Oct. 22: Trump claims Iran ‘making up fake hits’ to drive up oil prices ahead of midterms

UAE nominates diplomat Lana Nusseibeh as UN secretary-general, potentially breaking deadlock

UAE Ambassador to the United Nations Lana Nusseibeh talks during an interactive discussion titled ''Present at the Disruption: The UAE's First Year on the UN Security Council", in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, January 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

The United Arab Emirates has formally nominated one of its top diplomats, Lana Nusseibeh, to serve as the next United Nations secretary-general, in what could break the ongoing deadlock in the election to replace Antonio Guterres.

Nusseibeh’s nomination — submitted in a letter by UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed to the heads of the UN General Assembly and Security Council — comes after six rounds of voting in the latter body failed to produce a candidate acceptable to all five permanent Security Council members.

US President Donald Trump’s administration reportedly opposed all seven contenders in the race to date.

But Washington’s close relationship with the UAE — a country with whom the other permanent members of Russia, China, Britain and France also have strong working ties — may be enough to finally produce a consensus candidate.

Nusseibeh currently serves as minister of state in the UAE foreign ministry, and she previously served as the UAE’s ambassador to the UN from 2013 to 2024.

AIPAC ends direct contributions to US congressional candidates, while maintaining super PAC

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the American Israel Public Affairs Committee policy conference in Washington on March 6, 2018. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP)

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) informed members on Wednesday that it will cease officially endorsing US congressional candidates or directly fundraising on their behalf, just five years after it began the practice.

But while the pro-Israel lobby will halt such operations through its political action committee, it will continue operating its United Democracy Project super PAC, which can spend unlimited sums in congressional races but not coordinate directly with candidates.

In an email to members first reported by Jewish Insider, AIPAC’s leadership says the group will “prioritize increasing direct, organized contributions from individual Americans to candidates.”

That was how AIPAC operated before establishing both a political action committee and super PAC in 2021, in what some analysts say helped contribute to the deterioration of its image.

Since then, there has also been growing partisan polarization in the United States over Israel and a rapid deterioration in Democratic support for the country and its government.

Saudi Arabia reports 1 killed in attack on Dammam international airport

An attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, killed one resident and injured eight others, the General Authority of Civil Aviation says.

IRGC says four vessels carrying oil hit mines near Hormuz, warns US of wider responses

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy says that four vessels involved in illegal oil transfers in the northern Persian Gulf were simultaneously hit and caught fire after being tracked by its forces.

The IRGC adds that three more vessels collided with mines west of the Strait of Hormuz, and warned the US military that continued provocations could lead to a wider response against its regional bases.

Trump: There are no negotiations with Iran, something will happen ‘fairly soon’

US President Donald Trump says there are no negotiations with Iran and that “something” will happen “very soon” in the conflict with the Islamic Republic.

“We are not negotiating with” Iran, Trump tells a reporter before boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews.

“Something one way or another will happen, fairly soon,” he continues. “Most people seem to think it’s after the election.”

The comments come after The New York Times reported that the US and Israel have drawn up plans for renewed military strikes on Iran following the American midterm elections on November 3.

President Trump tonight tells me the U.S. is not negotiating with Iran and something will happen “fairly soon.”@NewsNation pic.twitter.com/AYZGTlnpLy

— Libbey Dean (@LibbeyDean_) October 22, 2026

Katz says opposition leaders to blame for future attacks on Israel amid their criticism of pre-election security warnings

Defense Minister Israel Katz blames any future attacks on Israel on opposition leaders who have criticized him and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for warning of potential attacks by Israel’s enemies in the lead-up to the election.

“Every attack on Israel and all future terrorist attacks, if God forbid there are any, will be the fault of Yair Lapid, Naftali Bennett, Yair Golan, and their friends in the opposition, who don’t stop attacking the prime minister and me and are casting aspersions on our efforts to warn and alert — based on information in our possession — against our enemies’ intentions to attack Israel and carry out terrorist attacks on the eve of the elections or during them in order to influence the election results,” Katz says.

The defense minister says the Israel Defense Forces is ready for any scenario, and says criticism shows “disconnect and narrow political considerations” that harm Israeli deterrence.

It comes amid concerns that warnings by Netanyahu and Katz could be politically motivated.

In one of the instances, Netanyahu issued a warning last month, when he said the country had indications that enemies might attempt an attack ahead of the election.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said there was no reason to alarm the public after receiving a briefing following the warning.

At the time, according to security sources cited by Kan news, Haaretz and Army Radio, the IDF had not identified a specific threat of an attack ahead of the election, raised its alert level, or mobilized additional troops in any sector.

Social media profiles part of election ‘foreign influence campaign’ erased from internet — Shin Bet

Likud activists hang campaign posters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu beside a billboard featuring opposition rival Gadi Eisenkot ahead of Israel’s general election in Dimona, southern Israel, October 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Numerous social media profiles used as part of a “foreign influence campaign” were removed from the internet ahead of the election, the Shin Bet security agency says.

The Shin Bet says it worked with the Cyber Department in the State Attorney’s Office and the Central Elections Committee to identify the profiles.

“As part of the joint effort to safeguard the integrity of the elections and thwart attempts at improper foreign influence, these accounts were removed from the internet,” the security agency says.

Lapid: Katz’s statement is ‘gift to Israel’s enemies,’ government trying to save itself from losing election

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

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, No. 2 on the B’Yachad slate, says Defense Minister Israel Katz’s recent statement charging future attacks would be “licensed in the name” of government critics is a “gift to Israel’s enemies.”

“Again, the government of failure is looking for excuses and culprits for the failures of Netanyahu and the band of incompetents around him,” Lapid writes on X.

“What cowardice. What an admission of their inability to run the country and provide security to its citizens,” he says, adding: “In their desperation to be rescued from electoral defeat, they are turning the Israel’s security into a circus.”

