Dec. 4: Hezbollah ‘knocked back’ by Israel but poised to rebuild for long term — US intel

Defense minister reportedly walks back decision to end administrative detention of settlers

Defense Minister Israel Katz has walked back his decision to stop signing off on the administrative detention of Israeli settlers in the West Bank, i24News reports.

Katz came under fire for the move announced last month, given that it kept the policy in place against Arab Israelis and thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank.

i24News reports that during a recent meeting, Katz clarified that there would be no discrimination between Jews and Arabs in his administration of the policy and that he would adjudicate requests strictly based on security considerations.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah aims to rebuild longer term despite Israeli blows, US intel says

Lebanon’s Hezbollah has been significantly degraded militarily by Israel, but the Iran-backed terror group will likely try to rebuild its stockpiles and forces and pose a long-term threat to the US and its regional allies, four sources briefed on updated US intelligence tell Reuters.

US intelligence agencies assessed in recent weeks that Hezbollah, even amid Israel’s military campaign, had begun to recruit new fighters and was trying to find ways to rearm through domestic production and by smuggling materials through Syria, says a senior US official, an Israeli official, and two US lawmakers briefed on the intelligence, speaking on condition of anonymity.

It’s unclear to what extent those efforts have slowed since last week when Hezbollah and Israel reached a shaky ceasefire, two of the sources say. The deal specifically prohibits Hezbollah from procuring weapons or weapons parts.

US intelligence agencies assess that Hezbollah is operating with limited firepower. It has lost more than half its weapons stockpiles and thousands of fighters during the conflict with Israel, reducing Tehran’s overall military capacity to its lowest point in decades, according to the intelligence.

But Hezbollah has not been destroyed. It still maintains thousands of short-range rockets in Lebanon and will try to rebuild using weapons factories in neighboring countries with available transport routes, the sources say.

One of the lawmakers says Hezbollah has been “knocked back” in the short term and had its ability to conduct command and control reduced. But the lawmaker adds: “This organization is designed to be disrupted.”

US officials are concerned about Hezbollah’s access to Syria, where Syrian rebels recently launched an offensive to retake government strongholds in Aleppo and Hama. Hezbollah has long used Syria as a safe haven and transport hub, taking military equipment and weapons from Iraq, through Syria and into Lebanon through the rugged border crossings.

Washington is trying to pressure Syrian President Bashar Assad to limit Hezbollah’s operations, enlisting other countries in the region to help, a senior US official said. Reuters reported on Monday that the US and the United Arab Emirates have discussed possibly lifting sanctions on Assad if he peels himself away from Iran and cuts off weapons routes to Hezbollah.

Hezbollah officials have said the group will continue to function as a “resistance” against Israel, but its secretary general Naim Qassem has not brought up the group’s weapons in recent speeches, including after the ceasefire was reached. Sources in Lebanon say Hezbollah’s priority is rebuilding homes for its constituency after Israeli strikes destroyed swaths of Lebanon’s south and the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Security forces detain Hamas operative involved in deadly shooting attack in Jordan Valley

Members of police’s elite Yamam counter-terrorism unit and the Shin Bet security agency detained this evening a Hamas terrorist who was part of a cell that carried out a deadly shooting attack in the Jordan Valley in the summer, Israeli defense authorities say.

Ayman Ghanem was arrested by Israeli special forces who raided a hospital in the West Bank city of Nablus this evening.

According to the Shin Bet, police, and IDF, Ghanem was the third member of a Hamas cell that carried out a shooting attack on August 11 at the Mehola Junction on Route 90, the main north-south artery in the Jordan Valley, killing Yonatan Deutsch, 23, and wounding Anas Jaramana, 32.

Since the deadly attack, Ghanem continued to advance attacks as the head of a terror cell, and he posed a threat, Israeli authorities say.

Ghanem had been wounded in an Israeli drone strike yesterday near the West Bank village of Aqabah. The strike killed three other Hamas gunmen who the military said were planning “imminent attacks.”

After being wounded in the strike, Ghanem was taken to a hospital in Nablus, where he was nabbed this evening by the special forces.

The joint police, Shin Bet and IDF statement says the operation was carefully planned, “with the aim of preventing harm to patients and medical staff at the hospital.”

The military also reveals that on October 9, a Palestinian gunman named Abd al-Arouf Masri who was killed in an exchange of fire in the Jordan Valley, also participated in the August terror attack.

Earlier this week, the head of the Hamas cell behind the attack, Wael Lahlouh, was killed in an IDF drone strike near Jenin alongside three other gunmen.

Hamas buried Deif in secret site so Israel wouldn’t find body, use it as leverage in hostage talks — report

A picture purporting to show Muhammad Deif, the commander of the Hamas terror group's military wing, which was published by Hebrew media outlets on December 27, 2023. (Screenshot, Channel 13, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

The Kan public broadcaster reports that Hamas managed to locate the body of its military chief Muhammad Deif after he was killed in an Israeli airstrike in July.

Deif was then buried in a secret location, Kan says, explaining that the terror group feared that Israel would try to retrieve his body and use it as leverage in the ongoing hostage negotiations.

Hamas has yet to confirm publicly Deif’s death.

Sa’ar tells EU foreign policy chief there may be new opportunity for hostage deal

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar meets with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas in Malta on December 4, 2024. (Shalev Man/Foreign Ministry)

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar tells EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas that there “may now be an opportunity” to get the hostages out of Gaza.

Speaking at the OSCE Foreign Ministers’ Conference in Malta, Sa’ar stresses that Israel’s government “is serious” about reaching a deal to get them out, and asks for the EU’s help in attaining an agreement.

He also tells Kallas that Israel wants to “open a new page in our relations with the European Union, one of constructive dialogue and cooperation,” according to Sa’ar’s office. Israel regularly sparred with Kallas’s predecessor Josep Borrell.

Meeting with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Sa’ar updates her on the operation to extract the body of Itay Skvirsky, who was a German citizen.

PM hails IDF chief’s censure of military spokesman, saying army shouldn’t be interfering in political matters

After IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi reprimands IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari over his remarks this evening against the so-called Feldstein Law, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praises Halevi’s move.

“It is good that the IDF spokesman was put in his place to ensure that such a statement is not heard again,” he says in a statement.

“In a democratic country, the military is not supposed to interfere in political matters and certainly not criticize legislation.”

The law being advanced by lawmakers would make it impossible for soldiers and other members of the defense establishment to be prosecuted for giving classified intelligence, without authorization, to the prime minister or defense minister.

French hard left urges Macron to resign, hold early presidential elections

French President Emmanuel Macron gestures as he departs from the Maraya museum after a visit to the archaeological site of al-Hijr (Hegra), near the northwestern Saudi city of Al-Ula, on December 4, 2024. (Ludovic Marin/Pool/AFP)

France’s hard left is urging President Emmanuel Macron to resign and hold early presidential elections after lawmakers voted to oust the government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier.

“We are now calling on Macron to go,” Mathilde Panot, the head of the parliamentary faction of the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party tells reporters, urging “early presidential elections” to solve a deepening political crisis.

IDF says it targeted Hamas commanders in airstrike on Gaza humanitarian zone that reportedly killed over 20

The IDF says an airstrike earlier this evening in the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in the southern Gaza Strip targeted several senior Hamas commanders.

According to Palestinian media, more than 20 people were killed in the strike in the Khan Younis area.

The military says that the senior Hamas commanders were “engaged in terror activity in the humanitarian zone in Khan Younis.”

Following the strike, the IDF says it identified secondary blasts, indicating the presence of weapons in the area. Palestinian media publish footage purportedly showing the strike.

The IDF says it took numerous steps to mitigate civilian harm in the strike, including by using a precision munition, aerial surveillance, and other intelligence.

“This is a further example of Hamas’ cynical exploitation of the civilian population and infrastructure as human shields for terrorist activity. The IDF will continue to operate against terrorist organizations that use the humanitarian area as cover,” the army adds.

#شاهد

لحظة استهداف طيران الاحتلال الحربي لخيام النازحين وارتقاء اكثر من 20 شهيد غربي مدينة خان يونس جنوب قطاع غزة pic.twitter.com/oqXdJOm3ZC

— Newpress | نيو برس (@NewpressPs) December 4, 2024

French lawmakers oust government in no-confidence vote

French lawmakers on Wednesday voted to oust the government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier after just three months in office in a move that deepens a political crisis in the country.

For the first time in over 60 years, the National Assembly approved a no-confidence motion against the incumbent government that had been proposed by the hard left but crucially backed by the far-right headed by Marine Le Pen.

IDF chief reprimands army spokesperson for criticizing controversial coalition bill

IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi (left) and IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari (right) arrive for Halevi to deliver a statement to the media at an army base in southern Israel, December 26, 2023. (Flash90)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi reprimanded IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari over his remarks at a press conference this evening regarding the so-called Feldstein Law, the military says.

The IDF says Hagari “exceeded the scope of his authority” with his criticism of the law.

