Dec. 28: High Court freezes planned closure of Army Radio

Houthis say IDF presence in Somaliland would be ‘military target’

Supporters of Yemen's Houthis raise placards and flags during a rally marking Independence Day, the anniversary of the end of British rule in southern Yemen in 1967, in the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital Sanaa on November 30, 2025. (Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)

The leader of the Houthi terror group in Yemen warns that any Israeli presence in Somaliland would be considered a “military target.”

Somaliland, which has for decades pushed for international recognition, enjoys a strategic position on the Gulf of Aden. Israel announced its recognition of Somaliland on Friday.

“We consider any Israeli presence in Somaliland a military target for our armed forces, as it constitutes aggression against Somalia and Yemen, and a threat to the security of the region,” Abdulmalik al-Houthi, leader of the Iran-backed terror group, says in a statement.

Israel’s recognition of Somaliland was “a hostile stance targeting Somalia and its African surroundings, as well as Yemen, the Red Sea, and the countries along both shores of the Red Sea,” he adds.

The Houthis — whose slogan calls for “Death to America, Death to Israel, [and] a Curse on the Jews” — began attacking Israel and maritime traffic in November 2023, a month after the October 7 Hamas massacre. Israel has attacked Houthi targets in response.

The group has abided by ceasefires between Israel and Hamas.

Petah Tikva declared measles hotspot during ongoing outbreak

The city of Petah Tikva in central Israel has been declared a hotspot of the ongoing measles outbreak, according to a letter from the Health Ministry reported by Hebrew media.

The letter cites a “rise in measles cases in the city.”

Since the beginning of the outbreak in May, 12 children have died of measles. Most of them were healthy children with no underlying diseases, but who had not been vaccinated against measles.

Police investigating suspected attack on right-wing provocateur Hadar Muchtar

Police questioned a woman, 52, over a suspected attack on right-wing provocateur Hadar Muchtar, after footage appeared to show Muchtar being pushed to the ground at an anti-government protest in Haifa, Hebrew media outlets report.

Muchtar has an active social media presence and is also running in the Likud party primaries ahead of next year’s election. She regularly attends and films herself at anti-government rallies, where she argues with protesters.

In the footage from the Haifa protest last night, a woman appears to grab Muchtar, turn her around, and push her to the ground. Muchtar screams and says, “What are you doing?”

המשטרה חקרה היום באזהרה תושבת נשר בת 52 בחשד למעורבות בתקיפתה לכאורה של פעילת הימין הדר מוכתר, כשזו הגיעה במוצ״ש להפגנה החיפאית השבועית במחאה נגד המחאה.

יוזכר כי מארגנות "מחאת העם חיפה" הלינו במוצ"ש כי פעילת הימין הדר מוכתר שהגיעה להפגנה השבועית בצומת חורב זוכה להגנה משטרתית… pic.twitter.com/fD9MK1kTHm

— יואב איתיאל מדווח כי (@yoavetiel) December 28, 2025

The protest organizers responded in a statement that police were “distorting the facts.” The statement said that Muchtar attended the protest “in order to disrupt public order,” and that police ignored repeated requests to remove her. The statement claimed that “a protester tripped over her.”

This is the third time since last month that police have summoned or detained protesters on suspicion of attacking Muchtar. In November, police detained an 80-year-old man on suspicion of sexual harassment after he was filmed making vulgar remarks to her during another protest.

Earlier this month, Muchtar filed a police complaint after a man appeared to try to snatch her microphone from her at a demonstration, leading to a brief confrontation that bystanders attempted to de-escalate. “Are you insane?” she repeatedly shouted at the man.

Charlie Summers contributed reporting. 

Communications minister calls to close Army Radio in defiance of court ruling

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi attends a National Security Committee meeting at the Knesset, January 8, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi calls on the government to “act immediately” to advance the process of closing down Army Radio, in defiance of a court ruling earlier today freezing the outlet’s shuttering.

The ruling by the court’s president, Isaac Amit, paused the cabinet’s decision last week to close to station, pending the court’s final ruling on petitions against the closure.

Karhi claimed, without elaborating, that the ruling was “illegal.”

“The government decision to close Army Radio is alive and well,” Karhi posts on X. “The interim order of Judge Amit was issued with no legal basis and does not override a government decision. Checks and balances in a democracy also need to stand against illegal actions by the judiciary.”

He added that the government must “act immediately to implement the government decision and to continue the process of closing ‘the home of the soldiers,’ which over the past two years has not stopped weakening IDF soldiers, according to soldiers’ testimony.”

Last week, in its vote to close Army Radio, the cabinet argued that the station’s political and current affairs programming “creates a fundamental difficulty for the IDF, stemming from the IDF’s involuntary involvement in political discourse,” and that its content “harms the Israel Defense Forces, its soldiers, and its unity.”

Petitions were swiftly filed against the decision, arguing that the decision was made in order “to harm media outlets seen as critical of the government” and to “economically benefit the owners of media outlets close to the government.”

Netanyahu lands in Florida ahead of tomorrow’s meeting with Trump

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lands in Florida ahead of his meeting with US President Donald Trump tomorrow.

The meeting will be the sixth between the two leaders this year, and the fifth in the US.

Police instructed not to travel alone on Negev road due to safety concerns — report

Riot police seen in the southern town of Tarabin on December 28, 2025. (Screen capture: X)

Southern District police allegedly received instructions from a commander forbidding them from traveling solo along Route 310, which runs past the Bedouin town of Tarabin al-Sana in southern Israel, for safety reasons, according to a Channel 12 report.

The report, which quotes text message instructions from an unnamed commander, airs in the wake of a series of raids on the village over the weekend, capped off by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s provocative tour in the area today.

The text messages, according to Channel 12, instruct officers to travel in groups of six to eight. They are also forbidden from entering Tarabin al-Sana.

Ben Gvir’s visit was prompted by overnight vandalism in Jewish towns, in which four masked assailants set fire to and damaged cars in Giv’ot Bar and Mishmar Hanegev. Police say the vandalism was revenge for another raid by law enforcement Friday night, aimed at recovering a stolen horse.

Earlier today, young men threw stones at forces ahead of Ben Gvir’s visit, while heavily-armed officers used tear gas on the locals, in scuffles that continued even after he entered the town.

According to Channel 12, police have long been wary of entering or going near Tarabin al-Sana. The outlet airs footage appearing to show that during the police’s Friday raid, protesters managed to run cops out of the town. Police deny these claims.

“The claim regarding the ‘flight’ of forces is a complete distortion of reality,” police say, insisting that the officers achieved their aims in the town and then “left the area in a controlled manner.”

Syrian authorities said to release Jewish man after weeks in detention

Syrian authorities have released one of the country’s few remaining Jews, Salim Hamadani, after he was arrested several weeks ago, a Jewish community activist says.

Hamadani, an antiquities dealer in Damascus, was reportedly arrested on suspicion of illegal trading in antiquities.

Joe Jajati, who was born in Syria, lives in New York and acts as a liaison between the Jewish community and the Syrian government, says Hamadani has been released after 20 days in detention.

Jajati, a friend of Hamadani, says on X that Hamadani has been cleared of all charges and thanks the Syrian government for its “diligence, cooperation, and for ensuring a fair and transparent trial.”

Justice has prevailed!! Truth has been found!! 🇸🇾🕊️🕊🕊
​I am profoundly happy to share that my dear friend Salim Hamadani has been released and cleared of all accusations. After 20 days, the legal system has confirmed what we knew in our hearts: Salim is an innocent man.
​I want… https://t.co/XdOUkd3IX8

— Joe Jajati (@JoeJajati) December 28, 2025

Jajati adds that the government showed Hamadani a “high standard of care, respect, and dignity” during his detention, and that the arrest was “not an act of prejudice.”

Hamadani’s arrest came at a sensitive time, as the new Syrian government works to improve its international image, given concerns over its treatment of minorities.

Only a handful of Jews remain in Syria, but Syrian Jewish expatriates in the US, including Jajati, have been working to build ties with the new government since it took power earlier this year.

PM proposed opening Rafah crossing for 2-way traffic, Ben Gvir, Smotrich objected — report

A composite photo shows National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir (L), Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C), and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (R). (All photos at the Knesset in Jerusalem, November 2025, by Yonatan Sindel/Flash 90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed to ministers in his cabinet that Israel open the Rafah Crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt for entry and exit, but the suggestion was shot down by his far-right coalition partners, Channel 12 reports.

