Dec. 3: Reports say Feldstein told Netanyahu about top-secret document before leak to Bild

UN watchdog to conduct probe into sexual misconduct claims against ICC prosecutor

Karim Khan, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court looks up prior to a press conference in The Hague, Netherlands, July 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

A United Nations watchdog has been selected to lead an external probe into allegations of sexual misconduct against the top prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, The Associated Press has learned.

The move will likely generate conflict of interest concerns owing to the prosecutor’s wife’s past work for the oversight body.

Chief prosecutor Karim Khan provided updates on the court’s politically sensitive investigations into alleged war crimes and atrocities in Ukraine, Gaza and Venezuela among other conflict areas during the institution’s annual meeting this week in The Hague, Netherlands.

But hanging over the gathering of the ICC’s 124 member states are allegations against Khan himself.

An AP investigation in October found that at the same time the ICC was readying a warrant for the arrest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Khan was facing internal accusations that he tried to coerce a female aide into a sexual relationship and groped her against her will over a period of several months.

At this week’s meeting, Päivi Kaukoranta, a Finnish diplomat currently heading the ICC’s oversight body, told delegates that she has settled on the UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services, two diplomats tell AP on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks.

June conference chaired by France and Saudis will aim to make two-state solution relevant again

French President Emmanuel Macron announces that he and Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, will co-chair a conference on the establishment of a Palestinian state in June.

“We have decided to co-chair a conference for the two states in June next year,” Macron says, referring to Israel and a potential Palestinian state.

“In the coming months, together we will multiply and combine our diplomatic initiatives to bring everyone along this path,” he adds.

Responding to a question on whether France will recognize a Palestinian state, the French president says he will do so “at the right moment” and at a time “when it triggers reciprocal movements of recognition.”

“We want to involve several other partners and allies, both European and non-European, who are ready to move in this direction but who are waiting for France,” he adds.

Macron says the aim is to “trigger a movement of recognition in favor of Israel,” which he says could “provide answers in terms of security for Israel and convince people that the two-state solution is a solution that is relevant for Israel.”

Saudi Arabia appeared close to a deal to normalize relations with Israel as part of a package that would include security guarantees from the United States, prior to Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack which has sparked nearly 14 months of war in Gaza and elsewhere.

Recognition by Saudi Arabia would be a landmark moment in the acceptance of Israel as the kingdom is the guardian of Islam’s two holiest sites. But it has conditioned the move on Israel agreeing to a pathway toward a Palestinian state — a nonstarter for the current hardline government.

South Korea’s president says he will reverse martial law declaration

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol says he will move to lift a martial law declaration he imposed just hours ago, honoring a parliamentary vote against the measure.

Washington concerned by report IDF has built dozens of bases in Gaza’s Netzarim Corridor

The US is concerned by a New York Times report saying that the IDF has significantly bolstered its presence in Gaza, constructing several dozen new military bases in and around the Netzarim Corridor in the Strip’s center in recent months.

State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel says during a press briefing that if the reporting is accurate, the IDF’s actions “certainly would be inconsistent” with US policy regarding the “day after” in Gaza, which opposes any reduction to Gaza’s territory, the continued military control of the Strip by Israel and the forced displacement of Palestinians from their homes.

Patel notes that the reporting has not been corroborated by Israel and he says he’ll leave it to Jerusalem to comment further on the matter.

US ‘outraged’ by alleged killing of Save the Children staffer in IDF strike on Gaza

The US is “outraged” by the reported IDF killing of a Save the Children aid worker in Gaza’s Khan Younis and is seeking more information from Israel on the incident that took place over the weekend, State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel says.

“Humanitarian workers must be protected so they can safely deliver aid… The IDF needs to provide additional information about this incident,” Patel says when asked about the incident during a press briefing.

He declines to draw any conclusions regarding what happened until more information is gathered. “But broadly, we urge Israel to thoroughly and transparently investigate actions like these, and take appropriate action in their system, including ensuring accountability for any violations within their system.”

Save the Children said its staffer, Ahmad Faisal Isleem Al-Qadi, was killed in an IDF airstrike on Saturday.

In Tel Aviv, relatives of slain hostage Omer Neutra mourn him, play radio recording of his voice

Tamar Tzohar, grandmother of slain Gaza hostage Omer Neutra, at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square on December 3, 2024. (Courtesy)

Hundreds gather at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square for the weekly program for the hostages, dubbed Singing for their Return, dedicated this week to Omer Neutra.

The IDF notified Neutra’s family this week that the Israeli-American, for months thought to be a hostage, was killed during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack and his body has been held in Gaza ever since.

The program begins with a recording from an Army Radio program from several years ago in which Omer’s voice is heard as he is called in to dedicate a song to his tank unit.

Neutra was last seen injured, lying next to the tank that he commanded, at the Gaza border on the morning of the October 7 onslaught.

“It’s a small consolation that he didn’t experience long days in captivity,” says his aunt, Genia Tzohar, weeping.

“It’s sad to me that the nation of Israel that heard so much about you and waited to meet you, won’t get to do that,” she says, as she salutes him. “I hope and pray we will bring you back for burial in your beloved Israel.”

Tamar Tzohar, Neutra’s grandmother, speaks about her grandson’s early years, being born and raised in New York by his Israeli parents.

She relates that his parents spoke to Omer on October 6, 2023 — a day before he was killed — and he told them, after weeks of dealing with a steady stream of Hamas activity at the border with Gaza, that his unit had been told they could lower their alertness and could have a more relaxed weekend.

“We now have to fight to get Omer’s body back home,” says Tzohar.

Israel starts reopening northern parks, reserves that have been closed for 14 months amid war

An employee from the Israel Nature and Parks Authority inspects a burned tree following a rocket attack from Lebanon at the Tel Dan nature reserve in northern Israel on November 4, 2024. (Menahem Kahana/AFP)

The Israel Nature and Parks Authority announces that starting tomorrow and with the approval of the IDF Home Front Command, it will open several national parks and nature reserves in northern Israel that have been closed for over a year amid the war with Hezbollah.

These include the Bar’am, Achziv, Yehiam Fortress, Tel Hatzor and Nimrod Fortress national parks, and the Nahal Amud and Hula nature reserves.

Other sites closed due to the 14-month war against the Lebanon-based terror organization will be opened gradually.

Several sites will remain closed for repairs. These are the Ein Afek, Nahal Ayun, Hermon Stream (Banias), Nahal Snir and Tel Dan nature reserves, and the Hurshat Tal National Park.

The Nature and Parks Authority says it is checking hiking trails in open areas for debris from the war, together with the Israel Police and the Israel National Mine Action Authority.

It warns hikers not to touch any such debris, to move away and to call the police.

In a statement, Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman says: “After a difficult year of constant fighting and many challenges, the opportunity to once again travel through the spectacular landscapes of the north is a ray of light.”

Raya Shourky, director-general of the Nature and Parks Authority, says: “We are excited to reopen the northern sites to the general public, some of which have remained closed for over a year since the beginning of the fighting. We know that the situation is still complex and that this is not a complete return to routine.”

“The Authority will continue to make nature accessible to the Israeli public as a place to recharge and connect with the heritage and the land,” she adds, advising the public to check the Authority’s website before setting out to hike.

