Sept. 17: Netanyahu to reportedly meet Rubio, not Trump, at UN, as PMO says schedule not finalized

New York Times walks back line that seemed to question if Israelis were victims on Oct. 7

Protesters outside The New York Times offices in New York City, May 14, 2026. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel)

The New York Times walks back a line that had drawn criticism for appearing to question whether Israelis were victims of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terrorist invasion.

In an article on the documentary film “NAZA” published Monday, the newspaper reported, “Israelis are deeply divided over how to apportion blame for the policy, military and intelligence failures that preceded the attack and the war.”

“But Israelis still largely view themselves as the victims of Oct. 7,” the report said.

The statement drew fire from critics, who said the line cast doubt on whether Israelis were victims of the attack.

“Implying Israelis falsely view themselves as victims while downplaying Oct. 7 ignores basic reality,” says CAMERA, a media watchdog group. “Intelligence failures don’t negate civilian suffering. True journalistic integrity requires context and facts, not narrative spin.”

The New York Times deletes the line from the article, citing an “editing error.”

“An earlier version of this article included a statement that was intended to convey Israelis’ perception of the government’s military response to the Oct. 7 terror attack in relation to the attacks, but inadvertently suggested that Israelis’ experience as terror victims was a matter of perception. It has been removed from the article,” The New York Times communications department says in a statement.

The statement marked the second time the newspaper addressed criticism of its Israel coverage this week.

On Monday, The New York Times suggested that a peer-reviewed data study that showed an imbalance in its Israel coverage was misleading.

The study, by Edieal Pinker of the Yale school of management, said that the newspaper downplayed Israeli losses incurred after the October 2023 Hamas invasion and minimized the role of Palestinian violence in perpetuating the conflict.

“The advocates behind multiple studies on media bias cherry-pick data that supports their beliefs while ignoring any evidence to the contrary,” The New York Times said in response. “We remain open to good-faith disagreement, but we will not let critics or advocacy campaigns move us away from independent reporting.”

The statement did not include any specific objections to the study, which was based on data analysis and published in the Studies in Conflict & Terrorism academic journal.

Jewish students to lead service outside Mamdani’s official residence

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, right, and his wife Rama Duwaji wave at members of media after a news conference at Gracie Mansion, January 12, 2026, in New York. (AP/Yuki Iwamura)

Jewish middle and high school students will lead services outside Gracie Mansion, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s official residence, on Friday morning, according to event organizers.

The students are from SAR Academy and the Ramaz School, two prominent Jewish day schools in the city, according to a statement from the IMPACT advocacy group, one of the event organizers.

Other participants include the Israeli-American Council, Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun, and the Romemu synagogue, the statement said.

The students, in grades 7-12, will lead services, followed by speeches and music.

The statement does not refer to the gathering as a protest, but ties the event to antisemitism in the city. Jews are targeted more than all other groups in hate crimes in New York City, according to police data.

“Instead of retreating, students decided to organize, stand together and lead publicly,” IMPACT says.

Asked about the event at a press conference, Mamdani says he supports the students, but will not likely be at his residence.

“I welcome them. They can have a vigil, or I’ve heard some describe it even as a protest,” Mamdani says. “Whatever it is intended to be, they have the room and space to do so outside of Gracie Mansion. I think that at the time that they are there, I will probably be somewhere else across the city.”

US drone maker set to merge with firm backed by Trump’s sons signs MOU with Pakistan Army

US drone firm Powerus has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Pakistan Army that includes an initial drone-related order, co-founder Brett Velicovich tells Reuters.

“Today we signed a very important MOU. As part of that MOU, we received an initial order for power systems,” Velicovich says, speaking in Islamabad. Asked what technology is covered by the agreement, Velicovich declines to provide details, citing security sensitivities, but says it falls within the category of unmanned aerial systems. He also declines to disclose the value of the order, citing confidentiality.

The signing of the MOU and the initial order haven’t previously been reported.