Israel said earlier this month that it was preparing to open the crossing for exit from Gaza into Egypt, but Cairo objected to that plan, fearing that it would lead to the displacement of Gazans from the Strip.

Channel 12 reported that yesterday, on the eve of his flight to meet with US President Donald Trump, Netanyahu proposed to a meeting of cabinet ministers that Israel allow two-way traffic via Rafah.

The network said Netanyahu framed the measure as a way of demonstrating to Trump that Israel is committed to advancing the ceasefire in Gaza. The terms of the ceasefire call for the crossing to open.

The second stage of the truce, which would establish longer-term security and governance structures for Gaza, and which Trump has said he wants to begin soon, is expected to be a central discussion topic when the two men meet this week.

But Netanyahu dropped the proposal after his far-right partners, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, led opposition to it in the meeting, Channel 12 reported.

The ministers who objected to the proposal reportedly demanded that Hamas first return the body of slain hostage Ran Gvili, the final captive held in Gaza, as per the terms of the ceasefire.

“There was political pressure and the decision to open the crossing was not made,” an Israeli official told Channel 12.

Israel said to hold body of Palestinian who fell to death while trying to enter illegally for work

A Palestinian fell to his death while trying to enter Israel illegally for work overnight, the Palestinian Authority’s Jerusalem Governorate says.

Jihad Quzmar of the village of Izbet Salman, said to be 58, fell while trying to climb over the West Bank barrier into Israel from the Palestinian town of al-Ram in the central West Bank, the governorate says.

#متابعة | استشهاد المواطن جهاد عمر قزمار من بلدة عزبة سلمان جنوب قلقيلية إثر سقوطه عن جدار الرام قرب القدس pic.twitter.com/qwozuyPTbt

— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) December 28, 2025

He suffered a severe head wound and was pronounced dead in an Israeli hospital, and his body is still held by Israeli authorities, according to the governorate. The IDF does not immediately comment.

The governorate also shares a video in which an Israeli can be heard mocking a Palestinian who is stuck in barbed wire after falling from the barrier in al-Ram overnight. The governorate says the Palestinian was trying to enter Israel for work, but does not specify if he is Quzmar or a different man.

مستوطن يسخر من فلسطيني علق بالأسلاك الشائكة التي نصبها الاحتلال فوق جدار الفصل العنصري قرب بلدة الرام بالقدس، وذلك خلال محاولته الوصول إلى مكان عمله. pic.twitter.com/9IJFNlL5ma

— Mohammad Al-Zubeidi (@ZubeidiMohammad) December 28, 2025

The General Federation of Palestinian Trade Unions — the largest Palestinian labor federation — says over 500,000 Palestinian laborers have lost their jobs in Israel since Israel sharply reduced the number of Palestinian work permits following the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023.

In that period, at least 44 Palestinians have been killed and thousands of others wounded, either by Israeli gunfire or falling from the separation wall, while trying to enter Israel illegally for work, according to the Palestinian labor federation.

High Court freezes government’s closure of Army Radio until its final ruling on the issue

Supreme Court President Isaac Amit at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, December 1, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90)

In a blow to the government’s plans to shutter Army Radio, the High Court of Justice issues an interim order freezing the closure until the court issues a final ruling on petitions against the move.

The Court’s president, Isaac Amit, says he is issuing the interim order, in part due to the fact that the government did not rule out taking irreversible action against Army Radio before the court issues its final ruling on the petitions.

Amit also notes that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara supported the petitioners’ requests for an interim order freezing implementation of the decision. The attorney general’s office issued that opinion earlier today.

The cabinet voted last week to close down the station, and had planned for it to cease all operations by March 1, 2026. Opponents of that decision filed petitions against it the next day.

UK Jewish group criticizes Starmer for welcoming activist who once called for Israelis to be killed

Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah, who was in prison for almost all of the past 12 years, speaks to his friends at his home after receiving a presidential pardon, Cairo, September 23, 2025. (AP/ Khaled Elfiqi, File)

The Board of Deputies of British Jews is criticizing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s welcome to Egyptian democracy activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah, over past social media posts apparently calling for violence toward Zionists.

Abd El-Fattah, a leading voice during Egypt’s 2011 Arab Spring uprising, had been serving a five-year prison sentence in Egypt for “spreading false news” until he was granted a presidential pardon by President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi earlier this year. He arrived in the UK on Friday after a ban on his travel was lifted.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer had posted on X that he was “delighted” that Abd El-Fattah was back in London. However, posts by Abd El-Fattah from past years on X calling for Israelis to be killed have caused backlash.

I’m delighted that Alaa Abd El-Fattah is back in the UK and has been reunited with his loved ones, who must be feeling profound relief.

I want to pay tribute to Alaa’s family, and to all those that have worked and campaigned for this moment.

Alaa's case has been a top priority…

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) December 26, 2025

“All Zionists are criminals, all racists are stupid, all humans have rights. These are examples of acceptable generalizations,” he posted at one point.

In addition, Abdel Fattah wrote in 2012 that “there is a critical number of Israelis that we need to kill and then the problem is solved.”

The next day, he posted, “There should be no equal relations with Israel or any other relations. Israel must come to an end.”

He is also said to have posted in 2010, “yes, I consider killing any colonialists and specially zionists heroic, we need to kill more of them.”

Some of the rhetoric appears to have since been deleted.

Adrian Cohen, senior vice president of the Board of Deputies, condemns the posts in a statement.

“His previous extremist and violent rhetoric aimed at ‘Zionists’ and white people in general is threatening to British Jews and the wider public,” the statement says. “The cross-party campaign for such a person, and the warm welcome issued by the government, demonstrate a broken system with an astonishing lack of due diligence by the authorities.”

The Times of London reports that Abd el-Fattah has previously said the comments were taken out of context and were part of a “private conversation” that took place during an Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip.

Abd el-Fattah’s press team does not immediately respond to an AP request for comment.

The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said this morning that while the UK had made Abd El-Fattah’s release “A long-standing priority,” it considers his tweets “abhorrent.”

Israel, Greece, Cyprus deepen military ties with new trilateral agreement

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (center), Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides (left) and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (right) hold a joint press conference after a trilateral meeting in Jerusalem on December 22, 2025. (ABIR SULTAN / POOL / AFP)

Israel, Greece, and Cyprus signed a trilateral work plan for military cooperation for 2026 last week, the IDF announces, in a move that further deepens security coordination among Turkey’s regional rivals in the eastern Mediterranean.

The agreement, signed in Cyprus, also includes bilateral work plans between the IDF, Greece’s Hellenic Armed Forces, and the Cypriot National Guard, and covers joint exercises and training, working groups across a range of fields and strategic military dialogue on shared security challenges, according to the military.

Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hosted Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides in Jerusalem, using the meeting to deliver a pointed message toward Ankara.

Standing alongside the two leaders, Netanyahu warned that “those who fantasize they can reestablish their empires and their dominion over our lands” should “forget it,” in a thinly veiled reference to Turkey.

Earlier this month, Greek media reported that Israel, Greece and Cyprus were examining the establishment of a joint rapid-response military force in the eastern Mediterranean, amid growing concern in Athens over Turkey’s expanding military posture.

The IDF says the newly signed plans are intended to bolster “stability, security and peace in the Eastern Mediterranean region.”

IDF said to end Qabatiya operation following Friday terror attack in north that killed two

An Israeli soldier points his weapon, as the IDF operates in the city of Qabatiya in the West Bank, December 27, 2025. (Nasser Ishtayeh/ Flash90)

The IDF has withdrawn from the northern West Bank’s Qabatiya, according to Palestinian media, ending a two-day operation that was launched in the northern West Bank town after a resident killed two people and wounded two others in a ramming-and-stabbing attack in northern Israel on Friday.

The IDF does not immediately comment on the reports.

Ahmed al-Rub is accused of murdering 68-year-old Shimshon Mordechai and 19-year-old Aviv Maor during an extended terror spree on a highway near Beit She’an.

Qabatiya Mayor Ahmed Zakarneh tells WAFA, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency, that during the operation in Qabatiya, troops raided some 50 homes, six of which the military took over and used as tactical bases.

Fifty people were detained in the raids, all of whom have been released except for al-Rub’s father and two brothers, says Zakarneh.

The operation also saw the IDF cause damage to several roads and electric lines, impose a curfew on Qabatiya and cut it off from other towns in the area, preventing many people from reaching their workplaces, Zakarneh tells WAFA.

