Jan. 22: European Union demands Board of Peace mandate be narrowed to focus just on Gaza

US envoy Witkoff, Putin begin talks in Moscow on bid to end Ukraine war — Kremlin

A meeting between US special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Vladimir Putin has started in Moscow, the Kremlin says, as the US pushes a plan to end the Ukraine war.

“A meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US Special Envoy Steven Witkoff has begun in the Kremlin,” the Kremlin says on its Telegram account.

Russian state news agencies have reported that US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is also in the meeting, as well as Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev and Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov.

Report: Jordan has been using Israeli digital tools to spy on pro-Gaza activists

Illustrative: The offices of Israeli company Cellebrite, a provider of mobile forensic software, in Petah Tikva, March 24, 2016. (Jack Guez/AFP)

Jordan has been using Israeli digital surveillance tools since 2020 against civil society members, particularly activists in support of Palestinians in Gaza, according to a new report by Citizen Lab.

Phone-cracking products by Israeli firm Cellebrite “have been used by the Jordanian authorities to extract data from the phones of activists and civil society members without their consent,” the report says.

“During our forensic investigation of devices that were seized by authorities and returned to their owners, we uncovered iOS and Android Indicators of Compromise that we attribute with high confidence to Cellebrite’s forensic extraction products,” it says, adding that “court records shared with the Citizen Lab indicate use of Cellebrite products in criminal prosecutions against activists and members of Jordanian civil society in a manner that does not comply with human rights treaties that Jordan has ratified.”

Under pressure, Arab Knesset parties sign agreement to work toward reviving Joint List

Leaders of the Arab parties celebrate after signing an agreement to work towards a Joint List in Sakhnin, January 22, 2026. (Courtesy of Hadash-Ta'al)

The four Arab parties — Hadash, Ra’am, Ta’al and Balad — have signed an agreement to work toward reestablishing the Joint List bloc, a spokesperson for one of the parties tells The Times of Israel.

The party heads — Hadash’s Ayman Odeh, Ra’am’s Mansour Abbas, Ta’al’s Ahmad Tibi and Balad’s Sami Abou Shahadeh, the latter of whom failed to enter the Knesset in the last elections — are in Sakhnin, as part of a nationwide general strike in Arab locales over the police’s failure to stem a surging violent crime wave besetting the Arab community.

The agreement is written on a notepad bearing the Sakhnin Municipality’s letterhead and the signatures of the party heads, and footage shows the party heads cheering and holding hands after signing.

The Arab parties have for months been in talks to revive the list, though they seemed halted amid internal fights between Ra’am and the other parties, mainly over Abbas’s demand for the bloc to be merely a technical alliance to allow him the option to split after the elections and have Ra’am join a governing coalition.

According to the Kan public broadcaster, the other parties acquiesced to this, enabling an agreement to be signed.

However, a spokesperson for one of the parties tells The Times of Israel that the four party heads — principally Abbas — were ambushed into signing the public agreement, amid widespread pressure from the Arab street to revive the bloc amid the crime epidemic sweeping Arab society.

“You can’t say it’s absolutely final, but such a public commitment will lead to more serious meetings, and everyone will be afraid to come out looking like the ones who collapsed the list,” says the spokesperson.

At its peak in 2020, the Joint List bloc commanded the third-largest party in the Knesset, before splitting due to internal fighting in 2021. Ra’am broke away to join Naftali Bennett’s and Yair Lapid’s coalition that briefly unseated Netanyahu in 2021, the first time in decades that an Arab party had joined the government.

The bloc’s collapse provoked extreme anger and frustration among the Arab public, who have been pressuring the party heads to reunify ahead of this year’s upcoming elections.

According to data from a survey published in November by the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University, 77.4% of Arab respondents support the inclusion of an Arab party in the next governing coalition.

The report also said that a Joint List would significantly increase voter turnout: among Arab citizens, turnout is expected to reach 52.4% if the four parties run separately, but would rise to 61.8% and secure approximately 15-16 Knesset seats if the Joint List were reestablished.

Rafah Crossing to open without Israeli presence inside, under tight oversight – reports

The upgraded Gazan side of the Rafah Crossing with Egypt, pictured on December 8, 2025. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

With Israel expected to open the Rafah Crossing in both directions next week, Hebrew media reports say the focus is now on the security and political conditions under which the move will be implemented.

According to the reports, Israel will maintain full control over the crossing through remote surveillance systems, advance approval of travelers’ names and identification documents, and IDF deployment in the crossing’s perimeter.

While there will reportedly be no permanent Israeli presence inside the crossing itself, those entering and exiting Gaza will pass through a nearby Israeli security checkpoint aimed at preventing weapons smuggling.

The planned opening of Rafah Crossing is said to be carried out at the request of the US, as part of broader efforts to facilitate a transfer of governance in Gaza away from Hamas.

US mulls complete military withdrawal from Syria, WSJ reports

Washington is considering a complete withdrawal of American troops from Syria, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing US officials.

Reuters cannot immediately verify the report.

EU says it can work with Board of Peace if it narrows its focus to only Gaza

If US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace is narrowed down to focus on Gaza, European leaders can work with the plan, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas says.

“We want to work for the peace in the Middle East and we want this board of peace to be limited to the UN Security Council resolution as it was foreseen,” Kallas says before a summit of EU leaders where Trump’s proposal is among items to be discussed.

“So if we narrow it down to Gaza like it was meant to be, then we can work with it,” she adds.

Report: US-led plan would see Hamas disarm, senior figures exit Gaza

The US and key Gaza mediators have begun quiet talks with Hamas on a plan to gradually disarm the terror group and dismantle its military infrastructure in the Strip, Channel 12 news reports.

According to the report, discussions involving the US alongside Qatar, Turkey and Egypt have been underway for roughly two to three weeks. The plan presented to Hamas reportedly calls for the immediate destruction of heavy weapons, tunnels, arms-production sites and terror infrastructure, followed by a prolonged, phased process to collect and dismantle personal weapons held by Hamas operatives and other gunmen.

Under the proposal, those who agree to hand over their weapons would be offered either safe passage out of Gaza or integration into the security forces of a future Palestinian technocratic government tasked with running the Strip, the report says. In parallel, the US would seek to establish a Palestinian police force subordinate to that technocratic administration, with exclusive authority over the use of force.

Channel 12 reports that the plan also envisions a gradual withdrawal by the IDF from positions inside Gaza, including a phased pullback from the Yellow Line, contingent on progress in disarmament. Reconstruction efforts, as outlined by senior White House adviser Jared Kushner in Davos earlier today, would likewise be tied to compliance with the weapons handover.

The Channel 12 report follows a similar Ynet report published two days ago, citing Palestinian sources and the Saudi Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, which said that several senior Hamas commanders are expected to depart the Strip as part of arrangements linked to the next phase of the ceasefire and the entry of a technocratic administration.

