March 19: Coalition defeats bill seeking to form state inquiry into Oct. 7 failures

Macron says France and Saudi Arabia to co-chair conference on two-state solution

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

French President Emmanuel Macron says he spoke with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and that the two leaders condemn the resumption of Israeli strikes in Gaza.

Macron says they will co-chair a conference on a two-state solution, aimed at “helping revive a political perspective for both Israelis and Palestinians.”

Macron also says he welcome the crown prince’s Jeddah initiative, which enables the start of peace negotiations in Ukraine.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Suspect sent home after being grilled by police about Qatari payments to PM’s aides

A suspect detained by police Wednesday evening has been released from custody after being questioned as part of a probe into whether thousands of dollars were funneled from Qatar to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s aides over the past few months.

According to Hebrew media reports, the suspect has been released to his home under unspecified conditions, while a second suspect is still being questioned.

Haredi extremists attack Beit Shemesh mayor and his family, injuring one of his kids

Ultra-Orthodox extremists attack Beit Shemesh Mayor Shmuel Greenberg and his family, overturning the mayor’s car and injuring one of his children.

In a statement, the municipality says that Greenberg, a member of the Haredi Degel Hatorah party, “was attacked by extremists while leaving a family celebration.”

“His vehicle was smashed and vandalized, but the mayor and his family were rescued from the scene. The mayor’s son required medical treatment. Mayor Greenberg trusts the Israel Police to bring the lawbreakers to justice,” his office says.

הזוי: קבוצת קיצונים יצרה הערב אנרכיה ברחובות בית שמש, כאשר במהלך מחאה סוערת הפכו את רכבו של ראש העיר. תושבים מזועזעים מתיעוד האירוע וקוראים למשטרה לפעול ביד קשה נגד המתפרעים ולעצור את המעורבים.
???? צילום: הפרגוד מקומי בית שמש pic.twitter.com/Rp1m91DPqz

— ישראל כהן (@Israelcohen911) March 19, 2025

Video from the scene shows black-clad Hasidic Jews rocking the vehicle back and forth while someone screams in the background. Another clip shows the mayor, wearing a helmet, being rushed out of a building by armored police as a baying mob screaming “Nazi” chases him. He is then placed in another car and rushed from the scene.

Dramatic footage of Beit Shemesh Mayor Shmuel Greenberg being rescued by police from an ultra-Orthodox mob screaming "Nazi" at him this evening. The mayor's car was overturned pic.twitter.com/761DW7K4KF

— Sam Sokol (@SamuelSokol) March 19, 2025

The incident was far from the first mob attack against a mayor of Beit Shemesh.

In August 2023, in the second attack against in less than two months, dozens of extremists rioted outside a local school while then-mayor Aliza Bloch was touring the building, hurling objects, starting a fire and vandalizing her car — effectively holding her hostage for nearly two hours until she was rescued by police.

While violence has decreased significantly in recent years, extremists have long sought to forcibly impose their way of life on residents, posting modesty signs, tearing down Israeli flags and burning down a cellphone store in the moderate Haredi neighborhood of Ramat Beit Shemesh Alef.

In 2nd post against ‘deep state’ in hours, Netanyahu says bureaucrats think they ‘know better than the voters’

After his statement lambasting the “deep state” in Israel and the United States in the shadow of a probe of alleged Qatari payments to his advisers, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posts a campaign-like social media video expanding on this.

רה״מ נתניהו (וטופז לוק) בסרטון חדש נגד ״הדיפסטייט״, כשברקע Unstoppable של סיה pic.twitter.com/jc3txQBJDU

— Suleiman Maswadeh סולימאן מסוודה (@SuleimanMas1) March 19, 2025

“They want me and the government to be a potted plant [and not do anything],” Netanyahu says, pointing to a plant in a Prime Minister’s Office corridor.

The cameraman — Netanyahu spokesman Topaz Luk — then asks the premier what the so-called “deep state” is.

“The deep state is the permanent bureaucracy that is barely replaced and sits deep in the Israeli government, and decides that it knows better than the voters,” he answers. “They always lean to the left. If a right-wing government is elected… they say, ‘What is democracy? Why should they make the decisions? Why should we care that you were elected? We make the decisions. And therefore, you can be elected, but you can’t really decide. You want to bring laws we don’t like? We’ll strike them down.'”

The clip, which features the song “Unstoppable” by Sia, then ends mid-sentence.

12 arrested in Jerusalem anti-government protest; left-wing MK manhandled by cops

Police use a water cannon against anti-government protesters in Jerusalem, March 19, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Police say they have arrested 12 people during fiery anti-government protests in Jerusalem.

The force adds that the detainees are suspected of disrupting public order — including by lighting a bonfire on a road — and threatening or assaulting police and a civilian.

Meanwhile, footage shows The Democrats MK Gilad Kariv being forcibly shoved away by cops, on the capital’s Azza Road.

שוטרים דוחפים את חבר הכנסת גלעד קריב, עכשיו ברחוב עזה. pic.twitter.com/dH7W1fWv4A

— نير حسون Nir Hasson ניר חסון (@nirhasson) March 19, 2025

The left-wing opposition party decries this as “crossing a red line.”

“This is what a dictatorship looks like,” it says in a tweet. “This isn’t law enforcement. This is trampling of democracy. We won’t shut up and won’t give in.”

Israel offers condolences for UN staffer killed in Gaza, reiterating that IDF didn’t cause it

The Foreign Ministry expresses sorrow over the death of a United Nations worker in Gaza, but says an initial probe has found that the IDF was not responsible.

The circumstances of the episode are being examined, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein says in a statement.

The military earlier also denied involvement in the death, which allegedly occurred after ordnance hit a UN guesthouse, in the city of Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, according to the UN.

We express sorrow over the death of the Bulgarian citizen, a UN worker, today in the Gaza Strip.
The circumstances of the incident are being investigated.
We emphasize that the initial examination found no connection to IDF activity whatsoever.
IDF forces are also assisting in… pic.twitter.com/DjiLFpOQiy

— Oren Marmorstein (@OrenMarmorstein) March 19, 2025

Settlers said to raid northern West Bank Palestinian village, steal livestock

A group of settlers have raided the northern West Bank Palestinian village of Jalud, Arabic media reports.

During the raid, the settlers allegedly stole livestock belonging to residents in the village.

A video shows an Israeli settler stealing sheep from a Palestinian farm in the village of Jalud, Nablus—just another act of settler terrorism.

With full impunity, they loot, destroy, and terrorize Palestinians, knowing the system protects them. pic.twitter.com/4zcN34MoIv

— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) March 19, 2025

Such attacks have continued on a near-daily basis, unabated for months.

The police’s West Bank commander is under investigation for refusing to prosecute settler attacks in order to curry favor with far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

Report: IDF officer whose Oct. 7 probe blames army’s command dismissed from reserve duty

A report says a senior reservist IDF officer probing the Gaza Division’s failures surrounding Hamas’s onslaught of October 7, 2023, was booted from reserve duty last week.

Brig. Gen. (res.) Oren Solomon has told those close to him that it is because he found fault in the higher echelons of the military, Channel 12 says. His probe has not yet been made public.

He reportedly found that the chief of staff did not speak to the Gaza Division commander a single time on October 7, and that senior IDF commanders did not function until early that afternoon.

Solomon, a member of the hawkish HaBithonistim group, also reportedly charges that the situation in the IDF today is no less grave than it was on the eve of the assault.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit says in response that Solomon worked on the probe for a year with full support, that the end of his reserves service is unrelated to the probe, and that the probe is still going on.

It adds that the probe will be presented to the relevant communities and the public when finished, as all probes are.

Netanyahu hosts Fetterman in Jerusalem, gifts US senator ‘silver pager’ inspired by Hezbollah op

(L-R) US Senator John Fetterman, Gisele Fetterman, Sara Netanyahu and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, on March 19, 2025. (Amos Ben Gershom/ GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara met earlier this evening with Democratic US Senator John Fetterman and his wife Gisele, at the premier’s office in Jerusalem.

Fetterman has been the most outspoken Democratic senator in support of Israel, and just about the only one in the party who has expressed support for Netanyahu and his hardline government.

Netanyahu expressed his appreciation to Fetterman for his support during the meeting, the premier’s office says.

The prime minister also presented Fetterman with a silver pager, which was inspired by the Israeli military operation last year that saw the mass detonation of thousands of Hezbollah communication devices. Netanyahu presented a similar pager to US President Donald Trump during his visit to the White House last month, though the gift for Trump was golden.

For his part, Fetterman presents the prime minister with an original news article from 1986 showing Netanyahu visiting a memorial for his late brother Yoni.

Freed hostage Or Levy posts new tattoo of Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s inspirational quote

Freed hostage Or Levy's arm in an image posted by him on March 19, 2025, with a fresh tattoo of a quote cited by fellow hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was later murdered in captivity. (Courtesy)

Freed hostage Or Levy posts a photo of his arm with the quote on Instagram. The quote reads, “He who has a why can bear with any how,” a statement told to him by fellow hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin on their 52nd day of captivity. Hersh was later murdered by his terrorist captors at the end of August 2024.

“This sentence accompanied me ever since and to this day, and perhaps thanks to it, I was able to survive this terrible inferno,” writes Levy, who was taken hostage with Goldberg-Polin on October 7, 2023. “My ‘why’ is [my son] Almog and I knew that I would survive anything — no matter how difficult it was — for him.”

Levy was released home in February, only finding out then that his wife, Eynav, was killed on October 7.

He writes that he knew in captivity that when he returned home, he wanted to get a tattoo with that quote so that he would never forget it.

Levy adds that when he told the story to Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin, “Hersh’s amazing parents,” he found out from them that the quote is from Nietzsche and was quoted in Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning.”

He writes that he learned that Frankl used the sentence to describe the mental strength required of him to survive the Holocaust.

“I have tried to avoid comparisons to the Holocaust until now,” writes Levy, “but the parallels are clear.”

He says that since Israel ended the ceasefire, returning to strikes on Gaza, he cannot help but remember that time in captivity — the fears, the mental and physical abuses, the constant danger to life that hovered over the hostages and still hovers over the heads of the remaining hostages.

It is impossible to describe how difficult the situation is, says Levy, how much the hostages suffer in Gaza, how much their families suffer, and he appeals to the Israeli government to put an end to the suffering.

