Sept. 8: Rubio says ‘obviously’ US won’t be joining UK sanctions on West Bank settlements

Entrepreneur Oren Dobronsky gives up reserved Likud spot, claims he’ll be minister for AI issues

Oren Dobronsky in an undated photo. (Courtesy Likud party)

Entrepreneur Oren Dobronsky, who was announced a month ago as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s first pick to fill one of the eight slots he has been granted for his handpicked candidates, says he has given up this reserved spot.

“The prime minister offered that I serve as a minister for AI-related issues and get a reserved spot in the top 10,” Dobronsky writes on Facebook.

“Despite this, I preferred to only serve as a professional minister, where I will be able to make optimal contributions from my experience, and not to be in the slate itself as a Knesset member — and this is what we have agreed,” he says.

“I intend to work hand in hand with Prime Minister Netanyahu, as part of the Likud team, to ensure the State of Israel becomes an AI powerhouse.”

Dobronsky — a dual Israeli-American citizen known as one of the investors, or “sharks,” on “The Sharks,” Israel’s version of the reality TV show “Shark Tank” — had been widely expected to forgo the reserved spot since that would require him to give up his US citizenship, a move that would have compelled him to immediately pay millions of dollars in taxes.

However, those conditions are also relevant for becoming a minister, casting heavy doubt on the possibility of him actually serving in a ministerial role.

In June, Dobronsky called US President Donald Trump “a morally corrupt piece of shit” for not including Israel in negotiations with Iran in a post on X. He apologized for the remark shortly after Netanyahu announced him as a candidate in August.

US lawmaker says UK firms boycotting West Bank settlements will face heavy restrictions in Florida

US Congressman Randy Fein says that any British company involved in a potential trade ban with Israeli settlements in the West Bank will be barred from doing any business in Florida that requires contact with local authorities, under a law he passed.

“Florida is one of Britain’s largest trading partners. They should understand that their vanity project in support of Muslim terror could cost them billions of dollars,” Fein tweets.

As the British government considers forcing British companies to boycott portions of Israel, it should be aware that a Florida law that I passed as a member of the Legislature would ban any British company forced to comply from doing business with any state or local government in…

— Congressman Randy Fine (@RepFine) September 7, 2026

Election poll shows continued deadlock; 11.5% don’t know who they’ll vote for

A Channel 12 poll shows a continued deadlock between the blocs, unless the anti-Benjamin Netanyahu Zionist bloc teams up with the mostly Arab Ra’am party.

It shows both Ofer Winter’s People of Israel party and Bezalel Smotrich’s and Moshe Feiglin’s Religious Zionism-Zehut passing the electoral threshold at 4 and 6 seats, respectively.

Yoaz Hendel’s Reservists Party falls short, getting 2.7% of the vote, while the Haredi Public party and Benny Gantz’s Blue and White are nowhere near passing the threshold.

The survey finds that 11.5% of respondents don’t know who they will vote for — 1% haven’t decided between parties within the pro-Netanyahu bloc, 2.8% between parties in the anti-Netanyahu bloc, 1.2% are undecided between parties in both blocs, 3.7% are undecided between other parties, and 2.9% said they are generally undecided.

Asked whether they will go out to vote, 69% said they would, including 75% among pro-Netanyahu bloc voters, 81% among anti-Netanyahu bloc voters, but only 61% among non-aligned party voters and 53% among Arab party voters.

Argentina to file criminal charges against Israel’s Navitas Petroleum over Falklands drilling

Mount Tumbledown stands tall behind Stanley on the Falkland Islands, also known as Islas Malvinas, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Argentina’s government says it will file criminal charges against Israeli energy company Navitas Petroleum and its executives for operating in the Falkland Islands.

The move follows remarks on Friday by Argentine President Javier Milei, who vowed to sanction oil companies drilling in the British overseas territory as he stepped up the South American nation’s sovereignty claims.

According to a statement from the presidency, Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno will file the criminal complaint against several Navitas subsidiaries and partners operating in the territory, along with their corporate directors.

Navitas did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The government alleges the firms violated Argentine law by holding hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation licenses issued by the United Kingdom in the North Falkland Basin.

Milei last week singled out the Sea Lion offshore oil project as he announced measures targeting companies involved in Falklands oil and gas activities, with penalties potentially extending to shareholders, directors and suppliers.

The Sea Lion field is operated by Tel Aviv-listed Navitas Petroleum, which holds a 65% stake.

Gideon Tadmor, a prominent figure in Israel’s energy sector and the company’s chairman, holds about 9% of its shares, according to LSEG data.

Iran says improved ballistic missile shows it will take preemptive action against threats

Iranian missiles are displayed by the armed forces as an anti-Trump banner declaring in English and Farsi, 'We will kill you,' is seen in a temporary exhibition at Azadi (Freedom) Square in Tehran, Iran, July 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iranian state media says a ballistic missile with improved capabilities is demonstrating a new doctrine: Tehran “will take action against any threat, even before it is carried out.”

The report by Iran’s state news agency repeatedly cites comments aired Sunday on state TV by the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, who boasted of new missile capability and claimed it had been “tested” against a US warship. But it is not clear whether what was tested is the missile the new report described, the solid-fueled Qassem Basir.

The US on Saturday said ballistic missiles were launched at US warships and that it struck three Iranian oil tankers in response. Experts called the launch a dangerous escalation, noting that until then, Iran’s attacks at sea had targeted commercial shipping during six months of war. The US said the warships evaded the attacks.

Iran’s messaging in recent days has become more assertive, and the new Iranian report says the Qassem Basir marks “a turning point in Iran’s defense strategy.” It describes the missile as having greater range and accuracy and a half-ton warhead. The missile was unveiled last year, when it was described as having at least a 1,200-kilometer (745-mile) range.

Concerns about Iran’s ballistic missile program were one of the stated reasons the US and Israel attacked Iran early this year, sparking the war.

Bennett: Report UAE warned Netanyahu of Hamas plans pre-Oct. 7 is true

B'Yachad party leader Naftali Bennett attends a campaign event on August 20, 2026, in Ramat Hasharon. (Gili Yaari/Flash90)

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett says today’s Haaretz report that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received a personal warning from the leader of the UAE of Hamas plans for war days before the Oct. 7 attack is ” is true.”

In a post on X, the leader of the B’Yachad party says: “The report published this morning that Netanyahu was warned 10 days before the October 7 massacre about Sinwar’s intentions is true. Netanyahu bears personal and direct responsibility for the failure that led to the deaths of thousands of Israelis on his watch.”

Bennett does not say how he knows the report to be true.

The Netanyahu rival says his “disregard for the warnings amounts to criminal negligence, which is why he is doing everything he can to prevent the establishment of a state commission of inquiry that would expose the truth.”

He adds: “He did not go down to the field. He did not alert the heads of the security establishment. He did not prepare Israel for an attack. And he did not convene the cabinet.

“What did he do in those days? He kept Hamas well supplied to stop the demonstrations it was allowing along the border fence, transferred additional funds to buy a little quiet, promised additional work permits for Palestinian workers in response to Hamas threats, and, as usual, dismissed all the warnings from the heads of the security establishment.”

Saudi energy facilities disrupted after Houthi attacks

Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry says that a number of energy facilities and utilities in the kingdom’s southern region have been attacked by Yemen’s Houthis, causing fires at several sites and temporarily halting some operations.

Yair Golan on report PM was warned before Oct 7: ‘His place is in prison for his crimes against Israel’

Leader of The Democrats party Yair Golan leads a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on June 22, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The Democrats party leader Yair Golan reacts to the report Prime Minister Netanyahu received warning from the UAE of Hamas plans to attack days before October 7.

“Netanyahu is unfit and illegitimate. His place is in prison for his crimes against the State of Israel,” Golan writes on X.

“The stories about ‘I wasn’t woken up’ are over. He knew. He was warned,” Golan says.

“In letters written in the blood of thousands of Israelis — civilians and fallen IDF soldiers — we wake up today to yet another chilling realization: the man serving as Israel’s prime minister is someone who abandoned his responsibilities.

“The investigation revealing that Netanyahu received an explicit warning from the president of the UAE and deliberately concealed it from the heads of the military and the Shin Bet shatters all the lies he told us. He was warned again and again. The security establishment warned him. We warned him — the hundreds of thousands of democrats who stood in the squares, on the bridges and in the streets, crying out: You are putting Israel at risk and leading us to disaster.

“He called us anarchists… He chose his own political survival, along with the draft dodgers and the extremists.”

