October 19: Visiting airbase, Netanyahu tells Israel’s enemies: ‘Do not test us’

Recording captures miscommunication at JFK as El Al flight forced to briefly postpone landing

A recording of a conversation last week captures an apparent miscommunication between a pilot on an El Al flight and a traffic controller at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York.

The El Al flight was reportedly forced to postpone its landing because the body of a dead animal was found on the runway. The air traffic controller and the pilot then had a misunderstanding, which came “close to causing a traffic situation, given the other plane on departure,” according to One Mile at a Time, an airline news publication.

Channel 12 reports that the miscommunication appears to be the fault of the air traffic controller.

The plane was able to land safely, but the incident raised eyebrows in the wake of the attempted terror attack on a flydubai flight to Tel Aviv last month, in which the co-pilot attempted to crash the plane and was thwarted by the flight’s captain and several Israeli passengers.

Netanyahu pushing for Charedi Public party to drop out of race — report

Moti Leitner, chairman of The Charedi Public, and Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer, head of the party's rabbinic committee, attend the kick-off of the new ultra-Orthodox faction's Knesset campaign in Beit Shemesh, August 23, 2026. (Sam Sokol/Times of Israel)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing for the Charedi Public, an ultra-Orthodox party with relatively moderate stances on IDF enlistment, education and employment, to suspend its campaign with nine days to go until the October 27 election, Channel 12 reports.

Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, chair of the far-right Religious Zionism party, are pushing for the Haredi party to drop out because they worry that it will not receive enough votes to enter the Knesset. In that case, those votes would be wasted, rather than presumably going to pro-Netanyahu factions.

No poll has shown the party winning enough votes to enter the Knesset.

The report says that party chair Moti Leitner wants to be a member of Knesset or a government minister, but that Netanyahu and Smotrich are presenting other offers, which the report does not specify.

The party says in a statement reported by the network, “We do not have the privilege of stepping away. We cannot step away. We have a large public that we will represent.״

The party claims it will be the “surprise of the election.”

Israeli man in his 60s shot dead in Palestinian village

An Israeli man in his 60s was shot to death in the Palestinian village of Eizariya, next to the West Bank settlement of Ma’aleh Adumim.

According to the Haaretz newspaper, the man was brought to the entrance of the village where he was met by Magen David Adom medics, who pronounced him dead.

Police have opened an investigation into the incident.

Police do not indicate that the incident is being treated as terror related.

Putin said to propose summit with Trump and Xi to discuss Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, walks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, May 20, 2026. (Maxim Shemetov/Pool Photo via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed a summit next month with US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to negotiate an end to the four-year-old Ukraine conflict that would favor Moscow, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the discussions.

The proposed summit comes amid warming ties between Trump and Putin especially after the US president announced a deal to buy Russian diesel and signed an order on Friday waiving key sanctions on Moscow.

Citing a former Russian intelligence officer briefed on the matter, the paper says that Putin’s suggestion came in an October 9 telephone call with Trump that also yielded the diesel deal between the two countries.

The White House does not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, while the Kremlin could not be immediately reached outside regular business hours. The Russian and Chinese embassies in Washington did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

Police arrest 8 suspects after West Bank settler attacks on diplomats, photographer

Masked extremist Jewish settlers clash with Palestinians during the annual olive harvest in the village of Abu Falah, near Ramallah in the West Bank, where several people, including American photojournalist Heidi Levine, were injured in an attack by Israeli settlers, October 16, 2026. (Flash90)

Police say eight Israeli suspects have been arrested on suspicion of participating in the weekend settler attacks on Palestinians, foreign diplomats, and a photojournalist in the West Bank.

The police arrest operation, dubbed “Olive Leaf,” began at dawn in a joint mission with the Shin Bet security agency and with IDF escort.

“So far, eight suspects have been arrested and several vehicles have been seized,” the police say, adding that IDF and Border Police forces are also “conducting enforcement operations” to dismantle illegal settler outposts, address violations of closed military zone orders issued by the army, and an “intrusion into a Palestinian home.”

The eight suspects were taken for questioning, and the operation is ongoing, police add.

Over the weekend, masked Israeli settlers launched several attacks on Palestinians harvesting olives. In one incident on Friday, settlers violently assaulted and injured Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine. On Saturday, European diplomats were attacked near the village of Taybeh.

Police say eight Israeli suspects have been arrested on suspicion of participating in the weekend settler attacks on Palestinians, foreign diplomats, and a photojournalist in the West Bank.

The police arrest operation, dubbed "Olive Leaf," began at dawn in a joint effort with… pic.twitter.com/nvhhBVEPxX

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) October 19, 2026

Settlers reportedly set fire to vehicle in southern West Bank overnight; no injuries reported

Palestinian media outlets report that settlers set fire to a vehicle overnight in the village of Beit Ummar, near Hebron in the southern West Bank, during a raid on the village.

There are no reports of injuries.

#عاجل| مليشيات من المستوطنين تهاجم منازل الفلسطينيين في منطقة صافا ببلدة بيت أمر شمال الخليل. pic.twitter.com/SJBRqMQoyS

— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) October 18, 2026

Austrian Airlines says no danger found after Tel Aviv-Vienna flight threat

BERLIN, Germany — Austrian Airlines says that searches of flight OS82’s aircraft, passengers and crew in Sofia found no danger after a threat forced the Tel Aviv–Vienna service to divert yesterday.

The airline says the flight, carrying 51 passengers and six crew, continued from Sofia to Vienna the same night with all passengers on board.

Turkish-Israeli woman is mobbed by anti-Israel protesters at Istanbul mall, called a ‘terrorist’ and ‘murderer of children’

Claudia Medina Halfon, a Turkish-born Israeli businesswoman, is accosted by a mob of anti-Israel activists at a mall in Istanbul after her location was shared on social media.

“Everyone, look here, there is a terrorist in Istanbul right now,” one of the activists yells at her at the mall.

Others continue to call her a “terrorist” and a “murderer of children,” and say, “We don’t want Zionists in our country.”

Mall security guards intervened and escorted her from the premises.

According to Channel 12 news, Halfon works in the tourism industry.

A video by an activist calling on people to meet at the mall to protest her presence accused her of bringing IDF soldiers to Turkey for vacation.

This is what murderous hatred looks like.

They would have beaten her to death if mall security hadn't intervened.

A Turkish-born Israeli tour guide was attacked by violent terror supporters in Turkey. pic.twitter.com/V4BCdkWViU

— נועה מגיד | Noa magid (@NoaMagid) October 18, 2026

Rubio: Palestinian issue would be easier to deal with if Iran’s Islamic regime didn’t exist

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio participates in the C5+1 ministerial meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, October 19, 2026. (Kylie Cooper/Pool Photo via AP)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the conflict with the Palestinians would be easier to deal with without the Islamic Republic of Iran’s interference.