Eisenkot: Katz ‘preparing the ground for the next disaster and shifting blame in advance’

Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkott speaks during a conference organized by the Israel Democracy Institute in Tel Aviv, October 15, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Yashar party chairman and election frontrunner Gadi Eisenkot accuses Defense Minister Israel Katz of “preparing the ground for the next disaster and shifting blame in advance,” after the minister’s claim that future attacks would be “licensed in the names” of opposition leaders.

“The absurdity of the defense minister blaming political rivals for terror attacks of enemies before they occur is an unprecedented low,” Eisenkot writes on X.

“Our army is strong, but our leadership is rotten and dangerous,” he says, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Katz of putting their political survival above everything else.

Haredi draft protesters throw rocks at police near Elad Junction; one officer hurt

A policeman was injured by a rock thrown at him by ultra-Orthodox protesters against the arrest of draft evaders overnight, near Elad Junction, Israel Police say.

According to the police, dozens of protesters were rioting and threw rocks at police who arrived to disperse them.

A policeman was injured in the head and taken to receive medical attention, police say.

הכאוס באלעד: חסימת הכניסה לעיר במחאה על עריק שנעצר (זומן לחקירה על נהיגה בלי רישיון והועבר למ"צ). החסימה הפכה לעימותים. שוטרים שהגיעו לפתוח את הכביש נתקלו בהתנגדות עזה, מאוחר יותר הגיעו השוטרים לישיבות מהן יצאו המפגינים ונתקלו בהשלכת אבנים וחפצים.
שוטר אחד נפצע וכן 5מפגינים. pic.twitter.com/7JvcRoknq9

— שילה פריד???????? (@shilofreid) October 22, 2026

October 7 families to stand outside polling stations, call on voters to remember the fallen at the ballot box

Former hostage Yocheved Lifshitz holds a sign intended to stir voters on Election Day, stating, "My husband was killed in captivity, remember him in the voting booth!" (Courtesy)

Families of October 7 victims call on Israeli voters to remember those murdered, those who fell in battle, and those taken hostage, when they cast their ballots on election Day.

Throughout election day on Tuesday, families of October 7 victims will stand outside voting stations holding signs about their loved ones.

Among those participating in the campaign are Yocheved Lifshitz, who was taken hostage with her husband, Oded Lifshitz, who was later murdered in captivity in Gaza; Yona Adam, whose daughter, Mapal Adam, was killed at the Nova desert rave; Hadas Kalderon, whose mother, Carmela Dan, and niece, Noya Calderon, were killed in Kibbutz Nir Oz, and whose ex-husband and two of her children, Ofer, Sahar and Erez Calderon were taken hostage; Noam Peri, whose father, Haim Peri was abducted and killed in captivity; Gil Dickmann, whose cousin, Carmel Gat was abducted and killed in captivity; and Michel Illouz, whose son Guy Illouz was abducted and killed in captivity.

Those involved in the voting initiative emphasize that the initiative is not affiliated with any political party and does not involve calls to vote for a specific party.

Four American activists threatened with deportation released from detention with ban from West Bank

US congressional candidate Brad Lander after he was detained during the olive harvest in Nahalin in the West Bank on October 21, 2026. (X/Brad Lander)

The final four civil rights activists of several dozen detained yesterday by security forces after helping Palestinian olive growers harvest their crop have been released from detention, the Rabbis for Human Rights organization, which arranged the harvesting activity, says.

Although the police said Wednesday night that it would be transferring the four activists, all Americans, to the Population and Immigration Authority for deportation from Israel, the Rabbis for Human Rights organization says they have now been released and issued 15-day exclusion orders from the West Bank.

The organization says another 28 Israeli activists were issued exclusion orders from the West Bank for between 15 and 30 days, and 38 international activists were released without condition.

Over 70 activists were detained by the IDF and police on Wednesday, and were accused of carrying out olive harvesting in an area requiring coordination with the military, which had not been carried out.

Military maps demonstrated however, that the land where the activists worked did not require prior coordination.

Yehoshua Schoffman, a former deputy attorney general, who was among the participants in the olive harvest and was detained, says the detainees were actually questioned under caution for alleged violations of the law which, he said, had no basis in the events of the day.

“This is the way the authorities thwart assistance provided by Israelis during the olive harvest,” writes Schoffman on X.

“There are those who go to great lengths to prevent Palestinian residents from harvesting olives on land they own. Sometimes this involves severe physical violence; at other times, it entails the theft of the crop. In most cases, the police and the military fail to enforce the law against these perpetrators and thieves. Now, they are also attempting to block assistance from Israelis—as well as Jews from abroad—who neither engage in nor encourage violence of any kind.”

UN’s Albanese says Indonesia should rethink membership in Board of Peace

Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, walks through the venue after speaking at the 5th World Conference on Creative Economy in Jakarta, Indonesia, October 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia should reconsider its involvement in US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan because it is being shaped by Israel and the US and lacks a Palestinian voice, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories tells Reuters.

The Board of Peace was unveiled by Trump in January to address global conflicts ​typically handled by the United Nations. The world’s largest Muslim-majority nation has also pledged troops to be deployed to Gaza as part of the International Stabilization Force.

Francesca Albanese, who has long been accused of antisemitism and extremist rhetoric against Israel, says in an interview in Jakarta that Indonesia has historically supported the Palestinian cause, but joining the board was dangerous.

Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry says that Board of Peace discussions remained on hold, reiterating its earlier position.

“I understand (Indonesia’s) good intentions. I still think that it’s very dangerous, because it risks normalizing a very abnormal mechanism,” she says.

Albanese says that, legally, Israel could not have a role in determining the future of Palestinians.

Rights experts have criticized the board for not including a ​Palestinian representative even though it is meant to supervize the ​temporary governance of a Palestinian territory.

The Board of Peace does not immediately respond to a request for comment outside US business hours.

Indonesia, which backs a two-state solution and has repeatedly condemned Israeli violence, has drawn criticism from domestic Muslim groups for agreeing to join the board, which also counts Israel as a member.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Top European, Mideast diplomats to meet in Istanbul tomorrow, with Palestinian issue on agenda

ISTANBUL, Turkey — Top European diplomats will hold talks in Istanbul tomorrow with their counterparts from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt, a meeting initiated by Ankara, a Turkish foreign ministry source says.