The IDF said earlier today that it had completed sealing off Rub’s home.

Police disperse Haredi anti-draft protest that blocked Route 4 for hours

Ultra-Orthodox men seen during a protest blocking Route 4 in opposition to the jailing of yeshiva students who refused to comply with an army conscription order, near Bnei Brak, December 28, 2025. (David Cohen/Flash90)

Police have dispersed a large anti-conscription protest near Bnei Brak, after Haredi demonstrators blocked traffic for over two hours in the area.

Officers arrested three demonstrators for rioting and reopened Route 4 to traffic in both directions, police say, after their forces struggled to clear the ultra-Orthodox crowd from the road.

Hundreds of demonstrators convened in three separate locations on the busy highway to protest authorities’ arrest of yeshiva students who dodged their conscription orders.

Many participants were affiliated with the hardline Jerusalem Faction, which called the demonstration for 4 p.m. today.

Police say that protesters derided cops as “Nazis” and had been demonstrating unlawfully in the area.

Footage from earlier in the day shows officers scuffling with young ultra-Orthodox men, who insisted on remaining in the middle of the road.

AG says High Court should freeze closure of Army Radio until final ruling

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara attends a ceremony for outgoing Supreme Court Justice Yosef Elron at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, September 18, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara tells the High Court of Justice that the court should freeze the implementation of a government decision to shut down Army Radio until the court makes a final ruling on the matter.

Because of the “sensitivities and complexity” of shutting down Army Radio, a public broadcaster run by the IDF, legal principles dictate halting the station’s closure, says a response written by the State Attorney’s Office expressing Baharav-Miara’s position.

According to the response, the attorney general believes the petitions seeking to keep Army Radio open will be accepted because there were procedural and substantive flaws in the government’s decision-making process to close the station, which the cabinet was informed of ahead of time.

Last week the cabinet voted to close Army Radio, arguing that the station’s political and current affairs programming “creates a fundamental difficulty for the IDF, stemming from the IDF’s involuntary involvement in political discourse,” and that its content “harms the Israel Defense Forces, its soldiers and its unity.”

Petitions were swiftly filed against the decision, arguing that the decision was made in order “to harm media outlets seen as critical of the government” and to “economically benefit the owners of media outlets close to the government.”

The High Court said a date would be set for a hearing on the petitions before the end of January. The government intends to fully close the station down by March 1.

Hezbollah chief says terror group’s disarmament is not ‘in Lebanon’s interest’

Illustration: Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem speaks in a televised address, November 11, 2025. (Al-Manar)

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem says moves to disarm the terror group in Lebanon are an “Israeli-American plan,” accusing Israel of failing to abide by a ceasefire agreement reached last year.

Under heavy US pressure and the possibility of expanded Israeli strikes, the Lebanese military is expected to complete Hezbollah’s disarmament south of the Litani River — located about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the border with Israel — by the end of the year.

It is then meant to tackle disarming the Iran-backed group in the rest of the country.

“Disarmament is an Israeli-American plan,” Qassem says.

“To demand exclusive arms control while Israel is committing aggression and America is imposing its will on Lebanon, stripping it of its power, means that you are not working in Lebanon’s interest, but rather in the interest of what Israel wants.”

The ceasefire required both Israel and Hezbollah to vacate southern Lebanon, to be replaced by the Lebanese armed forces. Israel has withdrawn from all but five strategic posts along the border.

Since the ceasefire, the IDF said it has killed over 380 Hezbollah operatives and members of allied terror groups in strikes, hit hundreds of Hezbollah sites, and conducted over 1,200 raids and other small operations in southern Lebanon. The IDF says the strikes target Hezbollah attempts to rebuild in violation of the deal.

Israel has questioned the Lebanese military’s effectiveness and has accused Hezbollah of rearming, while the group itself has rejected calls to surrender its weapons.

“The deployment of the Lebanese army south of the Litani River was required only if Israel had adhered to its commitments… to halting the aggression, withdrawing, releasing prisoners, and having reconstruction commence,” Qassem says in a televised address.

“With the Israeli enemy not implementing any of the steps of the agreement… Lebanon is no longer required to take any action on any level before the Israelis commit to what they are obligated to do,” he says.

Lebanese army chief Rodolphe Haykal told a military meeting on Tuesday “the army is in the process of finishing the first phase of its plan.”

He said the army is carefully planning “for the subsequent phases” of disarmament.

Relocation requests from Israelis working in tech rose during Gaza war — report

Employees at Nvidia Israel. (Courtesy/Nvidia)

Requests to relocate abroad by Israelis working at multinational companies with offices in Israel rose in the past year, amid the two-year war against Hamas in Gaza, a report published today says.

The Israel Advanced Technology Industries Association (IATI) found that 53 percent of companies reported an increase in relocation requests from Israeli employees, noting this was “a trend that may, over time, harm the local innovation engine and Israel’s technological leadership.”

Israel’s tech sector accounts for about 20% of the country’s GDP, 15% of its jobs and more than half of its exports. The hundreds of multinational firms in Israel include Microsoft, Intel, Nvidia, Amazon, Meta and Apple.

In its annual report, IATI also says some multinational companies are examining the transfer of investments and activities to other countries.

“In some cases, companies that faced disruptions in supply chains found alternatives outside Israel during the war, and when these proved efficient, there is a risk that activity will not fully return,” says the report, issued at a meeting led by IATI CEO and president Karin Mayer Rubinstein.

At the same time, it adds, there has been an increase in demand for relocation among senior executives and families, with more employees applying for positions outside Israel.

Still, the report noted that multinational companies view the Israeli tech ecosystem through a long-term lens and many firms have thrived during the war.

Some 57% of companies maintained stable business activities throughout the fighting, and 21% expanded their operations in Israel, “a figure that indicates continued confidence in local activity and the Israeli ecosystem even under conditions of uncertainty,” IATI says.

Another 22% of companies reported damage to business activity during the war.

IATI notes that “without active steps by the state to create regulatory and geopolitical stability, there is concern about gradual erosion in the stability of the local ecosystem.”

Police say no link between Haymanut Kasau’s case and suspect arrested this month — report

Haymanut Kasau, 9, who went missing on February 25, 2024, from a Jewish Agency absorption center in Safed, northern Israel. (Courtesy)

Casting doubt on reports of a breakthrough in the investigation into Haymanut Kasau’s 2024 disappearance, police reportedly say that they have not found a link between her case and the man suspected of trying to kidnap another Ethiopian-Israeli girl in Beersheba earlier this month.

A police representative told the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court that the suspicion of a connection between the suspect and the case of Kasau — who went missing nearly two years ago from a Safed absorption center — has been ruled out, Hebrew outlets report.

Nevertheless, the suspicions against the man in connection to the Beersheba case are said to have grown stronger.

The 63-year-old is believed to have tried to kidnap a young girl from her home while her parents were away, and is being probed for alleged assault and indecent acts. His remand was extended by another three days today.

The suspect’s victim had lived in the same Safed absorption center that Kasau had gone missing from until earlier this year. She told Haaretz that her would-be kidnapper was a neighbor and friend of her parents in Safed, before he also moved south to Beersheba.

The girl, whose identity has been kept private, recounted the alleged kidnapping attempt earlier this month. The man entered the apartment and sat on the couch, at which point he touched and hugged her, and grabbed her hand, she said.

Before he could continue, the girl said, she opened the door, ran, and screamed, alerting neighbors who then called the police.

Police to say there’s enough evidence to indict former MAG over Sde Teiman leak affair — report

Former IDF military advocate general Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi is released to house arrest outside Neve Tirtza Women’s Prison in Ramle, November 7, 2025. (Flash90)

Police are set to determine that there is enough evidence to indict former military advocate general Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi for her alleged role in covering up the leak of a video from the Sde Teiman detention facility purportedly showing the abuse of a Palestinian detainee, Haaretz reports.

Tomer-Yerushalmi admitted to leaking the video earlier this year and resigned from her post.

The investigation into the affair has found that there is evidence to charge Tomer-Yerushalmi with transferring official information, obstruction of justice, abuse of office, and fraud and breach of trust, according to the report.

There is also enough evidence to indict former deputy military attorney general Gal Asael over the video leak affair, in addition to former chief military prosecutor Matan Solomesh and other officers in the Military Advocate General’s Office.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has reportedly not been questioned or investigated over the affair.