Powerus, which offers aerial and maritime drones for military and industrial use, is due to merge with a publicly traded company backed by two of US President Donald Trump’s sons, called Aureus Greenway Holdings. Both companies have said they expect the merger to complete in early October.

Trump’s sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump own a stake in Aureus through an investment fund called American Ventures, according to US regulatory filings. American Ventures is expected to hold a 9.9% beneficial ownership stake in the combined company after the merger, regulatory filings show.

Pakistan’s military says a Powerus delegation led by Velicovich met Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir and they discussed defense procurement, production and long-term capacity building. The military statement doesn’t mention the MOU.

US Congress approves sweeping Russia sanctions bill after months of delay

US lawmakers have approved broad new sanctions designed to squeeze Russia over its war in Ukraine, sending the legislation to President Donald Trump after months of delay.

The Republican-led House of Representatives passes the package by 262-159, giving a final congressional green light to the most substantial US legislative effort against Moscow since Trump returned to office.

US says Mahmoud Abbas and his delegation barred from UNGA for violating American law

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, September 26, 2024, at the UN headquarters in New York. (AP/Frank Franklin II)

The US State Department confirms its decision to deny visas to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his delegation who were planning to attend the UN General Assembly next week.

Explaining the decision, the State Department says Ramallah violated US legislation that bars it from targeting Israel in international organizations, advancing unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, paying stipends to terrorists and glorifying violence.

“As a consequence of their failure to reform, contrary to their commitments to the United States, and their ongoing activities that undermine the prospects for peace, the United States will extend sanctions that deny visas to PLO members and PA officials,” the State Department says.

The statement notes that the administration will maintain a waiver allowing members of the Palestinian Mission to the UN to keep operating from New York.

Trump to reportedly hold Iran war talks with Gulf leaders on UN General Assembly sidelines

US President Donald Trump is expected to meet Gulf leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday to discuss the next steps in the Iran war, Axios reports, citing sources.

The meeting is expected to focus on US ideas for a postwar strategy, Axios reports.

White House takes fresh swipe at Katz for ‘encouraging the migration’ of Gazans

Defense Minister Israel Katz speaks at a Rosh Hashana toast at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, September 3, 2026. (Elad Malka/Defense Ministry)

The White House tacitly knocks Defense Minister Israel Katz for again speaking positively about “encouraging the migration” of Palestinians from Gaza.

Asked for comment on the matter, a senior White House official says US President Donald Trump remains committed to his 20-point plan for ending the Gaza war, which explicitly rejects the forced expulsion of Palestinians and encourages them to remain in the Strip.

While Katz and other Israeli officials encouraging the emigration of Gazans have avoided suggesting that Palestinians will be forced to leave, critics say their proposals amount to coercive displacement.

“The president has been clear that he is committed to the full implementation of his historic 20-point plan, including Hamas’s commitment to fully disarm,” the senior US official says. “The agreement will be carried out in carefully structured phases. As disarmament is completed, Israeli forces will withdraw, and the International Stabilization Force will work with a new Palestinian police force to take responsibility for Gaza being safe for its residents and its neighbors.”

Before US trip, South Korean FM says still no decision on deploying troops to Hormuz

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun says that no decision has been made on any military deployment to the Strait of Hormuz.

Cho is speaking to reporters before departing for Washington, where he is due to hold talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

IDF launches snap drill to test readiness of Technology and Logistics Directorate, Home Front Command

The IDF says it launched a snap drill this morning involving the Technology and Logistics Directorate and Home Front Command in several locations across the country.

The exercise will last until this afternoon. The military says that during that time, there will be an increased presence of security forces.

The IDF says the drill is aimed at examining the “level of multi-branch and techno-logistical alertness” and readiness for sudden incidents; the readiness of the Home Front Command; the activation of standby forces; and the “decision-making processes and operational responses at all levels.”

Trump again voices hope Iran war is nearing its end

US President Donald Trump says he hopes an end to the war against Iran is near, as the almost seven-month war has no immediate end in sight.