Eisenkot: Netanyahu ignored all warnings, led Israel blindly into October 7 disaster

Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party and a former IDF chief of staff, speaks during an election campaign rally in Nordiya, August 31, 2026. (Gili Yaari/Flash90)

Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief election rival also responds to this morning’s report that Abu Dhabi warned the prime minister of Hamas plans to attack days before the October 7 assault.

“More and more signs point to the same conclusion: Netanyahu led Israel blindly into the October 7 disaster,” former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party, writes on X.

“Who failed to wake whom?” he wonders. “Those around him are echoing the pathetic conspiracy theory about betrayal, inventing the most ridiculous line a leader could possibly cling to — “I wasn’t woken up” — for two reasons: He knows the truth; he is terrified of it and is trying to evade responsibility.

“Netanyahu received dozens of warnings about October 7 and ignored them all. He is unfit for office,” Eisenkot writes. “As soon as the next government is formed, we will establish a state commission of inquiry that will investigate the previous decade, clarify what Netanyahu knew and did not know, get to the truth, and prevent the next disaster.”

UK minister confirms trade ban to be announced on Israeli West Bank goods

Britain will announce a trade ban on goods made in Israeli settlements in the West Bank today, pensions minister Pat McFadden confirms.

“The foreign secretary will make a statement to Parliament later today, and at the heart of the statement is the idea that the UK, along with many other countries, do not want to see the possibility of a two-state solution in Israel and Palestine being erased,” McFadden tells Times Radio when asked about how a trade ban would work.

Saudi Arabia condemns Houthi attacks on its territory

Saudi Arabia condemns Houthi attacks on its territory that wounded 73 people, saying it will “take all necessary measures to defend its sovereignty.”

The foreign ministry, in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency, calls for an “immediate halt to all forms of escalation practiced by this militia” as well as Houthi attacks on shipping.

US blockade strangling Iran’s oil exports as offshore stockpiles dwindle — Wall Street Journal

A man drives past a banner showing a portrait of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, in downtown Tehran, Iran, August 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

The US naval blockade on Iran has completely halted new Iranian oil exports from the Persian Gulf, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The report says Iran is currently surviving on floating stockpiles that left before the blockade was reinstated in July, but that this inventory is expected to run out by mid-October, with revenues fully drying up by mid-December.

The loss of foreign currency is squeezing Iran’s economy hard, with a plummeting rial and soaring inflation, the paper says.

“Much will depend on the degree of economic pain that the Iranian regime is willing to bear to achieve its military and geopolitical objectives,” economist Hamad Hussain tells the Journal.

Ellie Geranmayeh, an expert on Iran at the European Council on Foreign Relations, adds: “The US campaign will have a significant effect on the average Iranian household. But in terms of Iran capitulating at the negotiating table? I have a lot of doubts. The evidence we have suggests the Iranian regime is likely to resist.”

Ambassador Huckabee: UK settlement trade ban likely to provoke US reaction, harm British businesses

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee speaks during a meeting between the ambassadors of Israel and Lebanon in the Oval Office at the White House, April 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

London’s expected announcement today of a ban on trade with West Bank settlements will likely lead to an American reaction, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee says.

“If the Brits go and put some kind of boycott and sanctions on them, the repercussions are going to be significant,” he tells BBC News. “Why put this kind of pressure on Israel? Is the UK also putting the same kind of very strong sanction on North Korea, on China, on Russia?”

“Without a doubt there will be” a reaction, he says, including at the level of individual US states.

This could have a “huge economic impact on British businesses,” he says, explaining some could be banned from doing business in certain US states.

For reserved Likud slots, Netanyahu taps mother of former hostage and reservist who lost legs in war

Left: Elisha Madan at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on April 28, 2025; Right: Talik Gvili, mother of the deceased former Gaza hostage Ran Gvili, December 10, 2025 (Yossi Aloni/FLASH90, Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Likud announces that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will use two of his remaining reserved slots on the party’s Knesset slate for Talik Gvili, the mother of slain police officer and former hostage Ran Gvili, and Elisha Madan, a reservist who lost both legs fighting in Gaza.

Madan, a founder of the West Bank settlement of Avigail in the South Hebron Hills, was injured in a 2024 blast from a booby-trapped tunnel shaft next to a mosque in the Beit Hanoun area in Gaza, which killed four soldiers.

Gvili is the mother of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, a police officer in the Yasam counter-terror unit, from Meitar, who was killed on October 7, 2023, while battling the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel. His body was taken captive to Gaza, and remained there for more than 800 days until it was located by the IDF and returned to Israel for burial. Ran was the very last Israeli captive held by terror groups in Gaza.

Netanyahu received eight slots on the Likud list for candidates of his choosing, in addition to a separate spot reserved for Defense Minister Israel Katz, giving him direct control over roughly a third of the realistic places on the slate as Likud polls at around 23 seats.

Before today, Netanyahu had announced three picks for his eight slots: Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Likud Central Committee chairman Haim Katz and entrepreneur Oren Dobronsky. Dobronsky, however, announced last night that he would not take his place on the slate, saying he instead intends to serve as a professional minister if Likud forms the next government.

With Gvili and Madan now set to join Sa’ar and Haim Katz among Netanyahu’s personal selections, the premier still has four reserved slots to fill ahead of tonight’s deadline for parties to submit their final candidate lists for the October 27 election.

Israel sees collapse in latest PISA education scores on math, reading, science

Illustrative. Students arrive at an Israeli high school, June 11, 2020. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90/ File)

Israel’s scores in a key international test of student comprehension have dropped precipitously in the latest 2025 ranking, published today. It is now ranked 43rd in the world, down from 38th in the last test in 2022, and 33rd among developed countries, down from 31st. The 2025 score average is Israel’s lowest since it joined the survey in the year 2000.

The Programme for International Student Assessment tests, known as PISA, is a measure of 15-year-olds’ aptitude in reading, math and science run by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It is carried out once every three years.

Israel lost an average of 29 points across all four subjects in the newly published 2025 results, the second sharpest decline of any country, after Latvia.

In reading, students scored 436, down from 474 in the 2022 test; in science, they were at 442, down from 465; and in math they scored 433, down from 458.

IDF says troops killed wanted Palestinian who attacked them during attempt to question him

Palestinians inspect a family home destroyed by the IDF following a military operation after a wanted Palestinian man barricaded himself inside the house in the West Bank village of Aqraba, south of the city of Nablus on September 8, 2026. (JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP)

The IDF says troops shot dead a wanted Palestinian who attacked the forces during an attempt to question him in the northern West Bank overnight.

Troops raided the town of Aqraba, south of Nablus, in an attempt to question Abd al-Karim Muhammad Salem Khader, who the army says is “a terrorist affiliated with a terror organization.”

As the troops arrived at a building where Khader was residing, he threw a Molotov cocktail and an improvised bomb at them, without causing injuries, the military says.

The soldiers then surrounded the building and carried out a tactic known as “pressure cooker,” which involves escalating the volume of fire against a building to flush suspects out. Palestinian media reports that the IDF fired shoulder-launched missiles at the building and used a bulldozer to demolish part of it.

Eventually, the soldiers breached the building, and troops of Nahal Brigade’s Reconnaissance Unit opened fire and killed the wanted man after spotting him brandishing a knife “with which he intended to attack our forces,” the IDF says.

The official Palestinian WAFA news agency reports that Khader’s body was seized by the Israeli forces.

Also overnight, troops operated in the villages of Qabalan, Awarta, and Yatma, during which the army says they detained three Palestinians involved in terror activity and questioned some 60 other wanted suspects.

Filling 2 more reserved Likud spots, Netanyahu taps lawyer who represented him and security hawk Avivi

Left: Attorney David Peter; Right: Amir Avivi. (Courtesy, Yossi Aloni/FLASH90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu taps attorney David Peter, who has represented the premier and the government on numerous occasions before the High Court of Justice, and retired brigadier general Amir Avivi, founder of the right-wing Israel Defense and Security Forum, to fill two more of his reserved slots on the Likud Knesset slate.

Among other cases, Peter represented Netanyahu and the government in High Court petitions challenging the government’s proposed mechanism for appointing the civil service commissioner, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir in petitions seeking his dismissal over allegations that he improperly interfered in police operations.

According to the Kan public broadcaster, Peter is also a former member of the conservative Kohelet Policy Forum. Likud, announcing his selection, describes him as “a leading jurist” who is currently pursuing a doctorate at Bar-Ilan University.