Baharav-Miara had ultimate authority over an internal probe by the Military Advocate General’s Office into the leak, and accepted its recommendations not to open a criminal investigation into the affair.

Israel said to detain Islamic Jihad operative as part of search for final hostage’s body

Hamas gunmen patrol as Egyptian workers, accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), search for the remains of the last Israeli hostage, Ran Gvili, in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on December 8, 2025. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

Covert Israeli forces on the Hamas-controlled side of the Gaza ceasefire line have detained an Islamic Jihad operative linked to the abduction of slain police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last remaining Israeli hostage held by terrorists in the enclave, according to the Saudi-owned outlet Asharq al-Awsat.

The unnamed operative is part of the al-Quds Brigades, PIJ’s armed wing, and was active in Gaza City’s eastern Zeitoun neighborhood, which is bisected by the ceasefire line, Asharq al-Awsat reports, citing local sources and sources from Hamas and Islamic Jihad. He was reportedly detained about a kilometer (0.6 miles) west of the Gaza ceasefire line, in the Hamas-held part of Gaza.

The IDF does not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to the outlet, the detained operative’s name appeared in a document Israel gave to mediators in Cairo last month that listed operatives thought to be responsible for capturing and holding Gvili’s body. The precise nature of the operative’s alleged involvement in Gvili’s abduction was unclear from the report.

Israeli officials cited by Hebrew media have accused Islamic Jihad of holding on to Gvili’s remains, and have charged Hamas with failing to pressure its fellow terror group to release the body.

Islamic Jihad claimed earlier this month that it had returned all the hostages in its possession, a statement rejected by Israel.

Islamic Jihad sources cited by Asharq al-Awsat claim the group held the body in several locations in Gaza City before handing it over early in the war to Hamas’s armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades.

Hamas sources cited by the outlet say that Hamas held Gvili’s remains for an extended period, but deny that the group currently possesses the body. They claim that Israeli operations in the area where the body was last held have made searches for it more difficult.

Haredi protesters blocking major highway scuffle with cops; 3 said arrested

Masses of Haredi protesters blocking Route 4 near Bnei Brak are clashing with police, as the demonstration against the arrests of ultra-Orthodox draft evaders grows rapidly in several locations.

Police have arrested three demonstrators so far, Channel 12 reports.

Protesters in three separate spots on the major highway have managed to block traffic in both directions, as officers and Border Police fighters use force to disperse the demonstrators.

Police are mostly seen dragging protesters off the asphalt and to the highway’s shoulders. But one video appears to show several officers repeatedly kicking a young Haredi man when he is already on the side of the road.

👆 הפגנת הפלג הירושלמי כעת מתחת לגשר קוקה קולה ביציאה מבני ברק, כביש 4 לדרום ולצפון חסום לתנועה מלאה. pic.twitter.com/2KwFPDQgSb

— Asslan Khalil (@KhalilAsslan) December 28, 2025

The demonstration was called for 4 p.m. today by the hardline Jerusalem Faction group, known for organizing stormy protests against the conscription of ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students, amid a national debate over the issue.

The protest is on behalf of Haredi men who were arrested for not complying with draft orders.

Protesters hold signs that read, “Our children’s souls will not be abandoned to politicians,” and “It is better to die Haredi and not live as a secular Jew.”

Police have declared the demonstration unlawful and are directing drivers to alternate traffic routes amid the heavy congestion.

At the moment, riot police have taken a pause in trying to clear protesters off the road, as hundreds are still blocking rush-hour traffic.

Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter: Anyone working for both Qatar and PM is ‘national outlaw’

Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter attends an Economic Committee meeting in the Knesset, March 26, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter adds his voice to those of fellow coalition lawmakers denouncing the alleged actions of suspects in the Qatargate probe.

The suspects in the probe — Jonathan Urich, a close aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Eli Feldstein, the premier’s former spokesperson — are accused of working to promote Qatar’s image while employed by the Prime Minister’s Office.

“Whoever works for the State of Israel from inside the Prime Minister’s Office, and in parallel works for the state of Qatar and does public relations for it is an outlaw,” he says in a recording he posts on the social network X. “I don’t know if he’s a criminal outlaw, but he’s certainly a national outlaw.”

Dichter, a former chief of the Shin Bet intelligence agency, is the latest in a series of lawmakers from Netanyahu’s coalition to speak out about the allegations after news networks reported a series of explosive details about them.

Three dead in Alawite protests on Syrian coast, local officials say

Counterprotesters chant pro-government slogans at Alawite demonstrators, two days after a bomb in an Alawite mosque in Homs killed eight people and wounded 18 during Friday prayers, in Latakia, Syria's coastal region, December 28, 2025. (AP/Omar Albam)

Three people were killed today when protests in Syria’s Alawite heartland of Latakia spiraled into gunfire and other violence, according to the province’s media office.

Syria has been rocked by several episodes of sectarian bloodshed since longtime leader Bashar al-Assad, who hails from the Muslim Alawite minority, was ousted by a rebel offensive last year and replaced by a Sunni-led government.

Thousands of Alawite protesters gathered today in Azhari Square in Latakia city to demand a decentralized political system in Syria and the release of thousands of Alawite prisoners.

About two hours into the protest, gunshots rang out from an unidentified location, according to a Reuters reporter at the scene. Security forces then fired in the air and the protest descended into chaos, with demonstrators carrying wounded people away on foot.

A written statement from the Latakia province’s media office that was distributed to reporters says three people were killed and more than 40 people wounded. It does not specify if the casualties were all in Azhari Square or in other towns where protests were also taking place.

Syrian state news agency SANA reports that one member of the security forces was killed by gunfire from “armed remnants of the former regime” in Latakia. It says civilians and security personnel were wounded in gunfire by unknown assailants near Azhari Square.

A similar protest in November lasted barely an hour before being confronted by a rival protest in support of Syria’s new government. Syrian security forces used gunfire to break up both.

Last week, eight people were killed when a bomb detonated at an Alawite mosque in the nearby city of Homs.

Dozens of Haredi protesters block Route 4 over arrest of draft evaders

Dozens of Haredi protesters are blocking Route 4 near Bnei Brak over the arrest of several draft evaders.

The demonstrators, affiliated with the hardline Jerusalem Faction group, struggle to remain seated on the highway’s asphalt as Border Police begin to drag them back to its shoulders.

Police have declared the planned protest unlawful. Officers are redirecting drivers to alternate traffic routes, police say.

מפגיני הפלג הירושלמי חוסמים את כביש 4 באזור גשר קוקה קולה. pic.twitter.com/tK7OjHqf2C

— זירת החדשות (@ZiratNews) December 28, 2025

Somali president: Israeli recognition of Somaliland constitutes ‘blunt aggression’

Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud delivers a joint press conference with the German chancellor in Berlin, November 5, 2024. (ODD ANDERSEN / AFP)

Israel’s recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland “is (a) threat to the security and stability of the world and the region,” Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud tells an emergency parliamentary session.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Friday announcement, making his country the first to recognize Somaliland, “is tantamount to a blunt aggression against the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, and the unity of the people of the Somali Republic,” Mohamud says.

Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 and has for decades pushed for international recognition. A self-proclaimed republic, it enjoys a strategic position on the Gulf of Aden and has its own money, passports and army. But it has been diplomatically isolated since its unilateral declaration of independence.

Somalia’s government and the African Union reacted angrily Friday after Israel’s announcement.

Mogadishu denounced a “deliberate attack” on its sovereignty, while Egypt, Turkey, the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council and the Saudi-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation all condemned the decision.

Defense Ministry hands IDF first combat-ready Iron Beam laser interception system

The IDF’s first operational Iron Beam high-power laser air defense system, displayed during a handover ceremony at a Rafael Advanced Defense Systems facility, December 28, 2025. (Defense Minister's Office)

The Defense Ministry announces the delivery of the first operational high-power laser interception system, dubbed “Iron Beam,” from Rafael Advanced Defense Systems to the IDF.

The system, which has successfully intercepted rockets, mortar shells and drones during extensive testing, will be absorbed by the air force and integrated into Israel’s multi-layered air defense array alongside the Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow systems.

Calling the handover “a historic occasion,” Defense Minister Israel Katz says the system marks “the first time in the world that a high-power laser interception system has reached operational maturity,” adding that it “changes the rules of the game and sends a clear message to all our enemies… do not test us.”

