in real time that an attack before the Israeli elections was not on the agenda.”
On Sunday, October 25, two days before Israel’s elections, Channel 12 reported that an “unprecedented confrontation” had been unfolding between Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir surrounding an instruction by the prime minister for unspecified military action that defense officials believed could lead to a flare-up with Iran shortly before the election.
The TV network, which cited anonymous sources, said Zamir had been resisting carrying out the military action, no details of which were provided, and sought further deliberations, as well as signed documentation from Netanyahu regarding legal authorization for it.
The issue had come to a head in the previous 24 hours, the outlet said, noting that its report was being broadcast within the limitations of Israel’s military censorship regulations.
It quoted a military source saying, “This relates to an action that could lead to a flare-up with Iran, at a sensitive and dramatic moment, creating this [potential] miscalculation.”
The report further quoted unnamed sources familiar with the issue, who said there was concern among military leaders of an effort by the political leadership “to utilize the Iranian issue for political benefit.”
Asked about the report during an interview with Channel 14, Netanyahu called it “nonsense,” saying “there was no fight” with Zamir. Earlier in the interview, the prime minister said that he had recently “instructed the IDF and Mossad to topple the [Iranian] regime,” though this did not seem to be connected to the report of a specific instruction.
The Channel 12 report said that the hostility and tension between Netanyahu and Zamir were evident at a discussion at Palmahim Airbase on Sunday, where the atmosphere in the room was “extremely sour.” The report quoted a senior security source as saying, “History will not forget the role that Zamir has played in recent days,” without offering further details.
The next day, October 26, a day before elections, Channels 12 and 13 reported that Zamir was the only Israeli security chief to oppose military action sought by Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz that the IDF feared could spark a flare-up with Iran and derail the election.
Key Update
Trump again claims Israel wouldn’t exist if he ‘did not stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon’
US President Donald Trump again claims that “Israel and, in fact, the entire Middle East, WOULD NOT EXIST TODAY if I did not stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon.”
“Nobody wants to say that, but everybody knows it’s true!” Trump writes on Truth Social.
Days after midterm rout, Trump replaces chief of staff Susie Wiles with her deputy Stephen Miller
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, left, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles listen during a meeting with President Donald Trump and Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney on the sidelines of the G7 Summit, June 16, 2025, in Kananaskis, Canada. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Days after the Democrats’ rout of the Republicans in the midterm elections, US President Donald Trump announces that he is replacing his White House chief of staff Susie Wiles with her deputy Stephen Miller.
Miller, who is Jewish, is most known for his hardline views on immigration.
“I am pleased to announce that Mr. Stephen Miller, the current deputy chief of staff of the Trump administration, and one of my most trusted advisors, will become the chief of staff starting Monday, November 9, 2026,” Trump announces on Truth Social.
“Susie Wiles, who has done an outstanding job, will be moving over to the Trump political operation. I want to thank her for her service as chief of staff. She has done a great job!”
Key Update
Both election interference probes involving Arab parties reportedly falling apart
Shin Bet chief David Zini arrives at a Memorial Day ceremony at the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest site, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 20, 2026, as Israel commemorates its fallen soldiers and victims of terror. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
After significant alarm from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials, two election interference investigations involving the pair of Arab-led parties are falling apart, Channel 12 reports.
The first case in which three Bedouin activists were arrested for allegedly trying to bribe voters to back the Ra’am party is expected to be closed unless new evidence is uncovered, Channel 12 says.
The second case involving an alleged foreign funding effort to back the Joint List is also turning out to be very different from what was initially described and has led to a major crisis of confidence in Netanyahu loyalist and Shin Bet chief David Zini, the network says.
A senior police official tells Channel 12, “We have lost confidence in the head of the Shin Bet.”
Accordingly, Deputy Commissioner Boaz Blatt — who heads the police’s investigations and intelligence division — has barred subordinates from transferring any information regarding the case to the Shin Bet without his approval.