Avivi, the son of former ambassador Pinchas Avivi, is a former deputy commander of the IDF’s Gaza Division, and served as head of the IDF chief of staff’s bureau, among other roles.

He later founded the Israel Defense and Security Forum, known in Hebrew as “Habithonistim,” a group of former members of Israel’s security establishment that advocates hawkish security policies.

Peter and Avivi become the fifth and sixth currently confirmed candidates for Netanyahu’s eight personal reserved slots, joining Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, minister Haim Katz, Talik Gvili and Elisha Madan.

With Peter and Avivi’s additions, two of Netanyahu’s eight discretionary slots remain to be filled ahead of tonight’s deadline for parties to submit their final candidate lists for the October 27 election.

Arkia announces direct flights to Philippines starting January

An Arkia flight at Ben Gurion International Airport, February 25, 2026. (Yossi Aloni/FLASH90)

Arkia will launch nonstop flights to the Philippines in January and is set to become the first Israel carrier to operate a direct route to the capital Manila.

The new route to Manila’s main international airport will commence on January 3, 2027, with one weekly direct flight departing on Sundays. The route will be operated using a wide-body Airbus A330 aircraft. One-way ticket prices will start at $750 for economy class seats and $1,800 for business class seats.

El Al has expressed its intention to launch direct flights to Manila, but no firm start date has been announced.

“Following New York, Thailand, Vietnam and Japan, we continue to open new destinations for the Israeli public and expand the range of direct flight options from Israel,” Arkia CEO Oz Berlowitz says at a press conference in Tel Aviv.

“The Philippines is a fascinating destination with significant tourism potential, alongside business, economic and diplomatic potential for deepening ties between Israel and the Philippines,” says Berlowitz.

Also speaking at the conference, Philippine Ambassador to Israel Aileen Mendiola says the direct route will help unlock economic and bilateral trade opportunities between the two countries.

“One of my goals as an ambassador, aside from the direct flight, is that I want to start discussion on a free trade agreement between Israel and the Philippines,” Mendiola says. “This flight will make that happen, because we want cargo to be full with products from both sides.”

Earlier this year, Israel and the Philippines discussed deeper bilateral trade and technology cooperation under the Pax Silica Initiative, with a focus on critical minerals, semiconductors, and innovation.

Herzog: UK settlement trade ban would be ‘gross interference’ in Israel’s election, harm Palestinians

President Isaac Herzog at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, September 8, 2026. (Kobi Gideon / GPO)

President Isaac Herzog issues an unusually sharp warning to the United Kingdom against imposing its planned trade ban on West Bank settlements, arguing that the measure would interfere in Israel’s upcoming election, harm Palestinian workers, and undermine the security interests of Western nations.

“If this happens — and other nations may join — I believe it will prove to be a grave miscalculation, a decision that will fall on the wrong side of history,” Herzog says during a ceremony at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem, according to a readout from his office.

“In the current context, it would be a gross interference in the democratic elections of a sovereign nation. And it will serve no one. It will directly harm, unfortunately, Palestinians, robbing them of business and employment. And, ultimately, it will undermine the interests and national security of freedom-loving nations,” the president continues.

Herzog does not elaborate on what he means by “gross interference,” but appears to suggest that the timing of such a punitive measure would politically influence domestic debates and voters’ choices.

“Sanctions are not a solution. Dialogue is. I say to all foreign governments: Stop! Step away from the dead-end of sanctions and boycotts. And turn toward constructive dialogue and toward cooperation,” he says.

Hungary expels 10 Russian diplomats for ‘unacceptable activities’ — minister

Hungary has expelled 10 members of the Russian diplomatic mission after they “engaged in activities in Hungary that are unacceptable for diplomats under the Vienna Convention,” Foreign Minister Anita Orban says.

The new government under pro-EU conservative Prime Minister Peter Magyar made the move to protect Hungary’s “security and sovereignty,” Orban says in a Facebook post, adding that it “does not imply breaking off diplomatic relations with Russia.”

Shas unveils election slate, with Deri retaining top spot and 2 newcomers, including a reservist IDF officer

Shas chairman Aryeh Deri attends a vote in the Knesset in Jerusalem on July 16, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Shas unveils its slate of candidates for the upcoming election, Hebrew media reports, with party chairman Aryeh Deri retaining the top spot and two new candidates joining the list.

The party has until 10 p.m. tonight to formally submit its slate to the Central Elections Committee.

MK Yinon Azoulay moves up from seventh place in the previous Knesset to second, followed by former religious services minister Michael Malkieli, MK Yoav Ben-Tzur and MK Haim Biton.

Maj. (res.) Dror Amos, chairman of the Haifa Religious Council and one of the slate’s two newcomers, takes the sixth spot, followed by MK Moshe Abutbul, former health minister Uriel Buso, MK Yosef Taieb and MK Yonatan Mishraki. Amos’s candidacy reflects Shas’s recent efforts to show openness to IDF service, having campaigned relentlessly in the past four years for a law that would enshrine the ongoing mass exemption from IDF service of young ultra-Orthodox men,

The other newcomer, Yosef Elnatanov, a representative of Israel’s Bukharan Jewish community, is placed 11th, followed by MK Erez Malul and former MK Simon Moshiashvili.

Deri had sought to remove Ben-Tzur from the slate, according to Haaretz, but was overruled by Shas’s Council of Torah Sages, led by former chief rabbi Yitzhak Yosef.

“This is a blow to Deri,” a source familiar with the matter tells the news outlet, saying Deri had been convinced he could secure Ben-Tzur’s ousting but that members of the rabbinical council insisted he remain.

Last month, Deri and Yosef held a reconciliation meeting after it was reported that the rabbi had instructed his students not to vote for Shas and called for the downfall of the right-wing bloc. The two subsequently reached an agreement giving Yosef greater influence over decision-making in the party alongside Deri.

According to recent polling, Shas is projected to win eight seats in next month’s elections.

Reports claim pro-Netanyahu media personality Jacob Bardugo will get reserved spot in Likud

Jacob Bardugo at the Knesset in Jerusalem on May 20, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

There are currently reports that one of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s final reserved slots in Likud will go to Jacob Bardugo, a pro-Netanyahu pundit and a close associate of the prime minister.

Likud has yet to confirm that Bardugo will be on the party slate. Channel 12 reports that the announcement is apparently being held up because Bardugo is demanding to be justice minister if Netanyahu forms the next government.

Bardugo was recently in the news after meeting with Shin Bet Chief David Zini to push for an investigation of Channel 12 over an alleged leak to the outlet regarding the date on which the war with Iran would begin earlier this year.

Bardugo has previously wondered at the fact that Channel 12 presenter Yonit Levy and commentators were already “in full makeup” minutes after the opening strikes were carried out on the morning of Saturday, February 28.

Allies of Netanyahu have long attacked the mainstream media and sought to delegitimize it due to its criticism of the premier.

Qatar says working with China and others to resume US-Iran talks

Qatar is working with partners in the region and around the world, including China, to resume talks between the United States and Iran, a Qatar foreign ministry spokesperson says.

Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani is currently leading a delegation in Beijing.

UK publishes legislation for tougher sanctions on Iran

Britain publishes legislation to introduce tougher sanctions on Iran, expanding trade restrictions and powers to target ships as part of what it describes as a wider effort to curb Tehran’s nuclear program and other hostile activities.

The government says the measures will restrict Iran’s access to the British financial system, expand trade bans to additional goods, technology and services, and prohibit Iranian aircraft from landing in Britain unless exemptions apply.

Gantz recruits reservist and former Lapid adviser to depleted Blue and White slate

Blue and White party Knesset candidate Roy Kunkol (Elad Malka)

Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz announces that reservist Roy Kunkol is joining his party’s slate for the upcoming election, as Gantz seeks to rebuild a roster depleted by a string of recent departures.

Kunkol previously served as a spokesman and adviser to Yair Lapid, including during his tenures as opposition leader and prime minister. Earlier this year, he joined former minister Yoaz Hendel’s Reservists party, but quit in July following its merger with former Blue and White MK Chili Tropper (Tropper has since jumped ship to join Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar).

“I am joining Blue and White under Benny Gantz not because it is the easy choice, but because it is the right choice,” Kunkol says, arguing that Israel needs “a broad Zionist government” to confront the challenges facing the country.

His recruitment comes a day after former Beit Shemesh mayor Aliza Bloch joined Blue and White as well. Bloch had only last month joined the Unity party founded by Gilad Erdan and Yuli Edelstein, which abandoned its election bid last week amid poor polling.

