Aug. 23: Shin Bet chief confirms he’s behind decision not to provide Eisenkot with security detail

US envoy Barrack tries to downplay his comment that Israel occupies Golan, which defied US policy

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks in a panel during the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, in Antalya, southern Turkey, on April 17, 2026. (AP/Riza Ozel)

The US special envoy to Syria and ambassador to Turkey attempts to walk back his comments from two days ago that Israel “still” occupies the Golan Heights, in violation of UN resolutions, remarks that went against US President Donald Trump’s position on the disputed territory.

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Six Day War and annexed it in 1981. The UN considers the territory occupied Syrian land.

In 2019, Trump recognized Israeli sovereignty over the territory, reversing decades of US policy.

Ambassador Tom Barrack said in a Friday interview with Lebanese-Australian entrepreneur Mario Nawfal that “in the Golan, with Syria, they still occupy the Golan against the UN resolutions, against all the international order, which has said the Golan is Syria’s.”

Barrack now claims that was a description of the territory’s historical status, “not an endorsement of the United Nations’ position” on the Golan.

“United States policy on the Golan was set by President Trump in 2019 and is unchanged,” he says in a statement to The Associated Press.

He says he intended to explain why he does not anticipate annexation in Lebanon, where Israeli forces are occupying parts of the south to dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure. He also says he had meant to argue that negotiated agreements, rather than territorial maps, are more durable and that he had cited the Golan as an example that “territory taken by force remains contested for generations.”

In response to the Friday interview, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Barrack’s remarks were “full of inaccuracies” and included “positions that contradict the position of US President Trump.”

Barrack’s comments on the Golan also sparked a backlash in Washington. Florida Republican Senator Rick Scott wrote on X that the ambassador appeared to have “forgotten” Trump’s recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the territory.

Hamas: Kites that reached Israel are ‘children’s toys from refugee camps’

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem warns in a statement against “the occupation’s [Israel’s] threats over what it calls the ‘launching of kites,'” adding that the kites are “children’s toys in the refugee camps [in Gaza].”

This is Hamas’s first public comment on the kites launched from Gaza.

In recent days, several such kites have been found in Israel after apparently crossing over from the Gaza Strip. So far, no explosives or incendiary materials have been found attached to them.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Hamas that the IDF would “intensify strikes” against those responsible for launching kites from Gaza toward Israeli border communities, and evacuate areas of the Strip.

Qassem says that “these threats are based on fabricated pretexts and are an attempt to justify the continuation of the aggression and violations against our people. We call on the US administration, the mediating countries and the Board of Peace to stop the unchecked aggression against our people and the destruction of the ceasefire framework.”

Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.

Report: Ra’am party tells Zionist opposition chiefs it won’t demand Palestine recognition in coalition talks

Ra’am chairman MK Mansour Abbas addresses party delegates at their convention in Taibe, August 22, 2026. (Facebook)

After drawing rebuke yesterday from various Zionist parties by calling on Israel to recognize an “independent Palestinian state,” Ra’am party chief Mansour Abbas has reassured leaders of the so-called “change bloc” opposed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that this will not be translated into a political demand during potential coalition talks after the October 27 election, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

According to most opinion polls, the anti-Netanyahu bloc is likely to fall short of a parliamentary majority, and will likely need to team up with the Islamist Ra’am to form a coalition.

Ra’am has recently taken steps to depart from its religious roots and emphasize a civic identity, making it more palatable as a potential coalition partner to right-wing opposition parties. It could even recognize Israel as a Jewish state if Jewish candidate Yoav Segalovitz ends up being a candidate on its slate, which Kan says is close to being finalized.

However, Abbas declared during a speech Saturday to party delegates at their convention in Tayibe that a Palestinian state is already “a reality, which most of the world recognizes, with the exception of the United States and Israel.”

“We want them to recognize it, and we’ll work to achieve peace, rapprochement and an end to the occupation and conflict,” Abbas declared, calling Arab-Israelis “a bridge for achieving peace.”

Yashar party chief and election frontrunner Gadi Eisenkot of the opposition rebuked Abbas yesterday, stating that “there is no Palestinian state, and in the government we form, a Palestinian state will not be established.”

Subsequently, Kan reports without citing sources, that Abbas has conveyed messages to Zionist opposition party chiefs that while his words reflected Ra’am’s principal stance, the party will not demand any sort of recognition of a Palestinian state or a similar declaration as a condition for joining a coalition.

IDF says it identified ‘suspicious aerial target’ over Gaza border, but it was false alarm

The military says it identified a “suspicious aerial target” over the southern portion of the border with the Gaza Strip, but a short while later confirmed that it was a “false identification.”

“There is no fear of a security incident,” the army adds.

Poll shows Winter’s new party has potential to enter Knesset, sink Smotrich’s party

A new opinion poll by the Kan public broadcaster shows that ex-IDF general Ofer Winter’s fledgling right-wing party, set to be formally launched this week, has the potential to pass the electoral threshold, if several other candidates who are widely reported to be set to join him end up doing so.

Winter’s party gets 2.5% of the vote, failing to pass the 3.25% threshold, in the main survey, whose results are: 24 seats for Gadi Einsekot’s Yashar, 22 for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud, 14 for Naftali Bennett’s B’Yachad, 10 for The Democrats, 9 each for Otzma Yehudit and Yisrael Beytenu, 8 for United Torah Judaism, 7 each for Shas and Hadash-Ta’al-Balad, and 5 each for Ra’am and Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism.