“So, look, I think traditionally, the American political class thought that peace in the Middle East, the core central issue, is the Palestinian question,” Rubio says in an interview with Breitbart.

“I’m not saying it’s irrelevant, but I think what President Trump has exposed is that the number one driver of instability and war and conflict and the number one obstacle to peace in the Middle East is the Islamic regime in Tehran, and I think the evidence bears it out in Lebanon,” he says.

“If there was no Islamic clerics, these radical Shia clerics in Iran—if they didn’t exist, if that wasn’t there—none of these problems would exist. You may still have a Palestinian issue. I would argue that issue would be easier to deal with if Iran didn’t exist. So they’re at the core of all of these problems, and I think correctly identifying who it is that’s driving instability and war in the Middle East is important in order to solve it,” he adds.

Police examining complaint against Rabbi Dov Lior over ruling permitting Jews to harvest olives on Palestinian land

Rabbi Dov Lior attends a ceremony honoring late Jewish extremist leader Rabbi Meir Kahane in Jerusalem on November 19, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Police say they are examining a complaint filed in response to comments by ultranationalist religious leader Rabbi Dov Lior that Jews may harvest olives belonging to Palestinians.

“A complaint has been received by the Israel Police and passed on for examination and to be addressed by the relevant authorities,” the police say.

Lior, the most authoritative rabbi in the hardline religious-Zionist community, wrote in a religious ruling on Friday that Palestinian land had essentially been stolen from Jews since the Jewish people never willingly relinquished their property in the Land of Israel.

Lior, 92, wrote that it was permitted for Jews to harvest olive trees on Palestinian property the owners could not access due to prohibitions by security services, and indeed on any land, “in order to show to the public our ownership of the land, and in so doing one fulfills the [religious] commandment of conquering the land.”

On Sunday, the Rabbis for Human Rights organization filed a complaint for incitement to racism and soliciting the theft of property.

“I regret having to file a police complaint against a rabbi in Israel, but reality compels us to stand on the side of the Torah,” said acting director of Rabbis for Human Rights Anton Goodman.

“Entering others’ land and taking their crops in violation of the law — that is not what God wants from us in this land.”

The Israeli penal code defines racism as “persecution, humiliation, degradation, displaying enmity, hostility, or violence, or the incitement of discord against a public or segments of the population — all on the grounds of color, membership in a race, or national-ethnic origin,” and is punishable by up to five years in prison.

Prosecutors have been reluctant to indict rabbis over religious rulings, however. In 2012, then attorney general Yehuda Weinstein closed an investigation into the authors of the infamous “Torat Hamelech” book, which said it is permissible in some situations to kill non-Jews according to Jewish law. Weinstein said the case was closed because there was not enough evidence that the book was published with the intention to incite racism.

An arrest warrant was issued against Lior in that case in 2011 because he wrote an endorsement of Torat Hamelech, but he refused the police summons. He was subsequently arrested, questioned, and later released.

Settlers reportedly attack Palestinians during olive harvest, set fire to vehicle near Ramallah

Palestinian media outlets report that settlers attacked Palestinians harvesting olives near the village of Turmus Ayya, near Ramallah.

Footage published by Palestinian media shows a man with a head injury, apparently caused by blows or stones, and a vehicle that was set on fire.

There are no reports of injuries resulting from the vehicle fire.

???? جانب من اعتداء مليشيات المستوطنين على المواطنين في بلدة ترمسعيا شمال رام الله. pic.twitter.com/BfGZpX33g2

— شبكة يافا الإخبارية (@yaffa_ps) October 19, 2026

عاجل | إصابة مواطن جراء اعتداء المستوطنين على منزله وإحراق مركبته في بلدة ترمسعيا شرق رام الله. pic.twitter.com/BZ3b0O0e85

— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) October 19, 2026

Eisenkot, Lapid slam Netanyahu’s updated security doctrine as ‘hollow’ election push, pledge alternative plans

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid (L) meets with former MK Gadi Eisenkot, September 7, 2025. (Courtesy)

Leading opposition figures Gadi Eisenkot and Yair Lapid sharply criticize Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s updated national security doctrine, which he unveiled in a rare briefing with Israeli reporters yesterday, accusing him of presenting election slogans rather than a coherent strategy for addressing Israel’s security challenges three years after the Hamas-led October 7 massacre.

While Netanyahu stressed a transition from containment to offensive action in his doctrine, both opposition leaders frame the doctrine’s release, nine days before the October 27 election, as an attempt to deflect attention from Netanyahu’s record rather than meaningfully confront the lessons of October 7.

Eisenkot, Netanyahu’s chief election rival, calls the two-page document released by the premier’s office “hollow” and “filled with slogans that have absolutely nothing to do with a security doctrine.”

In a Hebrew-language post on X, he accuses the premier of failing to achieve four key war objectives: destroying Hamas’s military and governing capabilities, deterring Hezbollah and other northern threats, maintaining stability in the West Bank, and preserving national unity.

Eisenkot pledges that a government under his leadership would formulate and formally adopt a national security strategy within 150 days of taking office, in accordance with legislation he says he advanced alongside former Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein.

In a separate Hebrew-language post, Lapid similarly dismisses Netanyahu’s presentation as “a collection of inflated slogans devoid of substance.”

He points to the exemption of ultra-Orthodox men from military service despite the doctrine’s emphasis on military superiority, Netanyahu’s refusal to establish a state commission of inquiry into October 7 despite stressing intelligence preparedness, and Israel’s deteriorating international standing despite promises to strengthen strategic alliances.

Netanyahu addressed criticisms on those issues during his briefing yesterday by advocating for his coalition’s draft law, establishing a politically appointed commission of inquiry, and arguing that Israel’s military and industry would continue to boost ties despite its current isolation on the world stage.

For his part, Lapid pledges to end Netanyahu’s “policy of containment” by excluding Turkey and Qatar from Gaza’s postwar arrangements, halting the flow of Qatari funds into the territory, eliminating Hamas’s military capabilities and Hezbollah’s remaining presence in southern Lebanon, and intensifying operations against Iran, including strikes on its oil industry.

He stresses his proposal for recruiting 20,000 ultra-Orthodox men within two years, arguing that ending financial support for draft evasion could save the economy some NIS 30 billion annually, which could then be directed toward defense without raising taxes.

Katz insists police must handle West Bank settler violence after spate of attacks; rules out renewed administrative detention for Jewish suspects

Defense Minister Israel Katz arrives at the Western Wall during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, in Jerusalem’s Old City, September 28, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90)

Defense Minister Israel Katz says all aspects of settler violence in the West Bank must be handled by the Israel Police, following a spate of attacks over the weekend, while claiming that the army does not support renewing administrative detention orders against suspects.