It is pretty much only Zini who believes the investigation is a matter of national security, as opposed to police and law enforcement who believe it is a criminal matter, at most.
“There’s a huge gap between Zini’s claims and the reality,” a police official says.
Moreover, while initial media reports alleged the involvement of Qatar, none of the intelligence material provided by the Shin Bet to the police makes any mention of the Gulf state.
Instead, the money involved is believed to come from the West Bank, and it is not yet clear who is behind those funds, Channel 12 says.
The network cites an official inside the Shin Bet who blasts Zini’s conduct, saying it is now even clearer that he is trying “to serve his master,” Netanyahu, who has claimed that the elections were stolen and opposed the certification of the results in light of the two investigations.
Key Update
Northwestern University students cancel food fest after protest against Israel group’s participation
Signs are displayed outside a tent encampment at Northwestern University on Friday, April 26, 2024, in Evanston, Illinois. Students want the university to divest from funds connected to Israel or that profit from its war in Gaza. (AP Photo/Teresa Crawford)
A student group at Northwestern University, in Illinois, cancels a multicultural food festival after students rejected a pro-Israel group’s participation.
The organizers, Spoon University Northwestern, had scheduled a Cultural Food Festival today that included a campus group, Wildcats for Israel.
Wildcats for Israel says its goal is “educating the Northwestern community about Israel” and that it “welcomes all viewpoints.”
Yesterday, three other student groups posted a joint statement saying that “almost every student organization” had quit the food festival because the event was “platforming Wildcats for Israel.”
The groups said they were “confused” that a multicultural food festival included an Israeli group.
“A ‘culture’ born from the active land theft and genocide of Palestinians should not be recognized,” said the statement from the university’s Asian Pacific American Coalition, the ‘inclusive’ Alianza Student Alliance, and the Middle Eastern North African Student Association.
The statement said that Spoon University had cut Wildcats for Israel from the event, but that the developments had “created a significant loss of trust that cannot be resolved.”
Spoon University acknowledges removing the Israel group and apologizes for the “oversight.”
“We condemn the ongoing genocide in Gaza,” the group says in a statement. “We are reviewing and updating our partnership guidelines to ensure our organization aligns strictly with our values.”
The campus newspaper, The Daily Northwestern, reports that the food festival is canceled due to the backlash.
Trump: We’re talking to Iran after beating them
US President Donald Trump says the US is talking to Iran amid reports of progress in negotiations to end the ongoing conflict.
Asked what his message is to Iran, Trump tells reporters outside the White House, “We’ve beaten Iran. We are doing very well with Iran. We’re talking to Iran. We haven’t lost a soldier in six or seven months.”
US Treasury cuts off money exchanger MEXC over Iran, North Korea, Russia transactions
The US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network division issues an order effectively cutting off virtual currency exchanger MEXC Global from the US financial system over transactions that it says are linked to sanctions evasion by Iran, North Korea and Russia.
FinCEN, the Treasury’s anti-money laundering unit, says that the order prevents US financial institutions from processing fund transfers involving Seychelles-incorporated MEXC Global, which it says has facilitated at least $16 billion in illicit transactions linked to Iran, North Korea and Russia, as well as transactions with other sanctioned actors.
US Treasury sanctions Canadian money services firms over Iran-related transactions
The US Treasury says that it had imposed financial sanctions on eight money services firms based in Canada that it alleges have facilitated transactions with sanctioned Iranian entities.
The sanctions effectively cut the firms off from the dollar-based financial system, blocking any assets that the firms may have in the United States and prohibiting any transactions with US persons or entities.
The actions are the latest in a series of Treasury moves against firms outside the United States that it says help Iran get around US sanctions, as Washington keeps up pressure on Tehran.
“Canada cannot be a safe haven for illicit financial facilitators that provide sanctions evasion services to the Iranian regime and its proxies,” says Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “Treasury will pursue and disrupt the Iranian regime’s financial channels anywhere in the world.”