The pro-Netanyahu bloc gets 51 seats in the 120-member Knesset, the Zionist anti-Netanyahu bloc gets 57, and the predominantly Arab parties get 12, meaning a longstanding deadlock persists unless the anti-Netanyahu bloc teams up with Ra’am.

But Winter’s party manages to enter the Knesset in a scenario in which his party recruits Arab-Israeli right-wing activist Yoseph Haddad, bereaved mother Laly Derai, and journalist Netali Shem Tov. All three are reportedly on the cusp of formally joining the party.

In that scenario, Winter’s party gets 5 seats and Smotrich’s Religious Zionism falls to 3.0%, failing to enter the parliament. In addition, the scenario puts Otzma Yehudit one seat down, to 8, and hands it to Yisrael Beytenu (10), putting the pro-Netanyahu bloc down to 45, or 50 if Winter teams up with it.

Hezbollah said to be exploiting ceasefire to increase arms smuggling from Syria

Israel’s defense establishment has recently identified an increase in Hezbollah’s attempts to smuggle weapons from Syria into Lebanon, as the terror group works to rearm and rebuild under cover of the ongoing ceasefire, Channel 12 reports.

A security official cited by the network says Iran is financing and operating the smuggling network through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, which continues to oversee the transfer of weapons into Hezbollah’s hands.

While the Syrian and Lebanese armies have publicized several weapons seizures over recent months, Israeli security officials reportedly assess that many other shipments are successfully reaching Lebanon undetected.

“Hezbollah is exploiting the ceasefire to build up its strength, and there has therefore been an increase in smuggling attempts through Syria,” a security official tells Channel 12. “We assess that many shipments are getting through without being detected.”

Israel bars 2 Swedish MEPs from entering country over alleged anti-Israel activity

Israel will bar two Swedish members of the European Parliament from entering the country over what the Foreign Ministry describes as anti-Israel activity, the ministry says in a statement.

According to the statement, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar asked the Population and Immigration Authority to deny entry to Jonas Sjöstedt and Hanna Gedin, both members of Sweden’s Left Party, under the Law for Entry into Israel, which stipulates that foreign nationals can be denied entry into Israel if they publicly call for a boycott of Israel; deny the Holocaust; deny the October 7, 2023, massacres; or publicly support putting Israeli citizens on trial in foreign courts for war crimes.

The two lawmakers, who were due to arrive in Israel tonight, had allegedly planned to visit Palestinian Authority-controlled areas.

Sa’ar’s office says Sjöstedt and Gedin have “consistently acted against Israel” in recent years, including by “calling for the advancement of international legal proceedings against Israelis.”

It also accuses the two lawmakers of spreading “false accusations” against Israel, including allegations of genocide and deliberate starvation in Gaza, as well as claims that Israel intentionally targets children and medical personnel.

New moderate Haredi party launches as alternative to UTJ’s and Shas’s ‘detachment and stupidity’; IDF service for all who don’t learn full-time

The Haredi Public party chairman Moti Leitner addresses supporters at the moderate ultra-Orthodox party’s campaign launch in Beit Shemesh, August 23, 2026. (Sam Sokol/The Times of Israel)

Beit Shemesh Deputy Mayor Moti Leitner officially launches his new moderate ultra-Orthodox party’s Knesset campaign at an event in the city, arguing that the current Haredi political leadership has “forgotten what responsibility means.”

The new party, dubbed The Haredi Public, is meant to compete with the long-established Shas and United Torah Judaism, advocating secular studies, workforce participation, and IDF conscription for anybody who does not learn full-time in yeshiva. It has yet to announce its full electoral slate.

“For the past three years, the State of Israel has been at war on multiple fronts against enemies who rise against us to destroy us, a war that began with the terrible massacre that reminded every single one of us what responsibility truly is. Thousands of Haredim stepped up and enlisted, coming to assist and trying to help in any way they could, yet it seems the heavy disasters passed over the heads of the detached political leadership,” Leitner says.

“When a party leader danced to the tunes of ‘We do not believe in the rule of heretics’ at the very same time the entire nation of Israel received news of the fall of holy fighters in battle, that was not a mistake; it was a policy” of “detachment and stupidity,” he adds, referring to a 2025 incident in which United Torah Judaism chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf was filmed dancing to an anti-Zionist, anti-enlistment song at his nephew’s wedding.

The Haredi public is currently facing an “existential danger” and the “last four years have proven that a vote for United Torah Judaism and Shas is a vote for the bullies of the Jerusalem Faction,” Leitner asserts, referring to the extreme anti-Zionist sect holding regular protests and riots against any ultra-Orthodox conscription.

“To fight poverty, we will work to ensure our children acquire basic life skills and study math and English at a high level. We will work to expand appropriate educational frameworks, vocational training, and employment opportunities. We will replace the politics of poverty — which fights against providing tools for job market integration — and implement a plan that enables a life of Torah grounded in honorable livelihood and financial independence,” Leiner declares, standing next to an Israeli flag and a party flag bearing the slogan “This time we are taking responsibility.”

Speaking with reporters, the ultra-Orthodox politician, whose party is currently polling well under the electoral threshold, says that he intends to be part of the next government as part of the pro-Netanyahu bloc. Leitner denies, when asked by The Times of Israel, a media report from earlier this month that his faction was established with the help of associates of Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot. Asked about reports that he is in talks with former longtime Shas minister and chairman Eli Yishai, Leitner replies that he is in touch with multiple political actors.

Ahead of the campaign launch, organizers sent messages to participants asking them not to publicly share the address of the venue to prevent disruptions by Haredi extremists.