“The IDF does not criticize the legislature, but presents its position to the political echelon in the accepted mechanisms,” the military adds.

Katz: IDF spokesperson will be disciplined for saying coalition bill threatens national security

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and Defense Minister Israel Katz visit the Netzarim Corridor in the central Gaza Strip on November 19, 2024. (Itai Bet-On/GPO)

Defense Minister Israel Katz says “disciplinary action” will be taken against IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari for his harsh criticism of the so-called Feldstein Law.

“The criticism of the IDF Spokesman against the political echelon and against the legislative process in the Knesset is a grave phenomenon and a complete deviation from his authority and what is allowed and expected of a uniformed person in a democratic regime,” Katz says in a statement.

“I intend to take disciplinary action against him as soon as possible to draw the necessary conclusions,” he adds.

The law being advanced by lawmakers would make it impossible for soldiers and other members of the defense establishment to be prosecuted for giving classified intelligence, without authorization, to the prime minister or defense minister.

The proposed law comes in response to charges against Eli Feldstein, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and an unnamed IDF reservist relating to their alleged involvement in the leak of stolen classified intelligence information to the foreign press.

Hagari said in a press conference this evening that the law is “very dangerous for the IDF and the security of the state” as it would allow any junior official to steal documents from the army and leak them without proper approvals.

Within hours of their arrest, court releases all 8 suspects in settler rampage of Palestinian towns

A home burned by rioting settlers in the West Bank village of Huwara, on December 4, 2024. (Courtesy Huwara residents via Yesh Din)

A Central District Court judge has ordered the release of all eight suspects who were arrested for rioting and assaulting Palestinians and Israeli soldiers in the northern West Bank overnight and Wednesday morning.

Members of the Civil Administration, which runs civil affairs in the West Bank, and Border Police operated overnight to demolish illegal settler outpost construction near the Palestinian village of Beit Furik, close to Nablus. The outpost construction was on private Palestinian land.

During the evacuation of the Or Yosef outpost, the Israel Defense Forces said settlers hurled stones at the forces, injuring two Border Police officers.

A short while later, the settlers stormed Beit Furik, “set fire to property in the area and threw stones at the village,” according to the army.

In the nearby town of Huwara, settlers carried out another attack against Palestinians, setting fire to property and hurling stones.

The Yesh Din anti-occupation watchdog said a house of a family of seven was set ablaze, as well as two vehicles. The group said neighbors saved the family from the blaze, but the father was attacked with rocks and sticks and was hospitalized with skull fractures.

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Rujeib, another Palestinian village in the Nablus area, some 20 settlers gathered, the IDF said, apparently in preparation for another attack.

When IDF soldiers and Border Police troops arrived, the settlers clashed with the forces, the military said.

Israeli delegation will reportedly travel to Cairo next week to discuss new Egyptian hostage deal offer

Protesters call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas terror group, in Tel Aviv, November 30, 2024.(AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Channel 12 reports that an Israeli delegation will travel to Cairo early next week after Egypt has put together a new hostage deal proposal.

The proposal envisions an initial temporary ceasefire of 45 to 60 days. The exact timeline still needs to be negotiated.

Like the previous offer that the Biden administration had been pushing since May, the latest Egyptian proposal envisions a staged hostage release.

The previous offer consisted of three 42-day phases, so the new proposal doesn’t appear to be markedly different.

There will be a gradual release of hostages in the first phase of the new proposal. However, a smaller number of hostages will be released than the 33 that the previous offer envisioned, Channel 12 says.

The first phase will also see the release of Palestinian security prisoners — but at a different rate than the one discussed by the parties during the previous proposal, Channel 12 says, without elaborating.

The new Egyptian offer also envisions the reopening of the Rafah Crossing during the first phase of the ceasefire, to be managed by the Palestinian Authority.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected PA involvement in the post-war management of Gaza, so it would appear unlikely that he would agree to this clause. His far-right coalition partners have advocated collapsing the PA entirely.

Arab governments have conditioned their support in Gaza’s reconstruction on Israel granting the PA a foothold in Gaza in order to unify the territory with the West Bank under a single governing entity and advance a two-state solution.

A senior Palestinian official tells Channel 12 suggests that this clause was included in the latest Egyptian proposal because Hamas has agreed to cede control over the Rafah Crossing — a major development, given that this means giving up on the economic benefits of controlling the gate. It would also complicate Hamas efforts to evacuate its fighters from Gaza.

Like the previous US-backed proposal, the first stage of the Egyptian offer would also include a major surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza, Channel 12 says.

What remains unclear — the network says — is what will happen to the Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors. Netanyahu torpedoed talks in early July by submitting new demands for Israel to maintain control over the two corridors during the first phase of the deal, Arab and Israeli mediators have told The Times of Israel.

The Philadelphi Corridor runs along the Egypt-Gaza border and served as a major weapons smuggling route for Hamas in the past. The Netzarim Corridor bisects the Gaza Strip and has reportedly been expanded to roughly 35 square kilometers by the IDF in recent months as it seeks to choke off Hamas control on both sides of the enclave.

Also unclear is how the Egyptian proposal will bridge the gap between Israel and Hamas regarding the conclusion of the first phase. Israel has refused to commit to a permanent ceasefire and wants to be able to maintain the ability to resume fighting after the first phase, while Hamas has refused to agree to proposals that don’t include a permanent end to the war.

The Egyptian proposal offers a new mechanism for addressing this dispute, Channel 12 says, without elaborating.

While many disputes will likely arise, the new Egyptian framework may explain comments from senior Israeli officials in recent days expressing new optimism regarding the chances for a deal, the network adds.

IDF releases footage of Hamas tunnels where bodies of six hostages were found

The IDF releases footage showing inside the two tunnels where hostages Alex Dancyg, Yagev Buchshtav, Chaim Peri, Yoram Metzger, Nadav Popplewell, and Avraham Munder were held in the Gaza Strip.

An IDF investigation published today found that the six men, after being abducted, were taken to a central tunnel in Khan Younis where they were held until late December 2023.

The IDF reached that tunnel, which featured holding cells, in January. By then, the hostages had been moved to another tunnel under the Hamad Town residential complex in Khan Younis, around four kilometers away.

The hostages were being held in a narrow hidden passageway under Hamad Town that connected to a larger underground network.

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari in a press conference says that the tunnel “was not designed for a long stay, it is only 100 meters long, blocked on one side by sandbags and on the other side with a metal door.”

“Its height makes it difficult to stand in, and it is as wide as a mattress. It is cramped… it has no conditions for humans to live in,” he says.

The IDF’s investigation, which was presented to the families of the six today, found it was likely that the captives were shot by their captors as a result of airstrikes on February 14, and that even if they had not been shot, they would have likely died of suffocation or a similar cause, as the bombings sealed off the tunnel in which they were being held.

Hagari says that the strikes were around 100-120 meters away from where the hostages were being held captive.

Footage released by the IDF on December 4, 2024, shows two tunnels in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis where six hostages were held captive by Hamas. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF spokesperson says coalition’s ‘Feldstein Law’ would endanger IDF soldiers, harm national security

Eli Feldstein, a spokesman with the Prime Minister's Office named as a suspect in an investigation of an alleged leak of sensitive information. (Social media / used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says the coalition’s so-called Feldstein Law is “very dangerous for the IDF and the security of the state.”

The law being advanced by lawmakers would make it impossible for soldiers and other members of the defense establishment to be prosecuted for giving classified intelligence, without authorization, to the prime minister or defense minister.

The proposed law comes in response to charges against Eli Feldstein, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and an unnamed IDF reservist relating to their alleged involvement in the leak of stolen classified intelligence information to the foreign press.

“The IDF does not hide information from the political echelon. The IDF works in accordance with the political echelon for the defense of Israel,” Hagari says in response to a question at a press conference.

“The document in question was accessible to the relevant authorities in the Prime Minister’s Office,” he says, referring to the leaked classified intel.

“This document was stolen from the IDF and was given to a newspaper in Germany in a manner that bypassed the [military] censor. The [intelligence] was revealed to the enemy, and harmed Israel’s security,” Hagari says.

“This law is very dangerous because it will create a situation where any junior official in the IDF can, based on his own personal judgment steal documents or intelligence materials from the IDF,” he continues, claiming the legislation will put the lives of soldiers at risk.

IDF says it recovered the body of hostage Itay Svirsky from Gaza

Itay Svirsky was taken captive on October 7, 2023, from his mother's house in Kibbutz Be'eri, when Hamas terrorists assaulted the community. He was declared dead on January 16, 2024. (Courtesy)

The IDF says it has recovered the body of hostage Itay Svirsky from the Gaza Strip, in a joint operation with the Shin Bet security agency.

Earlier this year, the IDF said that Svirsky had been murdered in captivity by Hamas terrorists.

Svirsky, 38, was visiting his parents in their community of Kibbutz Be’eri for the holiday weekend, when Hamas terrorists launched a massacre in the community on October 7, 2023. Svirsky was abducted and his parents were murdered during the onslaught.