Foreign ministers from the so-called E3 group — Britain, France and Germany — will meet counterparts from the newly created R4 group to discuss the Palestinian issue, developments in Yemen and the Strait of Hormuz, and ways to end the Russia-Ukraine war, the source says.

Greece to impose sanctions on Iran-linked law firm, following US measures

ATHENS, Greece — The Greek Finance Ministry says it was implementing sanctions in place linked to Iran and that it backed efforts to effectively combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

The statement comes after the US Treasury Department said yesterday it imposed sanctions on Karnakis & Karnakis, a law firm based in Greece and Panama, saying it had for years provided legal assistance to Iranian shipping networks.

The Treasury also said that the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an administrative subpoena to advance an investigation into a Greek bank, which it did not name.

The Greek Finance Ministry says it had taken note of the US Treasury statement, adding that “all available information is being evaluated, and appropriate measures are being taken in accordance with established procedures and applicable national, EU, and international law.”

As US pursues sanctions against it, ICC wins European Union’s top rights prize

The International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, March 12, 2025. (Omar Havana/AP)

Facing US sanctions, the International Criminal Court is awarded the European Union’s prestigious Sakharov rights prize, European Parliament chief Roberta Metsola says.

“The European Union is built on respect for multilateralism and international institutions, and this prize recognises the important work of the court in upholding international law and justice,” Metsola tells lawmakers in Strasbourg.

The Trump administration has long been hostile to the court and has previously imposed sanctions on its prosecutors and judges.

Washington has been angry over ICC arrest warrants issued for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and over a past investigation into actions of US soldiers in Afghanistan that the ICC has since closed.

Netanyahu: I told Trump in February 2025 that I was going to attack Iran, asked him to join

This grab taken from UGC images posted on social media on June 23, 2025, shows smoke after Israeli strikes in Tehran (UGC / AFP)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that he told US President Donald Trump in February 2025, in their first meeting after Trump returned to office, that Israel was going attack Iran.

Speaking to Israel National News, Netanyahu says he told Trump that “we are going to do A, B, C, D.”

“I got to the fourth slide, I said we’d be very happy if you joined,” says Netanyahu. “There is a bunker in a place called Fordo, you can bring the B2 and bomb there. We’d be happy if you did, and if not, we’ll do it and it will be harder. Decide.”

“He heard, he didn’t decide, and I came back and said, we are going,” recounts Netanyahu.

Netanyahu claims that before his attack on Iran in 2025, “Iran was about to destroy us with nuclear bombs.”

He says that he didn’t wait for a green light from the US to strike Iran in 2025.

“Our existence is not an issue for negotiation,” says Netanyahu.

Netanyahu says that Mojtaba Khamenei has “decided to renew the nuclear program.”

He says that he told Israel’s security services to topple the Iranian regime: “I instructed that the only relevant solution here is bringing down the fanatic regime… I instructed the IDF and the Mossad, this is the job, this is the mission.”

Netanyahu’s election pitch: It’s me and Trump, or Eisenkot and Abbas

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the graduation ceremony of an IDF officers’ course in southern Israel, October 21, 2026. (Tsafrir Abayov/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sharpens his attack on his political rivals ahead of next week’s election, telling Israel National News that it’s “me and [US President Donald] Trump, or [Gadi] Eisenkot and [Mansour] Abbas.”

Netanyahu says that if he loses the election, the next government will be made up of “the left” and Arab parties, “a copy of what is happening in Europe.”

Most mainstream anti-Netanyahu parties, including Eisenkot’s, have ruled out relying on Arab factions to form a coalition, and most oppose a Palestinian state.

“It destroyed France, it destroyed the UK; if God forbid it happens here, it will destroy Israel,” Netanyahu says.

“They will give citizenship to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians for demographic change for the next election,” he says of a potential government made up of opposition parties.

Eisenkot, he further says, “is incapable of acting on the world stage. He doesn’t have the experience, he doesn’t have the talent, he doesn’t have the connections.”

Saudis intercept drones near Riyadh, Medina, as clashes with Houthis rage on

The Saudi-backed anti-Houthi coalition says it intercepted four drones near the capital, Riyadh, and Medina, the second-holiest city in Islam.

Saudi Arabia has this month come under near-daily attacks from the Iran-backed Houthis, including a strike on Riyadh’s international airport that was the kingdom’s deadliest in years, as the war with Yemen’s Houthi group escalates.

Pentagon and Lockheed reach 10-year deal to produce 850 F-35s

Israeli Air Force F-35I fighter jets head to carry out strikes in Iran, in a photo published by the military on March 15, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin announce a 10-year agreement for the production of 850 F-35 jets.

The “framework agreement,” which the Pentagon says would “modernize and expand” the fighter jet program, requires the approval of Congress.

State memorial service underway marking 31 years since Rabin assassination

The state memorial service marking 31 years since the assassination of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin is underway at Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl cemetery.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not join other top officials at the memorial. The last time he attended was in 2019.

Instead, the government is represented by Science and Technology Minister Gila Gamliel.

On November 4, 1995, gunman Yigal Amir assassinated Rabin as he left a peace rally in Tel Aviv, held at what was subsequently renamed Rabin Square.

Israeli fire kills four people, including woman, in Gaza, medics say

Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least four people in the Gaza Strip in separate incidents on Thursday, Hamas-linked health officials in the enclave say.

In Gaza City, a strike on a car killed at least one person, medics said. A crowd gathered around the burning wreckage, as orange-vested emergency crews sprayed it with water, photos from the scene showed.

شهيد في لقصف على ممركبة قي حى تل الهوا جنوب مدينة غزة. pic.twitter.com/YXfZJGqC3B

— Hanzala (@Hanzpal2) October 22, 2026

Footage from the scene shows secondary explosions inside the vehicle following the initial strike, possibly due to the presence of flammable material.

Other strikes killed a Palestinian man on a bike in the southern city of Khan Younis and a man near Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, and gunfire killed a woman near the Jabalia refugee camp, in the north, the medics add.