Those sources told Ynet that the emerging framework is based on Hamas figures exiting Gaza in parallel with the technocratic committee assuming control, with Egyptian intelligence mediating the process. Turkey is said to be the primary destination under discussion, though no final decisions have been made and some Hamas commanders have reportedly refused to leave.

Earlier this month, a US official and two Arab diplomats told The Times of Israel that Washington had been in talks with Mideast mediators Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, which have assured Washington that Hamas will agree to a gradual disarmament plan that would begin with the terror group giving up its heavy weaponry and the launch of a “buy-back” program for lighter weapons.

The three sources said that the goal is to begin implementing the program in the coming weeks.

Jacob Magid contributed to this report.

Report: Senior security official warns Trump’s Gaza plan will leave Hamas in control of life in Strip

A senior security official has warned the government that US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan will leave Hamas with considerable influence over life in the Strip, with its bureaucrats allowed to stay in their positions, Channel 13 news reports.

Without naming the official, the network says they believe that even where the new international mechanisms will appoint senior officials, the rank-and-file workers operating under them will still be Hamas members.

The official reportedly predicts that the plan will cause the strategic situation with Gaza, within a number of years, to reach a similar state to the one that enabled the October 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught that started the war.

The Prime Minister’s Office doesn’t respond to the report.

Gaza technocratic panel announces $100 million budget for public sector salaries

The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) announces that its monthly budget covering the salaries of public sector employees will be $100 million.

The 12-member panel of Palestinian technocrats says in a statement that it is aiming for “economic stability, free from the pressures of the [Israeli] occupation.”

The statement appears aimed at demonstrating financial transparency to the public and international community.

NCAG is reliant on the US ability to fundraise for the Board of Peace that is overseeing the technocratic committee’s work. Senior US adviser Jared Kushner said earlier today that Washington will host a conference in two weeks where the contributions made by various countries will be announced.

It is also not yet clear which workers NCAG will be able to hire, as Israel has to date been blocking the involvement of public sector workers on the Hamas or PA payroll, leaving very few other options for employees that NCAG can hire.

Culture minister slams the 2 Israeli Oscar nominees as ‘amplifying the narrative of our enemies’

Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar attends a plenum session at the assembly hall of the Knesset, in Jerusalem, November 26, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Culture Minister Miki Zohar assails the two Israeli films nominated today for the Academy Awards.

“Butcher’s Stain,” made by Meyer Levinson-Blount while at Tel Aviv University’s film school, has been nominated for Best Live Action Short Film. The film follows Samir, an Arab butcher in Tel Aviv, who sets out on a journey to prove his innocence after he’s accused of removing posters of Israeli hostages being held by the Hamas terror group in Gaza.

And “Children No More: Were and Are Gone,” directed by award-winning filmmaker Hilla Medalia, has been nominated for Best Documentary Short Film. It is about a weekly left-wing vigil that began in March 2025 in Tel Aviv, as a handful of protesters held photos of children killed in Gaza, a gathering which grew over time into a prominent silent protest.

“Look surprised. The two Israeli films nominated for an Oscar are against Israel,” Zohar tweets, saying this reiterates the importance of a reform he has led, which has included the sweeping cancellations of a series of 2026 Israeli arts awards he says are biased in favor of the left. The actions have been met with protests from Israeli artists and organizations who claim the government is censoring criticism of it.

In another statement quoted by Hebrew media, Zohar says both movies “amplify the narrative of our enemies and damage Israel’s reputation. One presents Israel as slaughtering Gaza’s children, and the other presents Israel as racist toward Arab citizens.”

He argues that this means international award nominations must not be a criterion for getting funds from the Israeli state, and that, rather, the decisive factor should be the films’ reception inside Israel.

Palestinian group says it filed complaint against Israeli minister currently in Davos

Economy Minister Nir Barkat speaks during a joint press conference with his Indian counterpart during the India-Israel Business Summit in Tel Aviv on November 20, 2025. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP)

The Palestinian group Al-Haq says it and others have filed a criminal complaint in Switzerland against Israel’s Economy Minister Nir Barkat, who is in Davos for the World Economic Forum, for “international crimes.”

The rights group, which Jerusalem has designated a terror group, claims in an X post that Barkat, from the ruling Likud party, “is responsible for unlawful Israeli colonisation of Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel’s actions in Gaza,” highlighting allegedly illegal statements and actions he has taken as minister and before that as Jerusalem mayor.

Poll: Merger of Bennett, Lapid and Eisenkot would yield biggest party in next election, but not change overall result

This composite image shows former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot (left), former prime minister Naftali Bennett (center) and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid at a march in support of conscripting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military, in Jerusalem on January 20, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash 90)

A potential merger between three parties opposed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in this year’s election would yield the biggest Knesset party, far surpassing the ruling Likud, but wouldn’t significantly boost the overall anti-Netanyahu bloc compared to a scenario in which they run separately, according to a new survey conducted this week for Zman Yisrael, The Times of Israel’s Hebrew-language sister site.

Channel 12 news reported this week that former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot, head of the new Yashar! party, has proposed a major merger in the opposition between his party, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid and ex-prime minister Naftali Bennett’s new party, aiming to present a unified slate that will become the 120-member Knesset’s biggest faction.

The survey shows this goal being achieved. While the three parties get a combined 33 seats if they run separately — 18 for Bennett’s party, 8 for Yesh Atid and 7 for Yashar — this grows to 36 if they merge. Likud stands at 25 seats in both scenarios.

But this doesn’t translate into a game-changer regarding who is likely to form the next government, yielding a potential deadlock in both scenarios, in line with almost all polls from the past two years.

The parties in Netanyahu’s current 64-strong coalition get 53 seats — short of a majority — if the merger doesn’t go ahead, versus 52 if they do merge.

The non-Netanyahu-aligned parties get 67 seats in the first scenario and 68 in the second, but this doesn’t mean they can form a coalition since they include right-wing and centrist politicians who have vowed not to sit with Arab parties.

The survey finds that both Benny Gantz’s Blue and White and Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism would squeak past the 3.25% electoral threshold with 4 seats each, unlike many recent polls that have predicted political demise for both.

In the event Eisenkot, Gantz and Bennett run separately, the poll predicts 25 seats for Likud, 18 for Bennett’s party, 10 each for Yisrael Beytenu and Shas, 9 for the Democrats, 8 each for Yesh Atid and United Torah Judaism, 7 for Eisenkot’s Yashar, 6 each for Otzma Yehudit and Ra’am, 5 for Hadash-Ta’al, and 4 each for Blue and White and Religious Zionism.

The pro-Netanyahu bloc gets 53 seats, the anti-Netanyahu Zionist bloc gets 52 seats, while the Arab parties get 11, and the non-aligned Blue and White stands at 4.