High Court blocks appointments to new government-backed police watchdog, in blow to Levin

Justice Minister Yariv Levin attends a Likud party conference ahead of the party’s primary elections in the northern city of Haifa, August 16, 2026. (Sharon Leibel/Flash90)

The High Court of Justice issues a temporary injunction blocking Justice Minister Yariv Levin from making appointments to a newly politicized Department of Internal Police Investigations (DIPI), which is in charge of probing police wrongdoing.

The injunction says “no new actions will be taken to advance the relevant appointments” until after the court reaches an interim ruling on petitions against legislation that the government pushed through in July to establish the new DIPI.

The temporary injunction comes a week after the August 16 deadline for the Justice Ministry tender to find a director of the new DIPI.

The DIPI is a Justice Ministry department that investigates police misconduct. It answers to the state attorney, who is a civil servant, rather than the justice minister, who is a politician. The legislation that passed in July would put the DIPI directly under the control of the justice minister.

In a High Court filing earlier this month, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara called on judges to halt senior appointments to the new DIPI, and expressed concern that an unduly politicized DIPI would intimidate law enforcement and harm the state’s ability to ensure the integrity of the upcoming October 27 election.

IDF arrests 4 Palestinian terror suspects in Ramallah area, including 2 affiliated with ISIS

Four wanted Palestinians, including two affiliated with the Islamic State jihadist movement, were apprehended by Israeli commandos over the weekend, the military says.

The IDF says soldiers of the Duvdevan Commando Unit operated in the Ramallah area and detained four Palestinians who were wanted for “advancing terror activities.”

They included two affiliated with Islamic State, and one affiliated with Hamas, according to the army.

The soldiers also captured three M16 assault rifles amid the raid, the IDF adds.

مقاتلو وحدة دوفدفان اعتقلوا أربعة مطلوبين في لواء بنيامين: من بينهم عناصر ينتمون إلى منظمتي حماس وداعش الإرهابيتين

⭕️خلال نهاية الأسبوع الماضي، عمل مقاتلو وحدة دوفدفان في عدد من الأنشطة الهجومية في أنحاء لواء بنيامين.

⭕️في إطار النشاط، اعتقل المقاتلون أربعة مطلوبين عملوا على… pic.twitter.com/tef338ehJJ

— Lieutenant Colonel Ella Waweya | إيلا واوية (@CaptainElla1) August 23, 2026

Shin Bet chief Zini confirms he’s behind decision not to provide Eisenkot with security detail

Shin Bet head David Zini confirms that he made a decision not to provide an armed security detail for Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot.

The statement by the security agency comes after Channel 12 reported yesterday that Zini had denied a request to provide such a security detail, and hours after Central Elections Committee chairman Noam Sohlberg said Zini had informed the panel that there is no intelligence suggesting there are attempts to harm Eisenkot.

However, some have accused Sohlberg of being behind the decision.

“The decision on not attaching a security detail to Mr. Eisenkot was made by the Shin Bet head, and he is solely responsible for this issue,” the statement says, adding that before making the decision, Zini consulted with professionals, including Sohlberg.

Mossad chief meets Syrian FM in effort to defuse tensions after IDF’s airbase strike — report

Mossad chief Roman Gofman and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani held a meeting today to defuse tensions between their countries after Israel’s recent strike on a Syrian airbase, two sources with knowledge of the matter tell Axios.

The report does not mention the location of the meeting.

The strike, which Jerusalem said it carried out after Damascus failed to heed Israeli warnings against the potential deployment of Turkish troops at the airbase, has dramatically escalated tensions between the countries, and drew harsh criticism from Ankara and US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office declines to comment to Axios on the meeting, and a spokesperson for al-Shaibani does not immediately respond to a request for comment from the outlet.

Man shot dead near Caesarea identified as head of Israel’s Caucasian mob

The man shot dead in Caesarea this afternoon is identified as Yanis Yushvaev, who is described in Hebrew media as the head of the Caucasus Jewish mafia in Israel.

Footage of the shooting shows a man in a hoodie and cap walking up to a business at a gas station at the Caesarea Junction, pulling out a pistol and shooting Yushvaev point-blank as Yushvaev and two other men walk out.

חיסול מטווח אפס: הנרצח ליד קיסריה – יאניס יושבייב, "ראש המאפיה הקווקזית"https://t.co/QJEfI8tay9@karinkabessa pic.twitter.com/LkXzus9Q4J

— חדשות 13 (@newsisrael13) August 23, 2026

Yushvaev, 40, was repeatedly arrested over the past several years on suspicion of involvement in shootings, grenade attacks and car burnings, but was never convicted.

He was most recently arrested in February at Ben Gurion Airport upon returning from Moscow, but was released within days.

הנרצח סמוך לקיסריה הוא יאניס יושבייב – ראש המאפיה הקווקזית pic.twitter.com/P28QYtXdgv

— כל החדשות בזמן אמת (@Saher_News_24_7) August 23, 2026

Yushvaev, a resident of the central town of Or Akiva who owned restaurants in the area, said in an interview with Channel 12 in October that he “is a legitimate businessman” who is “very well-established, and drives a Bentley, and that bothers police.”

Police sources cited in the same article said Yushvaev “almost never talks on the phone” because he knew he was being wiretapped, and commanded the “complete loyalty” of his associates in the Hadera area, who would remain silent in interrogations.

“It’s hard to convict him, and that’s frustrating,” said one unnamed senior police officer at the time.

Netanyahu orders IDF to ‘do everything’ against ‘lethal’ drone threat after Gaza kite launches

Soldiers seen inspecting a kite, flown from the Gaza Strip, in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, August 22, 2026. (Social media, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has directed the defense establishment and the IDF to do “everything” to confront what he calls the “lethal” threat of drones to Israel, following the launching of kites from the Gaza Strip in recent days.