During his time in Gaza, he was held alongside hostages Yossi Sharabi and Noa Argamani. Sharabi was likely inadvertently killed as a result of an IDF strike, the military said earlier this year, and Argamani was rescued in the summer.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issues a statement expressing his condolences to Svirsky’s family and pledges to continue working to return all remaining 100 hostages.

Former chief rabbi tells yeshiva students to flush enlistment orders down the toilet

File — Israel's Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef sells the hametz (food containing leavening) of the state of Israel before the upcoming Passover holiday in Jerusalem, April 21, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Former chief Sephardic rabbi of Israel Yitzhak Yosef is recorded telling yeshiva students: “If you receive a military enlistment order, tear it up, throw it in the toilet, and flush. Don’t consider it, don’t be afraid.”

מרן הראשל"צ הרב יצחק יוסף בהוראה לתלמידי ישיבות:
"אם יגיע אליכם צו גיוס – לקרוע את זה, לזרוק לאסלה ולהוריד את המים. לא להתחשב, אל תפחדו". pic.twitter.com/uJwc5yZTOl

— ישי כהן (@ishaycoen) December 4, 2024

Opposition defeats coalition resolution to hold special hearing on firing attorney general

Justice Minister Yariv Levin attends a plenum session at the Knesset on December 4, 2024. (Chaim Goldbergl/Flash90)

The Opposition has defeated a coalition resolution that would have forced the holding of a special hearing in the plenum to discuss firing Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.

The resolution was defeated 41-40.

A growing number of coalition lawmakers have called for Baharav-Miara’s ouster due to frustration with her refusal to defend various controversial and unprecedented measures the government seeks to advance that she fears would be against the law.

US antisemitism envoy departs on final diplomatic tour to the Middle East

Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt speaks during an event on Capitol Hill in Washington, February 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

US special envoy for combating antisemitism Deborah Lipstadt departed yesterday for the Middle East in what will be her final diplomatic tour as ambassador, the State Department says.

Lipstadt will visit Egypt, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, her fourth trip to the region.

Lipstadt will meet with governmental and civil society interlocutors to discuss ongoing and future efforts to promote interfaith understanding, and religious tolerance and combat antisemitism. She will also discuss initiatives to highlight Jewish heritage and history throughout the region, the State Department says.

While in Bahrain this coming weekend, the US antisemitism envoy will participate in the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ annual Manama Dialogue.

Lipstadt will return to the US on December 14.

Slain hostage’s widow: IDF probe proves military pressure kills hostages; 28 hostages have been killed due to IDF ops

Banners showing Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year old hostage who was murdered in Hamas captivity in Gaza, hang in Jerusalem, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP/Ohad Zwigenberg)

The wife of Chaim Peri says the investigation released by the army earlier today on the deaths of her husband and five other hostages in February proves that the IDF’s military pressure is killing the hostages.

The IDF probe determined that the six hostages were likely executed by their captors amid an IDF airstrike on a Hamas tunnel near where they were being held. The IDF said in its probe that it hadn’t been aware at the time that the hostages were near the tunnel targeted in the strike.

Speaking to Channel 12, Osnat Peri says “military pressure doesn’t help bring hostages home — what’s worse, it kills the hostages.

She says that 28 hostages have been killed as a result of IDF operations.

Peri expresses hope that the IDF probe will convince the government to strike a hostage deal.

Hours earlier, though, Defense Minister Israel Katz claimed that a hostage deal was increasingly possible due to the IDF’s military pressure against Hamas.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies have repeatedly claimed that military pressure can coax Hamas into making a deal, but this has yet to be proven true since the first hostage deal in late November.

IDF says it targeted Hezbollah rocket launcher in southern Lebanon with drone strike

The IDF says it carried out a drone strike against a Hezbollah rocket launcher that was spotted in southern Lebanon’s Majdal Zoun earlier today.

The launcher “posed a threat to the State of Israel while violating the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the military says.

Troops also demolished Hezbollah weapons found today in southern Lebanon’s Khiam, as-Sawana, and Aitaroun, the IDF says.

“The IDF is deployed in southern Lebanon and acts against any threat that endangers the State of Israel,” the army adds.

כלי-טיס של חיל-האוויר בהכוונת פיקוד הצפון, תקף משגר שזוהה במרחב מג׳דל זון והיווה איום על מדינת ישראל תוך הפרה של ההבנות בין ישראל ללבנון.

כוחות צה״ל השמידו אמצעי לחימה שאותרו במרחבים אלחיאם, א-צוונה ועיתרון שבדרום לבנון.

צה״ל פרוס במרחב דרום לבנון ופועל נגד כל איום המסכן את… pic.twitter.com/LamSq4ZWms

— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) December 4, 2024

PM meets family of US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, says he’s working non-stop to free captives

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with family members of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander in his Jerusalem office on December 4, 2024. (Prime Minister's Office)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets in his Jerusalem office with the family of Edan Alexander, a dual US-Israeli citizen being held by Hamas.

The terror group released a video of Alexander earlier this week.

According to his office, Netanyahu tells the family that he is working around the clock to secure the release of the remaining 101 hostages in Gaza.

Uri Epstein elected head of Gaza border municipality in delayed run-off

Uri Epstein is elected head of the Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council with 53.12 percent of the vote following Tuesday’s run-off election.

Several regions of southern Israel held long-delayed municipal elections earlier this month, nine months after most of the country’s municipalities held their own already war-delayed votes.

A second round of voting was held in the Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council after no candidate could garner at least 40% of the vote.

Trump taps Adam Boehler, who helped negotiate Abraham Accords, as special envoy for hostage affairs

US President Donald Trump listens as Adam Boehler, CEO of US International Development Finance Corporation, speaks about the coronavirus in the Rose Garden of the White House, Tuesday, April 14, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

US President-elect Donald Trump announces his appointment of Adam Boehler as his special envoy for hostage affairs.

Currently CEO of the healthcare investment firm Rubicon Founders, Boehler was involved in the negotiations of the Abraham Accords and helped lead US talks with the Taliban during Trump’s previous administration during which he served as CEO of the US International Development Finance Corp, a new federal agency created during that term.

The appointment comes two days after Trump issued a warning of “all hell to pay” for those holding hostages in the Middle East if they aren’t released by the time he enters office on January 20.

Coalition advances bill allowing gender-segregated college courses on religious grounds

A bill stipulating that holding gender-segregated courses at religious-run institutions of higher education will not be considered discriminatory under the law has passed a preliminary vote in the Knesset 55-45.

Sponsor Limor Son Har-Melech (Otzma Yehudit) lauds the bill as a step forward in integrating ultra-Orthodox Israelis into academia, while Religious Services Minister Michael Malkieli welcomes its advancement as a blow to those trying to prevent Haredim from integrating into the labor market.

Yesh Atid MK Meirav Ben-Ari derides the bill as representing “everything that is bad in Israeli politics,” arguing that it bypasses a High Court of Justice ruling that deemed such segregation to be discrimination.

In 2021, the High Court upheld the Council for Higher Education’s policy of offering gender-segregated college courses in order to encourage the integration of ultra-Orthodox students but prohibited the practice of barring female lecturers from teaching male-only courses.

The court also ruled that a prohibition on segregation between men and women in public spaces on campuses must be enforced immediately.

Syria’s Assad orders 50% raise in career soldiers’ pay

Syrian President Bashar Assad has ordered a 50 percent raise in career soldiers’ pay in a decree issued as the army presses a counteroffensive against Islamist-led rebels.

The decree, which was published by the official SANA news agency, made clear that the raise applies only to soldiers on active duty, not to reservists or veterans.

South Korea ruling party agrees to oppose Yoon impeachment

South Korea’s ruling party has agreed to oppose the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, Yonhap news agency says, after his short-lived attempt to declare martial law threw the country into political turmoil.

“Multiple lawmakers who participated in a party meeting said they had adopted the stance of opposing impeachment,” Yonhap reports.

UN official says over 115,000 people displaced by Syria fighting

More than 115,000 people have been “newly displaced” in Syria’s Idlib and Aleppo provinces, a UN official says, following a major rebel offensive in the north.

“It’s been one week since the conflict escalated in Syria. More than 115,000 people have now been newly displaced across Idlib and northern Aleppo,” UN deputy regional humanitarian coordinator for the Syria crisis, David Carden, says in a statement to AFP following a visit to Idlib.

Kevin Spacey pledges to share what he witnessed on Israel solidarity trip

Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey visits the Knesset and meets with Speaker Amir Ohana at the tail end of his solidarity trip to Israel.

“For the people of Israel,

My heart is filled with admiration and strength for your struggle.

I will share the stories I have heard and what I have witnessed with my own eyes.

With love,
Kevin Spacey”

Thank you Kevin for standing by our people in our darkest time and for… pic.twitter.com/2I7OCZu8wX

— Amir Ohana – אמיר אוחנה (@AmirOhana) December 3, 2024

Hostage families release AI-generated Hamas hostage propaganda video featuring faux Yair Netanyahu’

An AI-generated video of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's son Yair in a Hamas tunnel in Gaza. (Screen capture/X)

A group of hostage families have released an AI-generated Hamas hostage propaganda video featuring Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son Yair.