“The handling of the serious violence perpetrated by a handful of Jewish rioters in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) must be placed entirely under the responsibility of the Israel Police’s Judea and Samaria District, including prevention, investigation and prosecution,” says Katz in a statement.

In August, Katz ordered the IDF to draw up plans to “transfer responsibility for civilian enforcement in the West Bank to the Israel Police,” a move widely seen as impractical in the lead-up to a national election.

“The IDF should not and cannot engage in civilian law enforcement, but rather fight Palestinian terrorism and defend the country’s borders and the Jewish communities,” Katz says.

He says that in accordance with his order in August, “the IDF has prepared a comprehensive plan to regulate civilian law enforcement activities” in the West Bank, which he says distinguishes between the IDF’s authority in the territory and the “transfer of responsibility for actual civilian law enforcement to the Israel Police’s Judea and Samaria District.”

Katz says he spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about “implementing the plan as soon as possible, including holding discussions and coordinating between the IDF and the Israel Police, and allocating the necessary budget and personnel resources to the police’s Judea and Samaria District to carry out the task.”

“The plan does not include recommendations to reinstate administrative detention orders against settlers in Judea and Samaria,” Katz claims, calling it a “draconian measure that I canceled upon taking office as defense minister and which I have no intention of reinstating.”

The tool allows authorities to hold suspects indefinitely without due process.

“Administrative orders are not the solution, but rather strong and effective police enforcement,” he says.

However, Katz has authorised and boasted of using administrative detention orders against Palestinian terror suspects and Arab Israeli citizens who have alleged ties to terror groups.

Australian lawmaker critically hurt in possible deliberate car-ramming, police say

Helen Haines, independent MP for the neighboring electorate of Indi, poses during the Farrer By-Election in Albury, New South Wales, on May 9, 2026. (HILARY WARDHAUGH/AFP)

MELBOURNE, Australia — A car hit an Australian federal independent lawmaker, critically injuring her in a potentially deliberate act, police say.

The driver was arrested.

Helen Haines, 65, was struck by a Toyota Land Cruiser SUV outside her electoral district office in the city of Wangaratta in Victoria state, a police statement says.

Police do not identify the victim, in accordance with privacy policy, but Haines’s family confirms her identity in a media statement.

The 43-year-old driver was arrested at the scene by a passerby. He will be interviewed in relation to the incident, police say.

“A knife was located by police and seized from inside the Toyota,” police say.

“At this stage, police are investigating as to whether this was an intentional act,” police add.

Haines, who was first elected to the Parliament in 2019, was taken to a hospital with critical injuries, police say.

Authorities are concerned that there were more than 1,000 threats of violence against public figures in Australia in the past year and that being in public office has become more dangerous.

IDF publishes Hamas document with plans to plant explosives near displaced-person camps in Gaza

This infographic published by the IDF on October 19, 2026, shows an April 2024 Hamas document. (Israel Defense Forces)

The Israeli military publishes what it says is an internal Hamas document detailing the terror group’s efforts to plant bombs near displaced persons camps in the Gaza Strip during the war.

The document, written in April 2024, “shows that Hamas’s engineering department proposed planting explosive devices around displaced persons camps and detonating them as IDF troops approached, placing the civilian population in the camps at risk, to create panic as a smokescreen for the escape of its operatives,” the military says.

The IDF says the document was part of Hamas’s “preparations to protect its leadership and operatives and evacuate them from areas where the IDF was expected to operate, while endangering and exploiting the civilian population in the area, fully aware that these actions were likely to cause direct harm to civilians.”

“In the document, the Hamas terror organization proposed an additional method of planting explosive devices along routes used by residents of the Gaza Strip, as part of an attempt to delay the advance of IDF troops in the area,” the military says.

Another proposal in the document included firing “stun grenades into the camps to create chaos and panic, to allow Hamas terrorists hiding in the area to flee.”

“This is further evidence that the Hamas terror organization is willing to endanger the lives of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip to advance its terrorist activities,” the IDF adds.

French city Marseille bans all gatherings from noon to 8 p.m. after violent protests

MARSEILLE, France — The southern French city of Marseille has banned all “gatherings and demonstrations” from noon to 8 p.m. today, police say, following violence and looting at the weekend during cost-of-living protests.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez is expected to arrive in France’s second-largest city later in the day, after its mayor criticized security arrangements for Saturday’s demonstrations.

Rescue services on site after hazardous materials detected at Intel factory where deadly blast occured

Israeli fire and rescue forces at the Intel factory in Kiryat Gat, southern Israel, following an explosion that left three workers seriously injured, October 14, 2026. (Liron Moldovan/Flash90)

Fire and rescue services have been dispatched after hazardous materials were detected by workers at the Intel factory in Kiryat Gat, where a deadly blast occurred last week.

According to the services, rescue teams are on site to manage the incident, which is localized and poses no danger to nearby residents.

Visiting airbase, Netanyahu tells Israel’s enemies: ‘Do not test us’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks from an unnamed airbase in Israel, October 19, 2026. (Screenshot/PMO)

Visiting an air force base that he does not name, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warns Israel’s enemies not to test the country’s resolve.

“I say to our enemies: Do not test us,” says Netanyahu in a video released by his office. “You will suffer harder blows than you have suffered until now.”

Netanyahu emphasizes the air force’s “readiness, determination and capability to strike our enemies whenever required.”

Ahead of next week’s elections, Netanyahu has repeatedly warned that Israel’s enemies might try to carry out an attack.

“We are determined to defend ourselves,” he says. “Do not test us.”

NBN honors ‘exceptional’ English-speaking immigrants for contributions to Israel

The winners of the Nefesh B'Nefesh Bonei Zion award at the prize ceremony in Jerusalem, October 18, 2026. (Sivan Shachor)

Eight English-speaking immigrants were honored last night for their contributions to Israel at the annual Nefesh B’Nefesh Bonei Zion Prize ceremony.

The honorees included Naomi Stuchiner, founder of Beit Issie Shapiro, recognized for community and nonprofit work; Dr. Philip Klipstein, a senior principal scientist at SCD, for science and medicine; and Rabbanit Chana Henkin, founder and chancellor of Nishmat, for education.

Other recipients were Ami Baran, president of the Israel Athletics Association and CEO of the Israel Softball Association, for culture, arts and sports; Danielle Abraham, executive director of ReGrow Israel, for global impact; and Barak Swarttz, a YouTuber and founder of GRIT for Good, for young leadership.