Gantz has been scrambling to rebuild Blue and White ahead of the election after several prominent figures left the party, including Tropper. Of its incumbent lawmakers, Pnina Tamano-Shata is expected to remain, while Alon Schuster has yet to publicly decide whether he will run with the party again.

Blue and White has struggled in most polls to clear the electoral threshold.

IDF says Air Force hit terror operative in Gaza City, Hamas infrastructure in Strip’s south

The Israeli Air Force targeted a terror operative in Gaza City and struck Hamas infrastructure sites in the Strip’s south a short while ago, according to the military.

Palestinian media reports that the strike in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood wounded several people.

The strikes in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis also wounded several Palestinians, according to the reports.

The IDF says it will provide further details on the strikes later.

متابعة| استهداف من الطيران الحربي على منزل يعود لعائلة فروانة في بطن السمين جنوب خانيونس. pic.twitter.com/AwGjcCz0M7

— فلسطين بوست (@PalpostN) September 8, 2026

Court rejects petition to halt bidding for key West Bank settlement project east of Jerusalem

The Jerusalem District Court has rejected an attempt from rights groups to freeze tenders for development in the E1 area east of Jerusalem, where construction would break the territorial contiguity of any future Palestinian state.

The court says in a ruling it has dismissed the motion, which aimed to stall the publication of tenders for the construction of seven residential compounds housing 1,234 housing units in E1.

Petitions against the plan are still under review, but the court rules that the tenders can move forward as planned in the meantime.

Netanyahu taps right-wing pundit Bardugo, ex-Labor MK Goldschmidt for final Likud slots

Jacob Bardugo at the White House in Washington, DC, ahead of the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on July 7, 2025. (Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu taps close confidant Jacob Bardugo, a commentator on the pro-Netanyahu Channel 14, and former Labor MK Eli Goldschmidt for his final two reserved spots on the Likud Knesset slate.

Bardugo is set to be given the 11th slot on the slate and Goldschmidt the 26th. Other candidates given reserved slots earlier today are set to be included on the Likud slate as follows: Talik Gvili, 9th slot; Elisha Madan, 15th, David Peter, 16th; Itzik Bunzel (whose son Amit was killed fighting in Gaza), 29th; Amir Avivi, 35th.

Goldschmidt, a former Labor MK, underwent a political “transformation” following the October 7, 2023, invasion of southern Israel and now supports Netanyahu and Likud, according to the party.

Bardugo, a longtime Netanyahu associate, takes the eighth and final slot that Netanyahu was given to fill with candidates of his choosing and will be placed 11th on the overall Likud slate.

According to Hebrew media reports, Bardugo is seeking the justice portfolio, an ambition he has explicitly expressed in the past.

With Bardugo and Goldschmidt’s selections, Netanyahu has now filled all eight of his discretionary slots.

High Court annuls government’s appointments to broadcast regulator

File: Yifat Ben Hai Segev arrives at a court hearing in the trial against then-former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the District Court in Jerusalem on December 20, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The High Court of Justice unanimously annuls the government’s appointment for chairman of the Second Authority commercial broadcasting regulator, Yifat Ben Hai Segev, as well as the appointment of two other members of the body, in a case that has generated a near-constitutional crisis between the court and the government.

Petitions were filed in March this year arguing that the appointment of Ben Hai Segev violated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conflict of interest agreement regarding his trial, since she was a witness in those proceedings.

It was also argued that the appointment of Kinneret Barashi and Haim Shein, both outspoken supporters of the government, was done improperly, without proper review of their candidacies, and was illegitimate since they have strongly criticized in public some of the media outlets that they would now have regulatory power over.

The High Court in its ruling agrees with these arguments and orders the appointments annulled.

Although only three appointments to the 15-member panel were annulled by the court, the court says that all new appointments made by the government to the Second Authority in March this year should now be reconsidered.

The fight over the membership of the Second Authority centers around a proposed buyout of Channel 13 by a group of tech entrepreneurs, headed by a prominent critic of the government, which the council must approve.

Organizations that petitioned the High Court against the government, including the Union of Journalists in Israel and the Movement for Quality Government, allege that Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi and the government have tried to assert political control over the council to thwart the buyout.

After the High Court issued a ruling designed to thwart further efforts by Karhi to influence the composition of the Second Authority, the government passed an unprecedented resolution saying it would “not recognize” the results of any decision made by the agency regarding Channel 13 under the terms of the court decision.

Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs later asserted that ministers had not said they would disobey the High Court, but had merely expressed their “sharp criticism” of it.

Ben Hai Segev announced in July that she had resigned from the position, since the High Court had frozen the operations of the Second Authority in May and she had been unable to start work.

Communications minister slams High Court over Second Authority decision, vows to restrict court after election

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi attends a vote at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on July 16, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi slams the High Court of Justice over its decision to annul government appointments to the Second Authority commercial broadcaster regulator, and calls on the Knesset to convene and declare that the court does not have the authority to cancel legislation or “take government authorities into its hands.”

Karhi as minister was central to the appointments process of three Second Authority members, including its chair, that the High Court ruled today were invalid.

“The High Court of Justice continues to trample the law, undermine the will of the people, and arrogate to itself powers that were never granted to it,” says Karhi.

“In the next term, God willing, we will complete the fundamental reform of the judicial system, restore the balance between the branches of government, and return power to the people and their elected representatives,” he adds, in reference to plans by the coalition to restrict the High Court’s power of judicial review over legislation and government decisions.

Religious Zionism taps Yossi Bachar, who fought invading terrorists in Be’eri, for Knesset slate

Reservist commander Yossi Bachar speaks to Kan, in November 2023 (Video screenshot)

Former major general Yossi Bachar has been selected by Religious Zionism chair Bezalel Smotrich to join the party’s Knesset slate in the upcoming election.

It is not immediately clear where Bachar has been placed on the slate; later reports indicate he is not being placed in a realistic slot.

Bachar, 62, a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri, fought against invading Hamas terrorists all day during the October 7, 2023, onslaught in his community, killing at least 15 of them, before he went to find his family and discovered that his mother had been killed.

During his military service, Bachar held several top roles, including commander of the Paratroopers Brigade, Gaza Division, and Galilee Division. His last role in the IDF before retiring in 2018 was chief of the General Staff Corps, a now-defunct unit.

Amid the war in Gaza, Bachar served as deputy chief of the Southern Command in the reserves, taking part in planning and commanding the fighting against Hamas.

Smotrich in a statement says Bachar “brings with him extensive security experience, proven leadership and a love of the land.”

Bachar says he is joining the right-wing party “out of a deep belief in the movement’s path and in the leadership of Minister Smotrich,” saying the party “demonstrated throughout the term an uncompromising commitment to strengthening Israel’s security, strengthening the settlement enterprise and the future of the state.”

“I am enlisting to ensure that no family in Israel goes through what the Bachar family went through in Be’eri on October 7,” he adds.

Opposition chiefs in joint statement: ‘Public has right to know what Netanyahu knew and when he knew it’

Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party and a former IDF chief of staff, speaks during an election campaign rally in Nordiya, August 31, 2026. (Gili Yaari/Flash90)

The heads of the main opposition parties running in the upcoming election issue a joint statement following the Haaretz report this morning that Netanyahu was warned by the leader of the United Arab Emirates days before October 7 that Hamas was planning an attack.

“The shocking revelations this morning demand an immediate and thorough investigation. They add to a growing body of revelations about Netanyahu’s failures and dysfunction, and once again underscore why Netanyahu is fighting for his political life — to prevent the establishment of a state commission of inquiry and to prevent the truth from being brought before the Israeli public,” according to the statement by Yashar chief Gadi Eisenkot, B’Yachad leader Naftali Bennett, Democrats chief Yair Golan and Yisrael Beytenu head Avigdor Liberman.

The statement accuses Netanyahu of displaying “arrogance and a betrayal of the trust that Israeli citizens placed in him” by ostensibly ignoring the warning, and says his behavior was “an extreme dereliction of duty.”

“The Israeli public has a right to know: What did Netanyahu know, when did he know it, why did he fail to inform the security establishment, and why did he fail to act to protect the citizens of Israel?”

Saying Netanyahu and his allies “are unfit to remain in office,” the opposition chiefs vow that “immediately upon the formation of the 38th government under our leadership, we will establish a state commission of inquiry that will investigate the failures that led to the October 7 disaster, uncover the truth, and ensure that this catastrophe never happens again.”