Defense Ministry Director General Amir Baram says the delivery “marks the transition from development to serial production,” calling Iron Beam “only the beginning of the technological revolution” and noting it is expected to significantly improve both Israel’s defensive capabilities and the cost balance between threats and interceptors, which are expensive.

IAF chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar describes the moment as “especially moving,” saying the system is “another vital component in the air defense battle of our forces, who proved their operational capabilities during the war.”

Rafael CEO Yoav Turgeman says the company is “proud to deliver… the most advanced laser system in the world for intercepting aerial threats,” noting that even during intense fighting, Rafael “proved impressive operational capabilities using high-power lasers.”

The system is also referred to as Or Eitan in memory of Capt. Eitan Oster, an IDF officer killed in combat in southern Lebanon, whose father – one of the system’s developers – recited the Shehecheyanu blessing, a prayer marking new and special experiences, at the ceremony.

Civil Administration forces rescue 2 Israelis from outskirts of West Bank’s Tulkarem

Illustration: Israeli soldiers seen during a military raid in Tulkarem, in the West Bank, February 21, 2025. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)

Two Israelis who were found wandering on the outskirts of Tulkarem were rescued from the West Bank city’s environs, after security forces received reports that their lives were in danger.

According to the Civil Administration, a branch of the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which manages civilian affairs in the West Bank, officers from the Ephraim District Coordination and Liaison office provided immediate protection to the two and transferred them to IDF troops.

A preliminary probe found that the pair had entered a local garage while under the influence of alcohol, the Civil Administration says. The incident was handed over to the Israel Police for further investigation.

A week ago, an Israeli woman was extracted by Palestinian Authority security forces from Jericho after she contacted police and said she had been kidnapped. Multiple other Israelis have likewise been extracted from Palestinian Authority-run areas of the West Bank recently.

Security officials again warn that entry into Area A of the West Bank, which is under PA civil and security control, is illegal for Israeli civilians under Israeli law, and poses a serious danger to their lives.

Protest leader’s partner sues Likud MK Gotliv for defamation, seeking NIS 8.3 million

Likud MK Tally Gotliv attends a High Court hearing on petitions against the appointment of retired judge Yosef Ben-Hamo to lead the probe into the Sde Teiman abuse leak, at the High Court of Justice in Jerusalem, November 27, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The partner of anti-government activist Shikma Bressler sues Likud MK Tali Gotliv and 20 other people for NIS 8.3 million ($2.6 million) for spreading what he calls libelous statements intended to cause him harm.

In January 2024, Gotliv posted on social media that Bressler’s partner was a Shin Bet agent. The statement ostensibly violated the 2002 Law for the Shin Bet, which prohibits disclosing the identity of an agent.

In a series of posts, Gotliv spread apparent conspiracy theories alleging that Bressler’s partner had conducted talks with then-Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar prior to the terror group’s October 7, 2023, massacre and coordinated the atrocities with Sinwar, along with former Labor prime minister Ehud Barak.

“Beyond the obvious and serious harm that the false publications cause to the plaintiff’s good name, they also seriously harm the ability to maintain a fact-based public discourse and therefore go to the core of democracy,” the lawsuit against Gotliv asserts.

“If in normal times, the role of the court is to protect citizens from arbitrary government action, then in days when government officials are the ones who deliberately harm citizens who contribute and serve, for the sake of cheap political gain, this role of the court is intensified all the more.”

Idan Seger, the attorney representing Bressler’s partner, said that Gotliv had “deliberately acted to turn a law-abiding, contributing citizen into a target of hatred, based on a blood libel and malicious lies – and all for political reasons, in order to divert responsibility for the greatest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust from the political echelons.”

Bressler herself filed a civil lawsuit for defamation against Gotliv for NIS 2.6 million in February 2024 over the lawmaker’s claims.

A criminal investigation has also been opened into Gotliv for revealing the identity of the Shin Bet agent. The Attorney General’s Office announced in July that it was set to indict Gotliv, pending a hearing with her.

In response to the suit, Gotliv claims that the Shin Bet leadership is “in a panic,” and makes a series of claims about the organization’s responsibility for the security failures surrounding the October 7 attack.

She also continues to claim that her comments are covered by parliamentary immunity and that she is therefore not criminally or civilly liable for them.

State says Army Radio workers lied on affidavits to halt station’s closure

The Defense Ministry accuses the Army Radio labor union of submitting false affidavits to the High Court of Justice as part of a bid to secure an interim injunction against the government’s decision to shutter the station.

In a court filing responding to the injunction request, David Peter, representing the state and the Defense Ministry, says affidavits submitted by the union claiming that dozens of civilian show hosts at Army Radio and its sister station Galgalatz had been told their employment would be frozen within days last week were “false” and aimed at securing temporary relief without a full hearing.

According to the state’s response, no directive had been issued to stop employing civilian workers. Instead, it says the Defense Ministry is extending existing contracts expiring at the end of the year through February 28, 2026, in line with the government decision to shutter the IDF-run broadcaster by March 1, following a unanimous cabinet vote approving a proposal by Defense Minister Israel Katz.

Therefore, Peter asserts that “no material change in circumstances” occurred.

The response follows a Channel 12 report that the workers’ injunction request included a sworn affidavit from a station employee claiming they were told the Defense Ministry’s legal counsel had ordered all contact with outside employees in the hiring process to cease as of January 1.

Peter rejects the allegation outright, writing in the state’s response that “none of this ever happened.”

Russia sends three Iranian satellites into orbit

A Soyuz 2 rocket carrying three Iranian satellites has launched from Russia’s Vostochny Cosmodrome.

Iran claims its Kowsar-1.5 , Paya and Zafar-2 satellites are for scientific and civilian uses.

The launch marks the latest of a series of Iranian objects put in space by Russia over the last several months, a sign of growing cooperation between Moscow and Tehran.

The rocket is also carrying payloads from a number of other countries, including Belarus and Kuwait.

Route 4 reportedly set to shut as ultra-Orthodox protest draft

Police are reportedly planning for road closures as ultra-Orthodox demonstrators protest against the arrests of draft dodgers.

Closures are expected along Route 4 near Bnei Brak, a major artery typically inundated with traffic during rush hour, Ynet reports. Jabotinsky Road, another major street in the area, may also be shut.

Police briefly shut a section of Route 4 near Ashdod due to the planned protests but reopened it moments later.

The hardline Jerusalem Faction group, which has called for demonstrations at 4 p.m., is reportedly keeping its planned protest points secret from police.

Opposition MKs decamp hearing in protest after lawmaker booted

Opposition members have left a Knesset Finance Committee meeting in protest after committee chair Likud MK Hanoch Milwidsky removed Yesh Atid MK Orit Farkash-Hacohen and barred her from returning to the chamber except to vote.

Yesh Atid MKs Naor Shiri and Vladimir Beliak, as well as Labor’s Naama Lazimi and Gilad Kariv, leave in protest, stating that if Farkash-Hacohen is not allowed to take part in the discussion, neither will they.

As opposition members exit the room, Beliak says to Milwidsky, “We’ll see you in court.”

The confrontation erupted during a discussion on budget transfers, including the controversial diversion of over NIS 220 million ($68.5 million) from a program meant to boost Arab economic development to the police to combat “severe nationalistic crime” in the Arab community.

The transfer is especially controversial because it is being pushed by Social Equality Minister May Golan, who is being investigated by police for fraud and misusing public funds, leading opposition MKs to argue that the move constitutes a kickback to police.

Farkash-Cohen was attempting to question the Israel Police representative and the committee’s legal adviser Shlomit Erlich about the opinion given by the Prime Minister’s Office regarding legal issues with the proposal, before she was silenced and ejected from the room by Milwidsky.

Following the exodus of opposition lawmakers, Milwidsky continues the discussion in a room largely empty of committee members until Erlich leaves, forcing him to adjourn the session.

“MK Farkash-Hacohen said things that cannot be said,” says Milwidsky in a statement, reiterating that she will only be allowed to return to vote. “As for other members of the opposition, I don’t know why [they left]… perhaps to prevent the discussion from actually taking place.”

A statement from the Knesset spokesperson says the session was slated to restart this afternoon.

In a post on X, Farkash-Hacohen says that her only “crime” was that she “dared to ask questions.”