Israel says 3 gunmen planning ‘imminent terror attack’ were killed in West Bank drone strike

Three Palestinian gunmen planning an “imminent terror attack” were killed in an Israeli drone strike in the northern West Bank this morning, the IDF and Shin Bet say.

The trio, members of Hamas, were struck near the Palestinian village of Aqabah.

After the strike, the IDF says troops raided the site and captured four weapons.

Weapons captured following a drone strike near the village of Aqabah in the northern West Bank, December 3, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Israel issues travel warning for South Korea, urges citizens to rethink going there

The Foreign Ministry issues a travel warning for South Korea after President Yoon Suk Yeol announces martial law.

Israelis are urged to “consider the necessity of visiting the country.”

“It is still too early to assess what the consequences of the decision will be,” says the Foreign Ministry.

“For now, until things become clearer, we recommend that you stay at home or in the places where you are staying and follow the media updates.”

Amid growing government campaign for AG’s ouster, MKs file bill to enable police probes against her

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara attends a Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting in the Knesset in Jerusalem, on November 18, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Coalition lawmakers have drafted a bill that would enable criminal investigations against the attorney general and the state attorney, amid a campaign within the government seeking Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara’s ouster, Hebrew media reports.

The legislation proposes a new mechanism for cases in which there is information that the police wish to investigate: They would need to request the approval of the justice minister, and he would appoint a prosecutor.

“The attorney general and state attorney stand at the head of the law enforcement and prosecution apparatuses,” write Religious Zionism MKs Zvi Sukkot and Simcha Rothman in the explanatory notes for the bill. “There is a shortcoming in the existing law regarding opening criminal proceedings against them. The bill seeks to fix this and enable the justice minister to appoint a prosecutor independent of the State Attorney’s Office in cases of this sort.”

Meanwhile, Shlomo Karhi has revealed the list of 13 ministers who have signed his letter demanding Baharav-Miara’s dismissal: Karhi, Miki Zohar, May Golan, Idit Silman, Amichai Chikli, David Amsalem, Haim Katz, Yitzhak Wasserlauf, Amichay Eliyahu, Orit Strock, Yitzhak Goldknopf, Meir Porush and Itamar Ben Gvir.

The latter has been adamantly lobbying fellow ministers to act for Baharav-Miara’s ouster, but most ministers have not signed off on this, frustrating Ben Gvir, the Ynet news site reports. The report cites unnamed ministers saying this is the far-right leader’s main current focus and that he has been voicing “extreme” threats over the matter.

The Knesset is set to hold a declarative discussion tomorrow on firing the attorney general, though it is not expected to include a vote on the matter, Channel 12 reports.

IDF: No rocket was fired from Gaza this evening; earlier statement was a mistake

After investigating, the IDF says that no rockets were launched from northern Gaza this evening.

“It was determined to be a false identification,” the military says, after earlier it said one rocket fired from Gaza was intercepted.

An Iron Dome interceptor missile was launched in the incident.

Paraguay to reopen embassy in Jerusalem next week, Knesset speaker announces

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, meets Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña at the UN in New York on September 19, 2023. (Avi Ohayon/GPO)

Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña will fulfill a campaign promise next week and reopen the country’s embassy in Jerusalem, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana announces.

Peña will address the Knesset on Wednesday morning next week, followed by a special Knesset ceremony with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, Ohana and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid.

The official opening of the embassy will take place the following Thursday in Har Hotzvim in the capital.

Most countries do not recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and base their embassies in Tel Aviv, often opening smaller consulates in Jerusalem.

Currently, five countries — the US, Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo and Papua New Guinea — have embassies in Jerusalem.

In 2018, Paraguay’s outgoing president Horacio Cartes announced that his country would open an embassy in Jerusalem, following similar moves by the US and Guatemala.

But the embassy was moved back to Tel Aviv after just five months by Cartes’s successor Abdo Benitez, who said he hadn’t been consulted in the original decision and indicated that it harmed efforts to maintain a more neutral approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Netanyahu fumed at the decision and moved to have Israel’s embassy in Asunción closed in retaliation.

In September, Israel reopened its embassy in Paraguay.

Reports: Feldstein said he told Netanyahu about top-secret document before leak to Bild

Eli Feldstein (left), a former spokesman in the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is the main suspect in an investigation launched in late October 2024 of alleged illegal access and leaking of classified intelligence material (Kan screenshot, used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law); Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) at a plenum session at the Knesset, Jerusalem, November 12, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Eli Feldstein, an aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said in his police interrogation that he had told the premier about a top-secret intelligence document he is accused of leaking to the foreign press, according to the Kan public broadcaster. Channel 13 news also reports that Feldstein told Netanyahu about the document shortly before Bild reported on it.

Netanyahu has previously sought to distance himself from the case and has so far insisted that he learned about the existence of the classified document from the media.

Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court said on November 17 that Feldstein had received the document in June.

Kan reports, without citing sources, that Feldstein said he notified the prime minister just two days before he leaked the document to Germany’s Bild newspaper, which published a report on it on September 6.

A Channel 13 report quotes Feldstein telling investigators he did not initially give the document to Netanyahu — “because that was not my job; it was the job of the prime minister’s military attache.” Rather, Feldstein reportedly testified, “I asked to utilize the classified material in order to influence debate in the media and public opinion.”

However, Feldstein reportedly also told investigators, after Netanyahu held a press conference following Hamas’s murder at the end of August of six Israeli hostages, “I whispered in the prime minister’s ear” about the document, and therefore felt that he was acting on behalf of the political echelon, Channel 13 reports. (Netanyahu gave a press conference on September 2 and another, for the foreign press, on September 4. The Bild article reporting on the document was published on September 6.)

A lawyer for a soldier also suspected in the case said on November 12 that Feldstein had told his client that he passed on the material to Netanyahu, who then asked for more. Feldstein told the soldier, who has not been named, “I transferred [the material] to the prime minister, and the prime minister wants more,” lawyer Micha Fettman said on Army Radio. “He’s clearing a full day to handle this matter.”

Netanyahu has not been summoned for testimony in the case and is not a suspect.

Trump said to offer billionaire Steve Feinberg deputy defense secretary job

US President-elect Donald Trump has offered billionaire investor Steve Feinberg the job of deputy defense secretary, a Washington Post reporter says in a post on X.

It is not yet known if Feinberg has accepted the offer, the reporter says, citing unidentified sources.

IDF says rocket launched from northern Gaza at Israeli towns was intercepted

One rocket launched from the northern Gaza Strip at Israeli border communities has been intercepted by air defenses, the military says.

Sirens sounded in Kibbutz Erez amid the attack.

There are no reports of injuries.

5 more dates added for ‘The 16th Sheep’ shows; previous tickets sold out in minutes

(L-R) Yoni Rechter, Yehudit Ravitz, Gidi Gov and David Broza in a poster promoting a series of concerts in 2025 for 'The 16th Sheep' album. (Credit Guy Kushi and Yariv Fine)

Five more shows will be added to the wildly popular reunion concert tour of the “The 16th Sheep” album and its renowned musicians — Yehudit Ravitz, Gidi Gov, Yoni Rechter and David Broza.

Last month, some 12,000 tickets for the shows sold out within minutes of going on sale. Hours later, when an additional 12,000 tickets were put on sale for newly added shows, those sold out within minutes as well.