And if the merger materializes, it predicts 36 seats for the merged party, 25 for Likud, 9 each for Yisrael Beytenu and Shas, 8 each for the Democrats and United Torah Judaism, 6 each for Otzma Yehudit and Ra’am, 5 for Hadash-Ta’al, and 4 each for Blue and White and Religious Zionism.

The pro-Netanyahu bloc gets 52 seats, the anti-Netanyahu Zionist bloc gets 53 seats, and the Arab parties stay at 11, while Blue and White is at 4.

The survey was conducted on January 21-22, by Tatika Research and Media in collaboration with the Adgenda panel, and included 500 Jewish and Arab respondents, controlled for age, religion, gender and place of residence. The margin of error is 4.4%.

Herzog and Somaliland president discuss ‘advancing bilateral relations’ in Davos

President Isaac Herzog met with Somaliland’s President Abdirahman Abdullahi Mohamed in Davos last night on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, saying he looks forward to deepening “bilateral cooperation” after Israel became the first country to recognize the breakaway territory last month.

“I welcome the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two nations and look forward to deepening our bilateral cooperation for the benefit of both our peoples,” Herzog says in an X post about their meeting at a high-level dinner.

Abdirahman says in his own post that the two discussed “strengthening and advancing bilateral relations.”

Last night in Davos, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, i met with the President of the State of Israel, @Isaac_Herzog at a high-level dinner. Our discussions focused on strengthening and advancing bilateral relations between the Republic of Somaliland and the State… pic.twitter.com/ATrHJgFkhB

— Cabdiraxmaan Cirro (@Abdirahmanirro) January 22, 2026

Earlier this month, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar met with Abdirahman and other senior officials in Somaliland, encouraging other countries to recognize its sovereignty.

‘Jewish safety is not negotiable’: Nearly 100 New Jersey rabbis demand state take action on antisemitism

Dozens of rabbis from New Jersey demand that Governor Phil Murphy and the US state assembly adopt and implement the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism to combat discrimination against Jews.

The New Jersey state government reportedly nixed a bill to adopt the IHRA definition earlier this month.

Anti-Israel activists oppose the definition because the framework equates some forms of anti-Israel rhetoric with antisemitism, while allowing for measured criticism of the Jewish state.

New Jersey has more antisemitic incidents per capita than any other state, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

The rabbis’ open letter, released by The Jewish Majority advocacy group, is addressed to Murphy and the state assembly. Ninety-three rabbis have signed on.

“The Jewish community is facing surging antisemitism that we never thought possible in America,” the letter says, relating a string of attacks on Jews in the state.

“Prioritizing politics over antisemitism signals that Jewish safety is negotiable and subjects our community to further cases of harassment and violence,” the letter says. “We call on our political leaders in New Jersey to immediately revisit and pass legislation that adopts the IHRA definition of antisemitism, and applies that definition to training, education, and hate-crime response systems.”

IDF says it has demolished a Hamas attack tunnel in Gaza

The IDF says it recently demolished a kilometer-long Hamas tunnel on the Israeli side of the Gaza ceasefire line in the Strip’s center.

The underground route, in the Central Camps area, is described by the IDF as a Hamas attack tunnel.

According to the military, the tunnel contained weapons used by the terror group, and also featured three rooms where Hamas operatives would reside.

This footage published by the IDF on January 22, 2026, shows the demolition of a tunnel network in the central Gaza Strip. (Israel Defense Forces)

‘Voice of Hind Rajab,’ documentary about Gazan girl’s last moments, is nominated for Oscar

From 'The Voice of Hind Rajab,' nominated for Best Documentary in the 2026 Oscars (Courtesy)

In addition to the two Israeli movies linked to the Gaza war that have been nominated for the Oscars, “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” a Tunisian docu-drama about a 5-year-old girl allegedly killed by Israeli forces in Gaza last year, has been nominated for Best International Feature.

The film, by Franco-Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania, tells the story of Hind Rajab Hamada, who was fleeing in Gaza City with six relatives last year when their car came under fire.

It dramatizes the effort by Palestinian Red Crescent dispatchers in the central West Bank to send Rajab assistance within Gaza, using real audio from the girl’s phone call, in which she — surrounded by dead family members — pleads for help.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society has accused Israel of deliberately targeting an ambulance it sent to rescue Rajab.

Israel has rejected that claim, saying a probe found there were no Israeli troops present in the vicinity of the vehicle where Rajab’s body was found, nor was there a need for specific coordination of the ambulance to pick her up.

A Washington Post report published after the IDF’s statement found that Israeli armored vehicles were, in fact, operating in the area at the time, and that the gunfire heard in the Red Crescent recordings was consistent with IDF weapons.

In a speech after winning an award at the Venice Film Festival in September, Ben Hania said Rajab’s story “is not hers alone. It is tragically the story of an entire people enduring genocide, inflicted by a criminal Israeli regime that acts with impunity.”

In Davos speech, Argentina’s Milei invokes weekly Torah portion to critique Western decline

Argentine President Javier Milei listens to speeches after the signing of a Board of Peace charter during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Argentinian President Javier Milei offers a reflection on the weekly Torah portion, in a clip shared by his office.

Concluding a speech hailing free-market capitalism and the United States as a “beacon of light” for the West, Milei – a staunch Israel supporter and Judeophile who today joined US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace intended to oversee postwar Gaza – remarks how “Parashat Bo describes the moment when Moses confronts Pharaoh, a symbol of the oppressive power of the state.”

When Pharaoh “did not free the Hebrew people… the plague of locusts arrived, which signifies famine. Then came the plague of darkness, which signifies the loss of clarity in decision-making. Finally, the plague of the death of the firstborn, which lays bare the fate of a society that denies freedom,” he continues, adding, “The analogy to what is happening today in the West is strikingly clear.”

Turkey opposes foreign intervention in Iran, Erdogan tells Iran’s Pezeshkian

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian in a phone call that Turkey is opposed to any foreign intervention in Iran and that it values its neighbor’s peace and stability, the Turkish presidency says.

In a statement, the presidency says the leader discussed the latest developments in Iran, after the worst domestic unrest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. It says Erdogan also said the resolution of problems without further escalation is also to the benefit of Ankara.

‘Ben Gvir, you son of a bitch’: Police halt massive march against unchecked violence in Arab community

Municipal workers form human barrier between protesters and police during a march over police handling of violent crime in Sakhnin, northern Israel on January 22, 2026. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)

Police are preventing a massive march against violent crime in Arab society from continuing beyond Sakhnin, after tens of thousands set out from the northern city toward the Misgav regional council police station.

Most of the protesters head back the way they came, as many in the remaining crowd chant, “Ben Gvir, Ben Gvir, you son of a bitch,” with Sakhnin municipal workers forming a human barrier between them and riot police.