“My life is in danger because of the IDF bombing,” Yair Netanyahu can be heard saying in the AI-generated video. “I see the polls here from all the channels – a majority of the country wants a deal. I am asking you, mom and dad — let me go. Only you can. I miss you and Avner, too, and I want to go home.”

“If their child had been kidnapped, our children would have been home already,” reads a caption at the end of the video.

The video was released by the Life Forum — a subset of hostage families who have been particularly critical of the government’s handling of the hostage crisis.

אין גבול לטרלול: בשמאל יצרו סרטון AI של יאיר נתניהו ב"מנהרת חמאס" – "מבקש ממך אבא, אמא – שחררו אותנו"
הם איבדו את הדרך
נואשים
אזל להם כל הנשק pic.twitter.com/q5HRWO7WVg

— Holding back the years (@DvachEster49265) December 4, 2024

Trump adviser Waltz to meet with Dermer, source says

US President-elect Donald Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, will meet with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer later today, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Waltz and Dermer are expected to discuss the efforts to reach a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal and the Iranian threat, a reporter for Axios, which earlier reported the meeting, said on X, citing a source familiar with the meeting.

The meeting comes just weeks before Trump takes office on Jan. 20 following campaign promises to end the wars in the Middle East and elsewhere, though he has offered scant details on how he plans to proceed.

On Monday, Trump vowed there would be “hell to pay” in the Middle East if hostages held in the Gaza Strip were not released prior to his inauguration.

“Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America,” he wrote on Truth Social.

Israeli leaders on Tuesday hailed Trump’s pledge while the reaction in Gaza was less enthusiastic.

Nobel committee calls for ‘permanent’ release of Iran’s Mohammadi

File: Narges Mohammadi, the Iranian women's rights campaigner imprisoned by Iran who won the Nobel Peace Prize on October 6, 2023. (AFP/Narges Mohammadi Foundation)

The Norwegian Nobel Committee urged Iran to permanently release jailed Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, after she was freed for three weeks on medical grounds.

“We call upon the Iranian authorities to permanently end her imprisonment and ensure that she will get adequate medical treatment for her illnesses,” the head of the committee, Jorgen Watne Frydnes, tells reporters.

Hamas threatens to kill hostages if Israel launches rescue

Hamas said it had information that Israel intended to carry out a hostage rescue operation similar to one conducted in Gaza’s Nuseirat camp in June and threatened to “neutralize” the captives if such an operation took place, according to an internal statement seen by Reuters.

In the internal statement dated November 22, Hamas told its operatives not to consider any repercussions of following the instructions and said Israel was responsible for the fate of the hostages. It did not say when any Israeli operation was expected to take place.

Trump’s nominee to run Pentagon Hegseth hangs by a thread

Fox News contributor Pete Hegseth arrives at Trump Tower on November 29, 2016, in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP)

US President-elect Donald Trump’s controversial nomination of TV host Pete Hegseth to run the Defense Department is teetering, as Republican senators raised questions over his fitness for the powerful role.

Hegseth, a former Army National Guard officer and Fox News weekend presenter, is under intense pressure over a series of misconduct allegations, including accusations of alcohol abuse and a sexual assault claim from 2017, over which no charges were filed.

Hegseth denies all wrongdoing but the controversy has left Trump’s transition officials scrambling to avoid the embarrassment of a second Cabinet nomination collapsing amid dwindling support from Republicans in Congress.

Running the Pentagon is one of the biggest roles in public office. The Defense Department employs almost three million military and civilian staff, and defense spending — including veterans’ care — topped $1 trillion in the 2023 fiscal year.

Up to six Senate Republicans — including South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham, one of Trump’s staunchest allies on Capitol Hill — have voiced doubts over Hegseth’s ability to walk the tightrope to confirmation, according to NBC News.

The questions around Hegseth’s character deepened as an old email emerged in which Hegseth’s own mother called him an “abuser of women.”

“I think some of these articles are very disturbing,” Graham tells CBS News of the media coverage around the nomination.

“He obviously has a chance to defend himself here, but some of this stuff is going to be difficult.”

Republicans will have 53 seats in the incoming Senate majority, meaning Trump’s nominees can afford to lose the support of only three Republican votes at their January confirmation hearings, assuming all Democrats vote against them.

US media have floated various alternatives, with Trump said to by mulling one-time Republican primary rival and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

The move would raise eyebrows in Washington, as the pair had only the most perfunctory of reconciliations after a bitter presidential nomination battle that left both bruised, although the governor did endorse Trump after dropping out.

On what is being seen as a day of reckoning for Hegseth, the 44-year-old was due for further meetings with influential Republicans on Capitol Hill, and his first TV interview since being nominated, on Fox News.

War monitor says death toll in Syria fighting tops 700

The death toll from a rebel offensive launched in northwestern Syria last week has risen to 704, including 110 civilians, a monitor of the 13-year civil war says.

“The death toll has risen to 704,” the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says — 361 rebels, 233 on the government side and 110 civilians.

IDF: 6 hostages were executed early this year by Gaza captors amid airstrikes near their tunnel

Top (L-R): Nadav Popplewell, Yoram Metzger, Avraham Munder; bottom (L-R): Chaim Peri, Yagev Buchshtav, Alex Dancyg. Abducted to Gaza by Hamas on October 7, 2023, their bodies were retrieved by the IDF on August 20, 2024. (Courtesy)

More than three months after their bodies were recovered from Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, an IDF investigation has found that six hostages were likely executed by their captors amid an airstrike on a Hamas tunnel.

Hostages Alex Dancyg, 75, Yagev Buchshtav, 35, Chaim Peri, 79, Yoram Metzger, 80, Nadav Popplewell, 51, and Avraham Munder, 78, were recovered by the IDF from a tunnel in the Hamad Town residential complex of Khan Younis on August 20, months after they were killed.

The IDF investigation has found that the six men, after being abducted alive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, were taken to a central tunnel in Khan Younis where they were held until late December. The IDF reached that tunnel, which featured holding cells, in January.

By then, the hostages had been moved to another tunnel in Khan Younis, around four kilometers away. They were held in a narrow hidden passageway under Hamad Town that connected parts of a large underground network in Khan Younis, according to the military’s investigation.

The IDF had no information on where the hostages were moved to, and on February 14, airstrikes were carried out by fighter jets on Hamas tunnels in the Hamad Town area, targeting a battalion commander in the terror group.

The military says it did not know of any hostages held in the area, and the strikes were given all the required approvals because there was no suspicion of captives being there.

Six months later, using new intelligence, the IDF reached the site of the strike and recovered the bodies of the six hostages, all of whom were found to have gunshot wounds, indicating with high likelihood that they were executed by the Hamas guards holding them captive.

During the August 20 operation, the IDF also recovered the bodies of six Hamas terrorists from the tunnel.

According to findings from the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute, the six terror operatives had no signs of gunfire on their bodies, and they were killed as a result of a “byproduct” from the IDF’s airstrike, meaning they suffocated or were killed by carbon dioxide poisoning inside the tunnel due to a strike.

The IDF does not know exactly when the hostages were executed — before the strike, during it, or after it. Still, the military believes that the result would have been the same, and the hostages would have died due to the strike’s “byproduct” regardless.

Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says war toll up to 44,532

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says that at least 44,532 people have been killed in nearly 14 months of war between Israel and Hamas.

The toll includes 30 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to the ministry, which says 105,538 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began when Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage.

The Gaza health ministry toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 18,000 combatants in battle as of November and another 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.

Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools and mosques.

Syrian rebel leader appears in public for first time since launch of anti-regime offensive

The leader of the Syrian jihadi rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) appears in public for the first time since the launch of the HTS-led offensive against the Syrian regime one week ago.

On Sunday, unverified reports in Arab media had claimed that Ahmed Hussein al-Shar’a, known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Julani, had been killed in a Russian airstrike.

Videos circulating today on Arab social media and news channels, including on Al Jazeera, show Al Julani making his way through a cheering crowd in Aleppo.

Al-Julani is wanted by the United States as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, with a $10 million bounty on his head.

HTS, a former Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda once known as the Nusra Front, is designated a terrorist group by the US, Russia, Turkey and other states. The shock uprising led by the group has made rapid inroads in northwestern Syria, taking control of the Idlib province and Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city, and gradually approaching the city of Hama.

قائد هيئة تحرير الشام "أبو محمد الجولاني" يزور مدينة #حلب بعد سيطرة فصائل المعارضة عليها ضمن عملية #ردع_العدوان#فيديو pic.twitter.com/IjN6Il1QqX

— الجزيرة سوريا (@AJA_Syria) December 4, 2024

Israeli officials said to deny report on delegation heading to Cairo for hostage talks

After al-Araby al-Jadeed claimed that an Israeli delegation will be heading to Cairo on Thursday for hostage negotiations, the Axios news site cites unnamed Israeli security officials who say that they’re unaware of any delegation slated to travel to Egypt tomorrow.