Now, in addition to the 10 sold-out shows planned for January, February and March, five new concerts at Tel Aviv’s Bronfman Auditorium have been announced for April 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18.

Ticket sales (Hebrew link) start tomorrow at 10 a.m. and based on previous trends, are again expected to sell out quickly.

Ravitz, Gov, Rechter and Broza recorded “The 16th Sheep” in 1978, putting to music a book of children’s poems written by Yehonatan Geffen.

The album became a popular classic for kids as well as their parents.

Nobody hurt as large section of cliff collapses near Herzliya beach

Part of a collapsed cliffside at Nof Yam beach in Herzliya, December 3, 2024. (Mediterranean Coastal Cliffs Preservation Government Company)

A 7,000-square-meter (23,000-square-foot) section of cliff to the north of the Nof Yam (Sidna Ali) beach in central Israel’s Herzliya collapses.

Nobody is hurt and the area is fenced off.

Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman says the incident underlines the urgent need for the second phase of a coastal cliff protection project to be budgeted.

The project is to be implemented in Herzliya and Bat Yam in central Israel, and in Ashkelon in the south.

In 2020, the state comptroller lambasted the country’s leadership for failing to act on a 2011 government decision to prevent cliff collapses.

The 45 kilometers (28 miles) of coastal cliffs between Hadera in the north and Ashkelon in the south are suffering from natural erosion, as well as human-induced changes such as buildings and marinas.

Contradicting US claims of renewed hostage deal push, Qatar says its mediation halt still in place

Qatar foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari gives a press conference in Doha on December 3, 2024. (Screen capture/X)

Qatar’s suspension of its mediation role between Israel and Hamas is still in place, a government spokesperson says, a week after US President Joe Biden claimed that Doha, Egypt and Turkey would be making another push to secure a hostage deal.

On November 8, the Biden administration revealed that it had asked Qatar to oust Hamas’s leaders due to the terror group’s refusal to engage seriously in hostage talks. The next day, Qatar confirmed the decision to kick out Hamas officials, but insisted it had nothing to do with a request from Washington. Instead, it announced its decision to halt mediation efforts, saying it would only resume the role when it deems both sides to be demonstrating willingness to negotiate in good faith.

After brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, Biden announced last week that the US, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey would be making “another push” for a hostage deal in the coming days. Egypt and Qatar have been the two main mediators since the start of the conflict and Turkey has been hosting Hamas leaders who fled from Qatar.

While Egypt has reportedly been engaged in this renewed effort, the White House acknowledged yesterday that there was no breakthrough to report. Hours later, US President-elect Donald Trump posted a warning to those holding hostages in the Middle East that they would face unprecedented retribution if the captives are not released by his January 20 inauguration.

Meanwhile, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari asserts in a press conference that Doha’s pause in mediation efforts remains in place.

“We are suspending our goal as mediators pending both parties showing seriousness in getting back to the negotiation table,” al-Ansari says.

At the same time, Qatar’s “regional contacts” will continue, with a focus on delivering aid to Gaza and maintaining the ceasefire in Lebanon, according to al-Ansari.

Iran to consider sending troops to Syria if Damascus requests, minister says

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is quoted by Qatar’s Al-Araby Al-Jadeed Arabic media outlet as saying that Tehran would consider sending troops to Syria if requested by Damascus and that he plans to visit Russia to discuss the Syrian crisis, without specifying when.

Netanyahu’s testimony in graft trial to officially start on Dec. 10 at 9 a.m.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at the Jerusalem District Court for a hearing on his corruption trial, June 26, 2023. (Alex Kolomoisky/Pool)

The Jerusalem District Court officially decides that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s testimony in his corruption trial will begin on Tuesday next week at 9 a.m. at the Tel Aviv District Court building.

The judges cite security assessments that the chamber is sufficiently secure after the defense team argued that security arrangements were inadequate and filed multiple requests to delay the testimony in the prolonged criminal trial, which began in 2020.

The testimony is expected to last at least several weeks.

Knesset panel advances climate bill over strong objections by opposition, environmentalists

The Knesset Interior and Environmental Protection Committee approves a climate bill for its final — second and third — readings in the Knesset plenum, after almost six hours of debate.

Opposition lawmakers decry what they call capitulation to the Finance Ministry, which has worked to veto any binding commitments. They particularly single out for criticism the authority given to the government to change emission reduction targets and even to delay climate action for three years after the bill becomes law, without approval from the plenum or a Knesset committee.

The draft now requires that the government commit to cutting emissions by 27% by 2030, down from 30% in the version that passed the first reading in April.

Committee chairman Yaakov Asher insists that the 30% was a “fake” target that nobody believed would be achieved and says a climate act that may not be perfect is better than no act at all.

He says he has spent hundreds of hours on the text, and that the committee has “done its maximum to commit the system” to act.

He adds: “Maybe we could have done better, but the enemy of the good is the best. I think the result is excellent and history will be the judge.”

Amit Bracha, CEO of the environmental advocacy organization Adam Teva and Din, describes the bill as “a mark of Cain on the forehead of the most anti-environmental government in history.”

WATCH: Neutra family holds memorial service in New York for slain hostage Omer

Jon and Rachel Goldberg-Polin sit next to Ronen and Orna Neutra at a memorial ceremony for their son Omer at the Midway Jewish Center in Hicksville, New York on December 3, 2024. (NY Hostages Families Forum)

Hundreds of people have packed into the pews at the Midway Jewish Center on Long Island for a memorial service for American-Israeli hostage Omer Neutra.

Yesterday, the IDF announced that the 21-year-old tank platoon commander was killed during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught and that his body is still being held by terrorists in Gaza.

Sitting alongside Omer’s parents Orna and Ronen are the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, another American-Israeli hostage whose body was retrieved by the IDF in late August after he was executed along with five other hostages.

Ronen and Orna Neutra speak at a memorial ceremony for their son Omer at the Midway Jewish Center in Hicksville, New York on December 3, 2024. (NY Hostages Families Forum)

A memorial ceremony for Omer Neutra at the Midway Jewish Center in Hicksville, New York on December 3, 2024. (NY Hostages Families Forum)

A memorial ceremony for Omer Neutra at the Midway Jewish Center in Hicksville, New York on December 3, 2024. (NY Hostages Families Forum)

Israelis in South Korea told to stay at home amid political upheaval in country

Soldiers try to enter the National Assembly building in Seoul early on December 4, 2024, after South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)

Israel’s embassy in South Korea recommends that Israelis in the country avoid public places after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in an emergency late-night national address that slammed domestic political opponents and sent shockwaves through the country.

Yoon said opposition parties had taken the parliamentary process hostage. He vowed to eradicate “shameless pro-North Korean anti-state forces” and said he had no choice but to take the measure to safeguard constitutional order.

Troops apparently tasked with imposing martial law were then seen trying to enter the parliament, and parliamentary aides were seen trying to push the soldiers back by spraying fire extinguishers.

The parliament later passed a motion requiring the martial law to be lifted, and the soldiers were seen leaving the building.

Israel’s embassy recommends that citizens in the country “stay at homes or where you are staying and follow the updates in the media, for now and until matters become clear,” noting that “it is still early to assess what the ramifications of the decisions will be.”