Protesters chant "Ben Gvir, Ben Gvir, you son of a bitch" as massive march in Sakhnin against violent crime in Arab society meets wall of riot police. Municipal workers are separating protesters and law enforcement pic.twitter.com/NYbpS8RMiH

— charlie summers (@cbsu03) January 22, 2026

The demonstration caps off a daylong general strike in Arab cities and towns nationwide, over police’s failure to curb violent crime in the community.

Police have brought out a water cannon, a helicopter and around a dozen mounted officers to block off the road.

Ministers to vote on bill that would allow Haredi party to rejoin government with all previous MKs rejoining Knesset

The Ministerial Committee for Legislation is scheduled to vote on Sunday on a proposal by United Torah Judaism MK Yaakov Asher to amend the so-called Norwegian Law in a way that could allow the ultra-Orthodox party, along with all of its MKs who quit last summer, to rejoin Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition.

The Norwegian Law allows ministers and deputy ministers from large factions to resign from the Knesset and let their seats be filled by other members of their parties. However, they can only do so once, meaning that if United Torah Judaism rejoins the coalition following a potential future successful passage of the government’s proposed bill exempting yeshiva students from military service, its newly reinstated ministers would not be able to resign to allow those lower down on the list to rejoin the Knesset in their places.

The bill would amend the law so that a faction all of whose ministers quit for a period of 30 days or more would be allowed to resign their Knesset seats for a second time after being reappointed to the cabinet.

UTJ lawmakers Moshe Roth, Yitzhak Pindrus and Eliyahu Baruchi were pushed out of the Knesset under the Norwegian Law in July after their party quit both the government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition as part of an ongoing struggle over the conscription of yeshiva students.

While the party has yet to rejoin the coalition, MK Yisrael Eichler, a member of the party’s Agudat Yisrael faction, joined the government as deputy communications minister this week, allowing Pindrus of the Degel HaTorah faction to return to parliament under the Norwegian Law.

Eichler had not previously served in a ministerial capacity in this government.

Most Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of Israeli-Palestinian conflict — poll

A majority of registered voters in the US disapprove of President Donald Trump’s handling of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to a poll released by the Siena Research Institute.

Fifty-four percent of respondents disapprove of Trump’s approach to the conflict, while 37% approve, the poll says.

Younger Americans, minorities and Democrats are more against Trump’s handling of the conflict.

The divide is most stark between the political parties.

An overwhelming majority of Democrats — 89% — are opposed to Trump’s approach to the conflict, with only 7% in favor.

For Republicans, 82% support Trump’s handling of the conflict, with 9% opposed.

Most Independents — 58% — were also opposed, with 31% in favor.

The poll has a margin of error of about 2.8 percentage points.

France says it won’t join Peace Board for now, says its charter contradicts UN charter

France will not join US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace for now because its charter does not correspond with a UN resolution to resolve the war in Gaza, and some of the charter’s elements are allegedly contrary to the UN charter, its foreign ministry spokesman says.

“It was not corresponding on the one hand with the pure Gaza mandate, which is not even mentioned, and on the other hand, there are elements of this charter which are contrary to the United Nations charter,” Pascal Confavreux tells reporters.

Two Israeli films about Gaza war and hostage crisis nominated for Oscars

From the poster for 'Butcher's Stain,' Meyer Levinson-Blount's student film short nominated for the 2026 Oscars. (Courtesy)

Two Israeli films are included in the final list of nominees for Oscars, as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences releases the final list of nominees.

“Butcher’s Stain” by Meyer Levinson-Blount of Tel Aviv University, which won second place in the narrative category of the Student Academy Awards in the fall, is nominated for Best Live Action Short Film.

The film follows Samir, an Arab butcher in Tel Aviv, who sets out on a journey to prove his innocence after he’s accused of removing posters of the hostages kidnapped to Gaza.

The Israeli film “Children No More: Were and Are Gone,” directed by Hila Medalia, is nominated for Best Documentary Short Film.

Medalia’s film is about a vigil that began in March 2025 in Tel Aviv, as a handful of left-wing protesters held photos of children killed in Gaza.

“Holding Liat,” about the struggle to bring back hostage Liat Atzili, which was shortlisted for Best Documentary Feature, does not make it into the final five nominees.

The Ophir Award-winning film “The Sea” doesn’t advance to the shortlist in the Best International Feature Film category.

The nominees for Best Picture are “Bugonia,” “F1,” “Frankenstein,” “Hamnet,” “Marty Supreme,” “One Battle After Another,” “The Secret Agent,” “Sentimental Value,” “Sinners” and “Train Dreams.”

Filmmakers Chloe Zhao (“Hamnet”), Josh Safdie (“Marty Supreme”), “Paul Thomas Anderson (“One Battle After Another”), Joaquim Trier (“Sentimental Value”) and Ryan Coogler (“Sinners”) are nominated for Best Director.

Vampire period horror film “Sinners” smashes the all-time Oscars record with 16 nominations. The blues-inflected drama set in the 1930s segregated US South from director Ryan Coogler scores nominations in nearly every category possible, blasting past the previous record of 14, jointly held by “All About Eve,” “Titanic” and “La La Land.”

“Frankenstein,” “Marty Supreme” and “Sentimental Value” each bag nine nominations, while “Hamnet” secures eight.

AFP contributed to this report.

Columbia University’s Mahmoud Khalil to likely be deported to Algeria, US official says

Anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, center, speaks after his release from US federal immigration detention in Jena, Louisiana, June 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

Columbia University anti-Zionist protest leader Mahmoud Khalil will likely be deported to Algeria, a US official says.

The Trump administration arrested Khalil last year during its crackdown on campus activists in the US.

Khalil’s legal team has waged a legal battle against his deportation, but an appeals court last week ruled in favor of the administration, bringing authorities a step closer to detaining and deporting Khalil.

Following that ruling, Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin says Khalil will likely be deported.

“It looks like he’ll go to Algeria. That’s what the thought is right now,” McLaughlin tells NewsNation.

“It’s a reminder for those who are in this country on a visa or on a Green Card. You are a guest in this country; act like it,” McLaughlin says. “It is a privilege, not a right, to be in this country to live or to study.”

Khalil is a permanent US resident, but not a citizen. He was born in Syria to a Palestinian family, but holds Algerian citizenship.

Tens of thousands march in largest-yet rally against failure to rein in crime in Arab community

Tens of thousands of protesters march against police's failure to rein in violent crime in the Arab society in Sakhnin, northern Israel, on January 22, 2026. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)

Tens of thousands of protesters are marching in Sakhnin against the relentless crime wave plaguing Arab society and the police’s failure to rein in the violence.

The march is the largest demonstration to take place in recent years over the soaring homicide rate in the Arab community, which has claimed 20 lives since the start of the year and broken records in recent years.

Holding black flags, protesters chant in Arabic: “Ben Gvir, you miserable man, Arab blood isn’t cheap,” amid mounting anger over the far-right police minister’s handling of the issue.