Israel’s military said it had struck Hamas militants in Khan Younis, Nuseirat and Gaza City, but that it was not aware of the reported incident in Jabalia.

عاجل| مجمع الشفاء الطبي: شهيدان ومصابون في غارة إسرائيلية على مركبة بحي تل الهوى جنوب غربي مدينة غزة pic.twitter.com/xE18PBan5j

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) October 22, 2026

Yemen’s Houthis say they attacked Saudi defense ministry, Aramco facilities, and Dammam airport

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis say they launched attacks on Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry in Riyadh, Saudi Aramco facilities in Yanbu, and King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, where Saudi authorities said two people were killed.

Syria says two security personnel killed in operation against IS-linked cell

Syrian security force say two of their personnel were killed during an operation against a cell affiliated with the Islamic State jihadist group in the Damascus region.

The country’s Islamist authorities who ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024 regularly announce operations against IS-affiliated networks and individuals accused of planning attacks.

State news agency SANA reports that security forces in cooperation with intelligence agencies carried out an operation targeting “a cell affiliated with the Daesh (IS) terrorist organization in the town of Rankus” in the Damascus countryside.

It says two security forces members were killed and five wounded in clashes, without providing details.

Earlier this month, Syrian authorities also said they had arrested a key IS operative allegedly responsible for planning and overseeing attacks including a deadly mosque blast in Homs last year.

Syrian authorities, who face major security challenges, last year joined a US-led coalition against the jihadists.

Once in control of swathes of Syria and Iraq, IS was territorially defeated in Syria in 2019, but remnants of the group are still present there, including in the country’s vast desert.

The group occasionally claims attacks, mainly targeting Syrian security forces.

Syria has blamed IS for bomb blasts in July during a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron. Authorities said they arrested the cell responsible.

Tehran propaganda installation features Trump behind bars

Anti-American propaganda is a common sight on the streets of the Iranian capital, but authorities have gone a step further with their latest effort — a life-size jail cell with an actor playing US President Donald Trump languishing inside.

The 3D art installation is proving a hit with locals, who have been stopping to take selfies as well as hurl abuse at Trump.

Since the beginning of the war that began with American and Israeli strikes in February, the Islamic Republic has ramped up propaganda operations, with several pieces of artwork going viral.

In their latest campaign, a prison cell is suspended several stories high in Tajrish Square in an upscale neighborhood of north Tehran.

An Iranian performer in Tehran’s busy Tajrish Square has impersonated US President Donald Trump behind bars in an art installation featuring the slogan, “It is a crime not to see this scene.” pic.twitter.com/VhxU2WRRVI

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) October 21, 2026

Inside is an actor dressed in a dark suit and red tie and wearing a prosthetic mask to look like the US president, as he paces around the cell or clutches its bars.

A screen set up nearby shows messages denouncing US “war crimes.”

Some locals were having fun with the installation, with one passerby jokingly telling Trump: “Don’t worry, we’ll pay your bail and get you out!”

Others used it as a target for their anger, with one teenager shouting: “Trump, this time we’re going to kill you!”

A live actor plays a jailed Donald Trump in a mock prison cell in Tehran’s Tajrish Square on Tuesday night, part of a state-backed campaign depicting the US president on trial, videos on social media showed. The installation carried the slogan “it is a crime not to see this… pic.twitter.com/QUZq5DczSM

— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) October 21, 2026

Tehran’s municipal authorities, which are behind the campaign, say they want to remind the capital’s residents of Iran’s demands for justice.

Iran has portrayed Trump as a war criminal and called for revenge since the conflict began with US-Israeli strikes that killed the country’s supreme leader.

Tehran accuses the US president of deliberately targeting civilian sites, including a school and a wedding ceremony, killing dozens of women and children.

Media outlets close to Iranian authorities have said the latest propaganda installation is designed to operate continuously, day and night, seven days a week.

Netanyahu tells India’s Modi he wants him and flydubai pilot to light Independence Day torch

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks with his Indian counterpart and longtime ally Narendra Modi, informing the latter of his decision to invite him and Indian flydubai pilot Captain Smit Machchhar to light a torch at Israel’s next Independence Day celebrations.

While Netanyahu does not have the authority to unilaterally determine who will light a torch at next year’s traditional ceremony – as it is decided through a government-run selection process – he announced the decision earlier this month, after Machchhar helped thwart an attempted terror attack on flydubai flight 1073.

“Modi thanked me for the invitation and said that on land and in the air, India and Israel are fighting terrorism together. He also commended the strong and decades-old ties between us,” Netanyahu says in a post on X.

मैंने अपने मित्र, भारत के प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी से बात की और उन्हें इज़राइल के स्वतंत्रता दिवस पर वीर भारतीय पायलट के साथ मशाल प्रज्वलित करने के लिए आमंत्रित किया।

मोदी ने निमंत्रण के लिए मुझे धन्यवाद दिया और कहा कि ज़मीन पर और हवा में, भारत और इज़राइल आतंकवाद के ख़िलाफ़… pic.twitter.com/L4FTUw81OH

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) October 22, 2026

Israel returns to Gaza body of Palestinian who died under unclear circumstances in IDF custody in 2023

The Red Cross announces that it has facilitated the return of the body of a Palestinian from Gaza who died in IDF custody in unclear circumstances a week after October 7, 2023.

The return of Rajaa Samour’s body followed a legal battle waged by his family with the assistance of the Israeli human rights organization Gisha.

According to Gisha, which advocates on behalf of Gazans, Samour, a father of four, had worked in Israel with a permit for about a year and a half before the October 7 onslaught. He was subsequently detained as part of a wave of arrests of Gazans who were in Israel at the time.

He died under unknown circumstances days after his arrest. His family was never officially notified of his death and learned of it from other Palestinians who had been detained alongside him and who were later released back to Gaza.

The family petitioned the High Court of Justice through Gisha in February 2026. During the proceedings, it emerged that the state had opened a Military Police investigation into the circumstances of his death, but the investigation has not been completed and no findings have been made public.