IDF confirms it killed Hezbollah’s liaison with Syrian army in Damascus strike

The IDF takes responsibility for an airstrike near Damascus earlier today that killed Hezbollah’s liaison with the Syrian army, Salman Jumaa.

According to the military, Jumaa was a “key” figure in the relationship between the Syrian Army and Hezbollah, enabling weapons to be transferred to the terror group in Lebanon via Syria.

“The Syrian regime supports Hezbollah and allows the organization to exploit it for the transfer of weapons to Lebanon,” the IDF says.

The military says that Jumaa, as part of his role as Hezbollah’s liaison with the Syrian Army, “assisted in the transfer of weapons from the Syrians to Hezbollah,” including during the recent conflict.

Jumaa was also “in close contact” with senior Syrian government officials, the IDF says.

A veteran Hezbollah operative, the military says Jumaa held various positions in the terror group including in Syria.

He previously was the head of Hezbollah’s intelligence in the Khiam area of southern Lebanon, and later head of operations in Damascus. In recent years he was appointed as the liaison with the Syrian army.

The IDF adds that “his elimination is a blow” to Hezbollah’s entrenchment in Syria and the terror group’s ability to rearm.

After over a month, judge orders house arrest for Netanyahu aide, IDF reservist in leaks case

Eli Feldstein (left), a former spokesman in the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is the main suspect in an investigation launched in late October 2024 of alleged illegal access and leaking of classified intelligence material (Kan screenshot, used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law); Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) at a plenum session at the Knesset, Jerusalem, November 12, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

After more than a month in custody, the Tel Aviv District Court orders the release to house arrest of Eli Feldstein, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with an unnamed IDF reservist, who have been held on suspicion of leaking stolen classified intelligence information to the foreign press.

Prosecutors file a request to delay the implementation of Judge Alaa Masarwa’s decision by 48 hours, and the latter accepts it, according to Hebrew media.

However, he orders prosecutors to say by 1 p.m. tomorrow whether they will appeal the decision. If not, they will be released, he says.

US official says Israel ineligible for multimillion-dollar bounty for top terrorists killed by IDF

A US State Department "Wanted Poster" for Hezbollah Radwan Force commander Ibrahim Aqil. (US State Department)

Despite killing a number of terrorists with a multimillion-dollar US Rewards for Justice (RFJ) bounty on their heads, Israel is not eligible to receive any money, a US Embassy official tells The Times of Israel.

“Under RFJ’s statute, officers or employees of a foreign government are not eligible for RFJ rewards for information furnished in the performance of their official duties,” says the spokesperson.

In September, Israel killed Hezbollah Radwan Force commander Ibrahim Aqil, who had a $7 million bounty on his head. Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr, taken out by Israel in August, had a $5 million bounty. Both men were accused of orchestrating the 1983 Beirut Marine barracks bombing that killed 241 US troops.

The US was offering $10 million for information on the whereabouts of Hezbollah operative Salim Jamil Ayyash, sentenced in absentia for his role in the 2005 bombing that killed Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The Israeli Air Force killed him in November.

B’Tselem report accuses IDF of routinely abusing Palestinians in Hebron

B’Tselem publishes a report asserting that Israeli forces routinely abuse Palestinians in the West Bank city of Hebron.

Presenting over 20 accounts from people who say they suffered abuse between May and August this year, the left-wing rights group argues that “the wave of violence unleashed on Palestinians this past year has changed norms of conduct in the military,” in the shadow of the war against Hamas in Gaza.

It adds: “Victims describe being randomly seized by soldiers, mostly as they were walking down the streets of the city, going about their daily affairs. They were beaten and subjected to severe abuse by soldiers, sometimes in the street, and at other times inside military outposts where they were taken.”

Washington Post highlights thousands of clips by IDF troops showing apparent violations of international law

Israeli soldiers drive past destroyed buildings in Rafah in the Gaza Strip on September 13, 2024 (Sharon ARONOWICZ / AFP)

The Washington Post publishes an in-depth investigation into videos posted by Israeli reservists during 14 months of war that show actions and behavior that could violate both IDF orders and international law.

“Videos and photographs have repeatedly shown [IDF] forces demolishing entire buildings, including homes and schools, as well as looting and torching them,” says the report. “Other visuals have Israeli soldiers posing next to dead bodies and calling for the extermination and expulsion of Palestinians.”

The outlet says it has viewed thousands of videos posted by IDF soldiers, “a vast cache that gives a rare and troubling view of how some elements of the Israeli military have conducted themselves” throughout the war.

The Post also interviews IDF reservists who say they felt there was a sense of revenge motivating many of their comrades in Gaza.

Some of the videos make light of the destruction of civilian homes, which military necessity could justify in a range of scenarios in urban combat. Other videos show reservists filming Palestinian corpses in footage meant to be humorous or show a desire for revenge.

Israeli military ethicist Asa Kasher calls the phenomenon “a breakdown of not just military discipline, but a break in understanding what it takes to represent the IDF and Israel.”

The IDF says disciplinary talks have been held with some of the soldiers involved in incidents that “deviated from IDF values and principles and contradicted regulations.” It also says that if criminal conduct is involved, the military police are called in.

In February, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi sent a missive to troops, instructing them that the army is “not on a killing spree,” not acting out of revenge and not carrying out genocide in the Gaza Strip.

“We act like human beings and, unlike our enemy, maintain our humanity. We must be careful not to use force where it is not required, to distinguish between a terrorist and those who are not, not to take anything that is not ours — a souvenir or weapons — and not to film revenge videos,” Halevi said.

The IDF chief’s comments came weeks after The New York Times published its own article, “What Israeli Soldiers’ Videos Reveal: Cheering Destruction and Mocking Gazans,” which showed photos and videos of Israeli soldiers making derogatory comments about Palestinians, vandalizing civilian property and smiling for the cameras while driving bulldozers and using explosives.

IDF destroys Hezbollah bunkers, clearing ‘all threats’ in Mount Dov border area

The entrance to a Hezbollah bunker in the Mount Dov area, in a handout photo released by the IDF on December 3, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Hezbollah bunkers on the Lebanese side of the Mount Dov border area were recently demolished by combat engineers, the IDF says, in an operation that “neutralized all the threats” in the area.

The military says troops of the 810th “Mountains” Regional Brigade, alongside combat engineers and the Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion, carried out a raid in the Mount Dov area in recent weeks, “as part of the defensive effort to destroy tunnels of the Hezbollah terror organization in the enemy’s staging grounds.”

The soldiers found and explored several underground sites belonging to Hezbollah, and seized weapons and equipment in them.

The IDF says that this past week, combat engineers “demolished all of the findings and underground infrastructures, and neutralized all the threats in this area.”

Reports say Hezbollah liaison with Syria army killed in Israeli strike near Damascus

The Saudi Al-Hadath outlet reports that a senior Hezbollah official was killed in an Israeli airstrike near Damascus today.

Al-Hadath names the official as Salman Jumaa, and says he was Hezbollah’s representative in the Syrian army.

The Reuters news agency, citing a security source, also reports that the strike killed Hezbollah’s liaison with the Syrian army.

Syria’s state news agency SANA said the IDF drone strike hit a car on a road leading to Damascus International Airport.

The Israeli military has not commented.