“Well, hopefully we are towards the end of the war,” Trump tells reporters.

“They want to make a deal. We’ll see how that works out,” he says on Iran, reiterating past comments. Trump also says he has heard from Iran “directly,” without elaborating.

Trump has offered shifting goals and timelines for the war that began on February 28, when the US and Israel attacked Iran and Tehran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host US bases.

Iran’s Araghchi, Pakistan army chief discuss regional developments as US-Iran talks stall

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir discussed the latest regional developments in a phone call during Araghchi’s visit to Beijing on Wednesday, Iranian media reports, as US-Iran negotiations remain stalled with no agreement in sight.

Peter Max, known for groovy art that came to symbolize the 60s, dies at 88

Peter Max, the bearded US artist who spurred cosmic art forms in the 1960s, sits among some of his minute-by-minute creations in his New York studio on November 11, 1973. (AP Photo/Dave Pickoff)

Pop artist Peter Max, whose dreamy, boldly colored works provided an artistic backdrop for the 1960s US hippie movement and made him a commercial art powerhouse, died on Monday at the age of 88 following a long illness, a spokesperson for his family says.

Max’s visions – often influenced by his love of astronomy – were everywhere in the ’60s and ’70s and almost as much a part of the decade’s youth culture as sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. They were like artistic renderings of an acid trip and were, in the vernacular of the time, really groovy.

The colors were vibrant and the images surreal — cosmic landscapes and starbursts, doves and floating peace symbols, kaleidoscopic butterflies, puffy clouds and other flower-power imagery. Rock stars such as the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and Mick Jagger were Max’s portrait subjects, as well as his friends.

Born Peter Max Finkelstein to German Jewish parents in Berlin on October 19, 1937, the family fled and lived in China, moved in 1948 to Haifa, Israel, where they lived for several years, and then had a brief stop in Paris before settling in New York City in 1953.

In art school, he studied realism, which did not come through in his work, and started an award-winning design studio with a partner before setting out on his own to help shape the 1960s.

Max died in a hospital in Manhattan and is survived by his daughter Libra and son Adam.

“My father was my best friend,” his daughter says in a statement. “I feel incredibly blessed to have been so deeply loved and to be his daughter.

“I hope that alongside his remarkable artistic legacy, people will remember his kindness, his gentleness, and how much he genuinely cherished putting joy into the world,” she says.

Top European, Arab officials set to mull options for post-UNIFIL mission on Israel-Lebanon border

European and Arab political and military chiefs will meet in Paris today to assess the Lebanese Armed Forces’ needs and discuss the looming end of the United Nations peacekeeping mission UNIFIL.

Israel and Lebanon have held several rounds of US-brokered talks aimed at easing tensions along the border. But with elections in Israel and the United States approaching in the coming weeks, diplomats say a breakthrough is unlikely.

Today’s talks, which will initially be chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron alongside Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Jordan’s King Abdullah, are not formally part of Washington’s efforts.

The US will be represented by a senior military official involved in Middle East security issues.

As part of the US-brokered talks, Israel and Lebanon agreed to a framework deal that envisions Israeli troops gradually withdrawing as Lebanese authorities disarm Hezbollah and deploy across the country’s south.

Officials in Paris will seek to assess the precise military and financial requirements ahead of a donor conference likely to be held in late 2026 or early 2027, diplomats say.

The most immediate concern is how to fill the security vacuum that could be left when UNIFIL, which has about 7,500 personnel, begins drawing down from January.

Despite Lebanon and France both favoring an extension of the UN mandate, neither the United States nor Israel has signaled support for prolonging the mission, which they view as having failed in its mandate, which included implementing a 2006 UN Security Council resolution that said Hezbollah must be disarmed and its presence in southern Lebanon ended altogether.

The officials in Paris will discuss options for a new international mission, backed by France and Italy, operating outside a UN mandate, as well as a possible European Union-led mission.