From gas rig, Netanyahu promises windfall for citizens

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and Energy Minister Eli Cohen visit the Leviathan natural gas field on October 22, 2026. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

With less than a week to go until the election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flies to a rig in the Leviathan natural gas field to promise major economic benefits for Israeli citizens from gas sales.

“This is the rig from which we are extracting NIS 400 billion from the sea for state coffers,” says Netanyahu, standing alongside Energy Minister Eli Cohen.

“Tens of billions now, and in the future, in the sovereign wealth fund for your children, and billions, billions to lower our electricity prices, which is virtually the lowest among developed countries,” says Netanyahu.

The Citizens of Israel Fund finally began operations in June 2022, four years later than its initial date. At the end of last year, it had only NIS 8.6 billion in it.

NY political leaders warn anti-Zionist group against targeting Jewish events

New York elected leaders warn the Pal-Awda anti-Zionist activist group against targeting Jewish events ahead of a protest planned for Saturday in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx.

US Congressman Ritchie Torres, State Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, and City Council Member Eric Dinowitz issue a joint warning to the group. The lawmakers are all from the Bronx.

“The group has set its sights on Riverdale, targeting Jewish families in our borough simply for gathering together. Riverdale is home to one of the most vibrant Jewish communities in New York, and its families deserve to come together without fear,” the statement says.

“Organizing a campaign to hunt down these gatherings and drive them out of our neighborhoods is an attack on Jewish New Yorkers. Pushing anyone out of public life in our city because of their faith is nothing to celebrate, and the Bronx will not tolerate it,” they say.

“Pushing anyone out of public life in our city because of their faith is nothing to celebrate, and the Bronx will not tolerate it.”
Read our full statement below. pic.twitter.com/LAyAJ5f86B

— Council Member Eric Dinowitz (@EricDinowitzNYC) October 22, 2026

Eric Dinowitz is the chair of the city council’s Jewish caucus and a co-chair of its antisemitism task force.

Pal-Awda has led a series of protests targeting events at synagogues in recent years.

The protests target events linked to Israel, such as immigration forums and real estate marketing sessions. The events typically have minor links to the West Bank.

The demonstrations often include harassment of Jews and support for terror groups in Jewish neighborhoods.

Pal-Awda had announced a protest earlier this month against a Nefesh B’nefesh immigration event in Queens last week, without announcing the specific location. The group later said the immigration event had been moved to Long Island and declared “victory.”

The announcements for Saturday’s protest also did not include a specific address but appeared to be targeting an Israel real estate event.

Syrian man with disabilities shot dead by IDF during raid; army says he posed threat to troops

A Syrian man with disabilities was shot dead by Israeli soldiers during a raid in a village in the country’s south overnight, according to state media.

The state-run SANA news agency reports that a “civilian with a disability was killed by Israeli occupation forces on Thursday during an incursion into Jamla.”

Jamla is located around two kilometers from the Israeli border, inside an IDF-controlled buffer zone.

SANA reports that troops raided the village’s eastern neighborhood and “positioned snipers on the rooftops of residential buildings as they continued their movements in the area.”

In response to a query by The Times of Israel, the IDF says that troops had operated overnight in the “security zone in southern Syria,” and that during the raid, “troops identified a suspect approaching them and carried out a suspect arrest procedure.”

“The suspect continued approaching the force, which responded by firing at the suspect to eliminate the threat,” the IDF says, adding that the incident is under further review.

Syria’s Foreign Ministry condemned “in the strongest terms the Israeli occupation forces’ crime of killing a young man with special needs,” adding that “targeting civilians constitutes a grave violation of international law and international humanitarian law.”

SANA also reports that on Wednesday night, the Israeli military shelled the outskirts of the nearby town of Abdin with two shells, without causing any injuries or damage.

Israeli artillery shelling in southern Syria is not uncommon.

The IDF has remained deployed to nine posts in a buffer zone in the south of Syria since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024.

Troops have also been operating in areas up to around 15 kilometers deep into Syria, aiming to capture weapons that Israel says could pose a threat to the country if they fall into the hands of “hostile forces.”

El Al says it’s delaying relaunch of flights to Marrakech amid new security directives

Israel’s flagship carrier El Al says it is delaying next month’s relaunch of flight services to Marrakech, Morocco, following new directives by Israeli security authorities.

El Al’s Sun D’Or subsidiary, which had planned to resume the Tel Aviv-Marrakech route originally on November 16, has canceled tickets through December 15.

The move comes after Israeli charter carriers Arkia and Israir earlier this month halted ticket sales on the route to Marrakech pending clarification of new security directives in the wake of the flydubai terror attack, including for flights by Israeli airlines operating leased foreign aircraft and crews.

“We remain in ongoing contact with security authorities and relevant officials to obtain the necessary approvals to operate this route, and we will provide further updates accordingly,” El Al says in a statement.

El Al says passengers whose booked flights have been canceled can choose between a full monetary refund, a credit voucher for future use, and a rebooking to an El Al or Sun d’Or destination in Europe.

High Court rules polling station workers cannot count and transmit voting numbers to political parties

The High Court of Justice rules that polling station officials and party-appointed observers cannot count, via digital means, the number of voters who have voted on election day and transmit that information in real time to the political parties they represent.

The High Court decision comes after allegations that the Likud party had developed a smartphone application that would enable Likud-appointed polling station officials to collect specific information about voters’ identities and transmit it to campaign staff on election day, which would violate both a recent High Court ruling and Israeli election law.

The ruling is made two to one, and overturns a decision by acting Central Elections Committee director Dean Livne, who permitted the practice. The reasoning behind the ruling was not provided because of the tight time frame in which the petition against such methods was filed. The explanations will be issued at a later date.

The Israel Democracy Guard organization, which petitioned the court over the issue, welcomes the decision, saying that polling station officials “perform a public, politically neutral role on election day—and do not serve as an operational arm of political party headquarters.”

The organization says that the ruling will prevent polling stations from being transformed into sources of real-time information for political parties.

“It is now incumbent upon the Central Elections Committee to ensure that the guidelines provided to all personnel at polling stations are clear, uniform, and enforceable,” the group adds.