Reports say today’s 2 detainees in ‘Qatargate’ probe are suspected of contact with foreign agent

The two people questioned by police this evening as part of a probe into alleged Qatari payments to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s aides, known as “Qatargate,” were detained on suspicion of maintaining contact with a foreign agent and money laundering, according to Ynet.

Police detectives reportedly arrived at the suspects’ homes with search warrants at around 7 p.m. After searching their houses, investigators arrested both suspects, who were described by Channel 12 as “central figures” in the case.

The arrests came hours after the Kan public broadcaster aired recordings in which Gulf-based Israeli businessman Gil Birger admitted to transferring money from a Qatari employed lobbyist to Netanyahu aide Eli Feldstein.

A sweeping court-issued gag order in effect until April 10 bars the publication of most details regarding the investigation.

PM’s office schedules cabinet vote to fire Shin Bet chief for tomorrow night

Left: Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar (Yonatan Sindel/Flash 90); Right: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Dudu Bachar/POOL)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has informed cabinet members that they will hold a vote tomorrow at 9:30 p.m. in order to fire Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.

The motion states that Bar will end his tenure on April 20, and cites Netanyahu’s “persistent personal and professional distrust” of him that harms both the government and the security service.

Netanyahu announced on Sunday, after meeting with Bar, that he planned to move forward with his dismissal, citing “ongoing distrust” in the security agency chief.

The move has sparked mass protests across the country, with critics fearing that Netanyahu is seeking to replace Bar with a loyalist who will quash the Shin Bet’s ongoing probe into the premier’s office’s allegedly illicit ties to Qatar.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has said Netanyahu cannot fire Bar unless he consults her and establishes a “factual and legal basis” for doing so. Netanyahu has responded by accusing Baharav-Miara of “abusing her authority.”

Bonfires, water cannons at Jerusalem anti-government protest, as some clash with police

Anti-government protesters gather around a bonfire on Azza Road in Jerusalem, near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence, on March 19, 2025. (Gilad Furst/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

As protesters fill Jerusalem’s Azza Road, near the private residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, some light a bonfire in the middle of the street, while others clash with police.

“We will not abandon you, we will not abandon you!” chant the protesters, gathering in circles around the bonfire.

As it begins to rain lightly on the chilly March evening, the police drive a water cannon down the narrow Jerusalem street, blasting a stream of water at the demonstrators.

The protesters blow horns and whistles, wave Israeli flags and banners, and some race for cover as the police continue to use the water cannons to break up the protest.

Some police officers push protesters, trying to move them away from the gathering. Some of the protesters have spent part of the day at a protest up the block, at Paris Square, where the mostly silent, white-wearing Shift 101 gathering sat on the street, blocking traffic for many hours.

Ben Gvir reappointed as police minister as Knesset okays far-right party’s return to posts

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and newly reinstated National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir in the Knesset plenum in Jerusalem, March 19, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)

Lawmakers vote 65-46 to approve the reappointment of Otzma Yehudit party chairman Itamar Ben Gvir and two other members of his far-right party as members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet.

Ben Gvir returns to his position as national security minister while Amichai Eliyahu again becomes heritage minister and Yitzhak Wasserlauf is reappointed as Negev, Galilee, and national resilience minister.

The reappointment of Ben Gvir, Eliyahu and Wasserlauf required the approval of the cabinet and the ratification of the Knesset, both of which have now been achieved.

“I am returning tonight to manage the National Security Ministry,” Ben Gvir says, boasting of having previously worsened conditions for security prisoners and expanding gun ownership, among other things. “A lot of work lays ahead of us, and I will continue, together with my ministry staff, to implement my policies in the Prison Service and the police.”

Ben Gvir says that his return came after Israel decided to go back to war and he thanks Netanyahu, promising that the pair “will work for the entire people of Israel.”

After the vote, Ben Gvir and Netanyahu embrace.

בן גביר חוזר לממשלה ומקבל חיבוק מביבי pic.twitter.com/yEyg6CP1yZ

— עמיאל ירחי (@amiel_y) March 19, 2025

Otzma Yehudit quit Netanyahu’s coalition in January, following through on its threat to exit if the government agreed to a ceasefire agreement with Hamas that the party dismissed as a “surrender-to-terror deal that crosses all ideological red lines.”

Following Otzma Yehudit’s exit from the coalition, the cabinet approved the temporary appointment of Tourism Minister Haim Katz to the three ministerial positions left vacant by the party. It was widely believed that the reason for making Katz’s appointments temporary was Netanyahu’s desire to signal to Ben Gvir that the portfolios were waiting for him, should he wish to return to the coalition.

Ben Gvir’s announcement yesterday that he agrees to return to the government came only hours after the resumption of military operations in the Gaza Strip, during which the IAF carried out an extensive wave of airstrikes across the coastal territory that targeted mid-level Hamas commanders, members of the terror group’s politburo, and its infrastructure.

“It’s a strange world. A faction resigns from the government because lives are being saved, and the same party returns to the government when they are being abandoned,” says The Democrats party MK Naama Lazimi of the opposition, calling his reappointment “madness.”

Lapid: Netanyahu has ‘gone off the rails’ with claim that ‘deep state’ being weaponized against him

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of having “gone off the rails,” after the premier posted a tweet accusing an alleged “deep state” of weaponizing the justice system against him.

“Netanyahu has completely lost it. He’s gone off the rails” and is “spreading dangerous conspiracies, undermining the rule of law, and slandering Israel,” the centrist party tweets from its official account. “He is in panic mode. He knows that his inner circle is mired in foreign interests and that the truth will be revealed. This is not leadership, this is a dangerous and embarrassing panic.”

In shocking public spar, Herzog hits back at Netanyahu by expressing support for Israeli judiciary

Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and President Isaac Herzog at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, as Herzog tasks Netanyahu with forming a governing coalition, November 13, 2022. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweets an attack on the “leftist deep state’s weapon[ization] of the justice system[s]” in the US and Israel, President Isaac Herzog’s office quickly posts a rebuttal.

“Israel’s strong and independent judicial system is an asset to our democracy, and the president of Israel is very proud of it,” Herzog’s office tweets.

Amid probe of his aides, Netanyahu attacks ‘leftist Deep State’ in the US and Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and US President Donald Trump (R) participate in a news conference in the East Room of the White House, February 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tries to liken his political opposition to that of Donald Trump, employing some of the same rhetoric used by the US president to dismiss his critics.

“In America and in Israel, when a strong right-wing leader wins an election, the leftist Deep State weaponizes the justice system to thwart the people’s will. They won’t win in either place! We stand strong together,” Netanyahu tweets from his official “prime minister” account.

Less than a half hour after the tweet is posted, Netanyahu deletes it from his official account and posts the same message from his personal account.

In America and in Israel, when a strong right wing leader wins an election, the leftist Deep State weaponizes the justice system to thwart the people's will. They won't win in either place!
We stand strong together.

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) March 19, 2025

The post comes shortly after police said they detained and questioned under caution two suspects as part of an ongoing investigation into whether thousands of dollars were funneled from Qatar to one or more of Netanyahu’s aides.

Earlier this week, the Axios news site quoted aides to the prime minister saying that Netanyahu decided to move ahead with his planned firing of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar in early February, after leaving his trip to Washington inspired by the moves Trump took “against the deep state” and his appointment of loyalists to key posts.

US: Witkoff proposal to extend ceasefire’s 1st phase remains on table, but not for long

The US State Department says that the bridge proposal submitted by the Trump administration last week to extend phase one of the ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas remains on the table.

“The proposal is compelling. The Israelis were advised about it and informed beforehand. Hamas gave a totally unacceptable response. The opportunity is still there, but it’s closing fast,” a State Department spokesperson says in a statement to The Times of Israel.

The proposal would see the “release of five live hostages, including American Edan Alexander. It would also see the release of a substantial number of Palestinians held in Israeli jails,” the US statement adds.

US special envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff submitted the bridge proposal last week, effectively accepting Israel’s refusal to enter phase two of the deal, which was supposed to begin on March 2 and see a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and a permanent end to the war in exchange for the return of the remaining living hostages.

Witkoff said on Sunday that Hamas’s response to the proposal was a “nonstarter,” as the terror group insists on sticking to the original terms of the deal signed in January.

The State Department spokesperson says: “The pillars of [the US] approach remain resolute: stand with Israel, stand for peace. President Trump has made clear the consequences of what will happen if Hamas walks away. I’ll leave it at that.”

“Hamas bears total responsibility for the war, and for the resumption of hostilities. Every death would have been avoided had Hamas accepted the ‘bridge’ proposal that [special envoy] Witkoff offered last Wednesday,” the spokesperson adds.

Left-wing Golan blames ramming of anti-government protester on leaders’ ‘incitement’

Leader of The Democrats party Yair Golan holds a press conference in Tel Aviv, on February 13, 2025. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

The Democrats party chairman Yair Golan accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of inciting violence, after a taxi driver rammed an anti-government protester in Jerusalem this evening.

The incident was “a terrorist attack,” the left-wing leader claims on X, asserting that the “violence against patriotic protesters is a direct result of the hatred, lies, and incitement emanating directly from the Israeli government.”

Police detain, grill 2 suspects as part of probe into Qatari payments to Netanyahu aides

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

Police detained and questioned two suspects under caution this evening, as part of an ongoing investigation into whether thousands of dollars were funneled from Qatar to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s aides over the past few months.

The arrests are made hours after the Kan public broadcaster aired recordings in which a Gulf-based Israeli businessman admitted to transferring money from a Qatari employed lobbyist to Netanyahu aide Eli Feldstein.

Israeli businessman Gil Birger, via a private company, paid Feldstein while the latter was working as Netanyahu’s spokesman, according to Kan.

Further details regarding the investigation are barred from publication in accordance with a court-issued gag order

Channel 12 describes the detainees as “central figures,” adding that each of them gave their version of the sequence of events.

Hamas claims Israeli ground op in Gaza is ‘new and dangerous violation’ of ceasefire

Hamas claims Israel’s ground operation in the central and southern Gaza Strip and its incursion into the Netzarim Corridor is a “new and dangerous violation” of the ceasefire deal, according to a statement by the Palestinian terror group.

After Bennett’s treason allegation, PM’s party says he’s ‘spouting nonsense over a fake affair’

Responding to Naftali Bennett’s statement that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must resign over Qatari payments to one of his senior aides and accusing the adviser of possible treason, the ruling Likud party issues a statement dismissing the former prime minister as a “crook who stole the votes of the right and formed a government with [Ra’am party chief] Mansour Abbas and the Muslim Brotherhood.”