Both concepts would focus on training, equipment, intelligence sharing and mentoring support for the Lebanese Armed Forces.

“The modalities of this international or multinational action remain to be defined — if only because the Lebanese have not voiced requests that align with, in particular, US demands at the Security Council, and because we still need to calibrate the terms of this presence and be absolutely clear about the mandate,” a French presidency official tells reporters ahead of the meeting.

Footage show settlers shooting and throwing stones at West Bank village, setting fire to trees

Palestinian media outlets publish footage showing several settlers, most of them masked, throwing stones at the village of Burqa in the Ramallah area.

In addition, one settler is filmed setting fire to an area near the village where olive trees are located.

One of the settlers is also seen firing a handgun at the village.

There are currently no reports of injuries in the incident.

شاهد | جانب من هجوم المستوطنين على أراضي المواطنين وإضرامهم النار فيها في بلدة برقا، شرق رام الله pic.twitter.com/7QSyGKR5Wu

— شبكة فلسطين للحوار (@paldf) September 17, 2026

شاهد | لحظة إضرام المستوطنين النار في أراضي المواطنين على أطراف قرية برقا، شرق رام الله. pic.twitter.com/GWoHIGmZZ0

— شبكة فلسطين للحوار (@paldf) September 17, 2026

Yemen’s Houthis say Saudi strikes killed one, targeted telecom towers

Saudi strikes in Yemen have killed one person and targeted three telecommunications towers today, according to Houthi media.

“Saudi enemy warplanes targeted three telecommunications towers” in Taiz province, while one civilian was killed and another injured in strikes on the town of Abs, Almasirah television says.

Palestinian in Israel without permit allegedly steals car and gets into crash, killing cyclist

A Palestinian man who was in Israel illegally allegedly stole a car this morning and, while driving it between Tel Aviv and Herzliya, got into a crash that killed a cyclist, according to first responders.

The 24-year-old suspect, from the Nablus area in the northern West Bank, was taken into custody, and officers found car theft equipment in the vehicle, police say.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service identifies the cyclist as a roughly 50-year-old man, and says he was hit when the car overturned.

He was rushed in critical condition to Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center – Ichilov, where he was pronounced dead, according to MDA and police.

The police statement says the driver was arrested on suspicion of car theft. It does not refer to the incident as nationalist or mention charges related to the cyclist’s death.

UN mission finds grounds to believe US school strike in Iran was a war crime, Tehran protest crackdown included crimes against humanity

Image grab from Iranian state television broadcast on February 28, 2026, shows what it says is the site of deadly US and Israeli strikes that hit a girls' elementary school in Minab, in the southern Iranian province of Hormozgan near the strategic sea route of the Strait of Hormuz. (IRIB TV/AFP)

A UN fact-finding mission on Iran says it has reasonable grounds to believe the United States was behind two military strikes on a school and a sports facility in Iran in February, and that these constituted war crimes.

It also finds that Iranian authorities committed crimes against humanity during their deadly crackdown on anti-government protests.

The findings in a new report by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, to be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, come after an examination of the US’s conduct during the Iran war that began in February and of the Iranian government’s response to nationwide unrest that began in late December.

The Iranian and US permanent missions in Geneva do not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

US officials have previously said military operations are conducted in accordance with the law of armed conflict, while Iran has consistently rejected allegations of systematic rights violations.

The UN experts say they found reasonable grounds to believe US forces were responsible for an attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in the city of Minab, where more than 150 people were killed, including around 120 schoolchildren, according to Iranian officials.

The attack constituted an indiscriminate attack causing civilian deaths and damage to civilian infrastructure, amounting to a war crime under international law, the mission concludes.

According to the report, the US relied on intelligence suggesting a senior Iranian military commander was present at the site but failed to adequately verify the information before launching the strike.

UN experts say the school was a clearly identifiable civilian object and found no evidence that it was being used for military purposes.