“This harassment of members of the Finance Committee will not pass in silence,” says Lazimi, calling the planned diversion of funds “entirely a scheme by a corrupt minister and a criminal minister,” referring to Golan and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

Cars set on fire, threats spray-painted in separate attacks on West Bank Palestinians

A burnt car is seen next to threatening graffiti in the West Bank town of Huwara, December 28, 2025. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)

Suspected settler vandals set fire to two cars and left a threatening message outside a home in the Palestinian village of Huwara near Nablus in the northern West Bank overnight, Palestinian media report.

Footage from the scene shows a white pickup truck charred on both the inside and outside, and the message “revenge, Beit She’an” with a Star of David spray-painted in black on an adjacent wall.

"طلع ابني لقى النار مولعة بالسيارة".. فلسطيني يروي تفاصيل إحراق المستـ'وطنين مركبة وخطّ شعارات عنصرية على منزل في قرية حوارة جنوب نابلس. pic.twitter.com/h7CXMj6urB

— فلسطين بوست (@PalpostN) December 28, 2025

The graffiti appears to be a reference to a terror attack on Friday in which a Palestinian man killed two people and injured a third in a series of car-rammings and a stabbing in Beit She’an and other locations.

Separately, settlers set fire overnight to a car and graffitied threatening messages on Palestinian property in the village of Jaba, near Bethlehem in the West Bank, according to Palestinian media.

במהלך הלילה פורעים יהודים הציתו רכב בכפר ג׳בעה ליד בית לחם, וריססו גרפיטי "נקמה על הנקמה בעד התיישבות נגד אלימות. אבי בלוט לא מפחדים, לאהוביה סנדק ד"ש מהפיגוע"
(12) pic.twitter.com/eiBL9mtZxp

— לירי בורק שביט (@lirishavit) December 28, 2025

Footage from the scene shows a white minivan with its front charred and covered in sand. Spray-painted in red on an adjacent wall was the word “Revenge,” a Star of David, and then “Revenge in support of settlement against violence,” “Avi Bluth we’re not afraid,” and “To Ahuvia Sandak, regards from the terror attack.”

Maj. Gen. Bluth, head of the IDF Central Command, is reviled by extremist settlers who accuse him of being too harsh with Jews and lenient with Palestinians in the West Bank.

Sandak was a 16-year-old member of the extremist Hilltop Youth settler group who was killed in a car crash while fleeing Israeli cops in the West Bank after allegedly hurling stones at Palestinians in December 2020. On Saturday, protesters held a demonstration to mark five years since his death.

Police have launched an investigation into the incident in Huwara, Hebrew media reports. It’s unclear if police have launched a similar investigation into the incident in Jaba.

IDF denies shifting Gaza Yellow Line after report claims buffer zone expanded

A Palestinian girl stands in the middle of a temporary camp for displaced people in Gaza City, December 28, 2025. (AP/Jehad Alshrafi)

The IDF rejects claims that it has unilaterally shifted the so-called Yellow Line inside the Gaza Strip, following a report alleging that Israeli forces have redrawn the border deeper into the enclave.

In a response issued by the IDF, the military says it is visually marking the Yellow Line in accordance with the terrain and as operational assessments change, calling allegations the line has been moved “inaccurate.”

According to the statement, troops are operating based on directives from the political leadership and in line with boundaries defined under the ceasefire agreement.

The IDF adds that it acts, “as much as possible,” to minimize harm to uninvolved civilians in accordance with international law.

The response comes after an investigation by French daily newspaper Libération claimed that more than 120 yellow markers had been installed across Gaza – including near Khan Younis, Shejaiya and Jabalia – expanding the area under Israeli control beyond routes set by the October ceasefire agreement.

🟨Yellow Line in Gaza
The Israeli army continues to draw its own version of this new border. We have mapped more than 120 yellow blocks marking this new line, which is being drawn further into the enclave, without respecting the route announced in October. pic.twitter.com/ao9Uhf293A

— Brice Le Borgne (@BriceLeBorgne) December 27, 2025

Using satellite imagery and videos filmed by Gaza residents, the paper says it geolocated the markers and determined that they now enclose at least 56% of the enclave as being under Israeli control – up from the 53% Israel was reported to control when the line was first demarcated.

One cited example places newly installed blocks in early December near the Bani Suheila school, east of Khan Younis, roughly 600 meters inside the line Israel previously said would define the security buffer. The school area, the report notes, had been used by displaced families as a shelter.

Tel Aviv beaches shut by overflowing wastewater amid heavy rains

The Health Ministry issues a warning for beachgoers to steer clear of beaches across Tel Aviv due to pollution fears stemming from heavy rains hitting the area.

According to the ministry, wastewater was swept into the Yarkon River, sending it coursing into the sea near the city.

Rains drenching much of the country are expected to weaken over the next several hours before picking back up again after nightfall.

The Israel Metrological Service issues its own warning advising against entering the sea up and down the coast due to high waves and stormy conditions.

Breaking ranks, Taiwan backs Israeli recognition of Somaliland

Taiwanese flags are pictured on the street in Kinmen on October 29, 2025. (I-Hwa CHENG / AFP)

Taiwan has seemingly become the first country to welcome Israel’s recognition of Somaliland.

Israel on Friday became the first country in the world to recognize the breakaway Somalian region as an independent state, drawing widespread condemnation from countries backing Mogadishu.

In a statement, the foreign ministry in Taipei says Israel, Somaliland and Taiwan are “like-minded democratic partners sharing the values of democracy, freedom, and rule of law,” according to the Focus Taiwan news site.

Israel enjoys friendly relations with Taiwan and strong trade ties, though the relationship is largely informal due to Israel’s diplomatic ties with the People’s Republic of China.

According to Focus Taiwan, Taipei and Somaliland have fostered bilateral relations for several years, and in 2020 opened reciprocal representative offices in each other’s capitals.

East Jerusalem man arrested after cop injured in hit-and-run

Police and Border Police officers conduct searches for a driver who rammed into a police officer, lightly injuring him, in northern Jerusalem on December 28, 2025. (Israel Police)

Police have arrested a Palestinian from East Jerusalem suspected of crashing into and lightly injuring a policeman earlier this morning.

The driver, a man in his 20s from Beit Hanina, apparently tried to flee from officers for fear of getting caught driving without a valid license. He had been barred from driving several times in the past, according to police.

The man sped off in a “reckless and dangerous manner” after officers tried to stop him for an inspection in the Atarot industrial zone, police say.

He collided with an officer operating in the area, who was taken to Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus to be treated for mild injuries.

After extensive searches, police managed to arrest the suspect, who fled the scene on foot. The driver was arrested alongside several others. It is unclear how many were arrested and on what suspicions.

Stone-throwing protesters greet Ben Gvir on tour of Bedouin town raided by cops

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir is accosted by stone-throwing protesters during a visit to the Bedouin village of Tarabin al-Sana today, following a string of police raids on the town over the weekend.

Law enforcement arrested three residents yesterday suspected of setting fire and causing damage to cars in nearby Jewish locales, in what police said was “revenge” for another overnight raid on the Bedouin town.

The far-right minister arrives under heavy security in the village. Police respond to the stone-throwing by deploying tear gas and arresting several people, Ynet reports. Police have not yet commented on how many were detained. No injuries are reported.

עימותים בתארבין, אבנים נזרקים לעבר כוחות המשטרה שיורה גז מדמיע לעבר הצעירים. השר לביטחון לאומי איתמר בן גביר טרם הגיע… pic.twitter.com/TGMnOtreIh

— ilana curiel (@ilanacuriel) December 28, 2025

“These criminals thought that they would send me a message, that they would do a ‘price tag,'” the far-right minister says as he walks with his security detail, using a term typically used to refer to settler violence carried out in retaliation for Palestinian attacks.

Under heavy guard, he tells reporters he is not cowed and vows to keep returning to the town.

Video shared by Channel 12 news shows cops scuffling with locals as Ben Gvir talks with a man in Arab garb nearby.

עימותים נרשמו בזמן סיור של השר לביטחון לאומי בן גביר ביישוב הבדואי תארבין@bokeralmog pic.twitter.com/N10AbPM9pN

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) December 28, 2025

Police over the past month have been ramping up their presence in the Negev, raiding Bedouin towns in an effort to crack down on violent crime, arms smuggling and traffic violations.

The operation, dubbed New Order, has angered many residents, who claim that military-style raids and checkpoints placed at the entrances to towns are eroding their rights as citizens.