“We have been working for several years on a solution to the drone threat. We are the most advanced in the world, but this is a global problem,” Netanyahu says in a video message, saying the weapons have been used in Ukraine and Lebanon, “and now they are trying to renew this threat and bring it into Gaza.”

While Netanyahu doesn’t mention the incident directly, he appears to be drawing a connection between recent kite launches from Gaza and the broader threat posed by armed drones.

At least four kites were flown from Gaza to Kibbutz Nahal Oz over the weekend. The army said nothing suspicious was found on the kites and there was no danger to the public, but many have associated the objects with the Gazan kites and balloons carrying incendiary devices that plagued southern Israel in previous years.

“My directive to the defense establishment and the IDF is to do everything against this lethal weapon — to strike it, to strike those operating it, to strike the place from which it was launched, to do everything in order to protect our citizens in the Gaza border communities and everywhere else,” the premier says.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said earlier today he had instructed the IDF to “act forcefully” against the launching of kites.

Netanyahu and Katz have been increasingly outspoken about the threat of drones in recent months.

Earlier this month, Channel 12 reported that Israel’s defense establishment had identified a significant increase in attempts by terror groups to launch explosive drones – including fiber-optic drones – within Israel toward targets across the country, with officials said to warn that there was no effective operational solution to the emerging threat.

Fiber-optic drones, which are guided via a cable and therefore immune to electronic jamming, have posed a major challenge for the IDF during its operations in Lebanon, killing Israeli soldiers.

Emanuel Fabian and Stav Levaton contributed to this report.

Troops operating at home of Palestinian behind today’s West Bank stabbing terror attack

IDF troops conduct scans in the Jordan Valley area of the West Bank following a stabbing attack, August 23, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says troops are operating at the home of a Palestinian terrorist who stabbed an Israeli man in the West Bank earlier today.

The Palestinian attacked a 24-year-old Israeli who had stopped next to the village of al-Auja in the Jordan Valley for shopping, moderately injuring him, before fleeing the scene.

“At this time, IDF troops are operating in the area of his residence to locate the terrorist and interrogate his family members,” the army says.

Several reported wounded in Israeli strike in Gaza’s Khan Younis

Palestinian media reports several wounded in an Israeli strike in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza a short while ago.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

Two people, including boy, said killed in IDF strike in central Gaza

Health officials in Hamas-controlled Gaza claim that an Israeli strike has killed two people, including a four-year-old boy.

The strike hit a building in Zawayda town in the center of the enclave and followed a warning by the IDF for the owners of the property to leave the area, residents say.

Medics say flying debris and shrapnel that spread for dozens of meters around wounded at least six people, including the 4-year-old, Mohammad Abdel-Salam Taha, who was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The civil defense rescue service, which operates under Hamas authority, says another person was killed.

“The two martyrs as well as several wounded were taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah,” also in central Gaza, the civil defense tells AFP.

The IDF has not yet commented.

Man shot dead near Caesarea, police say; motive apparently not terror

A man was shot dead a short while ago near Caesarea, police say.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service gives the victim’s age as about 45 and says medics found him in critical condition with penetrating wounds at a gas station at the Caesarea Junction.

The victim was rushed to Hillel Yaffe Hospital in Hadera while medics performed CPR on him, MDA said, before police confirmed he had died.

Officers from the Hadera police station are collecting evidence at the scene and scanning the area for suspects, police say.

The shooting is “apparently criminal” in nature, rather than nationalist, according to police.

Report: 14-year-old shot dead by IDF in northern West Bank

The official Palestinian Authority news agency WAFA reports that 14-year-old Islam Ajouri was shot dead during an IDF operation in the Askar refugee camp in Nablus.

No further details about the incident are currently known.

The IDF is yet to respond.

نظرة الوداع الأخيرة..
عائلة الطفل الشهيد إسلام العجوري تودعه بعد استشهاده برصاص الاحتلال في مخيم عسكر شرق نابلس. pic.twitter.com/DmRiQJLEM3

— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) August 23, 2026

Katz set to discuss Gaza kites with IDF chief

Defense Minister Israel Katz is set to hold a discussion soon with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and other top military officials on the kites flown recently from the Gaza Strip, his office says.

Over the weekend, at least four kites flown from Gaza landed in Kibbutz Nahal Oz. The army said nothing suspicious was found on the kites and there was no danger to the public, but many have associated the objects with the Gazan kites and balloons carrying incendiary devices that plagued southern Israel in previous years.

After order to delete video, Shas assails elections committee chief’s ‘persecution’

Shas chair Aryeh Deri attends a Knesset plenum session and a vote on a bill to split the duties and powers of the attorney general, on July 15, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Shas slams Central Elections Committee chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg, who ordered the Sephardic ultra-Orthodox party to take down a campaign video featuring an IDF serviceman following a complaint by Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party.

“It is not surprising that Judge Sohlberg rushed to comply with the left-wing party led by Eisenkot and disqualified a Shas video that contains no IDF symbols or elements. The left constantly spreads propaganda against Shas on the draft issue, but when Shas presents the truth, they immediately intervene,” the party says in a statement.

“The legal persecution against the right, traditionalists, and the religiously observant is no longer surprising. You can delete a video, but you cannot delete the hundreds of thousands of families who support Shas.”

Sohlberg, who is himself religious, issued an interim order to remove the video and gave Shas two days to respond to Yashar’s petition, which alleged that the video, among other issues, constituted a violation of the prohibition against using the IDF in election propaganda.