Bennett “brought Gazan workers into Israel for the first time since Operation Protective Edge,” the spokesman says, referring to a decision to allow workers in, which the current Netanyahu government maintained upon taking office.

He also “doubled and tripled the money for Gaza [and] is spouting nonsense over a fake affair that never happened,” Likud states, without offering any further substance on the merits of the allegations cited by Bennett.

“On every other issue, he is silent like a fish, and for good reason.”

In a lengthy post on X earlier, Bennett argued that Netanyahu no longer has any moral authority to send troops into battle and must resign in the wake of newly reported evidence that the salary of one of his top aides was paid by Qatar.

Driver rams anti-government protester in Jerusalem, drags him for 50 meters

A taxi driver rammed into an anti-government protester in Jerusalem this evening during a demonstration outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence.

The incident, which appears from footage to have likely been an intentional attack, left him momentarily unconscious with a minor injury to his leg.

According to eyewitnesses, the car dragged the protester for 50 meters (164 feet) on Herzog Street.

The driver then fled the scene and was later apprehended by police.

תיעוד מירושלים: נהג מונית דורס מפגין במהלך ההפגנה בעיר pic.twitter.com/Iad37Nsbfq

— ישראל היום (@IsraelHayomHeb) March 19, 2025

Syrian government and Kurdish officials discuss merging their armed forces

The new Syrian government wants to bring Syria’s breakaway Kurdish militias back under government control, but the details of their recent breakthrough agreement are still being worked out and negotiators will have overcome a decade of civil war.

Government officials meet in the northeastern province of Hassakeh with the commander of the main Kurdish-led group in the country, the Syrian Democratic Forces, which is backed by the US.

The meeting comes a week after Syria’s interim government signed a deal with the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country’s northeast, including a ceasefire and the merging of the SDF into the Syrian army.

The deal should be implemented by the end of the year. It would bring northeast Syria’s borders and lucrative oil fields under the central government’s control.

UN seeks probe into alleged Gaza strike that killed 1 UN worker, injured 5 others

The United Nations calls for an investigation into an alleged strike on UN guest houses in Gaza that killed one of its workers and injured five others.

The IDF has denied carrying out an airstrike on the facility in Deir al-Balah, and photos from the scene show that those hurt were from the United Nations Mine Action Service, which deals with clearing leftover explosive devices.

“The Secretary General strongly condemns all attacks on UN personnel and calls for a full investigation,” Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General Farhan Haq says at a news conference. “He underscores that all conflicts must be conducted in a way that ensures civilians are respected and protected.”

Haq says it is too early to determine who is responsible for dropping or firing the explosive ordinance at the accommodation sites housing the workers.

Houthi media reports new US strikes on rebel-held areas in Yemen

Houthi media reports multiple US strikes in rebel-held areas around Yemen including the capital Sanaa, as the US military says its campaign against the Iran-backed rebels is ongoing.

According to the Houthis’ Al-Masirah TV, “an American attack targeted the capital Sanaa… and the area of the town of Saada” in the north, later adding that strikes also hit the district of Al-Sawadiya, southeast of Sanaa.

IDF says it continues to strike Hamas, PIJ targets in Gaza

The IDF says it is continuing to carry out airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, striking Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad targets.

In the past few hours, the IDF says Air Force aircraft hit a vehicle in southern Gaza with two operatives in it, as well as other members of terror groups, infrastructure, and observation posts.

AG tells government it must get advisory panel’s approval before it can discuss firing Shin Bet chief

Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar speaks at a Memorial Day ceremony at the agency's headquarters in Tel Aviv, May 13, 2024. (Screenshot: Shin Bet)

The Attorney General’s Office tells the government that it is legally obligated to obtain a recommendation from the Senior Appointments Advisory Committee before holding a cabinet discussion on firing Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.

This determination is legally binding and any other opinion is invalid, Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon tells Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs in a letter on the issue.

Writing on behalf of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, Limon points out that a cabinet resolution from 2016 requires the government to obtain the recommendation of the advisory committee before firing any of the seven senior civil service positions that the committee evaluated for appointing them in the first place.

Included in those seven positions is the head of the Shin Bet.

“In cabinet resolution 1148, the government anchored an arrangement according to which its authority to end the tenure of the seven office holders whose appointment is evaluated by the advisory committee will be subject to a process by which the recommendation of the committee will be brought before the cabinet before a decision on the matter is made and after an orderly process for examining the intention to end [that office] holder’s tenure is held,” Limon tells Fuchs.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his intention to dismiss Bar on Sunday after months of growing disagreements between the two men.

The announcement sparked furious denunciations from opposition parties who claimed Netanyahu was moving against the Shin Bet chief due to an investigation being conducted by the agency together with the police into allegedly unlawful ties between the prime minister’s close aides and Qatar.

Netanyahu has claimed the investigation, which the attorney general ordered be opened last month, was politically motivated, and alleged her legal objections to firing Bar were an abuse of her authority.

Haredi demonstrators block Bnei Brak highway to protest conscription efforts

Ultra-Orthodox Jews clash with police during a protest against army conscription, on Route 4, Bnei Brak, March 19, 2025. (Erik Marmor/Flash90)

Ultra-Orthodox demonstrators block the Route 4 highway in Bnei Brak to protest efforts to conscript Haredi men into the military.

Protesters hand out fliers railing against enlistment to the military, and sing an anti-conscription song, the lyrics of which include the line, “If you go to the army, you and the dogs are equal.”

Demonstrators also carry signs reading, “Secularization is worse than death. We will die and not draft.”

Images show police forcibly removing protesters from the highway after police declare the demonstration illegal.

The demonstration comes a day after the Attorney General’s Office appealed to Defense Minister Israel Katz to advance sanctions on draft evaders with all “necessary urgency,” arguing that only a “negligible” fraction of ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students who were sent conscription orders have actually enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces.

Haredi leaders vehemently oppose members of the community serving in the military, fearing they will be secularized. The issue, long a sensitive one in Israeli public discourse due to the perceived inequality created by the blanket exemption, has taken on renewed urgency with the military contending with a severe manpower shortage since the outbreak of the war in Gaza in October 2023.

Haredi leaders vehemently oppose members of the community serving in the military, fearing they will be secularized. The issue, long a sensitive one in Israeli public discourse due to the perceived inequality created by the blanket exemption, has taken on renewed urgency as the military contends with a severe manpower shortage since the outbreak of the war in Gaza in October 2023.

מפגינים מהפלג התפרצו לכביש 4 וחסמו אותו לתנועה באיזור קוקה קולה במחאה נגד הגיוס pic.twitter.com/prUYEs0ua0

— שילה פריד???????? (@shilofreid) March 19, 2025

Sam Sokol contributed to this report.

Trump: Houthis will be ‘completely annihilated’; Iran must stop aiding them immediately

US President Donald Trump says Iran must immediately stop sending military supplies to the Houthis and let the Yemeni group “fight it out themselves.”

In a post on Truth Social, Trump adds that US strikes on the Houthis “will get progressively worse,” and that “they will be completely annihilated!”

Bennett: Netanyahu must quit over Qatar payments scandal; if his aide knew, it’s treason

(L to R) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former prime minister Naftali Bennett attend the funeral of Rabbi Haim Drukman, at Merkaz Shapira, near Kiryat Malachi, on December 26, 2022. (Gil Cohen-Magen/ AFP/ File)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu no longer has any moral authority to send troops into battle and must resign in the wake of newly reported evidence that the salary of one of his top aides was paid by Qatar, former prime minister Naftali Bennett declares — arguing that knowingly accepting such funds constitutes “treason.”

“This morning, it emerged that the salary of Netanyahu’s media adviser for security matters was paid by the Qatari government,” Bennett tweets.

“I’ll say it again, because it’s so hard to grasp: The terrorist government of Qatar financed the security spokesman of the Israeli prime minister, during a time of war. This is no longer a rumor, but a fact that was published this morning. The whole question now is who knew what.”

According to recordings aired today by the Kan public broadcaster, an Israeli businessman based in the Gulf said that he transferred money from a Qatar-employed US lobbyist to Eli Feldstein, while the latter was working as Netanyahu’s spokesman.

Kan noted in its report that for at least part of Feldstein’s time working for Netanyahu, the aide did not receive any direct salary from the Prime Minister’s Office because he had not passed a security clearance.

Denouncing Qatar’s hands as “stained with rivers of Jewish blood,” Bennett says that if he were to have discovered that one of his staffers had accepted money from a country such as Belgium, he would have immediately fired him and demanded Shin Bet and police investigations into his office.

“Isn’t the prime minister of Israel and his office supposed to care only for the interests of Israel?” Bennett asks, adding that if the money was accepted “knowingly, then it is treason against the State of Israel.”

“If it was not intentional, meaning that the adviser did not know that the source of his salary was from Qatar, then Qatar is operating rogue agents in the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, and this is a security failure of the highest level,” he declares.

Despite this, nobody involved in the so-called Qatargate scandal has been fired and “Netanyahu, for some reason, continues to cover up the event and fights the investigators,” Bennett continues.

The Shin Bet is currently investigating several members of staff in the Prime Minister’s Office for alleged improper ties with Qatar.

Netanyahu has announced his intention to dismiss Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and is reportedly considering convening a cabinet meeting to carry this out, potentially tomorrow.

In light of what is happening, “the government and its head have completely shattered any shred of public trust in their motives” and “have no moral authority to send soldiers into battle,” Bennett insists — calling for the government to resign “today” and to “allow the people of Israel to elect a new leadership that will rebuild Israel.”

Far-right Avi Maoz threatens to resign as deputy minister, oppose ‘discriminatory’ budget

Noam party head Avi Maoz speaks during his faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, January 30, 2023. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

Deputy Minister Avi Maoz reiterates his intention to vote against the 2025 state budget in the Knesset this evening and threatens to resign over what he describes as discrimination against religious Zionist educational institutions.

In a video posted to Twitter, the far-right politician, the sole lawmaker representing the anti-LGBTQ Noam party, complains that national religious IDF reservists who have fought for months on end have to “pay a fortune for their children’s education, which was supposed to be included in the The Free Compulsory Education Law.”

Stating that he “can no longer remain silent in the face of the ongoing harm” to reservists, he says that he will both vote against the budget and will resign if this “injustice is not corrected by Monday.”

