A significant policy change is coming to Judea and Samaria: Beginning next week, IDF soldiers will no longer participate in operations to evacuate or demolish unauthorized Jewish outposts and residential sites. Responsibility for civilian enforcement operations will instead be transferred to Israel Police and Border Police, while soldiers will focus on security missions, protecting residents and combating terrorism.
Photo: IDF Spokesperson
C14 has learned that the decision was made by Central Command as part of a conceptual shift intended to create a clearer separation between security missions and civilian law-enforcement operations in Judea and Samaria. Under the new policy, IDF soldiers will be directed toward operational activity, counterterrorism and protecting roads and communities, while evacuations and demolitions will be carried out by Israel Police and Border Police.
Central Command officials explained that one of the primary considerations behind the move is the desire to reduce friction between IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians while keeping troops focused on operational missions and maintaining their readiness.
IDF in Judea and Samaria | Photo: IDF Spokesperson
An official from the Israel Police’s Judea and Samaria District told Channel 14: “Israel Police and Border Police are prepared and ready to assume full responsibility for maintaining law and civil order in Judea and Samaria. This is a civilian law-enforcement mission that naturally belongs in the hands of police forces—not soldiers whose purpose is combat. We will continue to operate in full coordination with the IDF to ensure a professional, determined and balanced response on the ground.”
The move represents a significant departure from the policy followed for years, under which IDF soldiers also participated in evacuation and demolition operations in Judea and Samaria. Central Command is now seeking to draw a clearer division of responsibility between the military, Israel Police and Border Police.
The UN General Assembly will convene next week at its New York headquarters, and Diplomatic Analyst Tamir Morag provided an explainer ahead of the major event on “Midday News.” Morag said the prime minister will speak Thursday at 2 p.m. Eastern time—9 p.m. Israel time—at the important assembly, as he has done several times before. The timing of the speech is no accident, aimed at Israeli prime time, with expectations that the content will be directed at the Israeli public ahead of elections—no less than at listeners around the world.
Netanyahu’s speech at the assembly, archive | Photo: UN General Assembly
Several hours ago, the ban on Abbas’s entry to the United States became official when the State Department published its announcement that Abbas and members of the PA delegation will be under sanctions that will not allow them to enter the U.S. and attend the UN General Assembly. The State Department’s justification cited the Authority’s continued support for terrorism, both in rhetoric and through salary payments to terrorists known as pay-for-slay, as well as continued incitement in textbooks and in speeches by PA officials, including Abbas.
Additional reasons for the entry ban on Abbas are the ‘Palestinians” appeals to two international courts: the International Court of Justice, where proceedings are underway against the State of Israel, and the International Criminal Court, which issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Gallant. These steps by the PA have a price, and Abbas will be forced once again to address the UN General Assembly via video—and not travel to New York.
Staying home, terror sponsor Abbas | Photo: Shutterstock
Morag was also asked about reports that Netanyahu requested a meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the assembly. On this, he said it’s not certain they’ll manage to arrange the meeting. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has tried to prevent the prime minister from coming to New York and threatened to arrest him—a threat that proved empty since the mayor cannot do so.
The IDF eliminated Sharif Shadi Ibrahim Labad, a terrorist belonging to the elite Nukhba unit in Hamas’s military wing who actively raided the Erez Crossing during the October 7 massacre, in a targeted strike in the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday.
Photo: Abdel Rahim Khatib, Flash90
The IDF Spokesperson confirmed that in a separate precision strike conducted earlier this week in northern Gaza, Israeli forces eliminated Youssef Saad Aldin Rashed Zaim, a Nukhba terrorist commander in Hamas’s armed wing. According to military authorities, both terrorists had recently been advancing imminent attacks targeting IDF personnel and Israeli civilians, while actively working to rehabilitate the terror organization’s operational capabilities in systematic violation of the ceasefire. The IDF stressed that the terrorists were eliminated to remove the immediate threat they posed.
The military noted that before the strikes, it implemented comprehensive mitigation measures to minimize civilian casualties, including deploying precision-guided munitions and conducting continuous aerial surveillance. IDF troops under Southern Command remain strategically deployed in the sector in accordance with the agreement and will continue taking decisive action to remove any immediate threat.
In a direct response to recent European sanctions targeting Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, a special summit held today at the European Parliament in Strasbourg brought together dozens of European parliamentarians and senior conservative and right-wing party officials, where the Patriots for Europe faction formally allied itself with the State of Israel, defended Judea and Samaria, and rejected both international sanctions and escalating European antisemitism.