Katz: There’s a chance we can get a hostage deal this time around

Defense Minister Israel Katz at the Tel Nof Airbase in central Israel, December 4, 2024. (Elad Malka/Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Israel Katz says during a visit to the Tel Nof Airbase that “there is a chance that this time we can really advance a hostage deal” with Hamas.

“The most important thing today in the war is to bring the hostages home. This is the supreme goal that stands before us and we are working in every way to make this happen,” he says in remarks provided by his office.

“The intensity of the pressure on this monstrous organization called Hamas is increasing and there is a chance that this time we can really advance a hostage deal,” Katz says.

5 Israelis from southern city Arad illegally cross into Lebanon, are detained by IDF

Five Israelis from the southern city of Arad illegally crossed into Lebanon a short while ago, police say.

According to police, the IDF reported that it had detained five suspects inside Lebanon after they crossed from Israel.

Officers reached the border and took the five for further questioning.

“The suspects are being interrogated at this time and according to the findings of the investigation it will be decided on the continuation of the legal process in their case,” police say.

Police note that crossing the border illegally is punishable with up to four years in jail.

Blinken says ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel is ‘holding’

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken gives a press conference during a NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Oganization) Foreign Ministers' meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, on December 4, 2024. (JOHN THYS / AFP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah “holding,” despite a series of incidents.

“The ceasefire is holding, and we’re using the mechanism that was established when any concerns have arisen about any alleged or purported violations,” Blinken tells journalists on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Brussels.

‘Feldstein Law,’ giving immunity for passing classified info to PM, passes preliminary Knesset reading

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)

The so-called Feldstein Law, which would prevent the prosecution of soldiers and other members of the defense establishment for giving classified intelligence to the prime minister or defense minister without authorization, passes its preliminary reading at the Knesset.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not present for the vote on the bill, which passed 59-52.

The proposed law comes in response to charges against Eli Feldstein, a spokesman for Netanyahu, and an unnamed IDF reservist.

Feldstein is accused of leaking to the German newspaper Bild material from a document stolen from an IDF database by a second defendant, an IDF noncommissioned officer (NCO), in a bid to sway public opinion against a truce-hostage deal in Gaza.

The military and defense establishment have denied accusations that senior politicians have been kept out of the loop, and have opposed the bill.

While the law has been dubbed the “Feldstein Law,” Eli Feldstein is not a soldier.

Kan has reported, without citing sources, that Feldstein said he notified the prime minister two days before he leaked the document to Bild.

Netanyahu has insisted that he only learned about the existence of the classified document from the media, and has used the case as a launchpad for attacks on the Shin Bet internal security agency.

Syrian army launched counteroffensive against rebels near key city Hama, war monitor says

Syrian opposition fighters take pictures in the outskirts of of Hama, Syria, December 3, 2024.(AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrian government forces launched a counterattack against Islamist-led rebels around the key city of Hama after suffering a string of staggering losses, a war monitor says.

Hama is strategically located in central Syria and for the army, it is key to safeguarding the capital and seat of power Damascus.

The fighting around Hama follows a lightning offensive by the Islamist-led rebels who in a matter of days seized swaths of territory from President Bashar Assad’s control.

Key in the rebels’ successes since the start of the offensive last week has been the takeover of the city of Aleppo, which in more than a decade of war had never fallen from government hands.

Report: Israeli delegation led by Shin Bet chief heading to Cairo on Thursday for hostage-ceasefire talks

Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar attends a farewell ceremony in honor of then-police chief Kobi Shabtai at the National Police Academy in Beit Shemesh, on July 14, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

An Israeli delegation headed by Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar will arrive in Cairo tomorrow for talks on a potential hostage-ceasefire deal, al-Araby al-Jadeed newspaper reports.

The Qatari-owned, London-based outlet says the Israeli delegation will include “a special envoy” from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. No further details are given.

According to the report, Egypt will present a new draft of its proposal after holding talks with officials from the Hamas terror group. The proposal includes “broad lines that can be moved around,” the report says.

The visit comes as Israel waits to hear Hamas’s response to an Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire in the war that began on October 7, 2023, when the terror group led an attack on Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages to Gaza.

Jailed Iranian Nobel Peace laureate Narges Mohammadi freed for 3 weeks on medical grounds

This photo taken in 2021 shows Narges Mohammadi in Tehran, Iran. (Reihane Taravati via AP)

Iran has released Nobel Peace laureate Narges Mohammadi, jailed since November 2021, for three weeks on medical grounds, her lawyer posts on social media.

“Based on the advice of the examining doctor, the public prosecutor suspended the jail sentence against Narges Mohammadi for three weeks and she was released from prison,” Mostafa Nili says on X.

Lebanon health minister says 4,047 killed in Hezbollah-Israel fighting

A picture taken from the southern Lebanese region of Marjayoun shows some of the destruction in Khiam on December 4, 2024 (AFP)

Lebanon Health Minister Firass Abiad says the Lebanese death toll in more than a year of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel has reached 4,047, most of them since September.

The figure does not differentiate between combatants and civilians. The IDF estimates that some 3,500 Hezbollah operatives have been killed in the conflict. Around 100 members of other terror groups have also been reported killed in Lebanon.

“Until now… we have recorded 4,047 dead and 16,638 wounded,” Abiad tells reporters a week after a ceasefire took effect. Most of the deaths occurred after September 15, he says, adding that “we believe the real number may be higher” due to unrecorded deaths.

Starting October 8, 2023, Hezbollah-led forces attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the Iran-backed group saying it was doing so to support Palestinians in Gaza amid the war there. Hezbollah then expanded its attacks to also target cities in central and northern Israel with rockets.

Some 60,000 residents were evacuated from northern Israel near the Lebanon border shortly after Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, amid fears Hezbollah would carry out a similar attack, and increasing rocket fire by the terror group. In September, Israel expanded its operations in Lebanon with the aim of enabling northern residents to return to their homes. a ceasefire went into effect last week and has broadly held.

Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel since October 2023 have resulted in the deaths of 45 civilians. In addition, 76 IDF soldiers and reservists have died in cross-border skirmishes, attacks on Israel, and in the ensuing ground operation launched in southern Lebanon.

Karhi pushes back against claim government working to curb free press

Communications Minister Shlomo Karai attends an emergency conference on the freedom of the media at the Knesset on December 4, 2024 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Pushing back against allegations that the government is working to curb the press, Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi claims at an emergency conference at the Knesset that the legislation will in fact increase freedom of expression.

Responding to harsh criticism from Opposition Leader Yair Lapid and representatives of the media, Karhi declares that he “works for the public and not for the media” and argues that the public wants “a diversity of opinions” from the right to the left.

He also argues that the moves being promoted by the government would open the radio market to competition by abolishing regional restrictions.

Karhi says that when the government passes its legislation, “freedom of expression will increase.”

Following repeated interruptions by lawmakers and journalists, Karhi’s chief of staff Elad Zamir is removed from the chamber after screaming that Lapid was trying to “silence our voices.”

Earlier in the meeting, citing recent legislative initiatives aimed at granting the government oversight of television ratings data and privatizing the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation and Army Radio, Lapid accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of carrying out “a planned, orchestrated attack” against the Israeli press.

Report: PM asks court if he can testify just twice a week, start later in the morning than planned

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

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asks the Jerusalem District Court to reduce his expected testimony in his corruption trial from three times a week to twice a week, citing his busy schedule due to security meetings and the need for communication with officials abroad, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

Netanyahu also asks not to testify on consecutive days and for him to be allowed to start giving evidence an hour later than the scheduled time of 9 a.m.

According to Channel 12, the premier also asked that he finish in court by 3 p.m.

In the request, the premier says he would like to speak with the judges behind closed doors before he begins testifying, Kan reports.

The premier will take the stand in his corruption trial next week in an underground courtroom in Tel Aviv because the Jerusalem courtroom was deemed not secure enough. Media outlets have submitted a request to broadcast it live.

Netanyahu is set to begin testifying on December 10 after the Jerusalem District Court partially accepted a request by defense lawyers for a delay over concerns that they would not be able to prepare for the landmark appearance in time, due to Netanyahu’s intense schedule, as he deals with the wars Israel is fighting in Gaza and other fronts.

The prime minister is accused of fraud and breach of trust in three separate cases, including one in which he is also facing the more serious charge of bribery. Netanyahu denies all accusations.

Military establishes 1st Israeli Air Force technicians unit for ultra-Orthodox men

Ultra-Orthodox Israeli Air Force technicians are seen at the Israeli Air Force's technical school in Haifa upon completing their training, December 3, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says it has established a first-ever Israeli Air Force technicians unit for male members of the ultra-Orthodox community, allowing them to maintain their religious lifestyle while serving in the military.

The unit is based out of one of the 105th Squadron’s reinforced aircraft shelters at the Ramat David Airbase in northern Israel. The squadron operates F-16 fighter jets.

Yesterday, 26 Haredi soldiers completed their training and are now certified “level A” technicians for the F-16.

The technicians will “ensure the operational competence of the planes and the weapon systems,” the military says.