Former Israeli ambassador to the United States and former strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer received a Special Recognition Award for his decades of diplomatic and strategic work. Prof. Marta Weinstock-Rosin, a pioneering pharmacologist who invented the Alzheimer’s drug Exelon, received the Lifetime Achievement Award.

“Their achievements are a powerful reminder that Aliyah is not just about coming home; it is about taking responsibility for what comes next,” said philanthropist Sylvan Adams, who sponsors the prize and is president of the World Jewish Congress Israel.

Footage shows Palestinian throwing rock, breaking window of car carrying People of Israel candidate in West Bank

Footage shows a Palestinian throwing a rock and breaking the window of a car carrying Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, no. 5 on the People of Israel party’s election list, as she passes through the West Bank town of Turmus Ayya, near Ramallah.

In the footage, a voice tells people in the car to duck before a rock strikes one of the windows, breaking it.

Hassan-Nahoum was on a public diplomacy (hasbara) tour with Regavim, a movement that promotes the expansion of Israeli settlements and outposts in the West Bank.

תיעוד: פעילת ההסברה פלר חסן-נחום, מספר 5 במפלגת עמך ישראל וצוותה הותקפו על ידי פלסטינים במהלך סיור הסברה בבנימין@HGoldich @glick_sh pic.twitter.com/9pWri5RcTe

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) October 19, 2026

Houthis strike Yemeni government military camp, killing at least 20 soldiers, officials say

People ride in a pickup truck during a funeral procession for a Houthi officer in Sanaa, Yemen, October 17, 2026. (AP Photo/ Osamah Abdulrahman)

CAIRO, Egypt — Iranian-backed Houthi rebels struck a military camp for government forces in southern Yemen, killing at least 20 soldiers, two Yemeni military officials say.

The rebels fired ballistic missiles on the al-Alam military camp in the southern province of Shabwa in an attack that also wounded at least two dozen troops, they say.

The military officials with the internationally recognized government of Yemen spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

The attack was one of the deadliest in the recent surge in fighting, which began months ago as tensions spiked in the wider Iran-US conflict. The escalation between the Houthis and forces of the Saudi-backed government shattered a 2022 ceasefire deal that largely stopped fighting in Yemen’s civil war.

‘Wanted dead or alive’ scrawled over Golan’s face on campaign billboard, amid fears of political violence

A campaign billboard for the left-wing Democrats party has been vandalized with threatening graffiti targeting party chairman Yair Golan, amid growing concerns over political violence ahead of Israel’s October 27 election.

The words “wanted dead or alive” are scrawled across Golan’s face, alongside the accusation “a vile murderer of Jews” and the letters “KKK,” referring to the American white supremacist group the Ku Klux Klan.

The graffiti appears to target the Democrats’ openness to forming a government with Arab parties and their calls for diplomatic engagement with the Palestinians.

Golan posts a photo of the defaced billboard on X, writing, “The sign can be vandalized. Hope cannot. In 8 days, hope will defeat hatred. Our response will be at the ballot box.”

The incident comes amid fears of political violence surrounding the upcoming election. In July, President Isaac Herzog warned of “violence rearing its head” during election campaign season.

Earlier today, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir ordered the military to raise its level of alert ahead of next week’s vote, saying “the IDF’s mission is to enable the democratic elections to take place on schedule and safely.”

The Democrats filed a petition at the High Court of Justice last month, asking for an interim order requiring the Shin Bet and the government to provide state security for Golan, citing what it described as dozens of threats against him.

The High Court later asked Golan to withdraw his petition, saying it “cannot intervene in professional security matters handled by the Shin Bet.”

את השלט אפשר להשחית. את התקווה אי אפשר. בעוד 8 ימים התקווה תנצח את השנאה.

התשובה שלנו תהיה בקלפי. pic.twitter.com/UbbdTnwICj

— Yair Golan – יאיר גולן (@YairGolan1) October 19, 2026

A hidden tribute to Hersh Goldberg-Polin appears in Netflix series ‘The Diplomat’

Aner Shapiro, left, and Hersh Goldberg-Polin, best friends who went to the Nova rave on October 7, 2023. Shapiro was killed trying to protect others in a field shelter, Goldberg-Polin was killed in captivity in August 2024 (Courtesy)

A tribute is made to the late Hersh Goldberg-Polin in the fourth season of the Netflix series “The Diplomat,” which premiered last week.

In the episode, the housekeeper at the US ambassador’s residence in London tells the ambassador’s closest aide about an American soldier named Hershel Polin who battled next to her father in Belgium during World War II and saved her father’s life by catching a live grenade and throwing it aside, losing his own limb in the process.

“He smashed it up and tossed it away, inches from his hand,” says Frances Munning, played by Penny Downie, in her conversation with Stuard Heyford, played by Ato Essandoh.

Munning tells Heyford that the soldier was from Richmond, Virginia.

The anecdote is set during the Second World War, but the tribute to Goldberg-Polin, who lived in Richmond, Virginia, with his family when he was a child, is unmistakable.

The story told by Munning is also a salute to Goldberg-Polin’s friend, the late Aner Shapira.

Goldberg-Polin and Shapira took shelter during the October 7 Hamas massacre at the Nova desert rave in a roadside shelter. As the terrorists began throwing grenades at the partygoers, they crowded into the shelter; Shapira caught and threw back seven grenades before the eighth grenade killed him. At some point in the attack on the shelter, the lower part of Goldberg-Polin’s dominant left arm was blown off, and he was abducted to Gaza.

In August 2024, Hersh was murdered in captivity alongside fellow hostages Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Alex Lubanov and Almog Sarusi.

“Several people told us about the episode yesterday, but we don’t watch TV, so we have not seen it,” says Hersh’s mother, Rachel Goldberg-Polin. “It’s striking to know there are many people around the world trying to ensure the stories of the hostages are not whitewashed or erased.”

“The Diplomat,” starring Keri Russell, was created and written by Debora Cahn, a descendant of Holocaust survivors who has discussed how her Jewish heritage deeply influences her perspective on global affairs, storytelling, and international politics.

Germany summons Iranian envoy after two men jailed for plot to kill pro-Israel figures

BERLIN, Germany — Germany summons the Iranian ambassador after two men were jailed last week over what it called a “malicious” plot to assassinate pro-Israeli public figures on behalf of Tehran.

A Hamburg court on Thursday convicted a Danish national and an Afghan national for planning to target the president of Germany’s main group representing the Jewish community and the head of the German-Israeli society.

Germany’s Foreign Ministry says on X that the Iranian ambassador had been summoned, adding Tehran would not be allowed to “threaten our free society.”

“The malicious assassination attempts… will have legal consequences,” it says.

“We do not tolerate attacks on Jewish life and on those who defend it — anywhere, and certainly not in Germany.”