המערב הפרוע: השר בן גביר הגיע לבקר בכפר תראבין, מקומיים השליכו לעברו אבנים | צפו בתיעודים

לכתבה – https://t.co/zioL7UFHBv

צילום: אריאל עידן pic.twitter.com/fVqcpCvQT9

— C14 (@C14_news) December 28, 2025

Iconic French actress Brigitte Bardot dead at 91

French actress Brigitte Bardot smiles to photographers in the garden of Villa Verdiani in Spoleto, central Italy, on August 4, 1961. (AP/Grappasonni)

French film legend Brigitte Bardot has died at 91, her foundation says.

“The Brigitte Bardot Foundation announces with immense sadness the death of its founder and president, Madame Brigitte Bardot, a world-renowned actress and singer, who chose to abandon her prestigious career to dedicate her life and energy to animal welfare and her foundation,” it says in a statement sent to AFP, without specifying the time or place of death.

Bardot became a global star after appearing in “…And God created Woman” in 1956, and went on to appear in about 50 more movies before giving up acting to devote herself to defending animal rights.

Cop who investigated Netanyahu suspected of passing tips to mafia for kickbacks

Investigators suspect retired police detective Tzachi Havkin, a witness in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s graft trial, of passing information to a powerful crime family, Hebrew outlets report.

The former Lahav 433 detective had been one of the police investigating cases 2000 and 4000, both involving Netanyahu’s alleged promises of favors to media magnates in return for positive coverage.

Havkin later resigned his post and gave testimony in the trial, alleging police misconduct in the case.

The Jerusalem District Court lifted a gag order on Havkin’s name this morning.

According to reports, Havkin was arrested alongside three other police officers in September on suspicion of aiding the Musli crime family in exchange for bribes.

Investigators in the Department of Internal Police Investigations believe Havkin provided the family with information about planned police actions against its members, as well as intelligence on the rival Jarushi crime family.

According to Haaretz, the Justice Ministry agency suspects that the officers leaked confidential information to the group about an ongoing case against its kingpin, Yossi Musli, and informed it that prosecutors planned to recruit a state witness to testify against him.

Iran-linked hackers claim to leak details from phone of top Netanyahu aide

Tzachi Braverman (center) looks at his phone as he sits behind Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) at a Jerusalem Day ceremony in Jerusalem, May 26, 2025. (Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90)

The Iran-backed Handala hacking group claims to leak details from the phone of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief of staff, Tzachi Braverman.

Leaked files of his contact list purportedly contain phone numbers of top officials and others in Netanyahu’s inner circle, including the premier’s wife Sara Netanyahu.

There are also what appear to be innocuous videos and official documents, including one on emergency procedures put in place during the June war with Iran.

Cop hurt in ramming near Jerusalem by driver reportedly transporting Palestinians illegally

Paramedics arrive at the scene of a car ramming in northern Jerusalem, which left a police officer lightly injured, on December 28, 2025. (Magen David Adom)

A police officer has been lightly injured in a car-ramming in northern Jerusalem, near the West Bank security barrier.

A large number of police officers are searching for the suspect in the Atarot industrial area, after he fled the scene on foot, police say.

The injured policeman has been taken to Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus.

According to Hebrew media, the driver had been transporting Palestinians who entered Israel illegally. He attempted to flee law enforcement, colliding with a police car.

High Court rejects petitions against appointment of Zini as Shin Bet chief

Shin Bet chief David Zini attends the state memorial ceremony marking 30 years since the assassination of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, November 3, 2025. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)

The High Court of Justice rules 2-1 against petitions filed against the appointment of David Zini as head of the Shin Bet. Zini has been in office since the beginning of October. The court had already declined to freeze his appointment until it ruled on the petitions, which sought to disqualify Zini over his past experience, conduct or an alleged conflict of interest.

Deputy court president Noam Sohlberg, writing for the majority, points out that the advisory committee that deliberated on Zini’s appointment had reviewed his candidacy and found it to be acceptable.

Sohlberg rejects arguments that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a conflict of interest in selecting the next Shin Bet chief due to the agency’s role in investigations into the premier’s close aides in the Bild and Qatargate affairs.

The justice points out that a court decision in July this year allowed Netanyahu to select a candidate who would be assessed by the advisory committee, and for the attorney general to draw up a conflict of interest agreement with the new Shin Bet chief regarding the two investigations.

Sohlberg also rejects claims against Zini’s qualifications and ethical conduct and arguments that the advisory committee did not sufficiently examine those issues before approving his appointment.

Supreme Court President Isaac Amit writes a dissenting opinion, saying that the advisory committee had been required to examine the ethical conduct not only of Zini, but also of Netanyahu as the appointing official, but that it had failed to broadly evaluate Netanyahu’s ethical conduct in selecting Zini, in particular the possibility that the prime minister had ulterior motives in choosing him.

Amit says Zini’s appointment should have been kicked back to the advisory committee for a more comprehensive review, though he adds that there has been no blemish on Zini’s honesty or personal and professional integrity throughout his years in military service.

The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, one of the organizations that petitioned against Zini’s appointment, says its respects the ruling, but adds that the ongoing Qatargate scandal and criminal investigations into figures tied to Netanyahu underline why someone. like Zini, who was appointed by the prime minister must steer clear of the probes.

Iranian hackers claim to break into phone of top Netanyahu aide; Prime Minister’s Office denies

Tzachi Braverman, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief of staff, at the Tel Aviv District Court ahead of the premier's testimony on December 18, 2024 (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

The same group of Iranian hackers who broke into former prime minister Naftali Bennett’s phone last week claim they managed to crack the phone of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief of staff, Tzachi Braverman.

The Handala hackers say they will release new information today that ties Braverman to the Qatargate scandal.

The Prime Minister’s Office tells The Times of Israel that “no breach has been found. The issue is being investigated.”

Two of Netanyahu’s advisers are alleged to have worked on behalf of Qatar for the Perception PR firm headed by Yisrael Einhorn, Netanyahu’s former campaign manager, while employed by the premier.

In an interview aired last week, one of the advisers, Eli Feldstein, said Braverman was involved in a separate but related alleged scandal involving the leak of classified information to German tabloid Bild as part of an alleged scheme to sway public opinion and ease pressure on Jerusalem to reach a deal with Hamas.

Feldstein, who has admitted to leaking the information, claimed that Braverman learned of a secret IDF investigation into the leak and reassured him it could be quashed, though the chief of staff also threatened him if he snitched to investigators.

Braverman is slated to become Israel’s ambassador to the UK, but the allegations have threatened to hold up the appointment.

Both Braverman and Netanyahu deny any involvement in the scandals.

Nominees reverse decision to boycott culture minister’s alternate film award

Several leading film professionals who withdrew from an alternative awards ceremony set up by Culture Minister Miki Zohar say they have agreed to reverse their decision and now plan to take part in the December 30 event.

The eight nominees say they were convinced to reconsider by senior producer and Israel Prize laureate Moshe Edry, who promised to work with the culture minister to ensure continued funding for the film industry.

Edry has confirmed his involvement.

The alternative film awards were set up by Zohar in protest of the Ophir Awards, which gave the top award this year to the film “The Sea,” about a Palestinian boy, which Zohar said portrayed the IDF in a negative light.

After the nominees pulled out, Zohar threatened to cut off all state funding to the film industry.

Zohar says in a statement that the nominees’ decision to participate in the ceremony is “the right one.”

“This is a state ceremony, not a political one, and it reflects the love of the Israeli public,” says Zohar.

Woman pulled from Jerusalem house fire dies of injuries

A woman has died after suffering life-threatening injuries in an electrical fire that broke out this morning in an apartment building in Jerusalem’s Armon Hanatziv neighborhood, according to Hebrew media reports.

The woman, whose age is listed as around 70, was hospitalized in critical condition after being pulled from the blaze before dawn.

The Fire and Rescue Service says that the blaze was likely caused by an electrical malfunction. The agency says the woman’s escape was likely hindered by a latch used to lock the door from the inside.

Netanyahu takes off for Florida ahead of Trump meet

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boards the Wing of Zion plane at Ben Gurion Airport ahead of a trip to the United States, February 2, 2025. (Avi Ohayon/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has taken off from rainy Ben Gurion Airport headed for sunny Florida, where he is set to meet with US President Donald Trump tomorrow, according to his office.

The visit to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach is expected to focus on the future of the Gaza Strip and ongoing threats from Hezbollah and Iran.

The premier is not flying with journalists and does not make any public statement before getting on the plane. He is slated to land in Florida at 2 p.m. local time.