In an apparent bid to hold onto moderate voters turned off by its hardline stance against IDF conscription, Shas last night launched its election campaign with a video featuring a family waiting for their son to arrive home from the army for Shabbat dinner. As the young soldier runs in, he is hugged by his father and brother, a full-time yeshiva student, and a message runs on the screen stating that “more than 30,000 conscripts and career soldiers voted for Shas in the last election.”

The latter figure is untrue. It is based on the counting of “double envelopes” containing the votes of those who didn’t vote near their home, including soldiers, which are usually counted after the rest of the votes nationwide have been counted. However, the double envelopes also contain the votes of other security forces, prisoners and detainees, hospital patients and workers, diplomats and envoys abroad, and people with disabilities who voted at accessible ballot stations.

The ad appeared to stand in stark contrast to Shas’s actions in recent years, with the party at the forefront of efforts to enshrine legislation that would grant ultra-Orthodox men an almost complete exemption from military service .

Elections committee chair: Shin Bet has no intel on efforts to harm Eisenkot; only Shin Bet authorized to provide security for him

Gadi Eisenkot, head of the Yashar party, attends a conference in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, July 9, 2026. (Sharon Leibel/Flash90)

Central Elections Committee chairman Noam Sohlberg says Shin Bet director David Zini has informed the panel that there is no intelligence suggesting there are attempts to harm Gadi Eisenkot, the former minister and ex-IDF chief whose Yashar party is leading in most opinion polls ahead of the October 27 election.

The statement by the deputy president of the Supreme Court comes after a Channel 12 report yesterday that Zini has denied the request to provide an armed security detail for Eisenkot.

“The Shin Bet director says there is no intelligence on harm to Eisenkot — and he is the professional authority on this issue,” Sohlberg says, clarifying that the elections committee is “not authorized” to intervene.

“If there are alerts on any kind of intention to harm the head of the Yashar party, the Shin Bet head will inform me,” he adds.

Iran dismisses US threat of ‘toughest sanctions ever’ as sign of desperation

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismisses the threat of new US sanctions as a sign of desperation, saying the expected new measures will fail to defeat Tehran.

Describing what he says are “repetitive scenarios,” Araghchi says in a video posted on Telegram: “The fact that they (US leaders) have moved on from military operations… to bring up the same old plans shows that they are desperate.”

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is due to hold a press conference Monday afternoon, has threatened to impose “the toughest sanctions in history” on Iran.

Araghchi says Washington must speak to Iran respectfully to find “a solution based on justice and honor.”

“We have never been afraid. All of their actions — whether blockades or other military moves they have made — have failed, and this new issue of theirs will fail as well,” he adds.

Separate probes to look into causes of airport snarl

Following Thursday’s temporary halt of operations at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, Transportation Minister Miri Regev’s office announces that she has ordered an inquiry into the circumstances that led to the chaos at the country’s main gateway.

The Transportation Ministry describes the probe as external but does not provide  details about who will undertake the inquiry or what its goals or timeline are.

Ben Gurion Airport was thrown into bedlam on Thursday after a two-hour wildcat strike triggered hours of delays and flight cancellations, though labor figures have denied ordering a strike and say mismanagement of the airport led to rampant overcrowding and understaffing, triggering the shutdown of operations.

Separately, the Israel Airports Authority announces it formed an internal review committee to examine the sequence of events that led to the “crisis” at Ben Gurion Airport on Thursday. The internal committee will be headed by the Israel Airports Authority’s internal auditor, assisted by an independent professional, the authority announces in a statement.

The committee has been instructed to reach preliminary findings by the end of this week, the authority adds.

Stabbing attack occurred with victim’s kids, pregnant wife in car, family says

Shlomo and Yosef Hananya, brothers of stabbing victim Elhanan Hananya, speak to the media at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, August 23, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The victim of a West Bank stabbing attack was a career soldier on his way to Tiberias for a family vacation when he was assaulted, his brothers tell the media.

Elhanan Hananya suffered a broken shoulder and internal bleeding, his brothers Yosef and Shlomo Hananaya say at a press conference at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.

The attack occurred in front of his pregnant wife, their two daughters and his father-in-law, who were in the car when he stopped in Al-Auja for cigarettes.

“When he came back to the car, there was a terrorist there who ambushed him,” one of the brothers says. “When he saw my brother’s back was turned, he jumped on him and stabbed him several times. He fought him and was in a panic over the kids… the bigger daughter saw everything that happened.”

Airstrike reported in central Gaza

Palestinian media reports an Israeli airstrike in the Strip’s center a short while ago.

The strike took place near the town of az-Zawayda, close to central Gaza’s Maghazi camp.

The IDF has not yet commented.

#عاجل| طيران الاحتلال يشن غارة على بلدة الزوايدة وسط قطاع غزة. pic.twitter.com/kFgCxn9ET5

— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) August 23, 2026

Former Labor party head Yachimovich reveals cancer diagnosis

Labor MK Shelly Yachimovich, speaks during a press conference in Tel Aviv on March 19, 2019. (Flash90)

Former Labor party head and opposition leader Shelly Yachimovich announces that she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer late last year and is undergoing regular chemotherapy.

Yachimovich, who led Labor from 2011 to 2013, retired from politics in 2019.

“Eight months ago, my life suddenly changed. A cancerous tumor was found in my pancreas. Luckily, I was diagnosed early, without metastases, and had surgery right away. Since then, the CT scan has shown for the third time that the removed tumor hasn’t returned and that there are no signs of recurrence,” Yachimovich posts on Facebook. “But pancreatic cancer is a sneaky bastard that needs to be attacked on all fronts, which is why I’m going through pretty tough chemotherapy once every two weeks.”