Netanyahu praises Trump for aiming hostage demands at Hamas; repeats prewar reality in north won’t resume

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, fourth from right, addresses ministers at a special cabinet meeting in Nahariya, December 3, 2024. (Maayan Toaf/GPO)

At a special cabinet meeting in the northern coastal city of Nahariya, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanks US President-elect Donald Trump for writing on social media that “there will be all hell to pay” if hostages held by terrorists in Gaza aren’t released by his inauguration on January 20.

“It is a very strong statement,” says Netanyahu at the opening of the meeting, “which makes it clear that there is one party responsible for this situation — and that is Hamas. Hamas must release the hostages.”

Trump, continues Netanyahu, “put the emphasis in the right place — on Hamas, and not on the Israeli government, as is customary in some places.”

Protesters and some hostage families blame Netanyahu for not doing enough to reach a deal with Hamas to get the hostages out of Gaza.

“We will continue to do everything to release them, and whoever harms them will be killed,” he threatens.

On the fragile ceasefire with Hezbollah, Netanyahu repeats the warning that the war with Hezbollah is not over.

“We are committed to a ceasefire, but we will also not tolerate violations of the ceasefire by the other side,” he says, a day after Hezbollah fired mortar shells at northern Israel and the IDF struck over 20 sites in Lebanon.

“I also say here in the clearest terms: We will not return to the situation that was on October 6, [2023],” he promises, referring to the day before the current multifront war began with Hamas’s onslaught on southern Israel.

“The north will be calm, the north will prosper, the north will flourish, and the north will be safe,” says Netanyahu.

Germany arrests Lebanese man accused of being a member of Hezbollah

German authorities have arrested a Lebanese man accused of being a member of Hezbollah and working for groups controlled by the Lebanese terror organization in Germany.

Federal prosecutors say the suspect, identified only as Fadel R. in line with German privacy rules, was arrested today in the Hannover region. The man is suspected of membership in a foreign terrorist organization and is not accused of direct involvement in any violence.

Prosecutors say he joined Hezbollah in the summer of 2008 or earlier and took part in leadership training courses in Lebanon. From 2009, he allegedly had leadership duties in two groups controlled by Hezbollah in the Hannover area, organizing appearances by preachers close to the terrorists.

According to prosecutors, he was briefly a correspondent for a Hezbollah media outlet in 2017 and was tasked with coordinating building work at a mosque.

Germany is a staunch ally of Israel. It is also home to a Lebanese immigrant community of more than 100,000.

14 Israeli academics receive 2 million euro in European research grants

Fourteen Israeli researchers have been awarded 2024 Consolidator Grants by the European Research Council (ERC), according to a council announcement.

The grants are intended “to support outstanding scientists and scholars as they establish their independent research teams and develop their most promising scientific ideas” and are worth up to €2 million ($2.1 million) each, spread out over five years, according to the ERC website.

This year, €678 million in grant funding is to be awarded to 328 researchers, the council notes. Israel, with 14 awardees, is ranked seventh on the list of countries in terms of individual grants, behind Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, the UK, France and Germany.

Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University, Weizmann Institute of Science and the Technion were given the award, mostly for advancement in the science and medical fields.

Additionally, Dr. Maya Bar of the Volcani Center, a government agricultural R&D center, was given the award for her research on plant communication.

Leading activist for hostages Einav Zangauker listed among BBC’s 100 women of 2024

Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held hostage in Gaza, blocks a main road in Tel Aviv, during a protest calling for the release of the hostages, September 13, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Einav Zangauker, the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker who has been held by Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip for 14 months, is listed among BBC’s 100 women of 2024 for her activism in favor of a deal that would return her son and the other captives.

Zangauker has become a central campaigner for a hostage deal and against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, and regularly speaks in media interviews, press conferences and demonstrations.

The BBC list also features other Israelis, as well as Palestinians and a Lebanese woman who were affected by the war against Hamas and Hezbollah.

It lists Gazan neonatal specialist Shireen Abed, who took care of newborns and trained other doctors during the war; Gazan journalist, poet and social media influencer Plestia Alaqad; Palestinian agriculture engineer Enas Al-Ghoul who invented a desalination device used in Gaza; and Lebanese photojournalist Christina Assi who was seriously injured in an Israeli strike.

It also includes Danielle Cantor, a left-wing Israeli activist for Israeli-Palestinian cultural solidarily, and Women of the Wall founder and activist for religious pluralism Anat Hoffman.

Judge: Insufficient evidence for assertion that Feldstein intended to harm state security

Eli Feldstein, a spokesman in the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is the main suspect in an investigation launched in late October 2024 of alleged illegal access and leaking of classified intelligence material. (Kan screenshot, used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law)

Tel Aviv District Court Judge Ala Masarwa says prosecutors have presented insufficient evidence for their contention that Eli Feldstein, an aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, intended to harm national security when he leaked to the press a top-secret IDF document dealing with a potential Gaza hostage deal.

At a hearing on Feldstein’s potential remand, Masarwa says he has concluded that “sufficient apparent evidence has been presented for this stage of the proceedings regarding the charges of illicit transferral of classified information and its publishing in the media.

“However, I have found weakness in the evidence for the charge of transferring classified information with the intent to harm the state,” the judge says, referring to the most serious charge, which can carry a sentence of life in prison.

German court rules 100-year-old ex-Nazi camp guard fit to stand trial

This January 27, 2012, file photo taken on International Holocaust Remembrance Day shows the words 'Arbeit Macht Frei' (Work Sets You Free) marking the entrance to the Sachsenhausen Nazi concentration, in Oranienburg, Germany. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

German authorities are pressing for a 100-year-old former Nazi concentration camp guard to face trial almost 80 years after the end of World War II.

The higher regional court in Frankfurt today says it had overturned a decision by a lower court under which the suspect had been deemed unfit to stand trial.

The suspect, named as Gregor Formanek by German media, was charged last year with aiding and abetting murder in 3,322 cases while working at the former Sachsenhausen concentration camp near Berlin between July 1943 and February 1945.

However, an expert determined in February that Formanek was not fit to stand trial due to his mental and physical condition and the court in Hanau, Hesse state, eventually decided not to open the proceedings against him.

The Frankfurt court today finds the expert’s decision had not been based on “sufficient facts.”

German court rules 99-year old ex-Nazi concentration camp guard Gregor Formanek unfit to stand trial.

Prosecutors claim he is responsible for 3,300 murders at Sachsenhausen.

Follow: @AFpost pic.twitter.com/Wpki87yrLn

— AF Post (@AFpost) July 2, 2024

“The expert himself stated that it was not possible to interview the defendant and that the opportunity for extensive psychiatric testing was not available,” it says.

Germany has been scrambling to bring the last surviving former Nazi war criminals to justice since a 2011 landmark ruling paved the way for several trials.

Ben Gvir says top West Bank cop detained because he would not crack down on settler vandals

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir holds a press conference in Jerusalem, December 2, 2024.(Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

National Security Minister says that a top West Bank police officer detained over bribery suspicions was targeted by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara because he was not trying to stop acts of vandalism by Jewish settlers in the West Bank.

In a post on X, Ben Gvir says that “Cdr. Avishai Mualem acted as he should and put the security of the [Jewish] residents of Judea and Samaria as his main priority and focused on combating Arab terror instead of chasing after youths with markers.”