Patriots for Europe constitutes the third-largest political bloc in the European Parliament. The Strasbourg gathering was organized to project an unambiguous European stance: firm backing for Israel, wholesale rejection of sanctions and boycotts against Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, and an uncompromising battle against antisemitism. The political alliance includes prominent parties and leaders across the continent, including MEPs representing former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’s 2011 party; Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party; Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom from the Netherlands; the Freedom Party of Austria; Jordan Bardella’s National Rally from France; and parliamentary representatives from across Europe.
During the conference, party delegates signed an accord formally adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition to combat antisemitism and uphold Holocaust commemoration. The charter explicitly recognizes that disproportionate attacks delegitimizing the State of Israel constitute manifestations of contemporary antisemitism, while underscoring the imperative to confront Holocaust denial and historical distortion. The initiative carries heightened weight amid recent sanction packages rolled out by several European states against Israeli pioneers and organizations in Judea and Samaria.
Among the Israeli delegation attending the summit is MK Ariel Kallner, Chairman of the Knesset Committee for Cooperation with the European Parliament. Samaria governor Yossi Dagan and Likud Supreme Court President Michael Kleiner addressed participants via pre-recorded keynotes. Ahead of the convening, MK Ariel Kallner emphasized: “Antisemitism begins with the Jews, but it never ends with the Jews. Antisemitism exists on the extreme right, and the extreme left, but the truth must be spoken: the overwhelming majority of physical assaults against Jews today are carried out in the name of Islam. This represents the genuine threat facing the entire West, because it starts against Jews, but it will not stop there.”
Kalner added: “The recent sanctions imposed by European states against Jews in Judea and Samaria are antisemitic. When sanctions are directed against the Jewish state and the people of the Bible returning to the land of the Bible—that is a double standard, hypocrisy, and modern antisemitism. Israel stands on the front line in the battle between civilization and barbarism. Europe must stand with the State of Israel out of commitment to truth and justice, but also because we are fighting Europe’s battle.”
Likely Supreme Court President Michael Kleiner warned against the collateral economic fallout of international punitive actions: “The sanctions imposed by 12 countries, led by the United Kingdom, against Judea and Samaria are a double-edged sword. Those who will primarily suffer are tens of thousands of Palestinians who earn their livelihood working for Jewish enterprises in Israel and Judea and Samaria.
Consider the boycott campaign against SodaStream: the plant relocated to the Arava and remained unharmed, but 500 Arab workers lost their livelihood. They were forced to seek work in the Palestinian Authority at vastly lower wages. The factories will not shut down, but these sanctions directly compromise workers’ sustenance.”
Samaria Governor Yossi Dagan stated in his address to the assembled leaders: “On behalf of all residents in Samaria, the cradle of the Bible and the beating heart of the Land of Israel, on behalf of all citizens of Israel, and on behalf of our genuine partners worldwide, I wish to express our gratitude.
“It is an honor to share our appreciation with you, particularly during these challenging times of global conflict. We are fighting together against a common adversary: the unholy coalition between radical Islamists and radical progressives. We are fighting to protect Europe. We are fighting to protect Israel. We are fighting to safeguard the future of Western civilization as a whole. We stand united against barbaric terrorist assaults, and we stand united against the campaign of delegitimization and deception. We possess the strength to prevail because we recognize just how critical this battle is for the future of the entire world.”
Just days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s arrival at the United Nations General Assembly, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is seeking to defuse escalating tensions. At a press conference Wednesday evening, Mamdani said he has no intention of participating in demonstrations planned against Netanyahu across the city. The clarification comes following months in which the mayor launched blistering rhetorical attacks against the Israeli prime minister, branded him a “war criminal,” and even directed the city’s legal counsel to examine whether municipal authorities possessed the legal jurisdiction to arrest him upon landing.
Zohran Mamdani, Mayor of New York | Photo: Shutterstock
Asked directly whether he intends to demonstrate personally or encourage residents to take to the streets, Mamdani replied: “I have no intention of taking part in any protest at the UN General Assembly. I have never encouraged New Yorkers to protest; rather, I stated that they have a democratic right to do so under the First Amendment.” The mayor added that City Hall remains in continuous coordination with the NYPD and that, as of now, no concrete security threats have been identified heading into the high-level diplomatic week.