Airport labor boss won’t challenge move to boot him from Likud

Likud party member Pinchas Idan arrives at a Central Elections Committee meeting at the Knesset, on March 5, 2019. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)

Airport labor chief Pinchas Idan says he won’t appeal Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bid to kick him out of the Likud party, but continues to deny responsibility for a wildcat strike on Thursday that brought Ben-Gurion International Airport to a standstill and sparked widespread anger at him.

“Given that the prime minister has determined that it is actually me who is the evil cause of damage suffered by the party, I shall hereby refrain from appealing this determination,” Idan writes in a letter to Likud’s internal court.

Idan, who is also reportedly facing an ouster from his role as union boss, is a member of the Likud Central Committee who has reportedly signed up thousands of people as Likud members.

His term as union head was originally set to end in May 2026, but was extended, reportedly amid pressure on the Israel Airports Authority from senior Likud politicians.

In the letter, Idan says he did not give the order for workers to strike. “I even demanded an uncompromising investigation be launched to find who was responsible for giving this order,” he adds.

Former spy Pollard throws hat in political ring with ex-Likud member Haskel

Sharren Haskel, left, Jonathan Pollard, center and political strategist Roi Danino in front of the Western Wall in Jerusalem, in a picture distributed on August 23, 2026. (Courtesy Israel First)

Former spy Jonathan Pollard announces that he will run for Knesset as part of former deputy foreign minister Sharren Haskel’s Israel First party, declaring in a joint statement filmed at the Western Wall that “the entire country has been abandoned and betrayed” on October 7 and needs “a new government that’s dedicated to the preservation of the land and people of Israel.”

Pollard, a former US Navy intelligence analyst, spent 1985 to 2015 in US federal prison for passing secrets to Israel, in a case that caused a major rift between Jerusalem and Washington. He moved to Israel in 2020 and announced he was entering politics in May, stating that his main goal was to “unify the right.”

Many lawmakers “talk a very good game” but failed to take responsibility for Hamas’s attack, Pollard, 72, says in English, telling Haskel that “the only way we’re going to reassure ourselves that that won’t happen is if we get people like you back into responsible positions of authority in the government.”

Haskel’s new Israel First party is a member of the so-called “Third bloc” of center-right parties aimed at forcing a compromise between Likud and the Zionist opposition parties to create a broad Zionist unity government. None of the bloc’s parties have managed to pass the electoral threshold in recent polls.

Haskel, who started the party after leaving Likud, says that involvement of “Israeli hero” Pollard provides her party with a “significant boost.”

Pollard has expressed hard-right views. He called for the imprisonment of the families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza in order to silence them, and advocated for the “forcible transfer of all current residents from Gaza.”

An outspoken critic of both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former premier Naftali Bennett, Pollard has previously rejected recruitment efforts by the far-right Otzma Yehudit and Religious Zionism parties.

He briefly endorsed Ayelet Shaked’s Zionist Spirit party in 2022 before retracting his support several hours later.

Iranian president defends MOU with Trump as best way out of war, economic morass

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says the memorandum of understanding with the US was the best way for the country to move beyond what he describes as a situation of “neither war nor peace.”

In a speech published by state-run IRNA early on Sunday, he says members of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council believed the memorandum represented the best possible agreement based on what he described as dignity, wisdom and the national interest.

“There is not a single provision in this agreement that amounts to capitulation,” Pezeshkian says. “The supreme leader sets the policies, and we will follow that path.”

The deal known as the memorandum of understanding that US President Donald Trump signed in June set an ambitious 60-day deadline for ending the war with Iran and reaching an accord on its nuclear program. That period ended last week, but the two sides remain far apart, with no signs of compromise on the crucial issue of reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which is vital to global shipping.

While stressing that Tehran does not intend to back down in the face of its adversaries, Pezeshkian links the agreement to Iran’s economic prospects, saying the country cannot attract investment in this stalled phase.

“Capital and money are extremely sensitive to risk,” he says. “We have to remove this risk from the country.”

The Iranian economy is suffering under sanctions and a naval blockade that is making it extremely difficult for the country to export oil, its most valuable product.

Troops leave Qusra home blocked by settlers after clothes-tossing incident

IDF soldiers sit under a tent in front of the home of Ohio-based Palestinian American landlord Loui Abu Ridi, which has been besieged by Israeli settlers for over a week, in the West Bank village of Qusra, south of Nablus, August 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

IDF troops left a home in the village of Qusra overnight where they had been stationed for over a week after settlers besieged the residents, according to Qusai Abu Ridi, who resides in a neighboring home.

The troops had taken up residence inside the home of Yusuf Hassan, with Hassan and his family moving to another unoccupied home nearby, as part of an operation meant to protect Palestinian families from settlers who had set up an outpost that had prevented them from leaving their homes.

While troops are no longer inside the home, they remain stationed outside to prevent settlers from returning.

The move comes days after troops were filmed throwing clothes belonging to the family out of a window of the home. In the video, a soldier can also be heard telling a resident speaking to him through the window, “I am the homeowner.”

“The incident was investigated. The troops exercised poor judgment and threw items out of a building in which they were operating to defend the area. Immediately afterward, the incident was investigated and the items were collected and stored,” the IDF said Saturday.