Maoz reiterates his threat during a plenum discussion ahead of the budget vote.

Speaking with Radio Kol Chai last week, Maoz said that “it doesn’t make sense for me to save the government, only for my voters to end up deprived.”

Israel aware a major war front may develop in West Bank, Netanyahu says

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, visit the undercover Border Police "Mista'arvim" unit, March 19, 2025. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

The fight against terrorism in the West Bank could significantly expand, says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a visit to the undercover Border Police “Mista’arvim” unit, according to his office.

“While we are waging a powerful war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, we are aware of the possibility that a larger and more powerful front could open up here in Judea and Samaria,” says Netanyahu, using the West Bank’s biblical name.

He is joined by Israel Police chief Daniel Levy and Border Police Commander Brik Yitzhak.

Coalition defeats bill seeking to form state inquiry into Oct. 7 failures

Coalition lawmakers defeat a bill to establish a state commission of inquiry into the failure to prevent the October 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught, with the Knesset voting 39-51 against the legislation sponsored by National Unity MK Orit Farkash Hacohen.

The bill would have allowed for the establishment of a state commission of inquiry without the need for a government decision in cases of “exceptional public importance.”

Representing the government’s position on the legislation, Justice Minister Yariv Levin says that he would not trust any commission whose members would be appointed by Supreme Court President Isaac Amit — whose recent appointment he long sought to prevent.

A state commission of inquiry holds unique powers to investigate a national disaster, including subpoena power, and is totally independent of the government after it is set up. Its members are chosen by the president of the Supreme Court.

Responding to the failure of her bill, MK Farkash Hacohen tweets that despite Levin’s call for “broad consensus” in the choice of the members of an investigative probe, the coalition sought no such consensus when it voted in the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee in support of a bill “politicizing the judicial selection committee” this morning.

A previous bill by Farkash Hacohen calling for the establishment of a state probe was defeated 45-53 in the plenum in late January.

“Those who have nothing to hide should not be afraid of establishing a state commission of inquiry,” National Unity declares in a statement.

For his part, party chief Benny Gantz tells lawmakers that the decisions of policymakers in office in the years leading up to October 7, including his, must be probed.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly ruled out any inquiry until after the war — and, over the weekend, swiftly rejected a compromise proposal made by President Isaac Herzog and Supreme Court President Amit which would see Amit consult with incoming Supreme Court deputy head Noam Sohlberg, a conservative, when appointing the members of a state commission, should the government agree to establish one.

Addressing the issue during a Knesset speech earlier this month, Netanyahu agreed that it was “crucial to investigate in depth the events of October 7 and what led up to it,” but that “this investigation needs to win the trust of the nation, or the overwhelming majority of the nation.”

Red-faced and shouting into the microphone, he called for an “objective, balanced, independent investigation… not a commission whose findings are predetermined.”

In February, Likud MK Ariel Kallner presented a proposal for an alternative investigatory body whose members would be appointed by the Knesset, in an effort to head off establishing a state commission of inquiry.

Netanyahu hasn’t publicly backed or proposed any mechanism for probing October 7.

Protest leader apologizes for comparing Netanyahu to Hitler

Protest leader Moshe Radman after being released from a police investigation in Tel Aviv-Jaffa on August 1, 2023. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Prominent anti-government activist Moshe Radman apologizes for remarks he made “in the heat of the moment” earlier today, in which he likened Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

During a protest outside the premier’s home in Jerusalem, Radman said that “we got through Hitler… we will get through them too,” as part of a longer monologue comparing Netanyahu and his coalition partners to bitter past enemies of the Jewish people.

“My choice of words was wrong in the heat of the moment,” Radman says. “I was talking about the hardships endured by the Jewish people and the need for hope. [But] let’s move on, we have a country to save.”

Aiming to salvage antisemitism confab, Herzog offers officials private meeting without far-right invitees

President Isaac Herzog attends a state ceremony for fallen Israeli soldiers whose burial place is unknown at Mount Herzl Military cemetery in Jerusalem on March 6, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

In an attempt to stem the tide of officials boycotting Israel’s upcoming conference on combating antisemitism in protest of the inclusion of far-right European politicians, President Isaac Herzog has offered a compromise: a private meeting with world Jewish leaders at his home the night before the main event, without the controversial far-right politicians.

While none of the people who have canceled their participation in the conference are expected to rejoin, some may attend this event, says a source involved with the planning.

“The people who need to be happy are happy with this plan,” the source says.

According to the website of the conference, to be held in Jerusalem on March 26-27, the event includes guided tours and an evening gala on Wednesday night, followed by a full-day conference at Jerusalem’s International Convention Center (Binyanei Hauma) on Thursday. The Wednesday night gala has now been reconceptualized as a private gathering for Jewish leaders only alongside — not as part of — the event.

Those who have pulled out of the confab include French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy, who had been slated as the event’s keynote speaker, as well as British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, UK government adviser on antisemitism Lord John Mann, veteran academic and activist David Hirsh, German antisemitism czar Felix Klein, and German politician Volker Beck. Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations CEO William Daroff is said to be weighing his final decision on whether he will attend.

The conference guest list includes controversial European right-wing politicians Jordan Bardella, president of the far-right French National Rally party founded by noted antisemite and Holocaust denier Jean-Marie Le Pen; Marion Marechal, a far-right French member of the European Parliament and Le Pen’s granddaughter; Hermann Tertsch, a far-right Spanish member of the European Parliament; Charlie Weimers of the far-right Sweden Democrats party; and Kinga Gál, of Hungary’s Fidesz party.

Hostage’s cousin leads thousands in Jerusalem rally where some plan to sleep on the street

Protesters at Jerusalem’s Paris Square on March 19, 2025. (Jessica Steinberg/Times of Israel)

Shay Dickmann, cousin of murdered hostage Carmel Gat, tearfully leads the mostly silent protest gathering by the Shift 101 group — which campaigns for the captives’ return — by singing the Jewish prayer for peace “Oseh Shalom” at Jerusalem’s Paris Square.

Thousands have gathered in the main downtown intersection, dressed in white, sitting on the asphalt.

Organizers announce that tents and sleeping bags are available for whoever is planning to sleep on the Jerusalem street.

“Whoever was abandoned must be returned!” calls one organizer.

“We won’t abandon you, we will bring you back!”

IDF launches ‘pinpoint’ ground operations in central, southern Gaza to expand buffer zone

Troops of the Gaza Division operate in the southern Gaza Strip, in a handout photo issued by the military on March 19, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF confirms it has launched “pinpoint” ground operations in the central and southern Gaza Strip, which it says are aimed at expanding its buffer zone.

Troops of the 252nd Division entered the Netzarim Corridor area, capturing around half of it, up to the Salah a-Din road.

At the same time, the IDF says it deployed the Golani Brigade to the southern part of the Gaza border, readying itself for future actions in the Strip.

Troops of the 252nd Division operate in the Netzarim Corridor area of central Gaza, in a video issued by the military on March 19, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

Police arrest 4 during anti-government rallies in Jerusalem, including counterprotester

Anti-government protesters clash with police in Jerusalem, March 19, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Police say they have arrested four people during ongoing anti-government protests in Jerusalem today, including one armed counterprotester who threatened to harm demonstrators.

“Over the course of the protest, dozens of its participants began to disrupt public order,” a law enforcement spokesman says, adding that many attempted to break through crowd control barriers. The statement adds that some protesters also used their cars to block off main streets in the capital without police authorization.

The spokesman calls this “a blatant violation of the protest conditions agreed upon in advance between protesters and Israel Police in recent days,” and notes that police are working to tow the vehicles.

Gantz heckled, called ‘traitor’ at anti-government protest; he slams ‘scorched earthers,’ sparking left-wing anger

The opposition’s National Unity party chairman Benny Gantz confronts an angry demonstrator during an anti-government protest in Jerusalem, entering a shouting match with the man before they are physically separated by security officers.

During a march toward Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem, a protester screams “get out of here, you disgrace, you betrayed our son” at Gantz, whose party joined an emergency government days after the ongoing war began in October 2023, and then exited the coalition last year citing Netanyahu’s alleged mismanagement of the war.

The shout leads Gantz to approach the man. The two are held back from each other until Gantz is led away.

תיעוד | בני גנץ מתעמת עם מפגין בירושלים שצעק לעברו: "לך מפה יא בושה, בגדת בנו"@nakash_noam pic.twitter.com/R5rkB91vB1

— גלצ (@GLZRadio) March 19, 2025

Following the incident, Gantz tweets that most of the protesters — who had come out against the firing of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, among other issues — are “Israeli patriots who care about the country.”

However, among the protesters were also “an unrepresentative handful of scorched earthers who hate Netanyahu more than they love the country,” he declares.

“These are people who have no shame in calling a person like me — who risked my life under fire for the country in uniform for decades, and who has been fighting for the country in the political arena for six years — a ‘traitor,'” he writes, insisting that “this handful of extremists are no less dangerous than the extremists on the other side, and I do not intend to surrender to them.”

In response, leader of the left-wing The Democrats party Yair Golan takes issue with the term “scorched earthers,” countering that “the protesters who took to the streets today are the greatest lovers of Israel I have ever met.”

The Democrats MK Naama Lazimi also objects to Gantz’s rhetoric, claiming that the members of Netanyahu’s government are scorched earthers while the protesters are protecting the state “with their bodies.”

In a statement hitting back at Golan, National Unity accuses him of “distorting Gantz’s words, who emphasized the importance of the demonstration and the fact that most of the demonstrators were Israeli patriots” as well as “also ignoring the simple fact that Gantz went out to demonstrate.”

A public leader who “normalizes” the use of terms such as traitor “alienates precisely the parts of the people who need to be brought together to replace this terrible government,” the centrist party states.

Dozens of sick and injured Gazans to fly from Israeli airport to Europe for treatment

Some 70 sick and injured Gazan children, adult family members and dual citizens are set to take off this afternoon from Ramon International Airport for European countries, the IDF’s Coordinator of the Government Activities in the Territories tells The Times of Israel.

The Palestinian civilians passed a background check, went through screening at the Kerem Shalom Crossing, and were bused to the airport north of Eilat, according to COGAT.

The evacuation is carried out in conjunction with the European Union.

Romania is receiving 7 patients and 23 companions. According to a Romanian diplomat, this is the fifth medical evacuation flight from Gaza that the country has received. Romania has taken in a total of 19 patients and 57 family members thus far.