WATCH: UK’s Miliband to announce trade ban on West Bank settlement goods

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is now speaking in parliament and is expected to announce a trade ban on West Bank settlement goods.

Netanyahu taps bereaved father Itzik Bonzel for Likud slate, bringing his reserved spots to 10

Itzik Bonzel attends a Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, January 19, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu taps bereaved father Itzik Bonzel for a reserved spot on the Likud Knesset slate, bringing the number of candidates who have effectively been given reserved places by the party leader to 10 — one more than the nine he had originally been allocated.

Bonzel, whose son Amit was killed fighting in Gaza in December 2023, will be placed 29th on the slate — meaning he is unlikely to make it into the Knesset. He has gained attention for vocal interruptions and protests at the Knesset and High Court of Justice.

Netanyahu was originally granted eight discretionary slots for candidates of his choosing, two of which were designated for Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and minister Haim Katz, while an additional ninth reserved place was allocated for Defense Minister Israel Katz.

But the slate announced by Likud now includes 10 candidates receiving reserved placements: Israel Katz, Sa’ar, Haim Katz, Talik Gvili, Jacob Bardugo, Elisha Madan, David Peter, Eli Goldschmidt, Bonzel and Amir Avivi.

Iran says Basij force commander killed in ‘terrorist attack’ in country’s southeast

A local commander in Iran’s paramilitary Basij force was killed in a “terrorist attack” in the country’s restive southeast, local media reports.

Abdolraouf Eshaghi, a commander in the Parud district of Sistan-Baluchistan province, had been “martyred,” the semi-official Tasnim news agency says, without providing details.

It is not immediately clear who was behind the attack.

Yesterday, Iranian authorities said three people were killed and nine arrested during a raid in the province on hideouts of Islamist groups it claimed were affiliated with Israel and the United States.

Sistan-Baluchistan, which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan, has long seen clashes between Iranian security forces, insurgents and drug smugglers.

One of Iran’s poorest provinces, it is home to a sizable ethnic Baloch population, most of whom are Sunni Muslims in a Shia-majority nation.

Fresh delays expected at Ben Gurion airport due to shortages during Jewish holiday season

Thousands of passengers wait at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv after operations shut down on August 20, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Ben Gurion Airport is set to be thrown into chaos again as ground staff shortages are reportedly causing delays to numerous flights ahead of the peak Jewish holiday season starting at the end of this week, Israel’s Channel 12 reports.

Ben Gurion Airport employees told Channel 12 that the temporary reinforcement of additional personnel following the August wildcat strike event has ended, and that the shortage among ground staff responsible for loading and unloading luggage has been acutely felt.

In response, the Israel Airports Authority says Ben Gurion Airport is operating “normally during this peak period.”

“The Israel Airports Authority categorically rejects any attempt to disseminate false information,” the IAA says in a statement. “Ben Gurion Airport is operating according to a pre-planned staffing strategy to handle peak-season congestion ahead of the Jewish holidays.”

“Just as was done during July and August, staffing levels are being continuously reinforced throughout the holiday period to align with operational needs and projected demand,” the IAA says.

Last week, IAA management and the workers’ union reached an agreement to ensure smooth, continuous operations amid peak flight and passenger traffic expected during the busy Jewish holiday period.

The agreement follows last month’s wildcat strike over staff shortages, which caused delays and cancellations for travelers on Ben Gurion Airport’s busiest day of the year. The operational disruption sparked concerns that the airport wasn’t equipped to handle heavy traffic during the Jewish holidays.

12 countries jointly declare support for European measures against West Bank settlements

Britain’s new Prime Minister Andy Burnham speaks to staff and media at 10 Downing Street in London, July 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

After UK Foreign Minister Ed Miliband delivers a biting address announcing wide-ranging sanctions against Israeli West Bank settlements, a group of Western states jointly declare their intention to support European measures against settlement products and to introduce new sanctions.

Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK release a statement confirming their “intention to introduce national and/or support European restrictions on trade in goods with settlements which are illegal under international law, or that they are actively considering these and other measures, in accordance with their national procedures.”

The 12 countries underscore their commitment to a two-state solution.

They call on Israel to “immediately halt the expansion of settlements and civilian administrative powers, ensure accountability for settler violence, and investigate allegations against Israeli forces.”

The countries stress that they recognize Israel’s security interests and are determined to tackle antisemitism.

In a separate statement, the leaders of the UK, France and Canada confirm that they will “take steps to ban the importation of goods from settlements and enforce targeted measures against settlements and those who facilitate them or profit from them.”

They write: “One year ago, we recognized the State of Palestine. The time has come to take further action to uphold our commitment to protect the two-state solution, our interests and to stand up for our values, before it is too late.”

NY’s Met Council distributes record 2 million pounds of kosher food ahead of holidays

The New York-based Met Council has distributed more than 2 million pounds of kosher food to struggling families ahead of the High Holidays, in what the nonprofit says is the largest-ever Rosh Hashanah food distribution in the United States.

From August through September, the organization worked with 162 partner groups, including synagogues, yeshivas and community charities, to distribute traditional holiday foods, fresh produce, proteins and pantry staples, Met Council says. More than 15 organizations participated for the first time.

The organization, which calls itself America’s largest kosher food pantry network, says the distribution included 55,026 bottles of grape juice, 48,384 bottles of honey and more than 659,000 pounds of fresh produce. Families also received apples, chicken, fish, eggs and other holiday staples, all under kosher supervision.

More than 500 volunteers helped sort, pack and deliver the food to communities across New York City, Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut. The campaign also included Met Council’s first holiday distribution in Florida.

“More than 2 million pounds of food is an extraordinary number and a new record, but this work is not really about pounds. It is about people,” says Met Council CEO David G. Greenfield.

Top UK Jewish body expresses ‘deep regret’ over settlement sanctions

The main representative group of British Jewry expresses “deep regret” after Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced a sweeping sanctions package targeting Israeli settlements in the West Bank earlier today.

“Before the Jewish New Year festival of Rosh Hashanah, with concerns for communal security at their highest levels, this will be felt particularly acutely by British Jews,” the Board of Deputies of British Jews says in a statement. “The deteriorating relationship between the UK and Israel has the potential to negatively impact the two countries’ security and their economies, and further inflame community tensions here too.”

In a scathing criticism of the settlement enterprise in the House of Commons, Miliband, who is Jewish, denounced Israel’s entirely “unlawful occupation” of the West Bank and decried spiraling instances of settler violence against Palestinians, saying “settler terrorism is rampant.”

Miliband said London will impose an import ban on goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, sanction companies and individuals that facilitate settlement expansion, and refuse licenses for arms and other exports deemed to materially support Israel’s “occupation.”

The UK will continue trading with Israel inside the Green Line and opposing the broader Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, he noted.

“Announcing such measures during an already heated Israeli election – which has the potential to lead to considerable change to the situation in the West Bank and Gaza – risks perverse consequences which go against the UK’s stated objectives,” the Board of Deputies says. “We urge both governments to avoid pursuing what appear to be party interests over national interests.”

Board of Deputies expresses ‘deep regret’ at Government announcement of sanctions on settlement goods. pic.twitter.com/OAJGqtt5ce

— Board of Deputies of British Jews (@BoardofDeputies) September 8, 2026

Police say they’re probing arson in Palestinian village, arrested 4th suspect in Qusra attack

Police say officers accompanied by the IDF entered the Nablus-area village of Burqa today following a report received Monday evening about arson and assault there.

WAFA, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency, cited the Red Crescent last night as saying two men aged 30 and 57 were rushed to a hospital after being assaulted by Israeli forces. But other Palestinian media said the two were attacked by settlers who also set fire to several vehicles.

Police, without describing the culprits as Israeli, say “several masked” assailants set fire to three cars and wounded some locals. The IDF has not commented on the incident.

The police officers who entered Burqa today gathered evidence and testimony, police say. No arrests are reported.

مستوطنون يضرمون النيران في مركبات فلسطينية خلال هجومهم على قرية برقة شمال غرب نابلس pic.twitter.com/aG9yLc2iw0

— الحدث (@AlHadath) September 7, 2026

Separately, police announce the arrest over the past hour of a fourth suspect in an August 29 settler attack on Qusra, weeks into the siege that settlers imposed on several houses in the Nablus-area village.

Police, together with the Shin Bet, also seized another vehicle that the attackers used, police add.