“The conduct of the troops and the remark heard in the video are contrary to what is expected of an IDF soldier. We emphasize that in recent days, coordination was carried out with village residents under which soldiers would temporarily stay in several buildings in the area in order to enable them to maintain order and continuously prevent rioters from reaching the area,” the military added.

Over the past week, IDF forces have maintained a presence in the area to prevent settlers from rebuilding makeshift structures and again blocking access to the residents’ homes.

Though no longer hemmed in by the settlers, residents have been told that they cannot leave their homes without coordinating through their lawyer due to a closed military zone order imposed in the area.

The IDF has not responded to a Times of Israel query on the matter.

One reported killed in Gaza airstrike

Palestinian media reports one dead and several wounded in an Israeli airstrike in the central Gaza Strip this morning.

The strike took place near the Maghazi refugee camp.

The IDF tells The Times of Israel that it targeted a terror operative, with further details to be provided later.

Stabbing victim stable, awake, hospital says

An Israeli man who was stabbed near the Palestinian village of al-Auja is in stable condition and fully conscious, Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem says.

The man, 24, suffered moderate injuries and is being treated in the emergency department.

Footage of the attack showed an assailant jumping him from behind and repeatedly stabbing him as he returned to his car after visiting a shop on the side of a West Bank highway.

A manhunt for the assailant is underway.

Airport authority, workers agree on steps to deal with congestion

The arrivals hall at Ben Gurion International Airport on August 20, 2026, during a shutdown. (Avshalom Sassoni/ Flash90)

The Israel Airports Authority says it has agreed on steps with labor representatives to stabilize operations and ease congestion at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport, including having managers chip in on the ground.

The management of the Israel Airports Authority and the workers’ committee, which represents unionized workers at the airport, met this morning and have reached an understanding on a series of immediate measures to restore regular operations at Ben Gurion Airport, the authority says in a statement.

The move comes after a two-hour wildcat strike Thursday sparked extensive delays and flight cancellations at Ben Gurion Airport. Labor figures say the airport is understaffed and unable to handle the number of passengers passing through in peak travel season.

According to the authority, the workers agreed to refrain from industrial action as the airport attempts to regain full operational activity, including baggage handling, security, and ground services. To deal with staffing shortages, managerial staff will join ground services shifts, focusing on baggage handling and queue management, to relieve congestion and deal with backlogged operations.

The sides agreed that no changes will be made to existing plans to recruit new employees ahead of the Jewish Holidays next month, another busy travel period, according to the authority.

Video shows West Bank knifing as victim returned to car

Graphic footage, which has been blurred, is published by Hebrew-language media showing the moment of the stabbing attack near the Palestinian village of al-Auja this morning.

An Israeli man had stopped at a store along Route 90 when he was attacked.

The video shows the assailant waiting near the man’s car as he enters the store. When he returns to his car, the attacker rushes him from behind with a knife, stabbing him multiple times.

מתנפל על הצעיר בדקירות – ונמלט מהמקום | תיעוד הפיגוע בעוג'ה@HGoldich pic.twitter.com/o9dk6Oz2wE

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) August 23, 2026

תיעוד הפיגוע בבקעה: המחבל ממתין שהצעיר יגיע לרכב – ומתנפל מאחור בדקירות@shapira_nitzan pic.twitter.com/rpqGKx2AmJ

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) August 23, 2026

The man, 24, was taken to a hospital in moderate condition and the stabber is still at large.

Army confirms large manhunt for West Bank stabber

Troops at the scene of a stabbing attack in al-Auja in the West Bank on August 23, 2026. (IDF)

The Israeli man who was stabbed near the Palestinian village of al-Auja had stopped along the highway to purchase goods, according to a preliminary investigation by the army.

Magen David Adom says it took the 24-year-old to a hospital in moderate condition.

Meanwhile, the military says it has dispatched special forces and Israeli Air Force aircraft for the hunt for the stabber, who fled the scene.

The IDF says “numerous” troops are searching for the assailant, and roadblocks have been set up in area, including blocking entrances to al-Auja.

Katz hits back after Lapid says public criticism of Turkey unhelpful

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid leads a Yesh Atid faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on May 18, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Defense Minister Israel Katz defends the government’s public sparring with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after Opposition Leader Yair Lapid criticizes the decision to castigate Ankara as a pre-election ploy.

Speaking to Kan radio, Lapid said the leadership was correct to order strikes on airbase in northern Syria where Israel alleges that Turkish troops were preparing to establish a presence.

“In the Middle East, it’s important to carry out attacks when needed, but once you’ve attacked, be quiet,” he said. “What good is turning this into a public fight, when the Turks got the message with the strike?”

Lapid says messages following the attack could have been sent to Turkey quietly, but alleges the government wanted to score political points by loudly dunking on Ankara.

“Now, because they are elections, they have this outpouring of talking about it. What’s that good for?” he asks. “It’s heating up the exactly area we don’t need to be heated.”

In a tweet, Katz, without naming Lapid, slams those criticizing him and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for speaking out against Erdogan and Turkish entrenchment in Syria.

“It’s forbidden to anger Erdogan,” he writes, offering his imitation of critics, “as if we’re just on an evening stroll with a light breeze blowing through the treetops unconnected to anything, and Erdogan is really some lover of Zion.”

“It’s a good thing they don’t influence anything,” he adds of his critics.

Jerusalem and Ankara have come out strongly against each other in recent days, with Turkey re-issuing a genocide arrest warrant for Netanyahu and the premier’s office responding by saying that Erdogan “now seeks to extend his aggression against Israel into Syria” and calling him “an antisemitic dictator who has massacred Kurds, harbors Hamas terrorists, occupies half of Cyprus, and jails record numbers of journalists and politicians who oppose him.”