Norway is taking 3 children, and 5 adult family members. France is accepting 3 patients and 6 adults companions.

Italy is also accepting patients from today’s flights.

COGAT, working with international partners, has arranged dozens of evacuation flights carrying 2,000 Gazans abroad, according to the IDF.

In ‘final warning’ to Gazans, Katz says evacuations from combat zones will start soon

Defense Minister Israel Katz visits the Tel Nof Airbase, March 18, 2025. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Israel Katz warns Gazans that Israel will soon issue evacuation orders for combat zones in the Strip, as the military returns to fighting against Hamas.

“Gaza residents, this is a final warning. The first Sinwar destroyed Gaza and the second Sinwar will completely destroy it,” Katz says, referring to the slain leader of the terror group, Yahya Sinwar, and his brother, Mohammed Sinwar, a senior Hamas military commander who is still presumed to be alive.

“The Air Force strikes against Hamas terrorists were just the first step. It will become much more difficult and you will pay the full price,” he says.

“The evacuation of the population from combat zones will soon begin again,” Katz warns.

Katz says that if the hostages are not released and Hamas is not removed from Gaza, “Israel will operate with strength you have not yet seen.”

“Take the US president’s advice. Return the hostages and remove Hamas, and other options will open for you, including leaving for other places in the world for those who want to,” he says.

“The alternative is absolute destruction,” Katz adds.

IDF tanks said moving along Gaza’s Netzarim Corridor, with Palestinian vehicle movement northward halted

Gazan media reports that IDF tanks have begun advancing along the Netzarim Corridor and that vehicle movement northward via the Strip’s Salah al-Din road has stopped.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

The development comes as foreign inspection teams tasked with checking vehicles moving northward under the ceasefire agreement, who have been entering from Egypt every day since the truce began to do so, have not been able to enter Gaza since Israel resumed its offensive yesterday.

Anti-government protest leader seems to liken Netanyahu to Hitler during Jerusalem rally

Anti-government protest leader Moshe Radman speaks at a protest outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence on Azza Road in Jerusalem against his decision to fire Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, March 19, 2025. (Amir Yaacobi/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Anti-government protest leader Moshe Radman seems to compare Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in a speech outside the premier’s residence, during a day of mass protests throughout Jerusalem.

“We got through Haman, we got through Pharaoh, we got through the British Mandate, we got through Hitler… we’ll get through them too,” he says through a megaphone to the applause of other demonstrators

According to Ynet, Radman later attempts to soften his remarks, saying: “We don’t want a strand of hair to fall from Netanyahu’s head, we only wish for him to get booted from the cabinet and sit in jail until his very last day.”

Israel names 2 more senior Hamas members killed in recent Gaza strikes

The IDF and Shin Bet announce that two more top Hamas officials were killed in airstrikes in the Gaza Strip over the past day.

The dead include Yasser Mohammed Harb Musa, a member of Hamas’s politburo who headed the defense portfolio and ministry of development.

“As part of his role, Musa handled the advancement and guidance of terror attacks against the State of Israel,” the IDF and Shin Bet say, adding that he was considered close to slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

The second Hamas official the IDF says it killed is Mohammed Jamasi, the chief of the terror group’s so-called emergency committee.

“Over the years, Jamasi held key positions in the political bureau and the leadership of the movement and as part of his role in the war, he coordinated a significant portion of the Hamas regime’s government activity in the Gaza Strip, including the guidance of terror attacks against the State of Israel,” the statement adds.

Four convicted for Amsterdam violence against Israelis, calling for Jews’ death

Screenshot from a video showing assailants running after fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv following a soccer game in Amsterdam on November 8, 2024. (X screenshot; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

A Dutch court convicts four men for their part in November’s violence against Israeli soccer fans that sparked accusations of antisemitism.

The latest convictions by the Amsterdam District Court follow five others handed down in December for the “hit-and-run” style attacks on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in the early hours of November 8.

Images of the violence, which Israel says wounded 10, went around the world and sparked a furious reaction in Israel including accusations of a “pogrom.”

Aged between 22 and 32 years, this week’s suspects are found guilty of a range of offenses including helping to foment the violence and insulting Jews.

Cenk. D., 27, receives the heaviest sentence of three months in prison, for pointing out locations of Maccabi fans after an Europa League match between the visiting Israeli club and Ajax.

He is also sentenced for insulting Jews, including making disparaging comments about the Holocaust and posting slogans such “Dead Jew better than living Jew,” the court’s judges say.

“The persecution of Jews during the Second World War is one of the most shocking events in history and has caused untold suffering,” the judges say in a verdict posted online.

“Condoning and trivializing the Holocaust not only causes personal suffering amongst Jews but can also contribute to feelings of insecurity and unrest in society,” they add.

Mounir M., 32, is jailed for six weeks as one of the administrators of the online chat group. Kamal I., 22, is sentenced to one month in jail for sharing the location of Maccabi supporters in the Dutch capital.

The court also sentences Mohammed B., 26, to 30 days in jail for chasing a Maccabi supporter and “making a hitting movement with a belt.”

The court says the violence was influenced by the situation in Gaza. While noting that it happened after Maccabi fans chanted anti-Arab songs and committed some acts of vandalism, “this context offers no justification for calling for, and using physical violence against Israeli supporters who were guests in Amsterdam for a soccer match.”

Central bank says Israel’s open economy offset Turkish trade ban

A pro-Palestinian protest at the Istanbul port, December, 1, 2024. (Emrah Gurel/AP)

Turkey’s trade ban has had minimal impact on Israel’s economy and prices, the central bank says in a report, citing the flexibility of country’s open economy.

Turkey severed trade with Israel last year over its war in Gaza with Hamas and has remained an outspoken critic of Israel’s policies.

Prior to the war, which was triggered by Hamas’s attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed some 1,200 people and saw another 251 taken hostage, Turkish exports to Israel totaled $5.3 billion in 2023, 6.3% of Israel’s total imports, the Bank of Israel notes.

But Turkey was an important source of imports in construction products such as cement as well as iron and steel. Some 824,000 Israelis visited Turkey in 2022, the bank says citing official Turkish statistics.

Israeli exports to Turkey were $1.5 billion in 2023, 2.5% of Israel’s total exports.

“The Turkish embargo’s impact on imports and prices of imports to Israel was limited,” the Bank of Israel says in its analysis. “This illustrates the importance of functioning markets and liberal trade policies in creating economic security, as well as the difficulty of individual countries to use trade restrictions on tradable goods as a political tool.”

It added that Israel found substitutes for Turkish products that were halted, and that alternate sources of cement came without higher prices even though most cement exports came from Turkey before the ban, underscoring “the limited impact of the embargo.”

“Economic openness and the diversification of import sources — rather than isolation and domestic production — provided a solution to trade restrictions on tradable goods with a well-functioning international market,” the central bank said.

Demonstrators clash with police, try to break down barricades outside Netanyahu’s home

Israelis attending a protest march against the decision of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fire Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, and clash with police, in Jerusalem, March 19, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Demonstrators clash with police as they try to break through barricades and reach the private residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Thousands of people are in Jerusalem, protesting against the government’s plans to fire Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and calling for a hostage deal despite a return to fighting in Gaza.

Photos from the scene show police detaining several people as crowds try and burst through the barricades.

In other areas, hundreds sit on the sidewalk, chanting  for a deal to free the remaining hostages in Gaza.

“It happened to Ron Arad, it could happen to all of us,” they chant, referring to the Israeli Air Force officer long presumed dead following his 1986 disappearance in Lebanon.

Further up the road near Netanyahu’s official residence is group of silent protesters, seated on the asphalt and blocking Paris Square to traffic from all directions. The demonstrators plan to remain at the intersection until 5 p.m.

Israelis attend a protest march against the decision of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fire Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, in Jerusalem, March 19, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

IDF issues all clear after infiltration alert is set off in West Bank settlement

Home Front Command issues an all clear after a suspected terrorist infiltration warning was sounded in the settlement of Kiryat Netafim.

Residents may leave their homes and move freely in the area without restrictions, the military says.

The IDF says its forces quickly arrived on the scene, conducting searches and apprehending the suspect.

The suspect is a car thief who fled on foot into the settlement, according to a military source, adding that the incident was not terrorism-related.

תיעוד: החשוד הפלסטיני נעצר בתוך שטח היישוב@hod_barel https://t.co/5XLg9Oc3J0 pic.twitter.com/Hk8TXrtRst

— גלצ (@GLZRadio) March 19, 2025

Netanyahu said mulling convening cabinet tomorrow for vote on firing Shin Bet chief, and firing AG on Sunday

L: Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar at Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem on October 27, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90), R: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset in Jerusalem on March 3, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin is considering convening a cabinet meeting tomorrow to vote on dismissing Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, Ynet reports.

According to the Hebrew language site, after last night’s cabinet meeting, ministers and Netanyahu aides discussed voting on Bar tomorrow, and using Sunday’s cabinet meeting to vote on Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara’s dismissal.

The office of a senior Likud minister tells The Times of Israel that no dates have been received regarding any upcoming cabinet meetings.

Macron, Abdullah urge return to Gaza ceasefire talks

French President Emmanuel Macron (R) and Jordan's King Abdullah shake hands at the start of a press conference following their meeting at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, on March 19, 2025. (Photo by Gonzalo Fuentes / POOL / AFP)

French President Emmanuel Macron and Jordan’s King Abdullah II call for a diplomatic solution to Israel’s war with Hamas after Tuesday’s renewed strikes in Gaza.

“There is no military solution in Gaza,” says Macron in a joint press conference with the Jordanian ruler in Paris

He says the resumed conflict “marks a dramatic step backward,” and that “negotiations must resume in good faith under American auspices, thanks to whom we had the initial ceasefire.”

While emphasizing the importance of defeating Hamas and Iran’s “Axis of Resistance,” Macron says “the only way forward is to return to a political solution, and its elements are already on the table.”

Abdullah calls the strikes “an extremely dangerous step that adds further devastation to an already dire humanitarian situation.”

“The international community must act immediately and collectively push for restoring the ceasefire and the implementation of its phases… The ceasefire must be restored and the flow of aid must resume immediately,” he says.

IDF says it targeted major Hamas command center in overnight strike

The IDF says that in one of its overnight airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, it targeted the main command center of Hamas’s Daraj-Tuffah Battalion, located in Gaza City.