Residents of Sakhnin, an Arab city in the north, have been striking for three days now due to near-nightly shootings at businesses in recent weeks.

Arab cities and towns nationwide have followed suit, after the High Follow-Up Committee, the leading umbrella organization in Arab society, called a general strike.

Board of Peace Gaza envoy confirms Rafah Crossing to reopen soon

The Board of Peace’s Gaza envoy confirms that the Rafah Crossing will be opening soon, after the chief commissioner of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, Ali Shaath, announced that it would be opening in both directions next week.

“I am pleased that an agreement has been reached regarding the preparation for re-opening of the Rafah crossing,” writes Nikolay Mladenov on X. “Concurrently, we are working with Israel and the National acommittee for the aadministration of Gaza to expedite the search for thr remaining Israeli hostage [sic].”

“We are currently coordinating logistics on implementing this agreement,” says Mladenov.

In visit to Hebron, IDF chief condemns settler attacks

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir (left) meets with officers in the West Bank city of Hebron, January 21, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

During a visit to the West Bank city of Hebron yesterday, where the IDF has been carrying out a counter-terrorism raid, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said violent attacks by extremist Israeli settlers are “unacceptable actions.”

Data published by the army this week showed that there had been a 27% rise in attacks by extremist Jewish settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank in the past year, and severe attacks spiked by over 50%.

“The IDF and the security forces are the only entities authorized to use the force required to carry out the mission of defending the sector,” Zamir says, according to remarks provided by the army.

“Alongside the uncompromising fight against terrorism, groups or individuals must not be allowed to take the law into their own hands. These are unacceptable actions that harm the entire settlement [movement],” he adds.

2 caregivers suspected in deaths of babies at unlicensed Jerusalem daycare released to house arrest

The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court orders the release to house arrest of two caregivers who were detained following the death of two babies at the unlicensed Jerusalem daycare facility where they worked.

The pair will be kept under house arrest for nine days, barred from working for 45 days, and prevented from contacting the families of the deceased for 30 days.

Ahead of the sentencing, the mother of one of the babies, 6-month-old Aharon Katz, appeared outside the courtroom to defend the caregivers.

She told the press that she did not believe they were guilty of any crime, insisting that they had cared deeply for her infant son.

“They also buried a child, it will never leave them,” she said, adding that she has known the owner of the unlicensed daycare for seven years, as her three older children had also gone there. “What has been done to them is an injustice.”

The bodies of Katz’s son and of 4-month-old Leah Goloventzitz were found on Monday morning, along with 53 other babies and toddlers with varying degrees of injuries, at the overcrowded Haredi daycare center in Jerusalem’s Romema neighborhood.

Police reportedly believe the two babies may have died of heat exhaustion and dehydration linked to a faulty heating system in the daycare.

Hamas demands US walk back latest sanctions on Palestinian nonprofits

Hamas condemns as “unjust” a move by the United States to sanction Palestinian associations that Washington accused of having links to the Islamist terror group.

The US yesterday imposed sanctions on six nonprofit organizations working in the Gaza Strip, which the Treasury Department said “claim to provide medical care to Palestinian civilians but in fact support the military wing of Hamas.”

It also announced sanctions on a group of Palestinians involved in civilian flotillas that aim to break Israel’s sea blockade on Gaza, ostensibly to bring in humanitarian aid.

The Treasury Department said the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad has been “a main organizer” of the flotillas and charged that it was “clandestinely acting on behalf of Hamas.”

“We view these decisions as unjust and oppressive,” Hamas says in a statement, claiming the sanctions were incited by Israel as a fight against the Palestinian “national cause.”

All the organizations were accused of “secret ties to Hamas” in the US Treasury statement.

The sanctions will block any assets the groups have in the United States and criminalize transactions with them.

Hamas calls on Washington to walk back its decision.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Ministers to vote on bill stripping benefits from PMs who served less than 3 years

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (right) and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid in the Knesset, in Jerusalem on June 20, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The Ministerial Committee for Legislation is scheduled on Sunday to vote on a proposal to restrict government benefits to former prime ministers who served less than three years in office.

The bill, sponsored by Likud MK Nissim Vaturi, is widely seen as directly targeting ex-premiers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, whose short-lived government ran Israel in 2021-2022, with each taking a turn as prime minister. Bennett is expected to be Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s main rival in the next election.

“Recently, we have found ourselves in a new situation where the position of prime minister has become a subject of political extortion,” writes Vaturi in the bill’s explanatory notes, stating that in order to rectify the situation, someone who served a short period in office should “be deprived of all his rights as a former prime minister.”

Former prime ministers are entitled to drivers, security and an office with staff as well as a state funeral. However, many of these benefits — excluding the state funeral — only come into effect if the former prime minister served for at least 18 months, making both Lapid and Bennett ineligible.

“I don’t need the benefits, but I appreciate the fact that the Israeli public is reminded that there are two more people in the State of Israel who were prime ministers, who know how to run a country, who know how to make sure that Israeli society functions, that people will enlist in the IDF, that the Israeli middle class will benefit,” Lapid says at the Democracy Day Conference at Reichman University.

Cop who threw stun grenades at protesters convicted of reckless and negligent behavior

A protester shouts at Israel Police officer Meir Suissa (left), who threw a stun grenade at a Tel Aviv rally, on March 9, 2023. (Carrie Keller Lynn/Times of Israel)

Police Superintendent Meir Suissa, who was filmed throwing stun grenades at anti-government protesters, is convicted of reckless and negligent behavior over the incident.

As part of a plea deal reached with prosecutors in the Department of Internal Police Investigations, Suissa confessed to throwing one stun grenade and other charges against him were dropped.

During the March 2023 demonstration, Suissa threw at least one stun grenade into the crowd, landing one woman in the hospital after it hit her in the face.

He is now requesting that the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court overturn his conviction as part of the deal, which will allow him to return to serving in the police.

Following the 2023 incident, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who calls for harsher police measures against anti-government protesters, tried to promote Suissa and give him command of his own police station.

The move was struck down in court over the summer, since Suissa was under criminal probe at the time.

Netanyahu to convene cabinet next week to discuss return of Gvili’s body, opening of Rafah Crossing

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene the cabinet on Sunday to discuss the return of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili’s body, and opening the Rafah Crossing, an Israeli official says.

The official adds that there is a “special effort” to bring Gvili back “by taking full advantage of the information in our hands.”

The official makes the comment after US President Donald Trump officially inaugurates the Board of Peace, and after the head of the new Palestinian technocratic committee to run Gaza says the crossing, between Gaza and Egypt, will be fully opened next week.

Kushner presents vision for Gaza, including amnesty for Hamas fighters who turn over weapons

Jared Kushner speaks after the signing of a Board of Peace charter during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 22, 2026. (AP/Evan Vucci)

Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner presents his vision for Gaza at the Board of Peace signing ceremony, saying the next phase is to “work with Hamas on demilitarization.”