Lapid says he agrees that Turkey is no friend of Israel, but says the government’s handling of Ankara is “irresponsible.”

“Turkey is a very problematic country,” he says. “[But] we don’t have any policy regarding Turkey aside from tweets.”

Lapid’s criticism comes after US envoy Tom Barrack said in an interview over the weekend that the Israeli strike could have been an attempt by Israel to “bait” Turkey into conflict ahead of the election.

Suspect in West Bank stabbing said to be at large

Initial reports suggest that authorities are searching for the suspected attacker following a knifing of an Israeli man in the Palestinian West Bank town of al-Auja.

The town straddles a major highway traversing the Jordan Valley used by both Israelis and Palestinians.

Settlers accused of setting fire, painting graffiti in northern West Bank village

Palestinian media outlets report that a vehicle and a makeshift structure in the West Bank village of Usarin, south of Nablus were torched overnight, in what they describe as a settler attack. There are no reports of injuries.

Footage from the scene shows a structure on fire and a partially burned car.

Pictures also show graffiti in Hebrew reading, “Revenge, 30 for Benayahu,” seemingly marking 30 days since settlement security officer Benayahu Mellet was killed during an armed clash between settlers and Palestinians in the nearby village of Tell.

مستوطنون يحرقون منشأة (كوخ) ومركبة ويخطون شعارات عنصرية في قرية أوصرين جنوب نابلس. pic.twitter.com/vsW8MkklwX

— وكالة سند للأنباء – Snd News Agency (@Snd_pal) August 23, 2026

Other graffiti reads “Death to the enemy, freedom for the homeland,” a slogan used by the Lehi Jewish underground, which fought British rule in Mandatory Palestine in the 1940s.

🟨صورة |مستوطنون يحرقون مركبة ويخطون شعارات عبرية معادية خلال اقتحام أطراف قرية أوصرين جنوب نابلس pic.twitter.com/e4cb2luGxb

— شبكة يافا الإخبارية (@yaffa_ps) August 23, 2026

Iranian hackers shut down small UK power plant for days — report

A small British power plant was shut down for four days by hackers linked to the Iranian regime, the UK’s Telegraph newspaper reports, calling it the first such successful attack on vital infrastructure in the country.

According to the BBC, authorities have declined to name the plant and insist the shutdown did not put the country’s power grid at risk, but have warned power companies about the danger of cyber attacks.

The Telegraph, which does not name a source, says the attack took place last month, at the same time that water infrastructure in the US was affected by a suspected Iranian cyber attack.

“The facility was disabled for four days while staff fought to bring it back online,” the paper reports.

Israel and Turkey have covert backchannel to avoid Syria friction, source says

Israel and Turkey have established quiet backchannel contacts aimed at avoiding friction over Syria, the Kan public broadcaster reports, citing an unnamed defense official.

“Israel has no desire to turn Turkey into an enemy,” the source is quoted saying. “[But] when the messages don’t help, Israel is forced to act.”

The comments come after reports in Israel that Jerusalem had attempted to warn Ankara before striking a base in Syria last week due to the alleged deployment of Turkish troops to the base.

According to the report, Israel sees Turkish entrenchment in Syria, particularly the introduction of air defenses, drones and missiles that could challenge its air superiority, as a red line.

The comments echo Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who said Saturday night that Israel has “no interest in escalation with Turkey,” seeking to dial back tensions that ratcheted up after the Israeli strike on the al-Duhur base.

“We are committed to preserving the status quo,” Sa’ar said, adding “We will not accept the establishment of Turkish bases in Syria.”

Israel and Turkey still maintain diplomatic relations, though high-level contacts have been frozen since late 2023.

Trump again posts image depicting Strait of Hormuz as US territory

A map posted by US President Donald Trump, showing the Strait of Hormuz as a "New US Territory," August 18, 2026. (Via Truth Social)

US President Donald Trump again shares an image on his Truth Social account declaring that the Strait of Hormuz is “NEW US territory.”

The post, which has no caption, comes after the US announced that it would be imposing “the toughest sanctions in history” on Iran, in a bid to ramp up economic pressure and force an end to the stand-off over the vital strait.

Trump first shared the image on August 18, days after vowing that he would “soon” declare Hormuz a US territory.

Report: Israel told US Turkey was planning to deploy air defense system at targeted Syrian base

Israel reportedly claimed to the US that Turkey was planning to set up an air defense system on the airbase in northwest Syria that the IDF struck last week, according to the Kan public broadcaster.

According to the report, citing sources familiar with the matter, Israel told the US that if Turkey were to set up an air defense system at the Abu Duhur military airport, it would interfere with Israel’s air superiority in the region and change the balance of power.

Jerusalem claimed on Tuesday, following the overnight strikes, that Turkey was planning to deploy forces to the airbase, but did not provide any details as to the nature of the alleged Turkish military deployment.

According to Kan, Israel did not give the US an estimated date for the arrival of Turkish air defense systems to Syria, saying only that Ankara was planning to dispatch the system and that Abu Duhur was its likely destination.

Earlier, the US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack cast doubt on Israel’s claim that Turkey was moving military assets in the airbase, and said US intel did not indicate such action.

Iran says any country joining new US sanctions would be ‘considered an enemy’

Iran warns countries against joining the US in its newly announced “economic war” against the Islamic Republic, saying they would be considered enemies.

“We declare to all countries… do not join the economic war waged by the United States. Any country participating in the imposition of economic restrictions against us is considered an enemy,” says Mohsen Rezai, the head of Iran’s supreme national security council, on state television.