“Mualem was implementing my policies, and for that he was detained. Apparently, it bothers the AG and so she chose have him arrested and sent to the interrogation room like a common criminal.”

Settler violence against Palestinians has soared since the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre and police have been accused of turning a blind eye to the attacks.

Extremist settlers regularly riot in West Bank Palestinian towns, causing damage to property and even injuring or occasionally killing Palestinian people.

Mualem, a senior officer in the West Bank division, was detained and questioned yesterday along with Israel Prison Service Chief Commissioner Kobi Yaakobi and another as-yet-unnamed officer.

Mualem was reported to be suspected of leaking classified information to Ben Gvir, who allegedly promised him a promotion in return.

IDF says 5 ambulances donated by UAE entered Gaza last night

The Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) says five ambulances donated by the United Arab Emirates to international aid organizations operating in Gaza entered the Strip last night.

“The ambulances were deployed to ensure the continued provision of medical care to residents of the Gaza Strip and to facilitate the transfer of patients to operational hospitals within the region,” COGAT says.

According to COGAT, since the start of the war, it has facilitated the entry of over 120 ambulances donated by various countries to Gaza.

Five ambulances donated by the United Arab Emirates to international organizations in Gaza entered Gaza last night (Dec. 2) through the Kerem Shalom crossing.

The ambulances were deployed to ensure the continued provision of medical care to residents of the Gaza Strip and to… pic.twitter.com/daYw5MfGxJ

— COGAT (@cogatonline) December 3, 2024

Top West Bank cop revealed as suspect in case linked to Ben Gvir

Avishai Mualem, commander of a West Bank police unit, arrives for a court hearing at the Magistrate's Court in Jerusalem on December 2, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

A senior police officer detained yesterday in a probe linked to National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir is revealed to be Cdr. Avishai Mualem, after a court lifts a gag order on his identity.

Mualem, a senior officer in the West Bank division, was detained and questioned yesterday along with Israel Prison Service Chief Commissioner Kobi Yaakobi and another as-yet-unnamed officer.

While many of the details in the case remain under a gag order, it is said to be linked to illicit efforts by the officers to benefit National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

Mualem was reported to be suspected of leaking classified information to Ben Gvir, who allegedly promised him a promotion in return.

The ultranationalist minister claimed more than once yesterday that the arrest of Yaakobi and the police officers was part of his ongoing dispute with Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara over her push to have him dismissed for repeatedly intervening in operational police matters and allegedly politicizing promotions.

Street art in Milan depicting Holocaust survivors vandalized for second time

Before and after photos of the Antisemitism, History Repeating" mural by AleXsandro Palombo in Milan Italy before it was removed by vandals. (Courtesy: AleXsandro Palombo)

Street art in Milan, Italy, portraying Holocaust survivors is painted over by vandals, the second time the the work has been defaced.

The mural, entitled “Antisemitism, History Repeating” by AleXsandro Palombo, depicted two well-known Italian Holocaust survivors, Senator Liliana Segre and author Sami Modiano. The two were shown wearing striped pajamas and body vests with the star of David.

The art, which was unveiled on September 30, was previously vandalized in mid-November. Yesterday, it was completely covered in white paint.

Palombo, an activist and pop artist, calls what happened to the mural, located in Milan’s Piazzale Loreto, “an offense after an offense, the best way to hide antisemitism at a time when antisemitism is spreading.”

IDF says explosions heard in Kiryat Shmona from controlled blasts, not attack

Explosions heard near the northern city of Kiryat Shmona a short while ago were not caused by attacks from nearby Lebanon, but were caused by IDF activity, the military says.

“This was a controlled explosion conducted by IDF troops in the area,” the army says.

Lebanese army launches recruitment drive to bolster presence in the south

A Lebanese army soldier on an APC (Armored Personnel Carrier) flashes victory sign, as a convoy enters in Mansouri village on its way to being deployed in southern Lebanon, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

The Lebanese army is looking for more recruits as it beefs up its presence in southern Lebanon after the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire went into effect last week.

Lebanon’s army kept to the sidelines during the nearly 14-month conflict.

During an initial 60-day truce, thousands of Lebanese troops are supposed to deploy in southern Lebanon, where UN peacekeepers also have a presence. Hezbollah forces are to pull back from areas near the border as Israel withdraws its ground forces.

The army says those interested in joining up have a one-month period to apply, starting Tuesday.

The Lebanese army has about 80,000 troops, with around 5,000 of them deployed in the south.

Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon reappears after being wounded in pager attack

A handout picture provided by the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's office on November 17, 2024, shows him (R) talking to Iran's Ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani who was injured in Beirut in Israel's September pager attacks, in Tehran on November 17, 2024. (KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)

Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon makes his first public appearance in Beirut since he was wounded in an attack involving exploding pagers in mid-September.

Mojtaba Amani, who returned to Lebanon over the weekend after undergoing treatment in Iran, visits the scene south of Beirut where Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Sept. 27.

Speaking about the airstrike that destroyed six buildings and killed Nasrallah and others, Amani said Israel should get for its act “the highest medal for sabotage, terrorism, blood and killing civilians.”

Amani suffered serious injuries in his face and hands when a pager he was holding exploded in mid-September. The device was one of about 3,000 Hezbollah pagers that exploded simultaneously, killing and wounding many members of the terror group.

A day after the pager attack, a similar attack struck walkie-talkies. In total, the explosions killed at least 37 people and wounded more than 3,000.

Last month, a spokesperson for the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the pager attack was approved by Netanyahu.

Israel says European criticism of Gaza aid is ‘disappointing’

A Palestinian worker rests on a stack of flour at an aid distribution center in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis on December 3, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas . (Photo by BASHAR TALEB / AFP)

Israel expresses disappointment with three European nations after they demanded it take urgent action to allow aid into the Gaza Strip.

Britain, France and Germany had written to the Israel government to “urge action on the unacceptable humanitarian situation in Gaza,” UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said yesterday.

In a post on X, he said: “Israel must implement the UN’s winter plan now: send equipment to guard against cold & flooding, give access to fuel, repair vital infrastructure, and get aid in.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry hits back, denying it was imposing any restrictions on the amount of aid entering Gaza.

“It is disappointing that the foreign ministers of the E3 (Britain, France and Germany) failed to address the October 7 massacre and the daily attacks on Israeli civilians since then in their letter,” spokesman Oren Marmorstein says in a statement.

“Israel is facilitating the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip and does not impose any restrictions on the quantity of aid entering the Strip.”

Marmorstein said international organizations had failed “to distribute the aid due to looting by Hamas.”

Katz warns Lebanon that if ceasefire fails Israel won’t limit strikes to Hezbollah

Defense Minister Israel Katz meets with officers on the northern border, December 3, 2024. (Elad Malka/Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Israel Katz, in a warning to the Lebanese government, says that if the ceasefire with Hezbollah collapses, “there will no longer be an exemption for the state of Lebanon,” and Israel will not see a separation between the terror group and the country.

“We will work with all our might to enforce all the understandings of the ceasefire agreement, and we show maximum response and zero tolerance,” Katz says during a visit to the northern border.

“Yesterday was the first test, [Hezbollah] shooting at Mount Dov. We reacted strongly and this is exactly what we will do, and we will not allow Hezbollah to return to the old methods they had, such as the tent that was set up [by Hezbollah on the border several years ago] and not attacked,” he says.