Kushner says the White House wants to bring “free market economy principles to Gaza, reflecting the “same mindset, same approach” that US President Donald Trump is implementing in the US.

He presents his master plan for Gaza, which includes a seaport and an airport, and says that there “is no plan B.” It will start with Rafah, then move northward in phases until Gaza City, he says.

On demilitarization, Kushner presents a slide that says that Hamas’s “heavy weapons” will be decommissioned immediately, and small arms will be decommissioned by sector by the new Palestinian police. Reconstruction will only begin in sectors with full disarmament, says his slide.

Hamas members will be “rewarded with amnesty and reintegration, or safe passage,” according to Kushner’s slide. Some terrorists will be “integrated” into the new Palestinian police force after “rigorous vetting,” according to the plan.

Once demilitarization is completed and verified, the IDF will withdraw to the security perimeter around Gaza.

The next 100 days will focus on aid and reconstruction, says Kushner.

There will be a conference on investment for Gaza in Washington in the coming weeks, he says.

He asks commenters to “calm down for 30 days” in criticism of countries like Israel, Turkey, and Qatar.

“Our goal here is peace between Israel and the Palestinian people. Everyone wants to live peacefully. Everyone wants to live with dignity.”

US special envoy Steve Witkoff, in his own remarks, thanks Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer, and current representative to the US on Gaza Michael Eisenberg.

Before mentioning Netanyahu, Witkoff thanks Qatari, Turkish, and Egyptian mediators.

Air Force is ‘prepared, alert, and ready’ for any scenario, IAF chief says

IAF chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar speaks to soldiers at an Iron Dome battery, January 21, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

The chief of the Israeli Air Force, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, says the IAF is “prepared, alert, and ready” amid the ongoing tensions with Iran.

“At all times, we are required to be prepared for surprises. Our responsibility is to reduce, as much as possible, the damage to the Israeli home front. We will do everything to protect, even knowing that it is impossible to guarantee zero harm,” Bar said to soldiers at an Iron Dome battery yesterday, according to remarks provided by the IDF.

“Alongside strong defense, the air force maintains a lethal offensive arm capable of operating deep within enemy territory. The entire air force is prepared, alert, and ready,” he said.

Bar said the IAF has learned and drawn lessons from the 12-day war with Iran in June, “and we are arriving stronger.”

Rubio: Immediate goal of Board of Peace is to ensure Gaza ceasefire is ‘enduring’

Speaking at the Board of Peace signing ceremony, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the focus of the new body “first and foremost” will be making sure “this peace deal in Gaza becomes enduring.”

Trump “will give it everything he has to make sure this is successful,” says Rubio.

Rubio says the Board of Peace is a “board of action.” The new body will “serve as an example of what’s possible in other parts of the world without losing focus on what’s before us right now,” he says.

Head of Gaza administration body says Rafah crossing to reopen in both directions next week

Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid on the Egyptian side of the Rafah Border Crossing wait to cross into the Gaza Strip, early on October 15, 2025. (AFP)

The Rafah border crossing will be opened next week in both directions, announces the Chief Commissioner of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, Ali Shaath, at US President Donald Trump’s launch ceremony for Gaza’s Board of Peace in Davos.

The crossing was supposed to resume operating under the first phase of Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza, which came into effect in October, but Israel has argued that it shouldn’t reopen in both directions before Hamas agrees to disarm and returns the body of the final Israeli hostage, Master Sgt. Ran Gvili.

Israeli ministers were reported earlier this week to refuse reopening due to frustration over the inclusion of senior officials from Turkey and Qatar in the Board of Peace’s Gaza Executive Board.

Israel has made no official announcement on the matter.

Abraham Accords partners Bahrain, Morocco are first to sign Board of Peace charter

US President Donald Trump (center) holds up a signed Board of Peace charter during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 22, 2026. (AP/Evan Vucci)

US President Donald Trump brings Bahrain’s Minister Sheikh Isa Al Khalifa and Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita to the stage to become the first foreign officials to sign the Board of Peace charter.

Both countries signed normalization agreements with Israel during Trump’s first term.

Trump: We’re close to bringing last hostage out of Gaza, Board of Peace will ‘spread to other things’

US President Donald Trump speaks at a Board of Peace charter announcement during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 22, 2026. (AP/Markus Schreiber)

The newly unveiled Board of Peace “has the chance to be one of the most consequential bodies ever,” says US President Donald Trump at the unveiling ceremony for his panel of world leaders meant to oversee peace efforts in Gaza and beyond.

“We have painstakingly maintained… the Gaza ceasefire,” says Trump.

“You don’t hear those stories anymore with people starving,” he says, pointing at the aid flowing into Gaza.

Turning to his efforts to get the last 20 living hostages out of Gaza, Trump recalls, “I said, boy that’s going to be a tough one… and it was a tough one but we got them all, 20, every one of them.”

“We’re close on the track” of bringing the body of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili back to Israel, says Trump, without mentioning him by name.

“We are committed to making sure that Gaza is demilitarized, properly governed, and beautifully rebuilt,” Trump declares. “It’s going to be a great plan.”

He says that the Board of Peace “can spread out to other things” once it succeeds in Gaza. “We can do numerous other things… We can do pretty much whatever we want to do, and we’ll do it in conjunction with the United Nations.”

The combination of the Board of Peace and the UN “can be something very unique for the world.”

IDF reservist injured in October by Hamas attack in southern Gaza succumbs to wounds

Sgt. Maj. (res.) Asael Babad, who died on January 22, 2026, after being wounded in a Hamas attack on October 19, 2025 in southern Gaza's Rafah. (Israel Defense Forces)

An IDF reservist wounded in a Hamas attack in the southern Gaza Strip in October succumbed to his wounds overnight, the military says.

Sgt. Maj. (res.) Asael Babad, 38, an infantryman with the Menashe Regional Brigade’s 941st Battalion, from the West Bank settlement of Bnei Adam, was seriously injured when Palestinian terror operatives attacked soldiers in Rafah on October 19, less than a week into a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

At the time of his injury, Babad had been serving with the Gaza Division.

According to an IDF probe, the cell of operatives emerged from a tunnel on the Israeli side of the ceasefire line and fired RPGs at an excavator, killing two troops of the Nahal Brigade. At the same time, another excavator was hit by sniper fire, wounding two more troops, one seriously and one moderately. Another soldier was moderately wounded by sniper fire a short while later, according to the initial investigation.

Babad’s death brings Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip to 477.

Trump: Iran strike in June was ‘great victory’ for peace

Hezbollah in Lebanon has to be dealt with, but the challenge is a “small remnant” compared to what it was, says US President Donald Trump at the Board of Peace unveiling ceremony.

He says the ostensible obliteration of Iran’s nuclear program in June was a “great victory for the goal of peace.”