It is the first time the military has carried out a training course for level A technicians for the Haredi community, and it says that “it is part of significant processes in the IDF that are designed to integrate ultra-Orthodox youth into the army, while making the necessary adjustments to maintain their religious lifestyle, such as separate accommodation, strict kashrut (Jewish dietary laws) and the establishment of a synagogue in the hardened aircraft shelter.”

The military adds that the new unit is a “groundbreaking pilot project, the goal of which is to integrate ultra-Orthodox youth into military service, while meeting the needs of the IDF.”

As part of expanding the draft of ultra-Orthodox men, the IDF has been working to open new units — and potentially even a separate induction center — for Haredi troops, in addition to the existing ones.

8 settlers detained over attacks on security forces and Palestinians, damaging property

A Palestinian man inspects the damage in his house in Huwara south of Nablus, in the West Bank, following a reported attack by Israeli settlers early on December 4, 2024. (Zain JAAFAR / AFP)

The police and Shin Bet say that eight Israeli settlers were detained for attacking security forces and Palestinians and causing damage to property in the northern West Bank overnight and this morning.

“At these moments, many investigative actions are being carried out, which include gathering evidence, collecting findings from the scenes as well as questioning the suspects,” a joint statement says.

The suspects are being questioned by the police’s West Bank district and the Shin Bet.

The incidents began after Israeli authorities evacuated an illegal settler outpost near Nablus. In the following hours, settlers stormed the Palestinian villages of Beit Furik and Huwara, where they attacked residents and set fire to property. The suspects also attacked Israeli forces, wounding two Border Police officers.

Steep drop for Israeli students in international math and science test scores

Illustrative: Students take their mathematics matriculation examination in Jerusalem on May 20, 2019 (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)

Israeli students in 2023 showed a dramatic decline in mathematics and science test scores, according to the TIMSS 2023 international report, released this morning.

According to the data, Israeli 8th grade students in 2023 dropped 14 places internationally in math scores to 23rd overall, and 9 places in science results, to 25th place, as compared to the previous testing period in 2019.

The 2023 testing took place before the October 2023 outbreak of the war between Israel and the Hamas and Hezbollah terror groups.

Some 5,200 Israeli students participated, but the survey did not include students in the ultra-Orthodox school track and students from East Jerusalem.

The 2023 results, which cover the post-COVID period, showed a general worldwide decline in math and science test scores, according to the TIMSS report, although the drop for Israeli students was more acute than most.

The Education Ministry, in a statement about the results, attributed Israel’s drop to the extended series of COVID lockdowns, which caused schools to move to distance learning.

Israel had a total of 130 days of school lockdowns during COVID, as compared to countries like Sweden (49 days) or the United Kingdom (64 days), both of whom showed slight improvement in math scores.

The TIMSS study – the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study – has been conducted every four years since 1995 and is a project of the IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement) coordinated at Boston College. Israel has participated in the study since 1999.

The study tested about 300,000 students from 9,000 schools in 72 countries.

2025 state budget to be advanced in Knesset today

The 2025 state budget and accompanying Arrangements Bill will be placed on the Knesset table today, kicking off the legislative process toward its eventual passage, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana announce in a joint statement.

“The State of Israel is facing the longest and most expensive war in its history,” the pair state, touting the “economic support” provided to reservists, businesses in affected areas and the reconstruction of the north and south due to close collaboration between the ministry and Knesset.

“The government of Israel, the Knesset, and all citizens of the country are working hand in hand, on the military front and the home front, for military, economic, and political victory. Together, we will win this campaign as well,” they state.

The budget must be passed by the end of March 2025 or the government will automatically fall, triggering early elections. It includes tax hikes and spending cuts to try to rein in a budget deficit now running at 8.5 percent of GDP.

Journalists tell Knesset the government is endangering free press: ‘Scared for freedom of speech’

Oded Ben-Ami speaks at a gathering on freedom of expression, held at the Knesset on December 4, 2024 (Yesh Atid spokesperson)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is endangering the free press, journalists say at an emergency gathering on freedom of expression in the Knesset.

“We feel that the free media is under a very sharp attack,” Channel 12 news presenter Oded Ben-Ami tells lawmakers, comparing a country without a free press to a hospital whose doctors do not have access to stethoscopes or MRI machines.

“We are the stethoscope of a democratic state and if you harm us, this state… won’t be able to exist,” he says.

“Where journalists are flagged for their political positions, arrests will follow,” weighs in Yedioth Ahronoth journalist Merav Betito, referring to a list circulated by Likud activists in recent days that scored Kan public broadcaster journalists on the basis of their political opinions.

The gathering was organized by Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, himself a former journalist, to protest a series of moves that critics say are aimed at eroding press freedoms, including recent legislative initiatives to grant the government oversight of television ratings data and privatize the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation and Army Radio. In addition, the government has called for a boycott of the left-wing Haaretz daily.

Michal Assulin, Kan’s music editor, tells the committee that this is not the first time that the government has taken aim at Israel’s public broadcaster, recalling the closure of its predecessor, the Israel Broadcasting Authority, in 2017.

“I’m scared for freedom of speech,” she says. “Please don’t take my home.”

IDF says troops found makeshift bomb-making lab in north Gaza home

Troops of the 401st Armored Brigade operate in northern Gaza's Jabalia, in a handout photo published by the military on December 4, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Troops of the 401st Armored Brigade operating in northern Gaza’s Jabalia this week located a makeshift bomb-making lab in a home, the military says.

The IDF says the troops found parts to build explosive devices, along with grenades, in the home.

Also during the operations in Jabalia in the past week, the military says the troops killed many gunmen, demolished Hamas infrastructure, and seized and destroyed numerous weapons.

A makeshift bomb-making lab found by troops in a home in northern Gaza’s Jabalia, in a video released by the military on December 4, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Prosecutors appeal court’s decision to release Netanyahu aide Feldstein to house arrest

People protest in support of Eli Feldstein and the Israeli soldier accused of leaking classified documents outside the Tel Aviv District Court, November 27, 2024. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

State prosecutors appeal the decision yesterday by the Tel Aviv District Court to order the release to house arrest of Eli Feldstein, an aide and spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with an IDF reservist, who were both held and charged over the alleged leak of classified documents to foreign press.

The appeal means the two will not be released to house arrest today.

While the Tel Aviv judge warned yesterday he saw insufficient evidence to back up the state’s charge against Feldstein of intending to harm national security, he did indicate that there was “clear” evidence that Feldstein had knowingly breached military censorship when leaking a stolen classified IDF document.

Feldstein and the second unnamed suspect have been held in custody for more than a month on suspicion of leaking the stolen classified intelligence information to the foreign press.

This morning, Feldstein’s lawyer said his client decided to stop taking the fall for the premier and his office.

The case is centered around the alleged leak of a highly classified document to the German newspaper Bild in September, which ostensibly detailed Hamas’s priorities and tactics in hostage negotiations with the alleged aim of turning public opinion against a deal.

Netanyahu has sought to distance himself from the case, insisting that he only learned about the existence of the classified document from the media.

Lapid says Netanyahu carrying out ‘planned, orchestrated attack’ against the press

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid speaks at a joint press conference with other opposition party heads in the Knesset, November 6, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of carrying out “a planned, orchestrated attack” against the Israeli press during an “emergency” conference on freedom of expression in the Knesset State Control Committee attended by media representatives.

“In what country – in what type of country – does the prime minister speak in parliament against the basic idea of a free press? In what sort of country is criticism of the government – the most basic role of the media – labeled as treachery?” he asks.

“Democracy must protect itself. The two basic qualities of a democracy – the qualities that differentiate it from every other type of regime – are its ability to critique itself and to improve itself. Both are impossible without a free press. Both are under attack.”

Israel has fallen 15 spots in Reporters Without Borders’ annual press freedom index since the government took power in 2022 but “that’s not enough for this government. It wants us to drop further,” Lapid continues, citing recent legislative initiatives aimed at granting the government oversight of television ratings data and privatizing the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation and Army Radio.

In addition, “they tried to appoint a director-general at Channel 13 who would work for them…and the government voted unanimously to cancel all its advertising in Haaretz,” the Yesh Atid chairman continues.

“If they can end government advertising in Haaretz because of political statements, do you really think they can’t halt advertising on Channel 12? If they can legislate against the public broadcaster, they can’t legislate against Channel 13? Is there anything in the behavior of this government that makes you believe they’ll stop? That they have red lines?” he asks.

Netanyahu ‘ government does not “want balance, it wants media like in Hungary, like in Russia – restrained, frightened, submissive, shallow,” he asserts, warning that “if this current legislation passes without a fight, there will be an even more dangerous wave of legislation.”

“They’re just waiting to see how we respond. They’ll only stop if they’re met with fierce resistance. If we don’t stop it now, together – it won’t stop. If we don’t fight back now, there won’t be a chance to fight back. Whoever is silent now, will be next,” he says.