Democrats party vows to enshrine LGBTQ equality, marriage rights in law amid wave of violence

Democrats chair Yair Golan (right) and MK Gilad Kariv attend the annual LGBTQ Pride Parade in Tel Aviv, June 12, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

The Democrats reaffirm pledges to enshrine full equality for LGBTQ Israelis in law, including marriage and parental rights, amid an ongoing wave of violence against members of the community.

“The violence that the LGBTQ community experiences on the streets is encouraged by the government,” party chairman Yair Golan says in a statement, accusing the Netanyahu government of fostering hostility toward LGBTQ Israelis.

Golan pledges to “enshrine full equality of rights in law,” restore values of tolerance and equality to the education system, introduce a national program to combat LGBTQ-phobia and establish a national authority to advance LGBTQ rights, with an annual budget of NIS 100 million.

“I pledge to every member of the LGBTQ community that we, the Democrats, will have your backs in the next government,” he says.

The party’s platform pledges to “advance full equality of rights under the law, including equal rights to parenthood, family and marriage” and civil marriage broadly, which does not currently exist in Israel.

The Democrats are one of three parties running in next week’s election with explicit platforms addressing LGBTQ rights, alongside former prime minister Naftali Bennett’s B’Yachad and Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar. All three pledge to enshrine LGBTQ equality in law and advance legal recognition for same-sex couples.

By contrast, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud has no explicit policy on LGBTQ rights, despite Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, who is openly gay, holding the third spot on its electoral slate. Netanyahu’s coalition also relies on ultra-Orthodox and far-right parties that have vocally opposed LGBTQ rights and, in many cases, are openly homophobic.

IDF scanning area near West Bank settlement after Israeli reported seeing gunman open fire

The Israeli army says it is carrying out scans near the West Bank settlement of Homesh after an Israeli civilian says he spotted an armed man and heard gunfire in the area.

According to the IDF, the source of the gunfire “was not related to a terror attack.” A preliminary probe by the army suggests the shooting was related to a fight between Palestinian clans.

The Israeli civilian, who was armed himself, returned fire toward the source of the gunfire, the military says.

There are no reports of injuries in the incident.

“IDF soldiers were dispatched to the scene and are conducting searches for armed individuals in the area,” the army adds.

Golan accuses Netanyahu of paving way for ‘next Yigal Amir’ on anniversary of Rabin assassination

Democrats party chairman Yair Golan, party members and members of the public attend a memorial ceremony marking the 31st anniversary of the assassination of former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, at the site where he was murdered in Rabin Square, Tel Aviv, October 22, 2026. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Democrats chairman Yair Golan accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of creating the conditions for another political assassination, as Israel marks 31 years since the murder of former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin.

“Horrifyingly, 31 years after Rabin’s assassination, the same inciting prime minister is today creating the conditions for the next Yigal Amir,” Golan says during a wreath-laying ceremony at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, referring to the Jewish extremist who assassinated Rabin on November 4, 1995.

“We will rise again and rebuild Israel in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence,” he adds, pledging to build a “free, Jewish, egalitarian and democratic state.”

Golan himself has faced a wave of death threats in recent months, prompting his party to petition the High Court of Justice for state-provided security. The petition cited dozens of threats against him and his family, including calls for him to take “a bullet to the head” and for his family to be hanged.

Israel held its official memorial ceremony commemorating the assassination of Rabin according to its Hebrew calendar date at Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl cemetery, which Netanyahu did not attend.

Netanyahu has long faced accusations of contributing to the incitement preceding Rabin’s assassination, including by holding campaign rallies where demonstrators loudly chanted “Death to Rabin” and burned effigies of the then-prime minister in the months leading up to his assassination. Netanyahu has always denied any responsibility for the incitement that led to the murder.

16-year-old indicted over alleged homophobic assault at Jaffa port

Police announce a 16-year-old boy was indicted today over an early October 14 assault at the Jaffa port on a man who says he was attacked for being gay.

The boy, who was detained last Thursday and has been under house arrest since Sunday, is the main suspect in the assault on 28-year-old Idan Trachtengerts, according to a police statement.

The statement does not specify the charges against the suspect.

Another 17-year-old suspect was also arrested on October 14 and was released the same day under restrictive conditions following an interrogation, according to police.

Trachtengerts, the victim, said on social media the day after the attack that he was “beat up simply because I’m gay” as he and a friend were leaving the Jaffa port’s Barby performance venue the night of October 13-14.

According to Trachtengerts, after he talked back to a youth who hurled homophobic abuse at him, the youth charged him and hit him in the head with a helmet until Trachtengerts almost blacked out.

The youth also smashed a glass bottle on the ground and tried to stab Trachtengerts with it, while four or five other men kicked Trachtengerts upon “noticing an opportunity to take part in a lynch on a gay man,” Trachtengerts said.

Footage captured by Trachtengerts’s companion shows the start of the assault. Another video shows shards of glass on the ground as medics mill about.

״פוצצו אותי מכות. נטו בגלל שאני הומו״.

עידן טרכטנגרץ תאר את שעבר עליו:
אחרי הופעה בבארבי בנמל יפו, גבר קילל אותו קללות הומופוביות והכה בראשו בקסדה עד שהכול התערפל. עוד 4–5 גברים הצטרפו, בעטו ואמרו שיהרגו אותו. התוקף הראשון שבר בקבוק וניסה לדקור. חברתו צרחה וצילמה, והתוקפים… pic.twitter.com/cBgjxLsvmL

— אלימות ישראל (@Alimut_Israel) October 14, 2026

Police also publish separate footage from a security camera that allegedly shows the 16-year-old suspect taking a helmet off a ride-share e-scooter and beating Trachtengerts with it as other people join in on the assault.

Security camera footage published by police on October 22, 2026, shows people assaulting a man at the Jaffa Port early on October 14, 2026. (Israel Police)

Israeli actress sues UN’s Albanese for comparing her to Nazis

Magna Group Entertainment announces partnership with top Israeli actress, model and singer Sarai Givaty, who just entered the studio to begin work on her second EP. (Photo: Business Wire)

Israeli actress and model Sarai Givaty sues the UN rapporteur for the Palestinians, Francesca Albanese, for a social media post comparing her to Nazis.