The command center had been used by Hamas to plan numerous attacks against Israel and troops, the military says.

Amid illegal wildlife crackdown, police seize 13th monkey

An illegally imported monkey found tied to a tree in Mazkeret Batya on March 19, 2025 (Israel Police)

The 13th illegally imported monkey is located by police, this time tied to a tree in an open area in Mazkeret Batya, in central Israel.

The Israel Nature and Parks Authority, which receives the animal, confirms it is a guenon monkey. These are endemic to sub-Saharan Africa.

The monkey was hurt and transferred to a shelter for treatment.

Over recent days, police have rescued 12 illegally held monkeys and four lion cubs, mostly from Bedouin towns in the Negev. They also confiscated several wild animals from a moshav in central Israel, among them a crocodile, an anaconda, poisonous frogs and several other lizards of various types, all foreign, exotic species.

Malaysia to accept 15 released Palestinian security prisoners

Freed Palestinian prisoners flash V-signs as they arrive in the Gaza Strip after being released from an Israeli prison following a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip on February 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Malaysia says it will accept 15 Palestinians who were released from Israeli jails and exiled as part of the January ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan says in remarks published today in The Star newspaper that the move was a small contribution from Malaysia, a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause, to ensure peace in Gaza.

Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil tells local media that security agencies would strictly monitor the Palestinians’ movement once they arrive.

Many of those released were serving life sentences for terror attacks, including orchestrating suicide bombings.

Israel freed thousands of Palestinian in return for several hostages held by terror groups in Gaza, but insisted that some of the worst offenders be exiled outside of the West Bank or Gaza Strip

Anti-government, pro-hostages protest march moves from Knesset to Netanyahu’s home

Anti-government protesters march to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's private residence in Jerusalem on March 19, 2025. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)

Thousands of anti-government, pro-hostage deal protesters are marching to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence in Jerusalem following a mass rally outside the Knesset.

Demonstrators from across the country flocked to the capital this morning to protest the resumption of fighting in Gaza and Netanyahu’s attempts to sack Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.

Activists leading the march hold a large banner that reads: “Enough of the government of destruction” as they proceed down Ben Zvi Boulevard toward the Rehavia neighborhood.

Police close the road to traffic in one direction, but cars headed the other way demonstration are at a standstill.

“Why is he still here, why are they still there?” protesters chant, referring to Netanyahu and the hostages, respectively.

Police brought out a water cannon but have not used it against protesters.

UN peacekeeper wounded by mine blast in southern Lebanon

An armored vehicle of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) approaches a Lebanese army roadblock near a checkpoint in the village of Burj el-Meluk in Nabatiyeh in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel on January 25, 2025. (Rabih DAHER / AFP)

Lebanon’s state news agency says a UN peacekeeper was wounded when a mine exploded in the country’s south.

National News Agency does not give further details about the blast between the villages of Zibqine and Yater, near the border with Israel.

Andrea Tenenti, a spokesman for the UN peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL, confirms that a peacekeeper was wounded during an operational activity and was taken to a Beirut hospital for surgery.

Foreign UN worker said killed in Gaza explosion; IDF denies carrying out strike

An injured United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) worker is taken into the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital after an explosion in Gaza, Wednesday March 19, 2025.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A foreigner is killed and four other people are wounded in an explosion at a United Nations facility in central Gaza, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says.

The ministry says the cause of the explosion was an Israeli airstrike.

However, photos from the scene show that those hurt were from the United Nations Mine Action Service, which deals with clearing leftover explosive devices.

The IDF denies carrying out an airstrike on the facility.

“Contrary to reports, the IDF did not attack a UN compound in Deir al-Balah. The IDF calls on media outlets to exercise caution with unverified reports,” the military says

There is no immediate comment from the UN.

IDF probing suspected terror infiltration in West Bank settlement

A siren warning of a suspected terrorist infiltration sounds in the northern West Bank settlement of Kiryat Netafim.

The IDF Home Front Command has instructed residents to remain locked in their homes until further notice.

Further details are under investigation by the IDF.

Germany says renewed Gaza strikes are ‘shattering’ hopes for peace

Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock addresses media representatives as she arrives for an European Union Foreign Affairs Council Meeting at The Europa Building in Brussels on March 17, 2025. (Photo by NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP)

Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock says that Israel’s renewed airstrikes on Gaza “are shattering the tangible hopes of so many Israelis and Palestinians of an end to suffering on all sides.”

Speaking before starting a trip to Lebanon, she calls on “all sides” in the conflict to “show restraint, respect humanitarian law and return to talks.”

“The lives of dozens of hostages, including Germans… (and) of many thousands of Palestinians” depend on peace, she says.

“The resumption of hostilities also puts at risk the positive efforts of Arab states who want to chart a peaceful path for Gaza, free from Hamas,” Baerbock says.

Germany’s top diplomat said she was appealing “in particular to the USA to use its regional influence… now, because the security of the wider Middle East is affected by this.”

The US has backed Israel’s decision to resume its aerial campaign in Gaza, saying that Hamas bears full blame for the airstrikes after the terror group rejected a bridge proposal put forward by US special envoy Steve Witkoff to extend the ceasefire by several weeks.

She also warned that there was “a serious risk of wider regional escalation” at a time when “the situation in Lebanon has stabilized and there have been steps towards settling the conflict at the Israeli-Lebanese border.”

Baerbock will hold meetings with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, both of whom took office this year in the wake of a war between Israel and Lebanese terror group Hezbollah.

EU tells Israel renewed fighting in Gaza is ‘unacceptable’

EU High Representative and Vice-President for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas arrives to attend the weekly College of Commissioners at the EU headquarters in Brussels on March 19, 2025. (Photo by Nicolas TUCAT / AFP)

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas says she told Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar that Israel’s renewed military campaign in Gaza is “unacceptable.”

“Yesterday I also talked to Foreign Minister Sa’ar… what is happening, why are you doing this. And I mean, also conveying the message that this is unacceptable,” the Estonian diplomat tells reporters in Brussels.

Kallas says she was referring specifically to “the loss of civilian lives.”

Kallas says she will travel to Egypt on Sunday to discuss the situation with the “Arab Quint” — Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — adding there was a need to increase diplomatic pressure on Israel.

According to the Israeli readout of yesterday’s phone call, Sa’ar told Kallas that Israel “has no choice” but to renew military operations in the Gaza Strip, stressing that while Israel has endorsed proposals offered by US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff that would maintain the ceasefire, “Hamas has rejected them twice.”

Sa’ar also emphasized to Kallas that the IDF is operating “solely against Hamas and terrorist targets while working to minimize harm to the civilian population.”

The conversation came the same day Kallas released a joint statement with EU commissioners saying, “The EU deplores the breakdown of the ceasefire in Gaza and the deaths of civilians, including children, in Israeli airstrikes,” calling on Israel to end the campaign and for Hamas to release all the hostages.

“The EU believes that the resumption of negotiations is the only way forward,” the statement continued.

Lapid vows to overturn ‘rotten’ revamp of Judicial Selection Committee

Opposition head and leader of the Yesh Atid party MK Yair Lapid leads a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem on March 17, 2025 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid promises to overturn the coalition’s still-unpassed legislation revamping the panel that selects judges as soon as the next government takes office, condemning the bill as an effort to subordinate the judicial system to elected politicians.

“Let it be clear: The wording of the law passed today by the Constitution Committee to change the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee is not a compromise, not a correction, and was not reached through dialogue. It is the most extreme, most violent, and most rotten wording there is,” he says.

“This is a law that says only one thing — the judges will be in the pockets of the politicians. The politicians will appoint them, control them, and make sure they do what they are told. We will stop this. In the first week of the next government, this violent and extortionate law will be repealed!”

Second reservist officer dismissed for refusing to serve

Israeli military reservists line up to sign a declaration of refusal to report for duty to protest against plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to overhaul the judicial system, in Tel Aviv, Israel, July 19, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Another reservist officer has been dismissed by the military after posting on social media that he would not show up for duty due to the resumption of fighting in the Gaza Strip.

“The thing that will help the most right now to protect my people is to refuse to take part in fighting in the service of filthy traitors in complete contrast to the interests of the people of Israel,” says Michael Majer, an officer in the Military Intelligence Directorate, on X.

In a follow-up post, Majer says he was dismissed from reserve duty.

Yesterday, an Israeli Air Force reservist navigator was dismissed for a similar post on social media amid fears for the fate of the hostages in Gaza and government efforts to fire the head of the Shin Bet and the attorney general.

While the incidents are so far seen as isolated, they hark back to the widespread anti-government protests in recent years, when hundreds of reservists, including many in the Air Force, threatened not to show up to duty.

‘Say enough’: Lapid calls on public to join anti-government protests

Israelis attend a protest march against the decision of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fire Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, on Route 1 near Jerusalem, March 18, 2025. (Yonatan SIndel/Flash90)

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid calls on Israelis to take to the streets to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “illegitimate government,” arguing that “the only solution is the unity of an entire people who come together and say ‘enough.'”

“We are taking to the streets because the Israeli government has lost its legitimacy,” Lapid says ahead of a set of planned demonstrations in Jerusalem sparked by the government’s plan to vote to fire Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.

“We will not break the law, we will continue to serve, but we will stand firm against a government that is trying to dismantle the country,” Lapid declares in a recorded message calling on Israelis to demonstrate for the return of the hostages, the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the events of October 7, 2023, ultra-Orthodox enlistment, and the protection of the legal system.

“Everyone who fought before the war for a democratic and liberal Israel, everyone who marched in the streets and then stopped because they said to themselves: ‘in times of war, we need to unite,’ knows today that silence in the face of a destructive government is not unity. Silence only gives them more time to tear us apart,” he continues.

He says everyone except for the security forces protecting Israel from external enemies should take part in the demonstrations to “defend the State of Israel from a government that is trying to destroy us from within.”

Court rejects request from suspects in PM’s office leak of stolen documents scandal to end house arrest

Ari Rosenfeld, one of the suspects in the classified documents leak case, arrives at the Tel Aviv District Court on January 7, 2025. (Koko/Flash90)

The Tel Aviv District Court rejects requests by the key figures in the scandal relating to Prime Minister’s Office classified documents to be released from house arrest and electronic tagging, ruling that circumstances have not changed to warrant such a decision.

Eli Feldstein, who served as an aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and IDF reserve NCO Ari Rosenfeld were indicted last year on charges of transferring classified information, with Feldstein hit with an additional charge of seeking to harm state security.