South Korea’s president faces impeachment over attempt to impose martial law

In this photo provided by South Korea Presidential Office, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a press briefing at the presidential office in Seoul, South Korea, Dec. 3, 2024. (South Korea Unification Ministry via AP).

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s opposition parties submit a motion to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over the shocking and short-lived martial law that drew heavily armed troops to encircle parliament before lawmakers climbed walls to reenter the building and unanimously voted to lift his order.

Impeaching Yoon would require the support of two-thirds of parliament and at least six justices of the nine-member Constitutional Court would have to support it to remove him from office. The motion, submitted jointly by the main opposition Democratic Party and five smaller opposition parties, could be put to a vote as early as Friday.

Yoon’s senior advisers and secretaries offered to resign collectively and his Cabinet members, including Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, were also facing calls to step down, as the nation struggled to make sense of what appeared to be a poorly-thought-out stunt.

In his speech announcing the abrupt order Tuesday night, Yoon vowed to eliminate “anti-state” forces and continued to criticize parliament’s attempts to impeach key government officials and senior prosecutors. But martial law lasted only about six hours, as the National Assembly voted to overrule Yoon and the declaration was formally lifted around 4:30 a.m. during a Cabinet meeting.

Several settlers detained for rioting and attacking Palestinians in West Bank, IDF says

A home burned by rioting settlers in the West Bank village of Huwara, on December 4, 2024. (Courtesy Huwara residents via Yesh Din)

Several Israeli settlers were detained by troops for rioting and attacking Palestinians in the northern West Bank overnight and this morning, the military says.

The Kan public broadcaster reports that six people were detained. It is unclear if they are still being held.

Members of the Civil Administration and Border Police operated overnight to demolish illegal settler outpost construction near the Palestinian village of Beit Furik, close to Nablus. The illegal outpost construction was on private Palestinian land.

During the evacuation of the outpost, the IDF says, stones were hurled at the forces, injuring two Border Police officers.

A short while later, the settlers stormed Beit Furik, “set fire to property in the area and threw stones at the village,” according to the army.

In the nearby town of Huwara, settlers carried out another attack against Palestinians, setting fire to property and hurling stones.

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Rujeib, another Palestinian village in the Nablus area, some 20 settlers gathered, the IDF says, apparently in preparation for another attack.

When IDF soldiers and Border Police troops arrived, the settlers clashed with the forces, the military says.

The IDF says “the incidents were dispersed and a number of Israelis were arrested” and handed over to police for further questioning.

“The IDF views any violence against its troops and members of the security forces, who work day and night for the security of the citizens of the area, very gravely,” the military says, adding that “these incidents must be condemned and those who break the law must be prosecuted.”

Prosecution in such cases is particularly rare, leading several Western countries to begin sanctioning Israeli extremists destabilizing the West Bank at the beginning of the year.

מתנחלים הציתו מספר בתים ורכבים בשני כפרים באזור שכם לאחר פינוי מאחז לא חוקי@hod_barel pic.twitter.com/wlxKRnnMD6

— גלצ (@GLZRadio) December 4, 2024

Feldstein decided to stop taking the fall for Netanyahu over document leak, attorney says

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)

The lawyer representing Eli Feldstein, the aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicted over the alleged theft and leak of classified documents, says his client decided to stop taking the fall for the premier and his office.

“There was a stage in the investigation where he decided to stop taking the fall for the Prime Minister and his office,” attorney Oded Savoray tells the Kan public broadcaster, referring to Feldstein’s assertion that Netanyahu knew about the document before it was published in German tabloid Bild.

“[Feldstein] did not say that Netanyahu ordered the document to be released to foreign media, but that he knew about the document and the decision to release it to the media.” Savoray says.

Kan has reported, without citing sources, that Feldstein said he notified the prime minister two days before he leaked the document to Bild.

Feldstein, a spokesman who worked closely with Netanyahu over the last year, was charged last month with transferring classified information with the intent to harm state security, a charge that can carry a sentence of life in prison, as well as illicit possession of classified information and obstruction of justice.

The case is centered around the alleged leak of a highly classified document to Bild in September, which ostensibly detailed Hamas’s priorities and tactics in hostage negotiations.

Netanyahu has sought to distance himself from the case, insisting that he only learned about the existence of the classified document from the media.

Israel says 31 patients and caregivers left Gaza for medical care in Jordan, US

The Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) says 31 Palestinian patients and caregivers exited the Gaza Strip via the Kerem Shalom Crossing yesterday to receive medical treatment in Jordan and the United States.

Also in its daily update, COGAT says that 122 humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza yesterday, carrying food, medical supplies, shelter equipment, and flour for bakeries.

Fifty of the trucks entered via the Erez Crossing in the Strip’s north, and another 50 entered through Gate 96 in central Gaza.

Additionally, 49 trucks were picked up from the Gazan side of the Kerem Shalom Crossing, COGAT says. Some 780 trucks are still awaiting collection by international aid organizations at Kerem Shalom, according to COGAT.

COGAT also says that seven fuel tankers and six cooking gas tankers “designated for the operation of essential infrastructure” entered Gaza yesterday.

Mother of British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari: ‘I fear that she’s dead’

Emily Damari was taken captive from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7, 2023 by Hamas terrorists (Courtesy)

The mother of British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari says she is worried for her daughter’s life.

“I fear that she’s dead,” Mandy Damari tells the BBC. “And if she’s not dead, she’s not getting enough food to eat, she’s not able to wash herself, drink water, she could be ill.”

“She’s suffering from gunshot wounds to her hand and her leg… I worry every day, I worry every second because in the next second, she could be murdered, just because she’s there,” she says.

She says she welcomes the declaration by US President-elect Donald Trump that there’ll be “hell to pay” if the hostages aren’t released.

“It made me a bit more optimistic,” she says.

Emily Damari was taken hostage to the Gaza Strip on October 7 by Hamas-led terrorists who attacked Kibbutz Kfar Aza.

Out of 37 residents of Kibbutz Kfar Aza’s “young generation” neighborhood, 11 were murdered and seven were kidnapped and taken to the Strip.

In January 2024, released hostage Dafna Elyakim, 15, said in an Israeli television interview that she and her younger sister, Ella Elyakim, were taken into Hamas’s underground tunnels, where they met five other female hostages who haven’t yet returned — Liri Albag, Naama Levy, Romy Gonen, Agam Berger and Damari.

Report: IDF warns 30 troops against overseas travel after pro-Palestinian groups file war crimes complaints

Troops of the Kfir Brigade operate in northern Gaza's Beit Lahiya, in a handout photo issued on December 2, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF has reportedly warned some 30 soldiers and officers who fought in the Gaza Strip to avoid traveling abroad after pro-Palestinian groups filed complaints against them for alleged war crimes.

At least eight of them — including troops who had traveled to Cyprus, Slovenia and the Netherlands — were told to immediately leave those nations due to fears they could be arrested or questioned, Ynet reports.

The IDF currently does not bar soldiers from traveling abroad, but it does take a “risk assessment” for troops who served in Gaza before approving their request, the report says.

Since the beginning of the war, the army has asked soldiers to not publish footage online of their activities during fighting in Gaza, to avoid it being used against them in a potential criminal investigation in another country. Journalists who have accompanied troops in Gaza have also been asked to blur the faces of soldiers for the same reason.

Despite this, soldiers continue to post videos and photos to their personal social media accounts, including footage showing activities that violate the IDF’s orders and could be against international law.

Sa’ar set to meet with Blinken and other foreign ministers at Malta security confab

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar is scheduled to take off this morning for Malta, where he with meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other foreign ministers at the 31st Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

He will also meet with new EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, and will address the forum.

Israel is not in the OSCE, but is one of 11 partners for cooperation, allowing discussion and coordination on security issues.

Settlers set fire to Palestinian buildings after troops demolish structures in West Bank Israeli outpost

A building burns after it was apparently attacked by rioting settlers near Nablus on December 4, 2024 (Screen grab via X used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Dozens of settlers rioted overnight, setting fire to Palestinian buildings and vehicles, after troops demolished three buildings in a nearby West Bank settlement outpost.

The Yesh Din watchdog says settlers set fire to the house of a family of seven in Huwara, as well as two vehicles. The group says neighbors saved the family from the blaze, but the father was attacked with rocks and sticks and was said to have been hospitalized with skull fractures.

Settlers also burned down a house under construction, a grocery store and a vehicle in Bayt Furik near Nablus, the Ynet news site reports.

According to the Civil Administration, which runs civil affairs in the West Bank, the illegal outpost construction was on private Palestinian land near Nablus.

“The construction was erected illegally and was evacuated by decision of the security establishment, also in light of numerous criminal incidents against Palestinians that emanated from the area,” the administration says in a statement, according to Hebrew-language media.

“One of the structures served as a hall for Torah study, and those staying there were asked to evacuate it in advance out of respect for the sanctity of the place. Troops were instructed to act with sensitivity and to protect the sacred objects in the building,” the administration says.

The Ynet news site says two Border Police officers were lightly wounded in clashes with settlers.