Mamdani’s updated stance marks a notable shift in tone from his aggressive posture in July, when he said the city’s Law Department was reviewing legal avenues to enforce the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant against Netanyahu. He was subsequently forced to concede that the city lacks any “independent legal authority” to execute such an arrest, ultimately calling on the federal government to intervene and expressing sympathy for residents disappointed that Netanyahu would not be detained.
Netanyahu | Photo: Tsafrir Abayov, Flash90
Despite the mayor’s public remarks, security agencies are bracing for an exceptionally volatile week. Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, noted that the Israeli mission is preparing for unusually intense and disruptive demonstrations surrounding the visit.
Netanyahu is scheduled to land next week at Newark Liberty International Airport and proceed under an airtight security escort into Manhattan, with the United States Secret Service working in close coordination alongside the NYPD to oversee the massive protective operation.
In a significant diplomatic achievement for Israel’s Binyamin Regional Council and the Yesha Council, Governor Yisrael Ganz received the annual “Covenant Award” in Jerusalem from the All Nations Convocation during a major international conference of Christian government leaders, parliamentarians, and senior delegates from around the world.
Photo: Binyamin Regional Council
Presenting the honor, organizational leaders commended Ganz’s steadfast leadership and advocacy for communities across Judea and Samaria, noting the award recognized his defense of the biblical heartland. Ganz received the honor directly from Tom Hess, the organization’s founder and president, before delivering a keynote address laying out his strategic vision for the region’s development and expanding international support networks. In his remarks, Ganz directly addressed American foreign policy and the historic milestones achieved under President Donald Trump, emphasizing that decisions long labeled by foreign policy establishments as unfeasible were proven entirely achievable:
“President Trump moved the American embassy to Jerusalem when every expert on earth assured him that the sky would fall. The sky did not fall,” Ganz declared. “He recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights when people told him it was impossible. The maps were simply redrawn. Mr. President, the work is not finished. For years, governments have acted against the heartland of the Bible. One act of American recognition of Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria would close a question that the world has deliberately left open for fifty-nine years.”
Photo: The White House
Ganz stressed that the strategic window must be seized immediately: “Not after the next election. Not after the next conference. Not after another generation of our children pays the price of delay. Recognize Israeli sovereignty in the heartland of the country, and see how quickly other nations around the world will recognize reality and adopt the clear language that reflects it. The timing is never right. It was not right in 1967, it was not right in 1993, and it will never be right, because the people raising the objection do not want the timing to improve.”
The Covenant Award is presented annually to prominent Israeli officials and public leaders. Past recipients include government ministers, ambassadors, and municipal leaders such as Gilad Erdan, Yariv Levin, Gideon Sa’ar, Danny Danon, Amichai Chikli, Eli Cohen, and Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion. Emphasizing that he viewed the recognition as a collective tribute, Ganz noted: “I accept this award on behalf of the 85,000 residents of Binyamin, on behalf of the soldiers who guard them, and on behalf of a generation that has decided to stop apologizing for coming home.”
Council officials said the recognition reflects years of coordinated diplomatic outreach through Binyamin’s International Desk, which routinely hosts foreign delegations, builds parliamentary ties, fights international delegitimization, and drives economic and infrastructural development across the region.
The Ali Taher Ridge, the most fortified, strategic, and significant target Hezbollah built in southern Lebanon over the past twenty years, no longer exists. The IDF destroyed the terror organization’s underground “terror city” down to the dust after months of grueling combat against guerrilla cells and suicide drones deployed to defend Hezbollah’s last major stronghold in the area.
The destruction of Hezbollah’s underground infrastructure in Baal-e-Taher | Photo: Use under Article 27A
For two decades, Hezbollah worked to transform the ridge into a fortified underground city. From this complex, the terrorist organization planned attacks against Israel, including major raids that were ultimately never carried out, as well as operations against IDF forces since Oct. 8.
The ridge’s immense strategic importance stemmed from its geography and topography. Stretching approximately 10 kilometers, it is located southeast of the city of Nabatieh and north of the Litani River, just 15 kilometers from the Israeli border as the crow flies. Its peaks rise to approximately 697 meters above sea level, while the mountainous terrain—made up of rock, limestone, cliffs and forested areas—provided terrorists with commanding positions and natural concealment.
New details released by the IDF reveal that the operation was less a frontal assault than a slowly tightening noose. Small commando teams moved covertly through the dense terrain surrounding the ridge, gradually destroying Hezbollah’s surveillance cameras, explosives and logistical positions without the terrorists fully realizing how close Israeli forces had come. Egoz soldiers then spent hours concealed in the brush intercepting supplies bound for the underground complex—including food, water, fuel, batteries and even cigarettes—while preventing supply drones from reaching the tunnel entrances. As the encirclement tightened and supplies dwindled, some Hezbollah terrorists attempted to flee the tunnels, only to emerge toward Israeli forces waiting outside.