Netanyahu’s trip is slated to last until Thursday, though his schedule is fairly sparse. Trump, who is meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today, is expected to be on the golf course for much of the week, according to the Associated Press.

Flight tracker data shows Netanyahu’s plane, dubbed Wing of Zion, some 34,000 feet above the Mediterranean. According to Flightradar24, around 1,000 people are tracking the flight, making it the website’s most watched trip.

Iran, Qatar foreign ministers call for upped pressure on Israel over Lebanon and Gaza

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held talks with his Qatari counterpart Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani regarding alleged Israeli ceasefire violations in Lebanon and Gaza, Tehran says in a statement.

Speaking by phone, the two expressed deep concern over the situation and both called for international pressure on Israel, a statement from the Iranian Foreign Ministry says.

The talks come as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to fly to Florida to meet US President Donald Trump, where he is expected to seek American support for Israel to ramp up military action against the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon.

The two are also expected to discuss Gaza and efforts to move beyond the ceasefire there to stage two of a Trump administration plan for the future of the territory, which Qatar played a key role in helping to broker.

There is no confirmation of the talks from Doha.

Parents and child rescued from van overtaken by flood in south

Rescuers attempting to reach a van trapped by floodwaters in southern Israel on December 28, 2025. (Courtesy; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Emergency crews have rescued three members of a family whose car was caught in a flooded streambed in southern Israel.

The three, two parents and a child, were hospitalized with minor injuries after being rescued from the flash flood, the Fire and Rescue Service says in a statement.

The three were in a van that was overtaken by rushing waters in Abu Joda, a small Bedouin hamlet on the outskirts of Kseifa east of Beersheba.

Pictures and video show rescuers using an inflatable raft to reach the van as water rises to windshield level.

צפו: שירותי הכבאות פועלים לחלץ זוג הורים וילד שרכבם נלכד בשיטפון בכביש 80

צילום: מוסע אבו גודה pic.twitter.com/JRisSBX5Fq

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) December 28, 2025

Authorities also say three people reported trapped by floodwaters in Nahal Halmut, to the west of Beersheba, have been rescued.

IDF says West Bank home of deadly attacker sealed off by troops

Troops seal off the West Bank home of a Palestinian man who carried out a deadly rampage on December 26, 2025, in a photo released by the military on December 28, 2025. (IDF Spokesperson)

The IDF says it has completed sealing off the home of a Palestinian terrorist who carried out a deadly ramming and stabbing attack on Friday in the northern Israeli cities of Beit She’an, Ein Harod and Afula.

In a statement, the military adds that security forces continue counterterrorism operations in the Qabatiya area in the northern West Bank, which has been under curfew since the rampage.

Ahmed al-Rub  is accused of murdering 68-year-old Shimshon Mordechai and 19-year-old Aviv Maor during an extended terror spree on a highway near Beit She’an.

הושלמה אטימת את בית המחבל שביצע את פיגוע הדריסה והדקירה בסוף השבוע בבית שאן, עין חרוד ועפולה.

כוחות הביטחון ממשיכים לפעול במרחב קבאטיה שבחטיבת מנשה לסיכול טרור pic.twitter.com/MLZyI3BVy3

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) December 28, 2025

As a matter of policy, Israel demolishes the homes of Palestinians accused of carrying out deadly terror attacks. In general, the demolition process takes several months, as the High Court must address appeals by the family.

The military said Saturday that IDF troops had mapped out the home and began sealing it off over the weekend, after IDF Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth signed off on the order following all the necessary permits. Security forces also intended to advance the process of destroying the home, the IDF added.

During the mapping and sealing process, several suspects were arrested in Qabatiya on suspicion of terror-related activities, and dozens of others were interrogated, the IDF said Saturday.

Ultra-Orthodox call mass protests for this afternoon over draft-dodger arrests

Haredi men block a police vehicle at the entrance to Jerusalem in protest of the arrest of an ultra-Orthodox military draft dodger, September 13, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The extremist Jerusalem Faction ultra-Orthodox group says it will hold nationwide protests this afternoon to demonstrate against the recent arrests of members of the Haredi community refusing to submit to the military draft.

According to reports in Hebrew media, a statement from the group’s leader Rabbi Azriel Auerbach orders ultra-Orthodox to take to the streets in protest at 4 p.m. today, declaring “we are going to war.”

The group also reportedly quotes “leading rabbis” vowing that “if they dare arrest them, we’ll halt the country.”

According to the Behadrei Haredim news site, protest locations are not being published in order to make it harder for police to plan.

The Jerusalem Faction is considered among the most extreme ultra-Orthodox anti-military draft groups, though there is wide opposition to enlistment across the Haredi spectrum. The group’s demonstrations, which typically involve blocking traffic on major highways, have drawn tens of thousands in the past and been marred by scenes of clashes between cops and protesters.

At least 10 officers were injured in a riot in Jerusalem that broke out earlier this month when police allegedly attempted to arrest draft dodgers in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood.

Three reported trapped by northern Negev flooding amid heavy downpours

Rescuers are searching for three people reported trapped by rising waters in a relatively isolated wadi in the northern Negev.

A statement from the fire and rescue authorities says crews are attempting to reach the trio in Nahal Halmut after the area became flooded.

Closer to the center of the country, a man whose car was overtaken by rising waters from Nahal Sorek was rescued and taken to a hospital, authorities say.

Police have reportedly closed off a section of Route 90 near the Dead Sea in both directions due to floodwaters. Route 234 near the Tzeelim Bridge in the Western Negev is also reportedly blocked off.

לילה גשום עבר בעוטף עזה וכביש 232 מוצף במספר אזורים. pic.twitter.com/w5Gb8vKnmp

— שלמה ⛈️ מזג אוויר (@MezgAvirIL) December 28, 2025

According to the Israel Meterological Service, areas around Beersheba in the northern Negev saw as much as 20 millimeters of rain fall in the last three hours.

The area and the region around the Dead Sea are under a flash flood advisory until 10 a.m.

Woman in critical condition after fire blazes in Jerusalem building

A woman in her 60s is in critical condition after inhaling smoke as a result of a fire that broke out in a residential building in the East Talpiot neighborhood of Jerusalem, according to the Magen David Adom ambulance service.

She has been taken to Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital alongside a 47-year-old woman who is lightly hurt.

Two arrested at Jerusalem protest marking 5 years since settler teen killed in police chase

Two right-wing activists were arrested in Jerusalem earlier tonight at a protest marking five years since the death of Ahuvia Sandak, who was killed in a car crash while fleeing from police in the West Bank in December 2020.

According to the police, the protest erupted into violence after activists began blocking vehicle traffic and the light rail tracks near the entrance to Jerusalem.

The protest was subsequently declared illegal and in violation of public order, but participants refused to disperse, and some — mostly teenagers and young adults — began throwing stones and other items at law enforcement forces, the police say, adding that two police officers were lightly injured.

The protest was eventually dispersed and two rioters were arrested.

הערב, החלה מחאה בהשתתפות עשרות מפגינים בכניסה לעיר ירושלים. בשלב מסויים, חלק מהמוחים החלו להפר את הסדר תוך חסימת נתיבי הנסיעה סמוך לגשר המיתרים בכניסה לעיר וחסימת הציר של הרכבת הקלה. pic.twitter.com/lmffKzbtzX

— מה חדש. What's new❓ (@Gloz111) December 27, 2025

The police reiterate that the right to protest is protected so long as the protest operates “within the limit of the law,” but that it will “act against troublemakers and rioters whose actions harm the public.”

Sandak, 16, crashed his car while driving without a license in December 2020. He was being pursued by a police car at the time, after he was allegedly caught hurling rocks at Palestinian vehicles.

His death became a cause célèbre for right-wing activists, who have accused police of responsibility for his death, claiming they caused the car crash during the chase.

Protests over his death have often escalated into violence and arrests.

Netanyahu to depart for Florida on Sunday, meet with Trump, Rubio on Monday

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will have a light official schedule during his visit this week to Florida, according to the agenda sent by his office to the traveling press pool.

He will take off tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. and land in Florida at 2 p.m. local time.

On Monday, he is slated to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the early afternoon, then meet US President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago at 3:30 p.m.

Netanyahu currently has nothing scheduled for Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Netanyahu will meet Evangelical leaders at 10:30 a.m. at his hotel, then will head to the Shul of Bal Harbour for an event with lawmakers, Jewish and community leaders, and local students.

He takes off for Israel on Thursday afternoon and is slated to land back in Israel early Friday afternoon.