The Ahmed Al-Sharaa government in Syria is making “tremendous progress,” says Trump. “He’s working very, very hard, and we think he’s going to put it all together.”

WATCH: World leaders, top diplomats sign Board of Peace charter in Davos

US President Donald Trump speaks at a Board of Peace charter announcement during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 22, 2026. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP)

Following US President Donald Trump’s opening remarks at the Board of Peace unveiling ceremony in Davos, Switzerland, world leaders and top diplomats pass the charter down the line to sign it.

“Congratulations President Trump, the charter is now in full force, and the board of peace is now an official international organization,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says at the signing ceremony.

The ceremony can be watched live:

Trump at Board of Peace ceremony: If Hamas doesn’t disarm, ‘it’ll be the end of them’

US President Donald Trump speaks at a Board of Peace charter announcement during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

“We have peace in the Middle East,” US President Donald Trump declares at the Board of Peace unveiling ceremony in Davos, Switzerland.

Flanked by a melange of world leaders and top diplomats, Trump speaks initially not about Gaza, but about other conflicts he says he has settled or is about to settle.

The war in Gaza, he says, “is coming to an end,” though there remain “little fires” that must be put out.

Hamas will probably meet its commitments, says Trump, but if it doesn’t — because “they were born with rifles in their hands” — it will be destroyed.

“They have to give up their weapons, and if they don’t, it’s going to be the end of them,” he says.

Trump claims that “many countries have told me we want to go in and do it.”

Australia’s PM ‘profoundly sorry’ for failing to prevent Bondi Beach Hanukkah attack

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks during the "Light Will Win" memorial service at the Sydney Opera House in Sydney on January 22, 2026, as part of the national day of mourning for the victims of the December 14, 2025, Bondi Beach Hanukkah terror attack. (Steven Markham/AFP)

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he is “profoundly sorry” for his failure to prevent the Bondi Beach mass shooting at a Hanukkah event last month, as the country observed a day of mourning for the victims of the terror attack.

A father and son opened fire at an event celebrating the Jewish festival on December 14, killing 15 people in Australia’s worst mass shooting in decades.

Police say the two men were inspired by Islamic State to carry out the attack, which the government has declared an act of terrorism against Jewish people.

Flags were flown at half-staff across the country ahead of a memorial event at Sydney’s iconic Opera House, where Albanese apologizes to the relatives of the victims in the audience.

“You came to celebrate a festival of light and freedom and you left with the violence of hatred. I am deeply and profoundly sorry that we could not protect your loved ones from this evil,” Albanese says to sustained applause in his speech at the event.

Last month, the prime minister said he was “sorry for what the Jewish community and our nation as a whole has experienced” – an apology that some relatives said was insufficient.

A minute’s silence, including on the country’s main television channels, was held across the nation just after 7 p.m. in Sydney (10 a.m. Israel time) as the memorial event began.

Event attendees lit candles and heard speeches from other lawmakers, as well as Jewish prayers and video tributes.

Buildings across the country, including cricket stadiums in Melbourne and Perth, were also illuminated, while play was paused during the Australian Open tennis tournament to observe the minute’s silence.

Ben Gvir ridicules nationwide Arab sector strike over police failure to stem crime wave

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir tours the Bedouin town of Tarabin al-Sana, in southern Israel, December 31, 2025. (Dudu Greenspan/Flash90)

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir ridicules a nationwide strike taking place among Israel’s Arab citizens today over the police’s failure to rein in crime, accusing Arab leaders of fueling the violence.

“The local Arab leadership, as usual, is speaking in two voices. On one hand they are shouting, ‘the police are incompetent’ and on the other hand, stand beside criminal organizations and oppose the police’s every action in Arab towns,” he says.

The far-right minister says that widespread opposition to a recent string of heavy-handed police raids in Bedouin towns — one of which saw the lethal police shooting of an Arab man on his doorstep — is evidence of local leaders’ purported support for crime.

Arab society experienced its deadliest year on record in 2025, with 252 homicide victims. Already this year, 20 people have lost their lives to violent crime. Polling in the past year has shown that the vast majority of Arab society lacks trust in law enforcement.

Ben Gvir says he has budgeted “tremendous resources for the war against crime and criminal organizations,” claiming his tenure has seen record numbers of arrests and billions of shekels’ worth of property seizures.

He accuses local Arab politicians of “turning a blind eye to criminal activity and doing nothing to actually prevent crime.”

Meanwhile, Arab leadership calls on the masses to participate in a march this afternoon in the northern city of Sakhnin, demanding law enforcement stamp out the protection racketeering that has taken a major toll on Arab-owned businesses.

Before today’s nationwide strike, Sakhnin shut down for three days, with prominent business owners closing their doors following a particularly harrowing wave of shootings at local establishments.

Hadash-Ta’al chairman MK Ayman Odeh says the strike is a “significant step on the path toward civil disobedience by peaceful means.”

“What began with a single shop owner in Sakhnin who said ‘enough’ to the phenomenon of protection rackets has quickly spread to all our cities and communities,” he says.

“We will strike, we will protest and we will fight for the lives of all of us, until our children can live with dignity and security,” he declares.

Herzog on pardoning Netanyahu: I respect Trump, but we have our own legal system

President Isaac Herzog (L) speaks with CNN journalist Fareed Zakaria during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 22, 2026. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP)

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, President Isaac Herzog says he has “made clear numerous times” that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s pardon request “has to go through a certain procedure.”

“Right now, the request has to go through the procedure of collecting various opinions by the relevant agencies in the Ministry of Justice,” he tells Fareed Zakaria. “I cannot violate that, because of course I have to operate according to the rules.”

“I respect President Trump tremendously,” says Herzog, “and of course we have our own legal system and I will operate within its [bounds].”

Herzog says that Netanyahu’s court case “should have been resolved and should be resolved amicably, because it has a very negative impact on our system. And I think that solutions should be found.”

He says he will make his decision independently, “according to the rules, the law, and my conscience.”

Israeli charged with posing as IDF officer in aftermath of Oct. 7 named as Assaf Shmuelevitz

An undated photo of Assaf Shmuelevitz, who is accused of posing as an IDF officer on October 7, 2023, and the following days. (Courtesy of the Shmuelevitz family)

After over two years, the name of an Israeli man who was charged with posing as an IDF officer in the first days of the war, during which he illegally obtained and shared confidential information, is permitted for publication.

The “impersonating officer” is named as Assaf Shmuelevitz. The announcement comes following legal requests to release further information surrounding the case for publication by the Ynet news site.

Shmuelevitz’s attorneys had appealed to the Supreme Court against a decision by the Beersheba Magistrate’s Court to publish his name, which has now been rejected.

According to the indictment filed in November 2023, Shmuelevitz arrived in southern Israel on the morning of October 7, 2023, and joined IDF troops while posing as a reservist officer with the rank of captain. He, in fact, had not been called up for reserve duty.