The Treasury identified the designated businesses in Ontario and British Columbia as Diverse Trade Inc doing business as Million Exchange, 1380079 BC Limited, Top PC Technician Inc, NIA Nations Currency Ltd, 2397639 Ontario Ltd doing business as Farah Exchange, CCC Inc and B Galaxy Inc and Darvish Exchange.
Top US official, involved in crack down on anti-Israel campus protests, among wave of Justice Department resignations
US Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon speaks during a news conference on charges related to the deadly shooting of Israeli Embassy staff during a news conference at the Attorney General's office for the District of Columbia in Washington, August 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Several senior US Justice Department officials have resigned, including its civil rights chief and a prosecutor investigating allegations of conspiracy against President Donald Trump.
US Attorney General Todd Blanche, a former personal lawyer for Trump, announced on Thursday that he had accepted the resignation of Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon.
Dhillon was one of the department’s leads in the administration’s efforts to crack down against antisemitism and anti-Israel activity on college campuses.
In this role, Dhillon was directly involved in unsuccessful attempts to obtain voter registration lists from some 30 states ahead of this week’s midterm elections that dealt heavy defeats to Trump’s Republican Party.
In her resignation letter, cited by US media outlets, Dillon said that she submitted it in October and agreed to remain in her position until the election.
Blanche also announced on Friday the resignations of Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg, and Jason Reding Quinones, US attorney for the Southern District of Florida.
Quinones oversaw an investigation into former intelligence officials whom Trump accused of seeking to remove him from power.
The Justice Department under Trump has pursued cases against a number of perceived enemies, and several prosecutors have lost their jobs over their reluctance or inability to bring charges.
In one high profile case brought by the department, James Comey, the former director of the FBI, was indicted in April for allegedly threatening Trump’s life in an Instagram post of seashells.
Incoming Jewish congressmen urge Israel to release Arab journalist detained after interviewing fugitive former MK
Abed Abu Shehadeh conducts an interview for Arab48. (Screen capture/YouTube)
Three incoming Jewish members of Congress have written to Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, calling on Jerusalem to release a prominent Arab journalist who was detained after conducting an interview with fugitive former Balad MK Azmi Bishara.
“According to press reports, some fifteen masked Israel Police and Shin Bet officers entered Mr. [Abed] Abu Shehadeh’s home late Tuesday, searched it, and took him into custody. On Wednesday, a court extended his detention through Sunday on suspicion of ‘contact with a foreign agent,’ after reviewing secret evidence that has not been shared with his attorneys,” incoming Reps. Brad Lander, Steve Weiner and Daniel Biss write.
“The allegations against him remain sealed. Lawyers from Adalah who represented him in court this week report that interrogators questioned him about a single subject: a podcast interview he recently conducted with Azmi Bishara, a public figure whom Mr. Abu Shehadeh had interviewed before, without any warning from the authorities,” they continue.
Bishara fled Israel in 2007 amid suspicions he aided Hezbollah in the previous year’s Lebanon war.
“Interviewing political figures including controversial ones is the core work of journalism in a free society. Detaining a reporter for conducting an interview is the kind of act that representatives in democracies rightly condemn when governments commit it,” the incoming Congressmen write.
“The timing of this detention compounds our concern. Mr. Abu Shehadeh’s arrest came amid reported efforts by senior Israeli officials to cast doubt on the participation of Palestinian citizens in Israel’s recent general election, in which Palestinian-led parties won a historic number of seats, and as Israel’s Central Elections Committee certified those results,” the letter states.
The lawmakers note that some of Lander’s future constituents met with Shehadeh and “found him to be a thoughtful voice and a devoted father, someone fully committed to nonviolence and co-existence between Palestinians and Israelis.”
Last Tuesday night, as we awaited election returns, fifteen masked Israel Police and Shin Bet officers entered the home of journalist Abed Abu Shehadeh, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, and took him into custody.
Today, I joined fellow incoming Congressmembers @DanielBiss &… pic.twitter.com/bpckm79gNH
— Brad Lander (@bradlander) November 6, 2026
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