Winter slams government over stone-throwing attack on party candidate, urges it to ‘defeat enemies, not brothers’

People of Israel party Knesset candidate Fleur Hassan-Nahoum shows the rock thrown at her vehicle by a Palestinian in the West Bank, October 19, 2026. (Haim Goldich, Kan, via X)

Former IDF general Ofer Winter, leader of the People of Israel party, lashes out at the government following a stone-throwing attack on one of his party’s candidates in the West Bank, accusing it of failing to confront terrorism while targeting him politically.

“How much longer will Israeli citizens have to live in fear?” Winter says in a statement, after Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, No. 5 on the party’s election slate, was attacked in the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya, near Ramallah, while on a public diplomacy tour organized with the pro-settlement Regavim movement.

פלר מספרת שהגיעה עם תנועת רגבים לסיור בעקבות ״הארמונות שבונים לעצמם בכפרים העשירים האלו״.
פלר מספרת שהם נכנסו לכפר תורמוס עייא.
״נכנסנו לסיור תמים, סובבו אותנו בתוקפנות שנצא. לא רצינו בעיות הסתובבנו אבל חיכו לנו ביציאה של הכפר ילדים עם אבנים ענקיות והתחילו לזרוק״ https://t.co/OP6lducvR5 pic.twitter.com/0tsF8HzKBd

— Haim Goldich | חיים גולדיטש (@HGoldich) October 19, 2026

According to the party, a “group of several terrorists” surrounded their vehicle as they were leaving the village, throwing stones and other objects at it, shattering a window, and “lightly injuring” participants in the tour. Footage of the incident shows a rock striking and breaking a car window.

“Palestinian terrorism will not deter us. I will continue fighting for Israel’s reputation around the world,” Hassan-Nahoum says in a statement issued by the party.

“How much longer will we hear about stone-throwing, terrorist attacks, shootings and terrorism, while instead of defeating the enemy, we carry out another minor operation, make another arrest, issue another promise?,” says Winter. “A stone can kill, and it is time to stop treating terrorism as an unavoidable fact of life.”

He also takes aim at Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, who “today of all days” accused the right-wing leader of being “on Palestine’s side.”

“I have dedicated my life to fighting Israel’s enemies. Do you really want to lecture me about who is on which side?” Winter asks. “Instead of fighting me, instead of fighting us, fight Israel’s enemies. Instead of smearing soldiers, restore security to the citizens.”

One reportedly killed in drone strike in Gaza City

Hamas-affiliated media outlets in Gaza report that at least one person was killed in a drone strike in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in northwestern Gaza City.

The IDF has yet to comment.

#فيديو | شهيد ومصابون جراء استهداف طائرة مسيّرة للاحتلال حي الشيخ رضوان شمال غربي مدينة غزة. pic.twitter.com/Lvw5L9g6sd

— شبكة فلسطين للحوار (@paldf) October 19, 2026

Yashar warns broadcaster against airing Netanyahu campaign materials during soccer match

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits a cafe in the southern Israeli city of Kiryat Gat, ahead of Israel’s upcoming general election, October 14, 2026. (Flash90)

Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party sends a warning letter to Israel’s Sports Channel, demanding that it prevent the broadcast of electioneering during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s expected attendance at tonight’s soccer match between Beitar Jerusalem and Maccabi Tel Aviv at Jerusalem’s Teddy Stadium.

The party argues that Netanyahu does not regularly attend soccer matches and that his planned appearance, just eight days before the October 27 election, suggests the visit is intended to promote his political campaign.

Yashar calls on the broadcaster to instruct its production teams to avoid airing any “speech, greeting or campaign segment” involving Netanyahu, and to prepare to cut away from such material in real time.

The party stresses that it is not seeking to prevent “legitimate news or sports coverage,” but rather to ensure that the broadcast is not used for electioneering.

Yashar demands written confirmation by 3 p.m. that the necessary instructions have been issued, warning that it may petition the Central Elections Committee for an injunction if it believes prohibited election campaigning is likely to be aired.

Syria’s post-Assad school curriculum glorifies nationalism and jihad, demonizes Jews, study finds

People wave Syrian flags as they watch a military parade celebrating a year since the ousting of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on December 8, 2025. (LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)

Syria’s school curriculum has undergone significant changes since the fall of the Assad regime in 2024, promoting an Islamist national identity, glorifying jihad and martyrdom, and portraying Jews through antisemitic stereotypes, according to a report by the educational monitoring organization IMPACT-se.

The study analyzed 130 textbooks for grades 1–12 used in the 2025–2026 school year and retained for 2026–2027, comparing them with textbooks published under Assad between 2011 and 2023.

The report reveals that the new curriculum represents a significant ideological transformation, replacing a pan-Arab nationalist narrative with an Islamist worldview that glorifies jihad and martyrdom.

Jews are repeatedly portrayed through antisemitic stereotypes of betrayal, hostility, and dishonesty, while Syrian Jewish history is entirely absent. Israel’s right to exist and Jewish national identity are rejected, with Palestinian violence justified or glorified as resistance and martyrdom.

Meanwhile, the curriculum removes scientific theory such as evolution and excludes minorities such as Kurds, Turkmen and Druze. Turkey and the Ottoman Empire receive more favorable treatment than in previous textbooks. Textbooks also diminish the role of women and depict them in stricter Islamic dress.

Content associated with Bashar al-Assad, his family and their regime has been “systematically removed,” the report found.

“The textbooks show a very concerning shift from one damaging ideological framework to another,” says IMPACT-se CEO Marcus Sheff, warning that the changes risk undermining tolerance and peaceful coexistence.

The study is part of IMPACT-se’s research program, examining primary and secondary school textbooks in different countries across multiple subjects and measuring them against UNESCO-based standards for peace and tolerance in education.

Police say they’re investigating West Bank stone-throwing attack on group that included Knesset candidate

Police say they have launched an investigation into a suspected Palestinian stone-throwing attack near the central West Bank’s Turmus Ayya today on a group that included People of Israel Knesset candidate Fleur Hassan-Nahoum.

Officers accompanied by IDF soldiers rushed to the scene to gather evidence and search for suspects after receiving a report about the stone-throwing, police say.

The statement notes the targeted group included a “public figure,” but does not name Hassan-Nahoum, who was on a tour with the pro-settlement organization Regavim.

IDF: Two Palestinian suspects planning terror attack arrested in the West Bank

Two Palestinian terror suspects who were planning an imminent attack were captured by Israeli commandos in the West Bank yesterday, the military announces.

Soldiers of the Duvdevan Commando Unit raided Kafr Aqab following intelligence provided by the Shin Bet on “two terrorists who were advancing an imminent terror attack and operating to establish terrorist infrastructure,” the military says.

The IDF says the pair were taken to be questioned by the Shin Bet.