The suspect is a 20-year-old who lives in the central West Bank, according to police.

He will be brought before a court tomorrow to have his detention extended, police say.

The attackers on August 29 took over a Palestinian house with a family inside, and reportedly wounded a woman.

“The joint investigative team of police and the Shin Bet continues efforts to gather evidence and take testimony in order to find and arrest everyone who took part in the grave incident,” police say.

Settler groups denounce UK trade ban on settlements, but Israeli peace groups welcome step

Yisrael Ganz, chairman of the Yesha Council umbrella settlement organization, calls the ban imposed by the UK on products from Israel’s West Bank settlements “antisemitic” and “a moral disgrace.”

Ganz, who also heads the Binyamin Regional Council municipal authority for settlements in the central West Bank, claims that the Palestinian Authority has promoted such trade bans and says financial harm to Israel resulting from the move should be seized from Palestinian funds.

“Britain’s decision to boycott products from Judea and Samaria and impose sanctions on Jews simply because they live and work in parts of their homeland is a disgraceful antisemitic step,” says Ganz.

“Our message to Britain and anyone joining the boycott is clear: You will not succeed in driving the Jews out of Judea and Samaria. We will respond to every attempt to harm the settlements with more construction, more communities, and greater Israeli sovereignty.”

Settlement regional councils like the Binyamin Regional Council have helped coordinate the establishment of dozens of illegal settlement outposts that have mushroomed across the West Bank in the four-year term of the outgoing government.

Guy Yifrach, mayor of the major Maale Adumim city-settlement, calls on Israelis to support settlement businesses in response to the UK trade boycott, and announces that 60 new factories are nearing completion in the Mishor Adumim industrial zone.

“In the face of every effort to close markets to us, we will work to open new markets for local industry,” says Yifrach.

Israeli civil rights groups welcome the settlements trade ban, however.

Peace Now says the settlements “endanger the future of the State of Israel,” adding that it “is good that Britain and other countries make the necessary distinction between sovereign Israel and the settlement and outpost enterprise beyond the green line and are acting against annexation and settler terrorism.”

The organization says sanctions against the settlements do not equal sanctions against Israel, and adds that if the government continues with the E1 settlement construction project between Maale Adumim and Jerusalem and its efforts to undermine a two-state solution with the Palestinians, “it will deepen Israel’s isolation and the harm to it, its economy, and its global standing.”

The Looking the Occupation in the Eye organization, which works to combat settler violence, says the trade ban shows that the UK and other countries have noticed that the Israeli government “has no intention of eradicating settler terrorism,” and approves the boycott of what it calls “produce rooted in the theft of land, homes, and human lives.”

US imposes new sanctions on Iranian airlines, service providers

Illustrative: an Iranian Mahan Air plane lands at the Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport, February 4, 2021. (Saeed Kaari/IKAC via AP)

The United States imposes sanctions on “all remaining Iranian airlines” that have yet to face such penalties, as Washington pushes to step up economic pressure in its war with Tehran.

The US Treasury Department says its latest action takes aim at “36 targets for supporting Iran’s aviation sector, which the regime uses to move weapons, personnel, and illicit cargo.”

These include 27 Iranian airlines, alongside firms based in countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Malaysia and Kazakhstan.

“Essentially, we’re taking the entire aviation sector of the Iranian economy out of the market,” a US Treasury official tells reporters on condition of anonymity.

Besides Iranian airlines, the Treasury Department says its latest actions target third-country firms that “facilitate US-sanctioned Mahan Air’s proliferation activity, terrorist-linked flight operations, and illicit procurement of US-origin aircraft.”

It is also taking aim at “cargo service providers and general sales agents that have serviced Mahan Air’s international flights.”

Mahan Air is an Iranian airline accused of facilitating activities by Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The US Treasury official does not specify whether firms in countries like China might face secondary sanctions for supporting the Iranian aviation sector, but said there are various actions Washington can take on service providers.

The Treasury Department slapped sanctions in July on individuals and companies it said were aiding Mahan Air too.

Iran’s aviation sector has long struggled under sanctions, which have severely restricted its ability to acquire aircraft, spare parts and maintenance services.

Shin Bet says it foiled ‘significant and extensive’ terror network in West Bank, Jerusalem; 30 suspects captured

Five Palestinians from Jerusalem who were charged over their involvement in a terror network, in an infographic published by the Shin Bet on September 8. 2026. (Shin Bet)

Over 30 Palestinians were recently detained over their membership in a “significant and extensive” terror network based in the West Bank and Jerusalem area, the Shin Bet security announces.

The network had been planning “attacks against Jews and security forces,” the Shin Bet says in a joint statement with the military and police.

Five Jerusalem residents who were members of the network were charged with “serious” security offenses, including “managing a terror organization, active membership in a terror organization, conspiracy and preparation to commit an act of terror involving murder under aggravated circumstances, weapons and property offenses for terror purposes, recruiting and attempting to recruit members to a terror organization,” and other offenses.

Indictments against some of the West Bank Palestinians involved in the network are expected to be filed by army prosecutors in the coming days, while the investigation of others is still ongoing.

Two of the Jerusalemites, Sabih Abu Sabih and Rashid Rishk, are members of the Shabab al-Aqsa group, which is affiliated with Hamas, according to the security agency. Abu Sabih is the son of Mesbah Abu Sabih, who carried out a deadly shooting spree that killed two Israelis in Jerusalem in October 2016, and Rishk was released in January 2025 as part of a hostage deal with Hamas.

The other three Jerusalemites charged in the case are named as Muhammad Abu Sabih, Muhammad Azmi Bakri and Ahmad Azmi Bakri.

The Shin Bet says Rishk and Sabih Abu Sabih established the terror network, “under which they recruited military terror cells under their command throughout the West Bank,” intending to carry out attacks.

Security forces captured several weapons the agency says the network intended to use in the attacks.

According to the Shin Bet’s investigation, Ahmad Azmi Bakri and Rishk planned a terror attack at a restaurant in the central city of Modiin, where Ahmad worked.

Additionally, Muhammad Azmi Bakri instructed Rishk and Muhammad Abu Sabih how to build explosive devices, after they told him of their intention to carry out attacks, including a shooting attack against Israeli security forces in the West Bank town of al-Eizariya, according to the security agency.

Foreign Ministry names 11 British lawmakers and a lawyer who are to be barred from entering Israel

The Foreign Ministry publishes a list of 12 British elected officials and citizens whom it says will be barred from entering Israel in response to the UK’s sanctions package against West Bank settlements.

The list includes 11 members of parliament, the majority of whom are not from the governing Labour Party, and a lawyer, Fahad Ansari, who has represented Hamas’s political wing in court in the UK as it attempts to remove itself from the list of proscribed terrorist organizations.

Responding to the Foreign Ministry’s announcement, Ansari says on X that he is “neither British nor an MP but do take this as a badge of honour.”

The banned MPs are:

1. Jeremy Corbyn, Your Party co-founder
2. Zarah Sultana, Your Party co-founder
3. Naz Shah, Labour Party
4. Diane Abbot, Labour Party
5. John McDonnell, Labour Party
6. Richard Burgon, Labour Party
7. Hannah Spencer, Green Party
8. Carla Denyer, Green Party
9. Sian Berry, Green Party
10. Ellie Chowns, Green Party
11. Adrian Ramsay, Green Party

The Foreign Ministry does not clarify the reasoning behind each of these specific bans, saying only that it would deny entry to those “involved in antisemitic and anti-Israel activity, as well as those who deny the very existence of the State of Israel.”

Rubio: ‘Obviously’ US won’t be joining UK sanctions on West Bank settlements

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Washington “obviously” will not be joining the UK and 11 other Western countries in barring trade with West Bank settlements. Still, the top American diplomat does stress the need for stability in the territory roiled by settler violence and rapid Israeli settlement expansion.

“Obviously, we’re not going to do what the UK did. We saw their announcement today, but I don’t have any comment on it right now,” Rubio tells reporters in Miami.

Rubio adds that the US does not want to see “anything destabilizing going on right now in the West Bank with so much going on in the region.”

“We think it has implications as well on our ability to make progress with regards to Gaza and the 20-point plan and Board of Peace, which we’re very committed to,” Rubio says.

A reporter notes comments from US Ambassador Mike Huckabee who suggested that the US may retaliate against the UK in response to the settlement-related sanctions.

Rubio stops short of confirming that that is the plan.