Underground tunnels beneath Beaufort Ridge and Ali Taher | Photo: IDF Spokesperson
What lay beneath the ridge was far more than a network of tunnels. The sprawling underground complex served Hezbollah’s Badr Unit, responsible for operations across southwestern Lebanon, and included command centers, weapons depots, generator rooms, living quarters, showers and a kitchen designed to allow terrorists to remain underground for extended periods. The IDF said troops discovered dozens of Iranian-made rockets, missiles and anti-tank weapons, UAVs, machine guns and hundreds of mines and explosive devices inside infrastructure built over two decades with Iranian funding and planning.
The operation reached its climax with a demolition on an extraordinary scale. Israeli forces used more than 1,100 tons of explosives to bring down the underground complex, according to senior military officials cited by Israeli media. The resulting blast was so powerful that the U.S. Geological Survey registered a magnitude-4.1 seismic event in the area. Commanders on the ground described the moments before the button was pressed as among the tensest of the entire war. Only after the massive blast and mushroom cloud erupted did “the air return to their lungs,” as the forces moved on to their next missions.
Live destruction of Ali Taher | Photo: IDF Spokesperson
The destruction of the Ali Taher Ridge marks the breaking of the largest and most significant stronghold Hezbollah maintained in southern Lebanon. But the IDF stresses that despite the major achievement, significant Hezbollah infrastructure remains—and the mission is not yet complete.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar held a trilateral diplomatic summit today (Wednesday) in New York with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, centered on a series of steps to upgrade relations between Israel and Morocco. Among other measures, the sides committed to working toward upgrading their existing diplomatic missions to embassies, appointing ambassadors, expanding direct flights and advancing reciprocal high-level visits—following a lengthy period without the kind of public visits by senior Israeli officials to the kingdom seen before the war.
The Trilateral Summit | Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
During the trilateral summit, the three countries reaffirmed their commitment to advancing a series of measures aimed at deepening Israel-Morocco relations. One of the most significant steps agreed upon is an upgrade in diplomatic relations through elevating the existing missions to embassies and appointing ambassadors.
Israel and Morocco also agreed to finalize agreements on investment protection and the prevention of double taxation by the end of 2026. The move is intended to facilitate mutual investment and expand economic and business ties between the two countries.
The Trilateral Summit | Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
At the same time, the sides agreed to expand direct flights between Israel and Morocco to include flights operated by Moroccan airlines. According to the agreements, the move is expected to take effect within the coming weeks. Another component involves the resumption of direct diplomatic meetings: the sides agreed to hold reciprocal high-level visits in the coming months. Later today, Sa’ar is expected to meet Bourita for a one-on-one bilateral meeting.
Foreign Minister Sa’ar said: “The friendship between the Moroccan people and the Jewish people has deep roots and a glorious history. The declaration we signed today details practical ways to upgrade ties between Israel and Morocco for the benefit of both peoples, and we will work diligently to implement it.”
The agreements take on added significance in light of the trajectory of relations between the two countries in recent years. Following the renewal of diplomatic relations under the trilateral agreement with the United States in December 2020, ties gained significant momentum, including cooperation in defense, economics, transportation and tourism, as well as a series of diplomatic visits.
As recently as 2023, Israeli ministers and senior officials were still visiting Morocco. Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana traveled to Rabat in June of that year for a historic official visit, during which he met with senior Moroccan officials and signed a memorandum of understanding on parliamentary cooperation. Interior Minister Moshe Arbel also visited the kingdom that month and met with his Moroccan counterpart.
Since the outbreak of the war following the Oct. 7 massacre, however, the public face of the relationship has changed, and the high-level diplomatic visits that previously characterized relations have not continued on the same scale. Against that backdrop, the new commitment to reciprocal senior-level visits in the coming months could signal an effort to restore the public dimension of the relationship as well.
The New York summit was held one day after an event hosted by Waltz at his residence marking the sixth anniversary of the Abraham Accords, attended by representatives from the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Israel and the United States.
גשר המיתרים בירושלים מואר בצבעי דגל מרוקו | צילום: ארנון בוסאני
Israel thanked the United States for its role in facilitating the summit and its efforts to strengthen ties with Morocco. The test now will be implementing the lengthy list of measures agreed upon by the sides—chief among them upgrading the diplomatic missions to embassies, appointing ambassadors and renewing high-level diplomatic visits between the two countries.