Feldstein was released to house arrest with electronic tagging in December 2024, and Rosenfeld released under the same terms in February this year.

Feldstein’s lawyers had claimed in his request to be released from house arrest that he now posed a diminished threat to the state, but Judge Ala Masarwa disagrees.

Both Rosenfeld and Feldstein argued that since the police investigation into other suspects in the case is still ongoing, which has delayed the beginning of their trial, the extended delay meant they should be released from house arrest.

Masarwa rules, however, that these delays were not “especially dramatic” or unexpected and therefore rejects the request for release from house arrest.

He adds that he would be willing to consider future requests regarding the conditions of their detention.

Lawmakers advance bill for controversial overhaul of committee that selects judges

Chairman of the Knesset Constitution Law and Justice Committee MK Simcha Rothman leads a hearing for legislation to change the appointment process for the ombudsman for judges, February 18, 2025. (Dani Shem-Tov / Office of the Knesset Spokesperson)

Lawmakers in the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee vote to advance a controversial bill to overhaul the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee for the second and third readings necessary for it to become law.

According to the Ynet news site, opposition lawmakers slammed chairman Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionism) for preventing them from addressing the committee ahead of the vote, with one shouting that he was acting like a “dictator.”

In a statement, National Unity chairman Benny Gantz accuses the coalition of bringing Israel back to October 6 with the revival of its judicial overhaul agenda.

Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar attacked on October 7 after identifying a “weak point” and “here we are a year and a half later, giving the same gift back,” Gantz says. “Instead of uniting and protecting ourselves, we are returning to division.”

“On fundamental issues related to what society looks like, you cannot go by political force – the government has a responsibility to restrain itself and not save itself. What we see is not majority rule, it is majority tyranny,” he adds.

If passed, the legislation would dramatically shift the composition of the committee, which makes all judicial appointments. The bill would switch out the two Israel Bar Association representatives of the nine-member panel in favor of two lawyers, one to be appointed by the coalition and one by the opposition.

Appointments to the lower courts would be made by a simple majority, but would need at least one vote each from committee representatives of the coalition, opposition and the Supreme Court. Appointments to the Supreme Court would need at least one vote from the coalition and opposition, but not require a vote from a Supreme Court justices.

This would give the coalition and opposition representatives veto power over all appointments to the lower courts and the Supreme Court, while significantly reducing the influence of the three Supreme Court justices on the committee.

ADL confirms Greenblatt won’t attend Israeli antisemitism conference over participation of far-right Europeans

Jonathan Greenblatt speaks onstage during the 2024 ADL In Concert Against Hate at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall on November 18, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Jemal Countess / Getty Images via AFP)

The Anti-Defamation League confirms that CEO Jonathan Greenblatt has backed out of an upcoming Israeli conference on combating antisemitism to protest the inclusion of far-right European politicians.

“In light of some of the recently announced participants at the Israeli government’s antisemitism conference, Jonathan decided last week that he would no longer be attending the event, and he notified the Israeli government about the decision after the weekend,” an ADL spokesperson says.

Many are concerned that participation in the conference helps provide legitimacy to several populist parties, many of which have histories of racism and antisemitism.

Other people who have announced they will not attend the conference in Jerusalem next week include British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, UK government adviser on antisemitism Lord John Mann, and veteran academic and activist David Hirsh. Several French and German figures have also said they will no longer attend.

The conference guest list includes Jordan Bardella, president of the far-right French National Rally party founded by noted antisemite and Holocaust denier Jean-Marie Le Pen; Marion Marechal, a far-right French member of the European Parliament and Le Pen’s granddaughter; Hermann Tertsch, a far-right Spanish member of the European Parliament; Charlie Weimers of the far-right Sweden Democrats party; and Kinga Gál, of Hungary’s Fidesz party.

Thousands march to protest government, blocking entrance to Jerusalem

Protesters march against the decision of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fire head of Shin Bet Ronen Bar, on Route 1 near Jerusalem, March 18, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Several thousand people are taking part in an anti-government protest and blocking the main entrance of Jerusalem as they march toward Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence.

The protesters object to the government’s efforts to fire Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and the resumption of fighting in Gaza.

“It’s time to end this madness before we don’t have anyone to save, before we don’t have a country left,” protest leader Shikma Bressler tells the crowd.

Man who set wife, child on fire to be indicted

Police announce the upcoming indictment of a man for attempted murder for allegedly setting his wife and their one-year-old child on fire last month in Bat Yam.

Police arrived to find the victim, a 29-year-old woman, lying on a street near her home, severely burned. She was taken by paramedics to a nearby hospital where she remains sedated and on a ventilator, with burns covering 90 percent of her body.

Police arrested the suspected, a 37-year-old man, at the scene of the crime, as he was holding the couple’s child who was soaked in flammable liquid. The baby suffered minor burns and was transferred to welfare authorities.

Police have requested that the suspect remain in custody until the end of legal proceedings.

Hamas says it has ‘not closed the door’ on talks

Palestinians at the scene of an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, on March 18, 2025. (Ali Hassan/Flash90)

Hamas has not shut the door on negotiations, an official from the group tells AFP, after Israel launched its most intense strikes of Gaza since a January 19 ceasefire.

“Hamas has not closed the door on negotiations but we insist there is no need for new agreements,” Taher al-Nunu tells AFP on the phone from Cairo, also calling for Israel to be forced to implement the ceasefire.

Israel says it launched the strikes after Hamas refused to extend the ceasefire by freeing additional hostages.

Air Force and Navy hit terror sites in Gaza

Overnight, the military carried out a wave of strikes against Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad targets across the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli Air Force says it hit some 20 targets overnight, including a Hamas military site in northern Gaza where it identified preparations for rocket attacks on Israel.

In addition, the Israeli Navy targeted several vessels belonging to Palestinian Islamic Jihad off the coast of Gaza that the IDF says were being used for terror activities.

The strikes were part of a second night of attacks on Gaza since the breakdown of ceasefire talks.

Hamas said that 13 people were killed in the overnight strikes. The figures could not be verified.

Top anti-government activist detained outside Netanyahu’s home ahead of demonstrations

Police detain prominent anti-government activist retired IAF Brig. Gen. Amir Haskel in Jerusalem this morning while he was shouting through a megaphone across the street from Netanyahu’s private residence.

Haskel accused the premier of “murdering the ceasefire and chance to save the hostages” when a policewoman confiscated his megaphone. He was then detained and taken to the Moriah police station.

טרם תחילת המחאות היום המשטרה החליטה לעצור את אמיר השכל.

מישהו מפחד. וזה לא אנחנו. pic.twitter.com/8UGTx6vHRk

— משנים כיוון ↩️ (@change_dir_il) March 19, 2025

His arrest comes ahead of demonstrations scheduled to take place in the capital today. Protesters plan to march from Givat Ram to Netanyahu’s home later this afternoon.

The march comes after some 40,000 people took part in a Tel Aviv rally last night to demonstrate against the governments plans to fire Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and the resumption of strikes in Gaza.

The demonstrations came as Israel resumed fighting in the Gaza Strip, paving the way for the return to the cabinet of far-right politician Itamar Ben Gvir, who has been among the loudest voices demanding the ousters of Bar along with Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who is also in the coalition’s crosshairs.

The moves sparked accusations, denied by Netanyahu, that the government had ended the ceasefire and scuttled hostage negotiations in order to bolster the premier’s political support with far-right allies ahead of a key budget vote later this month.

Israeli businessman says he transferred cash from Qatari lobbyist to ex-PM aide Feldstein

Eli Feldstein, one of the suspects in the classified documents leak case, arrives for a hearing at the Tel Aviv District Court on March 11, 2025. (Yehoshua Yosef/Flash90)

An Israeli businessman based in the Gulf says that he transferred money from a Qatar-employed US lobbyist to a top aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to recordings aired by the Kan public broadcaster.

In the recording, businessman Gil Birger says he was approached by lobbyist Jay Footlik to give the money to Eli Feldstein, saying that he was asked to make the payment for tax reasons.

“He asked me to help due to VAT issues,” Birger is heard saying. “I have known him [Footlik] for 25 years. I don’t work with this, and I don’t work in Israel. He worked with him for a few months, he employed him, not me”

“I have agreements with Jay on a lot of issues,” he says.”

Birger says the work was related to the hostages. Qatar has been a key mediator between Israel and Hamas in efforts to end the Gaza war and free the hostages held by the terror group.

The recordings come despite a sweeping court issued gag order into the case.

The investigation was launched following revelations that Netanyahu’s former spokesman  Feldstein — who has been charged with harming national security in a case involving the theft and leaking of classified IDF documents — worked for Qatar via an international firm contracted by Doha to feed Israeli journalists pro-Qatar stories, while he was employed in the PMO.

Lawyers for Feldestein tell Kan that the publication of the recordings proves that Feldstein is innocent.

“Since a blanket gag was issued on all details of the investigation that was dubbed Qatargate – and Kan would not have violated the order, it is clear that Feldstein is not a suspect in the affair, and for good reason,” the lawyers say in a statement.

“As they have claimed from the moment the allegations were first raised, Feldstein never worked for Qatar, never passed information to Qatar, and never received money from Qatar. Feldstein worked for the Prime Minister’s Office and all of his activity on political and security issues was done solely in the name of, and for the Prime Minister.”

Last November, it was also reported that top Netanyahu aides Jonatan Urich and Yisrael Einhorn did public relations work for Qatar ahead of the 2022 World Cup there.

Two teens run over and killed, one wounded, in northern Israel

Scene of a deadly road accident on Route 675, south of Afula, March 19, 2025. (Magen David Adom)

Two teenagers were killed and another wounded, after being hit by a truck while walking on Route 70 north of the Evlayim Junction, police and medics say.

Two of them, aged 13 and 15 were killed at the scene, while a third, 16, suffered moderate injuries and was taken to the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, the Magen David Adom emergency service says.

Israel Police opened an investigation into the incident.

In a separate incident, a motorcyclist, 35, was killed by a truck on Route 675, close to Afula.

Istanbul mayor, a main Erdogan rival, arrested, internet restrictions imposed in Turkey

Supporters of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu hold a banner as they protest in front of the Caglayan Courthouse, in Istanbul on January 31, 2025. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)

Turkish police arrest Istanbul’s mayor — a key rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — as part of an investigation into alleged corruption and terror links, media report.