Hendel, Winter court would-be Gantz voters; coalition urges small right-wing parties to follow his lead

Opposition party leaders welcome Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz’s decision to withdraw from the October 27 election, as other small parties hovering around the electoral threshold seek to attract his supporters while members of the coalition call on them to follow suit and withdraw.

Yoaz Hendel, chairman of the Reservists-Economic Party, thanks Gantz for his years of service, saying he has “done what is right and necessary for the country.” He calls on voters of what he terms the “third bloc” to support his party, declaring that “the only way to establish a Zionist government is to vote for the Reservists and Economic Party.”

Ofer Winter’s People of Israel party similarly thanks Gantz for his decades of service, before urging Blue and White’s would-be voters to support him instead.

“Gantz’s withdrawal illustrates the importance of the People of Israel party in Israeli public life. Anyone who wants a right wing that serves in the military, acts decisively and is not dependent on Goldknopf’s 61st vote has only one political home – the People of Israel party,” it says.

Hendel, like Gantz, has refused to align himself with either the pro- or anti-Netanyahu bloc, while Winter has pledged to join only a Netanyahu-led government, even as the coalition has led a bitter top-down campaign to pressure Winter to withdraw. Both Hendel’s and Winter’s parties have been hovering around the electoral threshold for months.

Government ministers seize on the opportunity to urge Winter to follow Gantz’s lead and withdraw.

“Gantz’s withdrawal stems from his responsibility not to waste votes for the left-wing bloc,” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party says, referring to the opposition bloc. “By contrast, on the right, there is a complete lack of responsibility on the part of Ofer Winter and the other splinter parties that are nowhere near the electoral threshold, yet insist on throwing votes in the trash and risk bringing to power a left-wing government with supporters of terrorism that will bring disaster upon the State of Israel.”

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, of Netanyahu’s Likud, similarly urges right-wing parties polling below or near the electoral threshold to “do what Benny Gantz did a short while ago: withdraw from the race.”

“The cost of wasting right-wing votes in this election could be fatal,” he warns, pointing to the 1992 election, when three small right-wing parties failed to cross the threshold. “Show responsibility for the sake of the people of Israel and the Land of Israel!”

One reported killed in Gaza City strike

Hamas-affiliated media outlets in Gaza report that one person was killed in an IDF strike in the Daraj neighborhood of central Gaza City.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

عاجل | جرحى بقصف مسيّرة إسرائيلية لمحيط مدرسة "التابعين" في حي الدرج بمدينة غزة. pic.twitter.com/y1twVZyZmr

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) October 19, 2026

Iranian FM blames US for ‘insecurity’ in Strait of Hormuz

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, right, shakes hands with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov before their meeting in Tehran, Iran, October 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran’s top diplomat accuses the United States of being responsible for the “insecurity” in the Strait of Hormuz, which has been at the heart of the conflict between the foes.

“The war imposed by the United States and the Zionist regime (Israel), combined with the economic blockade, constitutes the principal source of insecurity in our region,” says Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, having previously referred to “the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz” during a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

New York City bank vandalized with anti-Israel graffiti, windows smashed

A CapitalOne bank location on the Upper East Side of Manhattan has been vandalized with anti-Israel graffiti.

Images of the vandalism shared by New York City Speaker Julie Menin show that the windows of the bank were smashed.

Red graffiti on the doors says “Drop Elbit” and “Pal Action.”

Pal Action, or Palestine Action, is an activist group that has increasingly targeted Israel-linked defense companies, including Elbit.

The US Treasury Department and the UK have designated the UK-based group as a terrorist organization.

The vandalism and destruction at the Capital One branch on 86th Street is deeply disturbing and unacceptable.

I have been in contact with the NYPD regarding this incident and have urged an immediate investigation, including whether this is a potential antisemitic hate crime.… pic.twitter.com/B1AUvO6I3Y

— Speaker Julie Menin (@SpeakerMenin) October 19, 2026

The group’s US branch, Palestine Action US, has rebranded as Unity of Fields. It wasn’t clear which group exactly vandalized the bank.

Palestine Action’s social media and Telegram accounts have been suspended and there does not appear to be an immediate claim of responsibility.

Menin says she has urged the police to investigate whether the incident is an antisemitic hate crime.

The NYPD tells the Times of Israel that at 7:40 a.m. an “unidentified individual threw a brick into the window” of the bank, and that the police are investigating the incident as a “possible bias criminal mischief” offense.

Calla Walsh, an extremist anti-Zionist activist, also posts an “anonymous submission” showing saboteurs disabling equipment at a New York City subway station. Walsh was a co-founder of Palestine Action US but has said she is no longer involved with the group.

The video shows vandals painting over security cameras and using electric drills to destroy and disable card readers at the subway station’s turnstiles.

The activists leave flyers that allege connections between the company producing the transit equipment and Israel.

“Every time you tap, you’re sending money to a war profiteer. Stop the genocide. Free Palestine,” the flyers say, according to the footage.

US Supreme Court rejects efforts to revive plea deal for accused 9/11 mastermind

This February 2017 photo provided by his lawyers shows Khalid Shaikh Mohammed in Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba (Courtesy Derek Poteet via AP)

The US Supreme Court rejects an effort to revive a plea deal for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The agreement would have spared Mohammed the risk of execution in exchange for his guilty plea and a sentence of life in prison without parole.

Mohammed is accused of developing and directing the plot to crash hijacked airliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon 25 years ago. Another of the hijacked planes crashed into a field in Pennsylvania.

The plea agreement was approved by military prosecutors and the Pentagon’s senior official for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, before then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stepped in.

Austin threw out the deal in 2024, saying a decision on the death penalty in an attack as grave as September 11 should only be made by the defense secretary.

Relatives of the September 11 victims were split on the agreements for Mohammed and two co-defendants. Some said a trial is the best path to justice, while others saw it as the best hope for bringing the long, painful case to a conclusion.

Defense attorneys had argued that Austin, who served under President Joe Biden, acted too late. But a divided appeals court panel found Austin acted within his authority.

Yashar accuses Netanyahu of silencing Sephardi Likud candidates in AI campaign video

Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party posts an AI-generated video depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu eating lobster and accusing him of sidelining Mizrahi members of his Likud party during the election campaign.

The video comes after remarks by Channel 14 political commentator Yinon Magal, who called Eisenkot a “monkey,” widely interpreted as a racist slur targeting Eisenkot’s Moroccan heritage.

Netanyahu later condemned Magal’s remarks, after Yashar publicly questioned why the prime minister and his Likud party had failed to denounce them. At the same time, however, Netanyahu accused Eisenkot of failing to denounce alleged similar rhetoric directed at Likud voters.