Katz says that Lebanon must “authorize the Lebanese army to enforce their part, to keep Hezbollah away beyond the Litani [River] and to dismantle all the infrastructure.”

“If they don’t do it and this whole agreement collapses then the reality will be very clear. First of all, if we return to war we will act strongly, we will go deeper, and the most important thing they need to know, that there will be no longer be an exemption for the state of Lebanon,” he continues.

“If until now we have distinguished between the state of Lebanon and Hezbollah, and between Beirut as a whole and [its southern suburb, a Hezbollah stronghold] Dahiyeh, which we have struck very hard, this will no longer be [the case],” Katz warns.

Prison service chief defiant after being questioned in police probe

Israel Prison Service chief Kobi Yaakobi seen after his questioning at the Police Internal Investigations Department, in Jerusalem December 2, 2024.(Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Israel Prison Service chief Kobi Yaakobi expresses defiance after being questioned yesterday on suspicion of obstructing an investigation and breach of trust.

Speaking at an IPS conference, Yaakobi tells the crowd that after his interrogation, “I left through the front door with my head held high, without hiding, because I was doing the right thing,” according to a person who attended the event.

According to Hebrew media reports, Yaakobi is suspected of having asked a female police officer to request that another person remove certain messages on the Telegram app that were deemed detrimental to National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who appointed Yaakobi to his current role.

According to Ynet, the officer indicated to the third person that his career advancement would depend on him agreeing to the request.

Ben Gvir has come out in support of Yaakobi and accused Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara of instigating “an attempted coup.”

Palestinians say two killed in West Bank airstrike

The Palestinian Authority health ministry reports two dead and one moderately wounded in an IDF drone strike against a car near the village of Aqabah in the northern West Bank.

The army said it targeted a terror cell.

IDF says airstrike targeted terror cell in northern West Bank

The IDF says it carried out a drone strike against a cell of gunmen in the northern West Bank village of Aqabah.

Further details will be provided later, the military adds.

◾ صورة…
أحد المركبات التي تم استهدافها في عقابا قرب طوباس. pic.twitter.com/fW1M0VkJRe

— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) December 3, 2024

Herzog tells Australian Jews rise in antisemitism most critical issue for Diaspora communities

Illustrative: The slogan 'Zionism is Fascism' is sprayed on the electoral office of Josh Burns, a Jewish member of the Australian parliament from the country's federal Labor Party, in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda, after police said at least five people smashed windows and painted slogans on the walls, June 19, 2024. (William West / AFP)

The “terrible” rise in antisemitism in Australia reflects a trend that is now the most critical challenge for Jews in the Diaspora, President Isaac Herzog tells members of the Australian Jewish community visiting Israel.

Speaking at an event hosted by Voice of the People (VoP), Herzog commends Australia’s strong education and legal systems, emphasizing that Jewish institutions must be secured and protected “to ensure that Jewish life continues without harassment.”

Herzog’s comments come after the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) published a report that there were more than 2,000 antisemitic incidents on the continent during the past year, more than four times than in the previous year. These included anti-Israel protests outside synagogues and Jewish schools, anti-Israel activists targeting small businesses owned by Jewish families, Jewish homes targeted with hate graffiti and stickers, and a huge increase in physical assaults against Jews and verbal abuse on the streets.

“This initiative feels more vital and urgent than ever,” says Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler. “The Australian Jewish community and our allies stand with Israel in hope and determination.”

VoP is an initiative led by Herzog to engage Jewish communities outside of Israel to collectively identify, discuss, and address the most pressing immediate and long-term challenges affecting the Jewish people, including the challenges of antisemitism.

Israeli airstrike said to target car near Damascus airport

An Israeli airstrike targeted a car on a road leading to Damascus International Airport, Syria’s state news agency SANA reports.

No further details are given.

BREAKING 🇸🇾:

Syrian media report an Israeli drone strike on a car in the Damascus countryside, Southern Syria.#Syria #Israel #Damascus #سوريا #إسرائيل #دمشق #حلب_تتحرر #بشار_الأسد pic.twitter.com/UTfEq5wiLg

— iMAQ (@manzooraq) December 3, 2024

IDF says artillery unit killed at least 7 Hamas operatives who took part in Oct. 7 massacre

Troops from the 99th Division operate in the Gaza Strip in a picture released on December 3, 2024 (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says that a recent series of strikes carried out by the 990th Reserve Artillery Regiment in the central Gaza Strip killed numerous Hamas operatives including at least seven who participated in the October 7 onslaught.

The artillery unit is part of the 99th Division, which took responsibility for the Netzarim Corridor area last month.

The IDF names the October 7 Hamas terrorists who were killed in the recent strikes as: Abd al-Razak, a Nukhba Force operative and an engineering specialist in the Central Camps Brigade; Marzouk Alhor; Abd Abu Awd Yusri; Omar Abu Abdullah; Ahmed Zahad, a Nukhba operative; and Maad Abu Gharbua.

The army says that the division’s 179th Reserve Armored Brigade and 551st Reserve Paratroopers Brigade carried out several raids in the Netzarim Corridor area, during which buildings used by Hamas were demolished.

Numerous weapons were also located during the raids, the IDF adds.

IDF says nearly 800 aid trucks waiting to be collected at Gaza crossing

A picture taken during a tour organized by the Israeli Army shows aid destined for the Gaza Strip at a drop-off area near the Kerem Shalom crossing (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)

The Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) says that some 780 aid trucks are awaiting collection on the Gazan side of the Karem Shalom crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip, after just 43 were collected yesterday by international organizations.

On Sunday, the UN agency for Palestinians said it was pausing the delivery of aid through Kerem Shalom because of looting by armed gangs in Gaza.

According to COGAT, a total of 138 humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza yesterday, carrying food, medical supplies, shelter equipment, water purification equipment, and flour for bakeries.

COGAT says 37 of the trucks entered via the Erez Crossing in the Strip’s north, 33 entered via Gate 96 in the center, and 43 were collected from Kerem Shalom in the south.

The Israeli military has said that attacking convoys and stealing aid is an ongoing problem in Gaza. COGAT has said convoys are attacked by Hamas terrorists and known crime families.

Pro-Palestinian group files war crimes complaint against Israel’s new military attaché in Brussels

Col. Moshe Tetro speaks during a briefing at the Kerem Shalom border crossing with Gaza on January 10, 2024. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)

A pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel group in Belgium has filed a complaint against Israel’s new military attaché in Brussels, accusing him of war crimes, the De Morgen newspaper reports.

The Brussels-based Hind Rajab Foundation, claims that in his previous position, Col. Moshe Tetro was responsible for implementing a policy of starvation in Gaza.

Tetro previously served as head of COGAT’s Coordination and Liaison Administration to Gaza, the IDF unit responsible for coordinating aid into the Strip.

“Here we are dealing with a key figure in the implementation of Israeli policy towards hospitals and the strategy of famine and thirst as a weapon of war,” Dyab Abou Jahjah, chairman of the Hind Rajab Foundation, tells De Morgen.

Israel denies accusations of limiting aid to Gaza and says shortages are due to the inability of international organizations to distribute aid and looting by Hamas and armed gangs.