According to Palestinian media reports, in the wake of the evacuation of the illegal outpost, dozens of settlers arrived in Palestinian towns in the Nablus area and set fire to a number of houses.

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

בעקבות הריסת המבנים הלא חוקיים ליד שכם, עשרות מתנחלים הציתו מבנים וכלי רכב בחווארה ובבית פוריכ@ndvori pic.twitter.com/ny2szaw5Fy

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) December 4, 2024

US House honors slain Israeli-American hostage Omer Neutra: ‘Young man of extraordinary courage’

American-born Omer Neutra was taken captive by Hamas on October 7, 2023. (Courtesy)

The US House of Representatives honors American-Israeli hostage Omer Neutra, whose killing by the Hamas terror group on October 7, 2023, was confirmed by the IDF on Monday after more than 400 days. His body is being held in the Gaza Strip.

Rep. Mike Lawler says New Yorkers have a “heavy heart” over Neutra’s death.

“Omer’s loss is deeply felt by the entire community in New York and across America,” he says. “Flags have been flown at half staff in our state in his honor. And we all join together in mourning a young man of extraordinary courage and conviction.”

He says that Neutra’s death is a “loss for our country.”

Lawler sends his deepest condolences to Neutra’s family and praises his parents for their fight to secure their son’s release.

US President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for UN ambassador, Rep. Elise Stefanik, says that October 7 was “one of the darkest days in history,” and that Neutra’s actions on the day showed he was “incredibly brave.”

Stefanik also praises the “strength and resilience” of Neutra’s parents Orna and Ronen, saying their fight for their child “truly embodies the light that Israel stands for and that Hamas tried, and failed, to extinguish.”

Neutra, a so-called lone soldier from New York, served as a tank platoon commander in the 7th Armored Brigade’s 77th Battalion. He was killed in battle with terrorists during the Hamas onslaught. His death was declared by the Military Rabbinate based on new findings and intelligence information.

IDF says it returned bodies of 2 Jordanian terrorists who infiltrated near Dead Sea in October

The IDF says it has returned the bodies of two Jordanian terrorists who infiltrated Israel in October back to Jordan overnight.

The gunmen, members of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, breached the border in an area south of the Dead Sea, close to the border community of Neot HaKikar. They then opened fire at IDF troops, wounding two, before being shot dead, having managed to cross no more than a few meters into Israeli territory.

Their bodies were returned too Jordan “in accordance with the directive of the political echelon,” the military adds.

UN seeks $47 billion for aid in 2025, warning ‘world on fire’

Displaced Palestinians line up to receive a meal in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on November 29, 2024 (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

The United Nations seeks $47 billion in aid for 2025 to help around 190 million people fleeing conflict and battling starvation, at a time when this year’s appeal is not even half-funded and officials fear cuts from Western states including the top donor, the US.

Facing what the new UN aid chief Tom Fletcher describes as “an unprecedented level of suffering,” the UN hopes to reach people in 32 countries next year, including those in war-torn Sudan, Syria, Gaza and Ukraine.

“The world is on fire, and this is how we put it out,” Fletcher tells reporters in Geneva.

“We need to reset our relationship with those in greatest need on the planet,” says Fletcher, a former British diplomat who started as head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) last month.

The appeal is the fourth largest in OCHA’s history, but Fletcher says it leaves out some 115 million people whose needs the agency cannot realistically hope to fund:

“We’ve got to be absolutely focused on reaching those in the most dire need, and really ruthless.”

The UN cut its 2024 appeal to $46 billion from $56 billion the previous year as donor appetite faded, but it is still only 43 percent funded, one of the worst rates in history. Washington has given over $10 billion, about half the funds received.

Aid workers have had to make tough choices, cutting food assistance by 80% in Syria and water services in cholera-prone Yemen, OCHA says.

Aid is just one part of total spending by the UN, which has for years failed to meet its core budget due to countries’ unpaid dues.

While incoming president Donald Trump halted some UN spending during his first term, he left UN aid budgets intact. This time, aid officials and diplomats see cuts as a possibility.

Norway wealth fund divests from Bezeq for providing services to West Bank settlements

A general view of the West Bank settlement of Efrat, Thursday, March 10, 2022. (AP/Maya Alleruzzo)

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, has divested from Israel’s Bezeq because it provides telecoms services to the Israeli settlements in the West Bank, it says.

The decision comes after the fund’s ethics watchdog adopted a new, tougher interpretation of ethics standards for businesses that aid Israel’s operations in Gaza and the West Bank.

Bezeq is Israel’s largest telecoms group.

“The company, through its physical presence and provision of telecom services to Israeli settlements in the West Bank, is helping to facilitate the maintenance and expansion of these settlements, which are illegal under international law,” the Council on Ethics says in its recommendation to divest.

“By doing so the company is itself contributing to the violation of international law,” it adds.

The watchdog says it noted that the company had said it was also providing telecoms services to Palestinian areas in the West Bank, but that did not outweigh the fact that it was also providing services to Israeli settlements.

The watchdog makes recommendations to the board of the Norwegian central bank, which has the final say on divestments.

The fund has now sold all its stock in the company.

Trump considering replacing Hegseth with Florida’s DeSantis as Pentagon pick — report

File: US President Donald Trump talks to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, left, during a visit to Lake Okeechobee and Herbert Hoover Dike at Canal Point, Florida, March 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

US President-elect Donald Trump is considering Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to replace Pete Hegseth as his nominee to run the Pentagon, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Trump’s lawyers urge judge to toss his hush money conviction

In this combination of pictures created on March 25, 2018 shows a file photo taken on January 12, 2007 of adult film actress Stormy Daniels in Las Vegas, Nevada, and file photo of US President Donald Trump as he departs the White House in Washington, DC on March 10, 2018. (Ethan Miller and Olivier Douliery / various sources / AFP)

US President-elect Donald Trump’s lawyers formally asks a judge to throw out his hush money criminal conviction, arguing that continuing the case would present unconstitutional “disruptions to the institution of the Presidency.“

In a filing made public today, Trump’s lawyers tell Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan that dismissal is warranted because of the extraordinary circumstances of his impending return to the White House.

“Wrongly continuing proceedings in this failed lawfare case disrupts President Trump’s transition efforts,” the attorneys continue, before citing the “overwhelming national mandate granted to him by the American people on November 5, 2024.”

Prosecutors have until December 9 to respond. They have said they will fight any efforts to dismiss the case but have indicated openness to delaying sentencing until after Trump’s second term ends in 2029.

Following Trump’s election victory last month, Merchan halted proceedings and indefinitely postponed his sentencing, previously scheduled for late November, to allow the defense and prosecution to weigh in on the future of the case. He also delayed a decision on Trump’s prior bid to dismiss the case on immunity grounds.

Trump has been fighting for months to reverse the conviction, which involved efforts to conceal a $130,000 payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels, whose affair allegations threatened to disrupt his 2016 campaign. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Pentagon says US forces in eastern Syria struck rocket launchers, tank posing ‘imminent threat’

US forces conducted a self-defense strike today in the vicinity of Mission Support Site Euphrates, a US base in eastern Syria, against three truck-mounted multiple rocket launchers, a T-64 tank and mortars that Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder says presented “a clear and imminent threat” to US troops.

The strike occurred after rockets and mortars were fired and landed in the vicinity of the base, Ryder says. The Pentagon is still assessing who was responsible for the attacks — there are both Iranian-backed militias and Syrian military forces that operate in the area.

Ryder says the attack is not connected to the offensive that is ongoing in Aleppo, where Syrian jihadi-led rebels have advanced and taken over the city.

The US has about 900 troops in Syria to conduct missions to counter the Islamic State group.

Levin to convene judicial selection panel next week — again without vote on Supreme Court chief

Justice Minister Yariv Levin speaks during a Knesset plenum session on November 13, 2024. (Chaim Goldbergl/Flash90)

Justice Minister Yariv Levin calls a meeting of the Judicial Selection Committee for December 12, but its agenda doesn’t include a vote on the next Supreme Court chief justice.

This will be the second meeting of the panel since a High Court of Justice ruling that said Levin must convene it to select a president for the top court after he avoided doing so for over a year, aiming to avoid tapping Justice Isaac Amit for the job, whom the minister views as adversarial.

Next week’s meeting will include a discussion of Levin’s bid to have the committee’s meetings livestreamed, as well as a discussion of the method by which the next chief justice and their deputy will be selected.

On that same day, the High Court is set to discuss a petition seeking to have it declare Levin in contempt of court for failing to adhere to its ruling.

Levin, a hawkish Likud party member who led the government’s stalled judicial overhaul effort, is looking to steer the court in a more conservative direction and prevent the election of liberal justice Amit, who stands to win the majority on the committee.

Amit is currently the acting president, and is expected to become the permanent president under the longstanding seniority system, which Levin seeks to upend, by which the justice with the most years on the court is elected the next president.

Levin argues that the seniority system is merely a tradition and not legally binding. He prefers conservative Justice Yosef Elron for the position, and has spent the past 13 months trying to prevent Amit’s selection.

Zev Stub contributed to this report.