“We were made aware that they were going to make this decision. We heard their arguments as to why. But we share the goal of stability. We don’t want to see some uptick in violence or an uptick in conflict or tensions in the West Bank at a very tenuous time in the region,” he says.

Navy chief says Israel won’t allow freedom of action at sea to be threatened, in apparent warning to Turkey, Houthis

Israeli Navy chief Vice Adm. Eyal Harel speaks at an officers' graduation ceremony at the Haifa Naval Base, September 8, 2026. (Screenshot: Israel Defense Forces)

In a message apparently aimed at Turkey and the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, Israeli Navy chief Vice Adm. Eyal Harel says Israel will not allow any threat to its freedom of action at sea by those seeking to “change the balance of power in the Mediterranean and Red Seas.”

“In the new maritime arena, there is no longer any distant front,” Harel says at a Navy officers’ graduation ceremony.

“To anyone seeking to challenge the State of Israel from the maritime and distant arena, I say from here: distance will not provide immunity to anyone seeking to harm us. The Navy was built to bring the power of the State of Israel and the IDF to anyone seeking to challenge it from thousands of miles away,” he says.

Harel addresses “anyone seeking to change the balance of power in the Mediterranean and Red Seas,” saying that “we see the actions, monitor them and prepare for them.”

“The Navy will not accept a reality in which the freedom of action of the State of Israel, or the strategic interests in the national maritime arena, are subject to threat. We will be there, and everywhere else, openly and covertly, to fulfill our responsibility and mission in every way,” he adds.

Zamir says IDF to open new ‘unmanned systems and AI’ branch by December

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir speaks at a Navy officers' graduation ceremony at the Haifa Naval Base, September 8, 2026. (Screenshot: Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir announces that the military will soon inaugurate a new “unmanned systems and artificial intelligence” branch.

“The battlefield is changing at a dizzying pace, and we are changing with it. We understand that the future includes unmanned systems, robotics, drones and widespread use of artificial intelligence,” he says at a Navy officers’ graduation ceremony.

Zamir says that last week he finalized the plans for the establishment of the new branch, which he says “will be responsible for the rapidly developing field” of unmanned systems and AI.

“Maritime, land and aerial robotic capabilities will be developed. The capabilities that unmanned systems will provide will enable them to operate alongside manned combat teams or in independent missions. They will increase operational activity on the battlefield and save human lives,” he says.

“The Navy will also benefit from its fruits by incorporating advanced and autonomous capabilities above and below the sea,” Zamir continues.

Zamir says that the IDF intends to be a “global leader” in the field, and therefore, the new branch will be inaugurated by Hanukkah in early December.

Currently, the IDF has three branches — the Ground Forces, Navy, and Air Force.

Gantz submits 19-member Blue and White slate despite months of polling below electoral threshold

Benny Gantz’s Blue and White submits its 19-member slate for the October 27 election, despite months of polling below the 3.25% electoral threshold, and in defiance of repeated calls from opposition parties for Gantz to drop out of the race rather than risk wasting votes.

Gantz heads the list, followed by incumbent MK Pnina Tamano-Shata, former Beit Shemesh mayor Aliza Bloch, reservist commander and longtime political operative Roee Konkol, reservists’ rights activist Rotem Avidar Tzalik and incumbent MK Alon Schuster.

The slate bears little resemblance to the Blue and White faction elected to the current Knesset, which has bled lawmakers over the past year, shrinking from eight MKs to just three. Several former members have since joined Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar, while MK Eitan Ginzburg defected to Naftali Bennett’s B’Yachad.

Bennett: Netanyahu received multiple international, domestic warnings of Hamas attack before Oct. 7

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett claims Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received warnings from several domestic and international sources that Hamas was planning an imminent attack ahead of the terror group’s October 7, 2023, onslaught, without providing sources.

“Netanyahu received several warnings from several sources, both within Israel and from international officials, and he did nothing,” Bennett tells Channel 12, accusing the premier of “criminal negligence.”

The remarks follow a Haaretz report earlier today alleging that Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed warned Netanyahu before the massacre that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was planning a major offensive.

Bennett subsequently confirmed the report in a post on X, but did not say how he knew the report to be true.

Pressed by Channel 12 on whether he knew specifically that the reported conversation with the Emirati leader had taken place, Bennett declines to answer directly, reiterating that Netanyahu “received warnings of an attack, both from abroad and from within Israel.”

‘We share all relevant inteligence’: UAE doesn’t deny MBZ warned Netanyahu ahead of Oct. 7; PMO claims the reports are false

Benjamin Netanyahu, left, Yahya Sinwar, center and Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner, Abed Rahim Khatib/ Flash90/ File, AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

The United Arab Emirates, in an official statement, neither confirms nor denies that Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shortly before Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught that the terror group was planning a major attack.

The UAE Foreign Ministry does not directly address the alleged warning, but stresses the two governments share all relevant intelligence. “UAE and Israeli government entities have maintained open and direct lines of communication since the inception of the relationship more than five years ago. When necessary, all relevant intelligence has been and continues to be communicated between the relevant parties.”

Haaretz reported earlier today that bin Zayed personally warned Netanyahu some 10 days before the onslaught that Sinwar was planning a major offensive against Israel. An Emirati source familiar with the conversation subsequently confirmed the report to The Times of Israel.

Netanyahu’s office, in an English statement, denies the report. “The press reports are false. No warning was given to the Prime Minister from the United Arab Emirates before October 7th,” the PMO says in a statement. “If there was any relevant information, it was passed through intelligence channels between the two countries.”

Meanwhile, senior Israeli officials who participated in security discussions ahead of the attack tell Channel 12 that they might have reached different conclusions and taken different action had Netanyahu informed them of the reported warning that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was preparing a major operation.

“If we had known about Netanyahu’s conversations with the Emiratis, and apparently also with the Egyptians, there is a considerable likelihood that we would have reached different conclusions,” one senior official tells the network, calling the warning a “critical” piece of information.

“Had we known, we would at the very least have examined the matter more deeply,” another official says.

Channel 12 also reports that, days after the onslaught, former Fatah official Mohammed Dahlan told a close associate in frustration: “We passed warnings on to the Israelis. They did nothing with them.”

Likud submits 35-person Knesset slate featuring 9 Netanyahu appointees, just 4 women

The top 30 candidates on the Likud party's slate. Top row (left to right): Benjamin Netanyahu, Eli Cohen, Amir Ohana, Yariv Levin, Miri Regev, Israel Katz, Gideon Sa'ar, Ofir Katz. Second row: Talik Gvili, Yoav Kisch, Jacob Bardugo, Miki Zohar, Almog Cohen, Amichai Chikli, Elisha Madan, David Peter. Third row: Moshe Saada, Haim Katz, David Amsalem, Etty Atia, Boaz Bismuth, David Bitan, Shlomo Karhi, Nir Barkat. Fourth row: Gila Gamliel, Eli Goldschmidt, Erez Tadmor, Shlomo Lerner, Itzik Bonzel, Moshe Benjamin Peretz. (Omer Meran/GPO, Yonatan Sindel/Flash90, Sharon Leibel/Flash90, Yehoshua Yosef/Flash90, Screenshot: Israel Defense Forces, Chaim Goldberg/Flash90, Dani Shem-Tov/ Office of the Knesset Spokesperson, Yossi Aloni/FLASH90, Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90, Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90, YouTube screenshot, Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90, Noam Moskowitz, Office of the Knesset Spokesperson, CC BY Aviranf/Wikimedia, Tal Gal/Flash90, Tamir Dortal / Wikipedia, Screenshot/Srugim, Screenshot)

Likud has officially submitted its 35-person candidate list for the October 27 election to the Central Elections Committee, mere hours before tonight’s deadline, although the party has made no formal announcement about the filing.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads the slate, followed by Energy Minister Eli Cohen, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Transportation Minister Miri Regev.

While most of the list was elected in last month’s party primary, nine places are occupied by candidates installed by Netanyahu, including Defense Minister Israel Katz, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and minister Haim Katz, as well as six who were unveiled by the premier earlier today: Talik Gvili, Jacob Bardugo, Elisha Madan, David Peter, Eli Goldschmidt and Itzik Bonzel.

The list is notable for including just four women: Regev, Gvili, incumbent MK Etty Atia, and Technology Minister Gila Gamliel. By contrast, the opposition B’Yachad, Yashar, Democrats and Yisrael Beytenu parties have all presented gender-balanced slates.

Currently the largest party in the Knesset with 32 seats, Likud has been polling at around 23 seats for months, neck and neck with, and increasingly trailing, Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar.