נתניהו, תן למזרחים מיקרופון:
ינון ״כלי להעברת מסרים של נתניהו״ מגל קרא למזרחים קופים, אליו הצטרפה מקהלת השופרות.
אולי בגלל זה נתניהו לא נותן למזרחים במפלגתו להתראיין בקמפיין?

נתניהו אתה בהיסטריה אז סותם פיות – תלמד ממי שיהיה ראש הממשלה המזרחי הראשון ותן למזרחים מיקרופון (ותשים… pic.twitter.com/1jHHE7BUfg

— ישר! עם איזנקוט. (@yashar_eisenkot) October 19, 2026

Alongside the video, Yashar accuses Magal of using racist language against Sephardi Israelis and suggests Netanyahu is preventing Mizrahi members of his party from speaking publicly.

The video features a song in the Mizrahi music style questioning why prominent Sephardi Likud candidates, including Channel 14 commentator Jacob Bardugo and Transportation Minister Miri Regev, have not been interviewed since the campaign began.

“Why does Netanyahu erase the Mizrahim from his campaign?” the song asks.

The lobster imagery appears to reference a March 2023 incident in which Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, were filmed dining at a non-kosher restaurant in London over Shabbat, with lobster visible on the plate of the diner who filmed the video.

“Netanyahu, you’re in a panic, so you’re silencing voices,” the party writes. “Take a lesson from the man who will become Israel’s first Mizrahi prime minister, and give Mizrahim a microphone (and turn up the volume),” it adds, referring to Eisenkot.

Charedi Public vows to stay in election race to the end, as PM reportedly pushing party to drop out

Moti Leitner, chairman of the Charedi Public party, speaks during the party’s election campaign rally at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, ahead of Israel’s upcoming general elections, October 17, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Moti Leitner, chair of the ultra-Orthodox Charedi Public party, tells Channel 12 that he will not bow out of the election after it was reported yesterday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was pushing him to suspend his campaign.

The Charedi Public has set itself apart from mainstream ultra-Orthodox parties United Torah Judaism and Shas with its relatively moderate stances on IDF enlistment and by including women on its Knesset slate.

Despite opinion polls consistently showing that Charedi Public falls below the 3.25% electoral threshold, Leitner is adamant that it will run until the end, asking, “How can we come to hundreds and thousands of Israelis and tell them ‘we’re going to close off your opportunity to bring us your support?'”

He says that despite polling results, he believes Charedi Public could become the “surprise” of election day on October 27, citing the phenomenon of the “shy voters” who are reluctant or afraid to admit they are voting for his party due to societal pressure and potential retaliation, potentially skewing the polls.

Answering those who say that voting for Charedi Public is a wasted vote, Leitner says that “a wasted vote is a vote for United Torah Judaism and Shas. A vote for us is a vote for the future.”

Yemen’s Houthis claim attacks on Saudi Aramco site, airports and military targets

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis say they carried out several attacks against Saudi energy, airport, and military targets, including an Aramco site in Yanbu, the Shaybah oilfield, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and Abha airport.

There is no immediate Saudi confirmation and Reuters cannot immediately verify the claims.

Suspected infiltration into West Bank settlement of Evyatar sets off siren; IDF investigating

A siren warning of a suspected infiltration into the West Bank settlement of Evyatar sounded a short while ago.

The military says it is investigating the incident and is in contact with local authorities.

‘We have a job to finish’: Netanyahu invokes Iran in call with Trump after endorsement; US president says PM treated ‘unfairly’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanks US President Donald Trump over the phone for his endorsement ahead of Israel’s October 27 election, stressing that the two leaders have unfinished business in Iran and on the Abraham Accords.

“I’m so grateful for this incredible endorsement,” Netanyahu tells Trump in a video posted on his X account, calling the president “an incredible leader of the free world and America, by far the greatest friend Israel has ever had and will have in the White House.”

בשיחה עם ידידי הנשיא טראמפ לאחר שהודיע על תמיכתו בי בבחירות. יחד אנחנו הולכים להסיר את האיום האיראני לתמיד! צאו להצביע מחל! pic.twitter.com/GuPEAPn0Tc

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) October 19, 2026

“Donald, we have a job to finish [in Iran]…and we’ll finish it together. We’ll finish it, and no one else will do it,” Netanyahu says, apparently speaking from the air force base he visited earlier today.

Trump responds that he wrote the endorsement himself, without outside input, telling Netanyahu: “You’re a warrior. You’ve been treated unfairly by your country and probably some others also… But you’re a great warrior, and we will prove that.”

“I think you’re terrific. I was always going to do [the endorsement]. I think you’re going to have a tremendous victory, actually,” Trump says. “You’re the man I want by my side, Bibi.”

Netanyahu adds that the two also have work to complete on expanding the Abraham Accords peace agreements, while declining to name any countries publicly.

Court extends remand of 7 suspects arrested following attacks on Palestinians, journalists, diplomats in West Bank

A court has extended until Wednesday the remand of seven of 10 people who were arrested overnight in relation to settler attacks against Palestinians, journalists, and diplomats in the West Bank over the weekend, as well as other crimes, police say.

Police also announce the arrest last night of a settler in his 20s from the northern West Bank on suspicion of involvement in unspecified “incidents of extremist violence.”

The court extended the suspect’s detention until tomorrow, and a prosecutor’s statement has been filed against him ahead of an indictment, police say.

According to police, the others arrested overnight include two suspects in the attack on European diplomats in Taybeh on Saturday; four suspects in Friday’s attack in Abu Falah that wounded two, including 63-year-old Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine; and another four people suspected of “breaking into a home and violating a closed military zone.”

The court extended the detention of all the suspects in the Taybeh and Abu Falah attacks, and of one of those suspected of the break-in, police say, without specifying when or where the break-in took place.

All-clear given in settlement of Evyatar after suspected infiltration triggered alert

An all-clear is given by the military in the West Bank settlement of Evyatar, after a suspected infiltration alert sounded this evening.

The IDF says the alert was activated due to a suspect in the area who turned out to be an Israeli civilian.

After quitting election race, Gantz pleads for Zionist unity government to heal divisions, avert potential disaster

Blue and White chair Benny Gantz speaks during a press conference at Kfar Maccabiah in Ramat Gan at which he formally confirmed his withdrawal from Israel’s upcoming election, October 19, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/ Flash90)

Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz takes responsibility for his party’s failure to garner sufficient public support while imploring political leaders across the spectrum to put aside their differences and form a broad unity government, following his announcement earlier today to withdraw from the October 27 election.

“I still believe with all my heart in the path I followed from my first day in politics, a path of statehood and unity that puts Israel above all else,” Gantz tells reporters. “Unfortunately, at this time, I have not been able to convince enough of the people, and the responsibility is mine.”