Givaty gave an interview in Hebrew in September 2025 about her response to the October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel, urging action to target extremism among Islamists and the Israeli far right.

“It saddens me when any child in the world cries, it truly saddens me, but I also understand that if we do not act, that child will grow up to be a terrorist,” she said.

Last month, Albanese shared the clip, comparing Givaty’s comments to Nazi Persecution.

“‘The children will grow up.’ This was also the argument that Nazi officials gave, during the Nuremberg Trials, to justify why they had killed children during the Holocaust,” Albanese wrote in a post viewed more than 2 million times.

"The children will grow up".

This was also the argument that Nazi officials gave, during the Nuremberg Trials, to justify why they had killed children during the Holocaust. https://t.co/v0HZYbs0sX

— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) September 19, 2026

Other excerpts from the interview, not shared by Albanese, showed that Givaty had made a broader argument against indoctrinating children in extremist ideologies on both sides, and not a call for violence.

Givaty said that, after October, 7, “I understood that there is extremist Islamism here.”

“Our own extremists, we also need to root them out, and that’s really important. What Smotrich and Ben Gvir are doing is anti-Zionist,” she said.

In the interview, when Givaty referred to “children,” she also did not single out Gazan children, but appeared to be referring to children being indoctrinated on both sides of the conflict.

After Albanese’s post, international media reported on her comments.

Givaty says she received death threats and hateful messages, and that Albanese’s post had damaged her employment prospects.

“As a mother, I am appalled by this false comparison. One may disagree with my opinions, but one cannot attribute statements to me that I never made, nor portray me to millions of people as someone who justifies the killing of children,” Givaty says in a statement shared by the Shurat Hadin legal advocacy group, which is assisting her in the lawsuit.

Givaty is suing Albanese in the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court for NIS 500,000 ($160,000).

Albanese has a history of extremist rhetoric and comments that leading Jewish groups deem antisemitic.

Last year, pro-Israel Christian groups in the US sued Albanese for alleged defamation.

Albanese avoided attempts to serve her in that lawsuit and does not appear to have engaged directly with the court proceedings.

She has been banned from entering Israel.

French justice minister says 217 people jailed over riots

A looted store is pictured after violence erupted during nationwide protests against rising living costs and poor conditions in schools, in Marseille, France, October 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Philippe Magoni)

French courts have jailed 217 people after convicting them in fast-track trials linked to last weekend’s rioting, the justice minister says, hailing the judiciary’s “extremely firm” response.

Speaking outside the Fleury-Merogis prison on the outskirts of Paris, Gerald Darmanin says 2,700 people had been detained since Saturday.

More than 1,000 of them had appeared in court, he says, of whom “217 people have been imprisoned… and this figure is continuing to rise a lot.”

Darmanin tells reporters that of the 217 sent to jail “half had no criminal record,” adding that “in general these are men aged between 18 to 25.”

“This shows that prosecutors and judges are imprisoning people who, until now, were not known to the judiciary and are first offenders. It shows that the decisions of the judiciary are being applied in an extremely firm way.”

Darmanin has vowed to oversee expedited trials to rapidly clear the backlog of cases and to serve as a deterrent. New protests over grievances including the rising cost of living are planned this weekend.

But he has faced criticism from some lawyers who have accused the judiciary of lurching into repression.

France, like many European countries, faces problems with prison overcrowding but Darmanin says the solution was not “to imprison fewer people, but to create more space in prison.”

As of September 1, there were 90,020 inmates in French prisons, well above the capacity of 63,348 places and a new record, according to ministry statistics.

Separately, authorities have announced a ban on all protests on Saturday in France’s southern city of Marseille, and suspended Saturday public transport to try to prevent a repeat of rioting as fresh demonstrations are planned.

The prefecture for the Rhone region covering the city gave the orders on Thursday “for the obvious reasons of security.” It also expanded the curfew for minors in the city center, which will apply to adults on Saturday and Sunday nights.

Canada, Turkey sign ‘strategic partnership’ as part of Carney push to cut reliance on US

NATO allies Canada and Turkey have upgraded their relations to a “strategic partnership” during the first bilateral visit by a Canadian prime minister, as Mark Carney seeks new global trade partners to reduce reliance on the United States.

The agreement by Carney and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan marks a significant thaw in diplomatic ties that had long been cool over Canadian concerns over human rights and a past embargo on sending weapons to Turkey.

The new partnership signed in Ankara focuses on trade and investment, defense and security, energy, and social and diplomatic ties. It aims to create jobs and opportunities for Canadian and Turkish companies to do more business together.

Carney is on a global trade blitz that he hopes will help buffer Canada from a trade war with the US, where President Donald Trump has applied sweeping tariffs and questioned the neighboring country’s sovereignty.

Speaking next to Erdogan at Turkey’s presidential palace, Carney says the strategic partnership would have four pillars and include a three-year action plan.

“We’ve planted the seeds of something new: a strategic partnership that will create new opportunities for our workers and businesses, and greater security and prosperity for both our peoples. With care and commitment, it will grow for generations to come,” Carney says.

At the ceremony, Canadian and Turkish ministers sign cooperation deals on energy, defense and air transport.

Settlers said to assault Palestinian, breaking his arm

Palestinian media outlets report that settlers assaulted a Palestinian man named Shadi al-Adam as he was passing through the Wadi Sa’ir area north of Hebron overnight.

Adam’s arm was broken in the attack.

No further details about the incident have been publicized.

האלימות ממשיכה גם היום – מתנחלים תקפו ופצעו מספר פלסטינים בכפר סעיר. המתנחלים גם שברו את ידו של אחד מהם. כמובן שהם מתגאים במעשים ולקחו עליהם אחריות בקבוצת הוואצאפ שלהם "חדשות אנש".