Israeli Ambassador to Belgium Idit Rosenzweig-Abu tells De Morgen that Israel rejects the accusations. “Israel acts according to international law.”

She also says Tetro is a decorated and respected officer and that Belgium had no problem accepting him as military attaché. “There was no objection to his appointment and he received full diplomatic accreditation.”

Israel said to fear rebels could capture Syria chemical weapons facility

A rescue worker carrying a child following an alleged chemical weapons attack in the rebel-held town of Douma, near Damascus, Syria, on April 8, 2018. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets via AP, File)

The Israeli military fears that amid the Syrian rebel assault and their taking over of military sites belonging to the Assad regime in the country, chemical weapons could fall into the wrong hands, Haaretz reports.

The report says that the main concern is that rebels or Iran-backed militias could reach weapons in Syria that pose a significant threat to Israel, such as missiles or chemical weapons.

If such weapons fall into the hands of the rebels or Iranian militias, Israel would have to act in a way that “may affect Syria and the entire Middle East,” according to Haaretz.

The report adds that Israel recently conveyed messages to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, via Russia, demanding that he “uphold his sovereignty and not allow Iran to operate in his territory.”

Yesterday, IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said that Israel was closely monitoring the developments in Syria, stressing that “we need to make sure that we are not threatened.”

Report: US pressured Israel to limit response to Hezbollah mortar attack, not hit Beirut

Smoke rises from a village in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, on December 2, 2024. (Erik Marmor/Flash90)

The US pressured Israel to limit its response to yesterday’s mortar attack by Hezbollah and refrain from hitting Beirut, multiple Hebrew media sites report citing Israeli sources.

The US asked Israel to refrain from “nonproportional responses,” Ynet says.

Last night the Israeli military launched a wave of airstrikes in Lebanon after Hezbollah fired two mortars at the Mount Dov area for the first time since the ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed terror group took effect last week.

The US also pressured Lebanon to ensure Hezbollah did not step up attacks and endanger the ceasefire.

Hezbollah claimed that it launched the mortars in response to Israel’s “repeated violations” of the ceasefire deal, and said that it should serve as an “initial warning” over IDF strikes in Lebanon during the truce and the “continued violation of Lebanese airspace by hostile Israeli aircraft.”

Amid ceasefire, cabinet to meet in northern city of Nahariya

Prime Minister Benjmain Netanyahu leads a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Oct. 7, 2024. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

The cabinet will meet today in the northern city of Nahariya amid the ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hebrew media reports.

The cabinet is expected to authorize the establishment of a ministerial committee for the Golan Heights to be headed by Minister Ze’ev Elkin, Ynet reports.

Under the recent agreement that brought Gideon Sa’ar’s New Hope party into the government, Elkin was appointed a minister in the Finance Ministry. Elkin will oversee the Tekuma Directorate, tasked with rehabilitating the Gaza border communities overrun by Hamas terrorists on October 7, and the Northern Rehabilitation Directorate.

Mother of US-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel dies

Keith Siegel, taken captive by Hamas terrorists from his home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7, 2023 (Courtesy)

The mother of US-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel has died while he is in captivity, the family says.

“My father’s mother died and my father can’t say goodbye to her because he is in Hamas captivity for more than a year,” Siegal’s daughter Elan writes on Facebook.

“My father can’t stand with us tomorrow in the cemetery, he can’t say goodbye to the woman who loved him and raised him his whole life,” she writes. “A violent and murderous terror organization dictates our lives — from Gaza to the great United States and the whole world is silent.”

Siegel, 65, was taken captive with his wife, Aviva from their home on Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7, when Hamas terrorists attacked their community, killing and abducting Israelis and burning kibbutz homes.

The couple was driven into Gaza in their own car, along with a neighbor and her two children.

Aviva Siegel was released on November 26 as part of a temporary ceasefire deal brokered by Qatar and the United States between Hamas and Israel.  Keith remains a captive.

Elan Siegel, the daughter of Keith Siegel, speaks to crowd of protesters at hostage families demonstration in Jerusalem’s Paris Square on May 11, 2024. (Charlie Summer/Times of Israel)

Report: PA, Hamas agree to form committee to run post-war Gaza

Displaced Palestinians line up to receive food at a distribution centre in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on November 26, 2024 (BASHAR TALEB / AFP)

The Palestinian Authority and Hamas have signed a document agreeing to form a joint committee that would run the post-war Gaza Strip, the London-based pan-Arab news site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reports.

The news site says it has a copy of the document that was signed to formulate the committee, to be made of 10-15 leading Palestinian figures.

The report comes a day after Egypt’s foreign minister said that rival Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas were in Cairo for talks seeking to bring post-war Gaza under the full control of the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority.

Gaza has been under the authority of Hamas since it used force to take the territory in 2007 from the Fatah movement, which currently rules over parts of the West Bank under the PA. Repeated attempts at mending the rift between Fatah and Hamas have failed, wrecked by the factions’ bitter rivalry over power.

The talks are part of Egypt’s broader mediation efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas terror group and to expand humanitarian access to the enclave.

The document laid out six commitments largely designed to unite the West Bank and Gaza under one political entity.

They would be responsible for overseeing health and economic services, agriculture and vital infrastructure.

It was unclear if Israel would agree to the deal being formulated. Israel rejects any role by Hamas in Gaza after the war is ended, and has said it does not trust the rival PA of Mahmoud Abbas to run the enclave.

3 killed in collision on highway near Ramat Hasharon

Paramedics declare the deaths of three people involved in a collision between two cars on a highway in central Israel.

The three men, whose ages were reported to range from 25 to 44, were on Route 5 near the city of Ramat Hasharon when the vehicles collided, fatally wounding them.

France’s Macron and Saudi crown prince call for Lebanese presidential elections

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) meets with Saudi's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman during an official visit in Riyadh on December 2, 2024. (Ludovic Marin/Pool/AFP)

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman call for presidential elections in Lebanon after a fragile ceasefire agreement went into effect there.

“Together, they called for the holding of presidential elections in Lebanon with the aim of bringing the Lebanese people together and carrying out the reforms necessary for the stability and security of the country,” Macron’s office says after the two leaders met on the first day of a state visit by the French president to Saudi Arabia.

Bill to give justice minister the authority to set bar association fees clears first reading

A bill to transfer authority for setting the Israel Bar Association’s membership to the justice minister clears its first plenum reading, with Knesset lawmakers voting 55-53 to advance the legislation.

Israel Bar Association chief Amit Becher has accused Justice Minister Yariv Levin of using the bill to blackmail him into having the bar’s representatives vote in favor of appointing Supreme Court justices that he supports.

Arguing in favor of the bill, Levin has claimed that the IBA and its leadership engage in behavior “in complete opposition to the interests of the lawyers and the overall public interest,” and alleged that the organization was using membership fees to fund luxury getaways “in wartime under the guise of professional training.”

Critics have claimed that the Bar Association bill is part of a wider effort to resurrect the contentious judicial overhaul plan.

FMs of Iran, Turkey and Russia likely to meet in Doha for talks on Syria — Iranian state media

The foreign ministers of Iran, Turkey and Russia are likely to meet in the framework of the Astana process on December 7 and 8 to discuss Syria on the sidelines of the Doha Forum, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi says, according to state media.