However, he insists that a Zionist unity government transcending political blocs remains “the only solution” to Israel’s challenges.

“Do not take us back to October 6,” Gantz urges, appealing directly to political leaders across the spectrum, referring to the day before the Hamas-led massacre. “Be brave enough to bring about real and correct change. Put the old perceptions aside.”

“If this does not happen, the people will continue to be torn apart and we will end up in repeat elections or, God forbid, disaster,” he warns.

Germany summons Iranian envoy over plot to kill Jewish community leader

Germany has summoned the Iranian ambassador, the German Foreign Ministry says in a post on X, after a German court sentenced two men for planning to kill the leader of a Jewish organization in Germany.

The court said last week that one of the men had been steered by Iran’s intelligence service.

Germany’s ambassador to Iran was summoned to the ministry of foreign affairs over “baseless accusations,” Iranian media reports.

Poll: No immediate bump for Netanyahu from Trump endorsement; 81% of opposition supporters intend to vote, compared to 74% of pro-Netanyahu voters

A Channel 12 poll eight days before the election shows neither the anti- nor pro-Netanyahu blocs close to winning a 61-seat majority in the Knesset, with US President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu giving no immediate bump in support for the premier.

In fact, the poll, which was conducted today, sees opposition front-runner Gadi Eisenkot widening the gap by which he is preferred to Netanyahu as prime minister by two percent compared to the same channel’s survey last week, to 45-33%. (Israel does not directly elect a prime minister, however.)

Presumably conducted at least partially before Benny Gantz announced this afternoon that his Blue and White party was withdrawing from the race, the survey shows some 6.5% of respondents voting for parties that are currently below the 3.25% electoral threshold, underlining the potential for parties narrowly clearing or falling just below the threshold to impact the result.

Channel 12 adds that the survey finds 72% intend to vote, but that among opposition voters the figure is 81%, while it is 74% among pro-Netanyahu voters.

The parties score as follows: Yashar 24 seats, Likud 21, B’Yachad 14, the Joint List 9, The Democrats 9, Yisrael Beytenu 8, Shas 8, Otzma Yehudit 8, Religious Zionism 7, United Torah Judaism 7, and Ra’am 5.

The People of Israel, Reservists, Blue and White, and Charedi Public parties all fall below the threshold and thus would not win any Knesset seats.

The anti-Netanyahu bloc totals 55 seats in the 120-member Knesset, and the pro-Netanyahu bloc has 51, with the balance held by the two Arab parties.

The poll surveyed 507 respondents and has a 4.4% margin of error.

Bennett to Netanyahu: You need to tell the public right now what is going on between you and Qatar

Responding to tonight’s report that prime ministerial aide Jonatan Urich acknowledged to police investigators that he continued working for Qatar for many months after the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre, B’Yachad leader Naftali Bennett demands that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who still employs Urich, stand up tonight and tell the public, “What is going on between you and Qatar.”

Bennett says the affair is the “gravest case of treason in the history of the State of Israel.”

While Israel’s soldiers were fighting a war in Gaza, “inside the ‘holy of holies’ of Israeli security [in the Prime Minister’s Office], a group of agents and traitors were working for an enemy state,” he declares.

He says that Netanyahu must stand up “today, tonight, right now, before the people of Israel [and explain]: What is going on between you and Qatar.”

Netanyahu’s Likud party said Thursday that he would sue his former chief of staff Yoav Horowitz, after the ex-aide, who helped found Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party, said the premier must be considered a “Qatari agent.”

Suspects said detained for security offenses on Route 1 highway near Jerusalem

A number of suspects were detained by an elite counterterror force on the Route 1 highway near Jerusalem this evening, according to Hebrew-language media reports.

Some reports say two suspects were nabbed, while others put that number at three. The reports say they were wanted for security offenses.

The arrest was carried out by the Tequila team, made up of commandos of the police’s elite Yamam unit and Shin Bet security agency. The force is normally dispatched to foil imminent terror attacks.

There is no immediate comment from the police or Shin Bet on the incident.

חדשות הסקופים
תיעוד חריג ודרמטי – צוות טקילה הוקפץ: חשודים בעבירות ביטחוניות נעצרו בכביש 1 pic.twitter.com/GTGxUEbLJS

— חדשות הסקופים. (@Haskupim) October 19, 2026

France imposes localized curfew in parts of Paris, Lille and Nice, as country reels from riots

A protester runs through tear gas while a flea market is taking place during clashes between protesters and police officers in Paris, France, October 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)

French authorities have set curfews in parts of several cities on Monday, including Paris, Lille, and Nice, as they face pressure over security failings after a weekend of riots and looting stemming from nationwide anti-government protests.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu rules out a blanket curfew in Paris but not a state of emergency, and says it is more appropriate for now to apply partial and localized curfews.

“My determination to restore order is absolute,” he tells reporters.

Paris police say they have issued orders barring protests in certain areas of the French capital from 8 p.m. and issued a curfew around the Place de la Republique and Les Halles from 11:00 p.m. Both will remain in effect until 6 a.m. on Tuesday morning.

“A police deployment is in place to ensure strict compliance with these measures,” the police say in a statement.

A source in Lecornu’s office says a curfew for minors has been set between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. for the next two days in Lille, Douai, Wattignies, and Denain with the agreement of the local mayors.

In Nice, Mayor Eric Ciotti says in a video posted online that he has signed an order installing a curfew for minors in central Nice overnight.

Marseille has banned gatherings and demonstrations. French unions meanwhile have called for a new round of strikes and rallies on November 5.

IDF chief announces new round of senior military appointments, pending approval

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir announces a new round of senior appointments in the military.

The list includes one new brigadier general and 36 new colonels, along with two brigadier generals and 24 colonels moving to new roles at the same rank.

Five more senior officers are being sent to academic studies between roles.

The list of appointments is still pending the approval of Defense Minister Israel Katz.

Among the notable appointments are heads of two new divisions and a revived armored brigade.

Brig. Gen. “Shin” was selected as head of the Space Division in the Planning Directorate, a new unit that is being established, which the military says will “lead force buildup and operations, consolidate knowledge and training, and advance the field of space as a dedicated military profession.”

The military says the division was established after identifying that “the space domain has become an active combat domain and will become an increasingly expanding military arena in the coming years, with national significance.”

Alongside the establishment of the Space Division, a series of space-related military projects was approved over the past year, involving both the operation of sensors from space toward Earth and space warfare, according to the IDF.

Additionally, Brig. Gen. “Yud” was selected as the commander of the new Robotics Division, part of the Depth Corps.

And Lt. Col. “Resh,” will be promoted to colonel and command the 500th Armored Brigade, which was closed in 2003 and is now being reopened.