The state-run Anadolu Agency says prosecutors issued warrants for some 100 other people. Authorities closed several roads around Istanbul and banned demonstrations in the city for four days in an apparent effort to prevent protests following the arrest.

Turkey is also restricting access to multiple social media platforms including X, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, the Netblocks internet observatory said.

The arrest came after a search of Ekrem Imamoglu’s home, a day after a university invalidated his diploma, effectively disqualifying the popular opposition figure from running in the next presidential race. Having a university degree is a requisite for running in elections under Turkish law.

The mayor’s party — the main opposition Republican People’s Party — is to hold a primary on Sunday where Imamoglu was expected to be chosen for its candidate in future presidential elections. Turkey’s next presidential vote is scheduled for 2028, but early elections are likely.

“We are facing great tyranny, but I want you to know that I will not be discouraged,” Imamoglu says in a video message posted on social media. He accuses the government of “usurping the will” of the people.

Rubio and Waltz headed back to Mideast for talks on Ukraine ceasefire — Witkoff

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz will head back to Saudi Arabia next week for talks on a ceasefire in Russia’s war with Ukraine, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff tells Fox News.

Speaking hours after Trump held a lengthy phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Witkoff says talks on a ceasefire deal “will begin on Sunday in Jeddah.”

Referring to a ceasefire on energy infrastructure and targets in the Black Sea, Witkoff says, “I think both of those are now agreed to by the Russians. I am certainly hopeful that the Ukrainians will agree to it.”

He adds that “it’s a relatively short distance to a full ceasefire from there.”

Ukraine on Wednesday accused Russia of effectively rejecting the US-backed ceasefire proposal, reporting a barrage of strikes on civilian infrastructure hours after Moscow agreed only to pause attacks on the energy grid.

Russia says a Ukrainian drone attack caused a small fire overnight at an oil depot located near the village of Kavkazskaya in the Krasnodar region

In a 90-minute call with Trump on Tuesday, Russian President Putin refused a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire. According to the Kremlin, Putin has already ordered his military to pause strikes against Ukrainian energy targets for 30 days.

Witkoff, however, reiterates that the proposed ceasefire included “energy and infrastructure in general.”

He commends Russian President Putin “for all he did today on that call to move his country close to a final peace deal.”

More strikes reported in Gaza, as death toll said to mount

Gazan sources report ongoing airstrikes in several areas of the Strip, as an overnight bombardment appears to continue apace.

Attacks by Israeli aircraft are reported around Khan Younis in Gaza’s south, as well as several areas south of Gaza City near the northern end of the Strip.

At least 10 deaths are reported in the strikes. Quds news, a Gazan outlet linked to Hamas, says the death toll in the renewed Israeli offensive is up to 429. Hamas-controlled health authorities had earlier put the death toll at 408.

Neither figure can be confirmed.

There is no comment from the Israeli military. Israeli officials said Tuesday that the army was only firing on terror targets.

Anti-Israel groups protest at White House, across US against renewed Gaza violence

A woman identifying her self as Azaria holds a sign that reads "Oppression Creates Resistance" as protestors rally outside the White House against Israel's bombing of Gaza on March 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images/AFP)

Anti-Israel protest groups are holding rallies at the White House and across the US against Israel’s renewed air campaign in Gaza.

The Palestinian Youth Movement, an anti-Israel activist group, announces protests in cities including Washington, New York, San Francisco, Dallas and Los Angeles.

The group’s New York branch shares videos of a crowd in Times Square chanting “end the Zionist occupation” and marching through Manhattan shouting “imperialism will fall.”

BREAKING: Thousands of protestors in NYC march through the streets, condemning Israel's attacks on Gaza and calling for a free Palestine pic.twitter.com/IvZmM9J1U2

— BreakThrough News (@BTnewsroom) March 18, 2025

At the White House, the group posts footage of protesters chanting, “Gaza, Yemen, make us proud, tear this occupation down” and “stop the US war machine.”

The protests come after the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a designated terror group, called on activists to “take to the streets, to besiege the White House… to deliver a clear message to the murderers.”

“Gaza and its resistance will not be broken,” the group says in a message shared by anti-Israel activist groups in the US.

Houthis claim missile attack on US carrier in Red Sea

Illustrative: This handout photo shows US Navy F/A-18E Super Hornets, attached to Carrier Air Wing 1 (CVW-1) and Belgian Air Force F-16s flying over the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) in the Mediterranean Sea, July 25, 2022. (Christina SEARS / US NAVY / AFP)

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels say they launched an attack on an American aircraft carrier in the Red Sea, their fourth time firing on US warships in 72 hours.

The Houthis’ military spokesperson says the operation entailed “a number of cruise missiles and drones, targeting the aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman and a number of enemy warships.”

There is no immediate comment from American military officials on the claim.

Fresh airstrikes reported across Gaza

Gaza-based sources report a fresh wave of Israeli strikes from the air on areas around the Strip, including attacks from helicopter gunships near Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

Airstrikes are also reported in al-Bureij in central Gaza and in the al-Tuffah area east of Gaza City in the Strip’s north.

There is no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the reported strikes.

US, Israel and others vow united fight for hostages at Montana summit

Representatives from the United States and six allied nations have pledged to work together to counter global hostage-taking and detentions considered unjust, they say in a joint statement after talks in Montana.

“We are united in our demand for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages,” reads the statement from the US, Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Israel and the United Kingdom.

US special envoy Adam Boehler led the talks on Monday and Tuesday in Big Sky, Montana. The summit, which came after Boehler withdrew his candidacy to be the top hostage envoy following criticism from Israel, was first reported on by The Times of Israel.

Representatives discussed sharing information about detainees and other collaborative efforts to free their citizens held around the world.

“We will spare no effort, in accordance with international law, to bring home hostages and unjustly or arbitrarily detained individuals and to deter such future acts,” the statement says, without providing specifics.

Boehler, who was involved in efforts that led to the freedom of American school teacher Marc Fogel from Russia last month, says the gathering was centered on “how to support individual freedom and stop the hostage takers who try to take it away.”

The group vowed to work collectively to “identify and deploy every diplomatic, economic, and strategic tool at our disposal to bring these individuals home while deterring future such acts,” a US State Department official says.

One living American and the bodies are four others are being held by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023.

Columbia student Khalil pins detention, deportation threat on US ‘racism’ against Palestinians

People hold signs as they protest the arrest of former Columbia University anti-Israel student activist Mahmoud Khalil during a 'Fight for Our Rights' demonstration at the University of Washington campus in Seattle, Washington, March 15, 2025. (Jason Redmond / AFP)

Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil, threatened with deportation over what US federal authorities say is support for the Hamas terror group, says his detention is indicative of “anti-Palestinian racism” demonstrated by both the Trump and Biden administrations.

The letter dictated from a Louisiana immigration lockup and released by his attorney, is the first public comment from Khalil, whose arrest has sparked high profile protests.

“My unjust detention is indicative of the anti-Palestinian racism that both the Biden and Trump administrations have demonstrated over the past 16 months as the U.S. has continued to supply Israel with weapons to kill Palestinians and prevented international intervention,” he says in the letter.

Student negotiator Mahmoud Khalil on the Columbia University campus in New York at an anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protest encampment on April 29, 2024. (Ted Shaffrey/AP)

“For decades, anti-Palestinian racism has driven efforts to expand U.S. laws and practices that are used to violently repress Palestinians, Arab Americans, and other communities. That is precisely why I am being targeted.”

He compares his treatment to Israel’s use of administrative detention, which allows it to hold terror suspects for extended periods without charge.

“For Palestinians, imprisonment without due process is commonplace,” he writes.

He also references a wave of Israeli strikes across Gaza Tuesday that ended a two-month ceasefire.

“With January’s ceasefire now broken, parents in Gaza are once again cradling too-small shrouds, and families are forced to weigh starvation and displacement against bombs,” he says. “It is our moral imperative to persist in the struggle for their complete freedom.”

US unseals final trove of Kennedy assassination papers

President John F. Kennedy waves from his car in a motorcade in Dallas moments before his assassination, November 22, 1963. (AP/Jim Altgens, File)

The US National Archives has released the final batch of files related to the assassination of president John F. Kennedy — a case that still fuels conspiracy theories more than 60 years after his death.

The move follows an executive order issued by US President Donald Trump in January directing the unredacted release of the remaining files related to the assassinations of Kennedy, his brother, former attorney general Robert F. Kennedy, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

“In accordance with President Donald Trump’s directive… all records previously withheld for classification that are part of the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection are released,” the Archives says in a statement on its website.

The National Archives has released millions of pages of records over the past decades relating to the assassination of then-president Kennedy in November 1963, but thousands of documents had been held back at the request of the Central Intelligence Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation, citing national security concerns.

Kennedy scholars have said the documents that were still held by the archives are unlikely to contain any bombshell revelations or put to rest the rampant conspiracy theories about the assassination of the 35th US president.

The Warren Commission that investigated the shooting of the charismatic 46-year-old president determined that it was carried out by a former Marine sharpshooter, Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone.

But that formal conclusion has done little to quell speculation that a more sinister plot was behind Kennedy’s murder in Dallas, Texas, and the slow release of the government files has added fuel to various conspiracy theories.

Ben & Jerry’s claims parent ousted CEO to chill ice cream maker’s ‘social mission’

Ben & Jerry’s says its parent Unilever has decided to oust the ice cream maker’s chief executive, Dave Stever, escalating a battle over the subsidiary’s independence on social policy issues, including sales in the West Bank.

In a Tuesday night filing in Manhattan federal court, Ben & Jerry’s says Unilever advised on March 3 it was “removing and replacing” Stever, after repeatedly threatening Ben & Jerry’s personnel if they did not comply with the parent’s “efforts to silence the social mission.”

Stever was named chief executive in May 2023, having been with Ben & Jerry’s since being hired as a tour guide in 1988.

The new accusations came in Ben & Jerry’s lawsuit seeking to stop Unilever’s alleged efforts to dismantle its independent board and end its social activism.

Unilever bought Ben & Jerry’s in 2000, but the companies have been at odds since 2021 when Ben & Jerry’s halted sales in the West Bank, against Unilever’s wishes. That business was later sold.

Last month, Ben & Jerry’s accused Unilever of unilaterally banning it from publicly criticizing US President Donald Trump, ostensibly because of the “new dynamic” created by corporate rollbacks of social policies deemed too liberal by the US administration.