The charge sheet said Shmuelevitz entered operations rooms and documented classified conversations at the Southern Command, and in several cases shared the top secret information with civilians and soldiers who were not approved to have it.

He was charged with obtaining something fraudulently under aggravated circumstances, providing confidential information, possession of secret information without authority, and entering a military zone.

Shmuelevitz’s family responds to the publication of his name, saying that “for more than two years, they turned our Assaf from a patriotic, values-driven, and outstanding Israeli officer, as he was, into a spy and a traitor.”

“The indictment filed against Assaf was disproportionate, with no connection whatsoever to the findings of the investigation conducted by the IDF, the Shin Bet, and the police. At worst, Assaf committed an information security offense, for which he should have faced disciplinary proceedings within the military framework, and this is a classic case of selective enforcement,” they say.

Shmuelevitz’s trial is ongoing, and he is currently being held in involuntary commitment.

UK says it won’t sign Trump’s Board of Peace treaty in Davos today

British Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper says the UK will not be signing US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace treaty on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, today.

The signing ceremony is scheduled to be held at 10:30 a.m., according to a copy of the invitation circulating online whose authenticity was confirmed by a US official.

Arab leadership in Israel declares general strike amid relentless crime wave

Arab leadership in Israel has declared a nationwide general strike over the police’s failure to stem a surging violent crime wave besetting the community.

Since the start of the year, 20 Arab citizens have lost their lives in homicides, as local leaders blame police for failing to rein in the killings.

Nearly all Arab cities and towns are shutting down today as part of the protest action, which evolved from a local strike in Sakhnin after several shop owners were targeted in extortion-related shootings.

The High Follow-Up Committee, the leading umbrella organization in Arab society, is calling on the masses to join a 3 p.m. march from a mosque in Sakhnin to the nearest police station.

Arab Bedouin citizens in the south are also striking en masse, and a parallel demonstration is to be held in Rahat, Israel’s largest Bedouin city.

IDF thwarts attempt to smuggle pistols from Jordan using a drone

Some of the handguns seized by the IDF following an attempted smuggling using a drone on the Jordanian border, late January 21, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

An attempt to smuggle 10 pistols into Israel from Jordan using a drone last night was foiled, the military says.

The IDF says the drone was spotted crossing the border by soldiers monitoring surveillance cameras. Troops of the Yoav Regional Brigade then downed the device.

The drone was found to be ferrying 10 handguns, which were handed over to the police, the IDF says.

According to a military source, the same drone had been used in another smuggling earlier on Wednesday, which the IDF failed to intercept.

Police officer in serious condition after being set on fire in northern Israel gas station

Police officers at the scene of an incident in which a fellow officer was set on fire at a gas station in Kiryat Bialik, northern Israel, on January 22, 2026. (Israel Police)

A police officer is in serious condition after being set on fire by a suspect at a gas station in Kiryat Bialik, northern Israel.

Police were dispatched to the gas station after being alerted to the presence of a man who was threatening to commit suicide. Upon their arrival, the man doused one of the police officers in gasoline and set him alight.

The Israel Police say in a statement that two other officers were lightly injured.

The suspect, a 33-year-old from the nearby town of Kiryat Motzkin, fled the scene but was apprehended after a foot chase, the police say.

The circumstances of the incident are under investigation.

Putin to discuss Ukraine peace with Witkoff, Kushner after Trump says a deal is reasonably close

Russian President Vladimir Putin will discuss a possible peace plan for Ukraine with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow today after US President Donald Trump said a deal to end the war was “reasonably close.”

The United States has held talks with Russia, and separately with Kyiv and European leaders, on various different drafts of a plan for ending the war in Ukraine, but no deal has yet been reached despite Trump’s repeated promises to clinch one.

Putin, speaking at a Russian Security Council meeting late yesterday, said that he would meet Trump’s special envoy Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Kushner in Moscow to “continue dialogue on the Ukrainian settlement” as well as Trump’s “Board of Peace” idea.

At stake is how to end the deadliest war in Europe since World War Two, the future of Ukraine, the extent to which European powers are sidelined and whether or not a peace deal brokered by the United States will endure.

“I believe they’re at a point now where they can come together and get a deal done,” Trump said, referring to Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “And if they don’t, they’re stupid.”

Trump: Hopefully no ‘further action’ needed against Iran

US President Donald Trump reacts as he leaves the congress center during the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos on January 21, 2026. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP)

US President Donald Trump says he hopes additional action against Iran won’t be necessary after his threats against the regime purportedly led it to call off the planned executions of 837 protesters.

“We hope that there’s not going to be further action.” Trump says in an interview with CNBC when asked about the recent US deployment of significant military assets to the Middle East.

“But they’re shooting people indiscriminately in the streets,” Trump says before reiterating that he was most disturbed by the planned hangings. “They canceled it, hopefully permanently.”

Asked if “we should stay tuned on Iran,” Trump responds, “I guess.”

“We’re going to find out what they’re going to do with nuclear. They can’t do the nuclear… If they do it, [we’re going to strike] again… They keep experimenting with nuclear, and at some point they’re going to get the idea that they can’t do that,” he adds.

BREAKING

President Trump says he hopes that no further military action will be needed with respect to Iran and the Islamic Republic. pic.twitter.com/oO3A5virPm

— Yashar Ali ???? (@yashar) January 21, 2026

Top Ukrainian negotiator says he met Witkoff and Kushner in Davos

Top Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov says that he met US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in the Swiss resort of Davos.

Umerov, writing on the Telegram messaging app, says the meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum focused on security guarantees for Ukraine and a post-war recovery plan.

Umerov says a Ukrainian delegation also met representatives of the US investment firm Blackrock, which is involved in rebuilding plans.

NATO chief says ‘still a lot of work to be done’ on Greenland

DAVOS, Switzerland — NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte tells AFP that much work remains on Greenland, after US President Donald Trump announced a framework for a deal to defuse tensions following talks with him.

“I think it was a very good meeting tonight. But there’s still a lot of work to be done,” Rutte says at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

‘I have some controversial people on it’: Trump reveals Putin will join his Board of Peace

US President Donald Trump (R) walks with Russian President Vladimir Putin as they arrives at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on August 15, 2025 in Anchorage, Alaska. (Andrew Harnik/ Getty Images/ AFP)

US President Donald Trump reveals that Russian President Vladimir Putin has accepted his invitation to join the Board of Peace.

“I have some controversial people on it, but these are people who get the job done. These are people who have tremendous influence,” Trump tells reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “We want all nations where people have control and power.”

“If I put all babies on the board, there wouldn’t be very much. So he was invited. He’s accepted,” Trump says of Putin.

The board is “going to get a lot of work done that the United Nations should have done, and we’ll work with the United Nations,” he adds.