The first 30 candidates are:

1. Benjamin Netanyahu

2. Eli Cohen

3. Amir Ohana

4. Yariv Levin

5. Miri Regev

6. Israel Katz

7. Gideon Sa’ar

8. Ofir Katz

9.Talik Gvili

10. Yoav Kisch

11. Jacob Bardugo

12. Miki Zohar

13. Almog Cohen

14. Amichai Chikli

15. Elisha Madan

16. David Peter

17. Moshe Saada

18. Haim Katz

19. David “Dudi” Amsalem

20. Etty Atia

21. Boaz Bismuth

22. David Bitan

23. Shlomo Karhi

24. Nir Barkat

25. Gila Gamliel

26. Eli Goldschmidt

27. Erez Tadmor

28. Shlomo Lerner

29. Itzik Bonzel

30. Moshe Benjamin Peretz

US military underwater drone malfunctioned in Middle East, official says

A US military drone malfunctioned in the Middle East while it was surveying regional waters in support of the Iran war, a US official tells Reuters.

The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, says the defective drone was an older model and was not carrying any classified sonar or radar equipment. It malfunctioned more than a day ago, the official adds.

Religious Zionism publishes partial election slate; final rankings await Zehut additions

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s far-right Religious Zionism party submits its slate of candidates for the upcoming elections to the Central Elections Committee.

Smotrich heads the ticket, followed by Settlements and National Missions Minister Orit Strock and MK Simcha Rothman, chairman of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.

Tzvika Mor, former leader of the right-wing Tikva Forum for hostage families, takes the fourth spot, followed by Itamar Eitam, a reservist brigade commander and co-founder of the Reservists – Generation of Victory organization.

Zvi Sukkot, who is currently serving as an MK, is placed at sixth place – considered an unrealistic spot to enter the Knesset, with polls showing Religious Zionism hovering around the electoral threshold.

The lower ranking may be related to several controversial incidents during his term, including his smashing of a Palestinian memorial during an IDF-escorted visit to the West Bank village of Madama.

Prominent lawmakers Ohad Tal, chairman of the Knesset Committee on Public Projects, and Michal Woldiger, chairman of the Knesset Labor and Welfare Committee, are also relegated to the largely unrealistic spots, at eighth and 16th respectively.

The announcement lists only Religious Zionism’s candidates and does not include those from Moshe Feiglin’s Zehut party, with which it agreed to run as a technical bloc. Under the merger agreement, Feiglin is expected to take second place on the final combined slate, with additional spots reserved farther down the list for representatives of his Zehut party.

More than 30 parties registered with Central Election Committee before 10 p.m. deadline

As the election registration period closes, a total of 35 parties have submitted candidate lists to the Central Election Committee, confirming their participation in the October 27 vote.

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett’s B’Yachad party was the first to submit its Knesset slate when registration opened yesterday, according to live updates posted by the Central Election Committee.

The last to submit a slate before tonight’s 10 p.m. deadline was Bezalel Smotrich’s and Moshe Feiglin’s Religious Zionism-Zehut alliance.

Shortly after the deadline, however, the Joint List submits its Knesset slate, suggesting that the Central Election Committee has approved an informal extension until midnight.

MEAD conference brings together representatives from 24 countries to discuss Mideast policy

A ballroom hosting the MEAD conference in Washington on September 8, 2026. (Courtesy)

WASHINGTON — The fourth MEAD conference commenced today in Washington, bringing together government officials and representatives from 24 countries to discuss developments in the Middle East.

The two-day gathering takes place against the backdrop of the ongoing Iran conflict and ahead of elections in Israel and the United States, which are expected to significantly impact both countries’ policies toward the region.

MEAD takes place twice a year, with one gathering in Abu Dhabi and the other in Washington; however, this year’s UAE confab was canceled due to the Iran war.

With Israeli officials attending alongside counterparts from countries that don’t have diplomatic relations with the Jewish state, attendees are required to adhere to Chatham House rules of confidentiality.

Sessions are held on the topics of “security, intelligence, technology, business, energy, finance, and governance, with the shared goal of strengthening American engagement in the Middle East and promoting regional integration,” according to a statement from MEAD organizers.

Education Ministry publishes test results showing concerningly low science, math grades across Israeli schools

The Education Ministry publishes the results of exams conducted last year by the National Authority for Educational Measurement and Evaluation (RAMA).

The results were first leaked in May after the Education Ministry partially withheld them. Tonight’s publication comes hours after the discovery that Israel’s scores on a key international test of student comprehension dropped precipitously in the latest 2025 results, with the country scoring below average in reading, math, and science.

The RAMA results are similarly concerning, with just 3% of ninth-grade students meeting the requirements of the national science curriculum, with another 16% coming close but falling short.

The results also show that 37% of sixth-grade students meet the requirements of the mathematics curriculum, and another 26% partially meet the requirements.

The results also show that just 20% of students in Arabic-speaking schools met the base requirements in a Hebrew language exam last year.

Joint List submits Knesset slate, vows to fight ‘racism and supremacy’

The first eight candidates on the Joint List's election slate: Top row (left to right): Yousef Jabareen, Ahmad Tibi, Sami Abou Shahadeh, Faten Ghattas. Bottom row: Bakr Awawdeh, Ofer Cassif, Youssef Atauna, Maha Karkabi Sabbah. (Menahem Kahana / AFP, Yonatan Sindel/Flash90, Chaim Goldberg/Flash90, Courtesy of Israeli Communist Party, Screenshots)

The predominantly Arab Hadash-Ta’al-Balad Joint List submits its slate of candidates for the upcoming election to the Central Elections Committee, declaring itself “the only alternative to racism and supremacy.”

Hadash chairman Yousef Jabareen heads the ticket, followed by longtime Ta’al leader MK Ahmad Tibi and Balad chairman Sami Abou Shahadeh. Hadash’s Faten Ghattas is placed fourth, followed by Balad’s Bakr Awawdeh and Hadash MK Ofer Cassif. Former Hadash MK Youssef Atauna places seventh.

Cassif is one of two Jewish candidates on the Joint List slate. The second, Orly Noy, who is the first Jewish member of Balad, is in a largely symbolic 15th place.

According to recent polling, the Joint List is projected to win seven seats in next month’s elections.

The slate underwent a change last week, with Hadash replacing Jafar Farah in fourth place with Ghattas, a longtime party activist and senior Israel Cancer Association official. The party removed Farah following an internal examination of sexual harassment allegations made against him by several women.

In a statement, the alliance says its return after Balad’s split from Hadash-Ta’al ahead of the 2022 election marks the beginning of political change “following four years of a Knesset that restricted democratic space and passed anti-democratic legislation targeting Arab society and the country’s democratic forces.”

It pledges to oppose “the destruction of Gaza, ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, and the political persecution of the country’s Arab citizens.”

“Only the Joint List will fight for equality, peace and genuine partnership,” it says.

The alliance does not include the Islamist Ra’am party, which submitted a separate slate, or the fledgling Jewish-Arab Makom LeKulanu party, which withdrew from the race shortly before today’s deadline due to low polling figures.

Police use tear gas, water cannon to clear out Haredi protesters against Jerusalem light rail

Police are using tear gas and a water cannon to disperse a protest at the intersection of Jerusalem’s Bar Ilan and Yirmiyahu streets, where hundreds of Haredi men rallied against the planned expansion of the light rail to the area, footage shows.

Haredi officials have expressed concern that the public transit expansion will hurt the ultra-Orthodox character of the area.

In one video from the protest, a man exhorts the crowd in Yiddish to safeguard “the sanctity of Jerusalem.” Protesters respond with yells of the Yiddish interjection “Gevald.”

לקראת ליל מהומות בירושלים: מאות חרדים קיצוניים נוהרים כעת מאזור כיכר השבת אל יעד לא ידוע וקוראים למסור נפש על קדושת ירושלים. pic.twitter.com/C6YOaTC3UF

— זירת החדשות (@ZiratNews) September 8, 2026

Police say they have declared the protest illegal after “disruptors” tried to “cause damage and intermittently block traffic routes.”

מכתזית מנסה לפנות את המפגינים בהפגנה היומית נגד הרכבת ברחוב ירמיהו בירושלים pic.twitter.com/l01gQld4WF

— השטיבלאך (@Hashtiblach) September 8, 2026

Officers “are using force, including a water cannon” and other means to disperse the crowd, police say.

A similar demonstration in the same area last night was also forcibly dispersed by police.