צה"ל יעצור אותם כמו שהוא עצר 90 פעילי זכויות אדם בטייבה אתמול? סתם, התשובה כבר ברורה. pic.twitter.com/otrv9LBYVo

— Arbel – ארבל ???? (@ArbelReports) October 22, 2026

Report: Netanyahu’s campaign against Winter rooted in anger over advice to Eli Feldstein

Ofer Winter takes the applause at the launch of his People of Israel party, in Jerusalem, August 25, 2026; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to vote at the Likud primary in Jerusalem on August 17, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s aggressive campaign against People of Israel party leader Ofer Winter is rooted in hard feelings over the latter’s advice to embattled former Netanyahu aide Eli Feldstein, Channel 12 reports.

According to the outlet, Winter advised Feldstein’s father, a key suspect in the Bild affair, not to hire Netanyahu’s lawyer, Amit Haddad, for his son.

Winter was once Feldstein’s commander in the IDF.

“Anyone but Amit Haddad,” Winter told the elder Feldstein in October 2024, four days after Feldstein was arrested, according to the report. “Eli needs someone who will take care of him and go on the straight and narrow, and not someone who will take care of Netanyahu. You need to think about your son, and not Netanyahu.”

Feldstein ultimately took on Oded Savorai as his lawyer, under Winter’s recommendation. Savorai has sought to shift the blame to Netanyahu and urged Feldstein not to protect the prime minister or his advisers during police interrogations.

There has been a growing public campaign by Likud and its allies to pressure Winter to withdraw from next week’s election, warning that his party could take votes from right-wing parties and waste them if it fails to cross the electoral threshold.

Feldstein is charged with leaking a classified document to the German tabloid, Bild, in September 2024, which ostensibly detailed Hamas’s priorities and tactics in hostage negotiations.

Feldstein is accused of leaking the document in order to influence public opinion on negotiations for the release of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza in a more favorable direction for Netanyahu.

IDF says it killed terror operative in Wednesday Khan Younis strike

A top commander in the Popular Resistance Committees terror group was killed in an Israeli strike in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday, the military says.

The strike in Khan Younis killed Ramadan Muhammad Ashahada Diab, who served as head of the Popular Resistance Committees in Khan Younis.

Recently, Diab was involved in advancing attacks against Israeli troops and civilians, and acted to restore Hamas capabilities “in systematic violation of the ceasefire.”

The Popular Resistance Committees is the third-largest terror faction in the Strip after Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Its members participated in the October 7, 2023, onslaught.

The IDF says the group, formerly affiliated with Fatah, is now linked to Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Utah man found with bombs charged with threat to blow up synagogue

A suspect in Utah is charged with a hate crime and other offenses due to alleged threats to blow up a synagogue.

Skyler AJ Rose, 22, allegedly made threats on social media, including, “I wanna blow up a synagogue.”

Investigators traced the threats to Rose’s home in Ogden, Utah, the US Department of Justice says.

Investigators searched Rose’s residence, finding six improvised pipe bombs, other bomb-making materials, two rifles and ammunition, the statement says.

On Rose’s cell phone, investigators found that he had searched for a synagogue in his area.

Rubio expresses appreciation for Qatar’s mediation efforts in call with prime minister

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) shakes hands with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani as they meet at the State Department in Washington, April 22, 2025. (Oliver Contreras/AFP)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed appreciation for Qatar’s continued efforts to mediate the conflict in the Middle East in a call with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the State Department says.

Rubio also reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to Qatar’s security and freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, the department says in a statement.

Settlers filmed stealing olives from trees belonging to Palestinians in northern West Bank

Security camera footage catches settlers stealing olives belonging to residents of the northern West Bank Palestinian village of Burin earlier today.

The incident takes place adjacent to the illegal of Givat Ronen.

Today in Burin, just below the settlement of Givat Ronen.
Settlers stole olives from a Palestinian farmer, filmed from his rooftop.
#WestBank #UCPiP pic.twitter.com/LiIkIhtuJF

— Unarmed Civilian Protection in Palestine (@ucpinpalestine) October 22, 2026

As in previous years, the annual olive harvest has seen daily attacks by settlers against Palestinian farmers.

Another incident was reported in the Masafer Yatta area of the southern West Bank where settlers were filmed stomping on olives picked by Palestinians and kicking them into the dirt. Foreign activists trying to reach the area in order to protect Palestinians from attack were barred from doing so by Israeli forces.

Sami addra: New Attack on Olive Harvesters in Masafer Yatta and Theft of the Harvest Attacks by settlers against residents in the villages of Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, continue. In the village of Sha'ab al-Butm, olive harvesters were assaulted by settlers pic.twitter.com/4etDABAhOK

— מחוץ לעדר/ kivsa shchora (@masafering) October 22, 2026

Petition filed to election panel against participation of religious Zionist yeshivas in right-wing campaign

The Israel Education Watch organization files a petition to the Central Elections Committee against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the Religious Zionism party, the Union of Hesder Yeshivas and the Union of Yeshiva High Schools asking that orders be issued to halt the use of students studying in publicly funded educational institutions for party political activities, specifically as part of efforts to increase voter turnout on election day.

The petition highlights an election day get-out-the-vote campaign announced earlier this week at a Religious Zionism election rally, in which students in Hesder yeshivas and yeshiva high schools will participate and which is explicitly designed to increase the vote for right-wing parties.

Students in Hesder yeshivas are enlisted soldiers combining yeshiva study and military service and are therefore prohibited from participating in political activity.

High school yeshivas are also publicly funded, meaning that they, too, may not use their resources for political campaigns, Israel Education Watch’s petition asserts.

The Likud party is also a partner with the Religious Zionism party in the get-out-the-vote election day campaign.

Footage broadcast by Channel 12 news has shown that several prominent deans of Hesder yeshivas have directly called on their students to vote for the Religious Zionism party and participate in its election campaign activities.

“The purpose of the prohibition against using public resources for campaign purposes is to maintain public trust in the apolitical nature of public service and to ensure that public resources are used solely for the public good, rather than for the benefit of a candidate or a party,” the petition says. “The purpose of the prohibition against the participation of soldiers in election campaigning is to keep the IDF and its soldiers removed from political controversy.”