The Central District Court in Lod today (Wednesday) sentenced Alexander Granovsky of Petah Tikva to 13.5 years in prison after he was convicted of offenses against state security for maintaining prolonged contact with an Iranian agent and carrying out a series of assignments on his behalf. Granovsky confessed and was convicted of contact with a foreign agent, providing information to the enemy, defacing property and arson. Under an agreement between the parties, he will serve 13.5 years in prison, in addition to a suspended sentence.
Espionage | Photo: Shutterstock
According to the indictment, Granovsky communicated with the Iranian agent through Telegram and carried out various assignments on his behalf. Among other things, he filmed power station facilities and the neighborhood where Knesset member Benny Gantz lives, sending the footage to the agent. He was also accused of setting fire to nine vehicles, spray-painting graffiti, receiving instructions to destroy IDF uniforms and serving as an intermediary in an attempt to recruit people with criminal records to carry out violent acts.
According to prosecutors, Granovsky followed instructions designed to conceal his identity and prevent his activities from being discovered. He was aware that the person with whom he was communicating was acting on behalf of an entity hostile to Israel, but continued cooperating with him, even proposing additional assignments himself and asking to be given more significant missions. In return for his activities, Granovsky received thousands of dollars through a digital wallet.
Photo: Shutterstock
Prosecutors noted that the 13.5-year sentence is the harshest imposed to date in the series of cases involving Israelis who established contact with Iranian agents through social media and carried out assignments on their behalf.
About a month ago, Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s envoy and son-in-law, visited Israel and laid out a timetable for beginning the disarmament of Gaza’s terrorist organizations. Now, just two days before the date set by Kushner, a direct confrontation is emerging between the Board of Peace and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Jared Kushner | Photo: Aloni Mor, News 14
Board of Peace officials are furious over Israel’s continued targeted-killing policy and are pointing the finger at Netanyahu, accusing him of putting political considerations ahead of the process and throwing obstacles in its path. According to the officials, Netanyahu refused to commit to suspending the hunt for Nukhba terrorists even for 14 days.
Under the current circumstances, Board of Peace officials say, Israel’s targeted-killing policy makes it impossible to launch the Hamas disarmament process, and they do not intend to attempt to begin it until after Israel’s elections. From the American perspective, the alternative to the Board of Peace’s 15-point plan is Israeli military rule in Gaza—an option that has already been presented to Netanyahu.
Netanyahu signs on joining the Peace Council, archive | Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO
The dispute reflects a broader point of friction that has persisted for weeks. Board of Peace officials have pushed for Israel to give the disarmament framework an opportunity to produce tangible results, while Netanyahu has insisted that Israel retain the freedom to strike threats in Gaza. Previous talks also exposed disagreement over how broadly Israel should define an “imminent threat,” even as both sides agreed that Hamas must ultimately be disarmed. On the ground, Israel is continuing its targeted-killing policy and hunting down those who took part in the Oct. 7 massacre, including senior terrorists such as the head of Hamas’s Jabalia Battalion and the heads of its Khan Yunis and Rafah brigades, who were eliminated over the past week.
צילום: חיים גולדברג, פלאש 90
A Board of Peace official said: “We are no less skeptical of Hamas than anyone else. That is exactly why the proposal we presented to Israel about 45 days ago was built on verification, not promises: 14 days without targeted killings, during which Hamas halts all military activity and rearmament, and then hands over all weapons and tunnels and withdraws from governing Gaza. If it does not—Israel is entitled to finish the job, with international legitimacy. Win-win.”
That approach broadly reflects the framework Board officials have publicly promoted: Hamas’s weapons and military infrastructure would be decommissioned under international supervision, while Israel would retain the right to act if Hamas returned to terrorism, violence or attempted to rearm.
Peace Council meeting, archive | Photo: Reuters
The official added: “Prime Minister Netanyahu rejected the proposal, and Hamas’s seriousness was never put to the test. Since then, Hamas has continued to rearm, while occasional targeted killings do not produce a decisive outcome and do not solve the central problem: Hamas’s continued rule in Gaza. The objective of the Board of Peace and President Trump is clear—a demilitarized Gaza without Hamas rule. We are 100% with Israel on that objective, but achieving it requires full coordination with President Trump, not a return to the policy that existed before Oct. 7.”
Netanyahu’s office has chosen not to respond to the allegations.