The experts reached a similar conclusion over a strike on a sports center in Lamerd. The report said the attack damaged nearby residential buildings and a school and killed and injured 22 civilians. It concluded that the strike was indiscriminate and therefore constituted a war crime.

US Central Command said in a statement in March that US forces did not launch any strikes into the city of Lamerd on that day.

The UN mission probe also finds that the Iranian authorities carried out a widespread and systematic attack against civilians during protests that erupted in late December last year, involving unlawful killings, torture, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances and severe restrictions on freedom of expression.

Rights groups say bystanders were among those killed during the biggest crackdown since Shiite Muslim clerics took power in the 1979 revolution. Tehran blamed “terrorists and rioters” backed by exiled opponents and foreign foes the US and Israel.

The probe says it cannot independently verify the death toll, but that it believes the number of dead and injured is likely far higher than official figures, which say 3,038 people were killed and 25,000 people injured.

The government’s response to the protests — including violence and killings, cutting off the internet and use of the death penalty — marked a significant escalation from previous patterns of suppressing dissent, the report says.

Public defender slams Prison Service, Ben Gvir over video of ‘humiliating’ treatment of murder suspect

The Public Defender’s Office condemns a video released by the Israel Prison Service yesterday that showed murder suspect Agam Tsarafi hunched over as guards march her to her cell and search her belongings.

The public defender says the conduct in the video is “disgraceful, humiliating and unjustified… not least since the inmate’s trial is ongoing and the presumption of innocence applies.”

“The humiliating conduct seen in the video illustrates the grave crisis in jails that the public defender has been warning about,” the office says. “The fact that this hurtful conduct… and its shameful publication enjoy the support of the appointed minister is a testament to the depth of the crisis.”

The IPS is under the auspices of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has championed making prison conditions worse for Palestinian security inmates.

Tsarafi, the woman seen in the video, is an Israeli criminal inmate and an IDF soldier who is accused of ordering a hit on her partner Benayahu Razi at a short-term rental apartment in Jerusalem in July.

The video shows her being marched to her new cell at the Abu Kabir prison near Tel Aviv, where she was moved from the Neve Tirtza Prison.

מסדרונות שב״ס הפכו לסט צילומים. זה תיעוד מביך: אגם צרפי, עצורה שהיא רבע עוף מובלת שפופה, סביבה לוחמים רעולי פנים עם קסדות, מגנומטרים וחיפושים כאילו מדובר במחבל נוח׳בה. בשיא, לוחמי כליאה מתועדים מחפשים בתוך שקית בה נמצאים חפציה האישיים ודברי הגיינה נשית

אפשר וצריך לאבטח עצורה… pic.twitter.com/BYZECqAtQJ

— לירן תמרי | Liran Tamari (@liran__tamari) September 16, 2026

Security talks focused on replacing UN mission in Lebanon begin in Paris

France’s President Emmanuel Macron (R) welcomes Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun ahead of their meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris on September 17, 2026. (Thomas SAMSON/AFP)

The leaders of France, Lebanon and Jordan meet in Paris to discuss international support for the cash-strapped Lebanese army and the creation of a new force to succeed a longstanding UN mission in southern Lebanon.

French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and King Abdullah II of Jordan. They are to be joined later by senior military officials from their countries and partner nations, such as Britain and the United States, for further discussions.

The talks come as the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) ends this year after almost half a century of operations dating back to 1978.

France and Italy have said they want to set up a multinational coalition to succeed UNIFIL.

The French presidency says the aim of the Paris talks is to review a Lebanese Armed Forces deployment plan based on a “clear, credible and realistic” framework.

Paris says it wants the “operational context, parameters and modalities” of the deployment to be clarified at today’s discussions as a prerequisite for what it hopes will be “robust” international support, whether in the form of financial assistance, equipment or training.

The poorly equipped Lebanese forces have struggled to carry out their mission of disarming Hezbollah in the south. The disarmament is a key condition for Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

Palestinian Authority slams ‘unjustified’ US denial of visa for Abbas to attend UN

The Palestinian Authority slams a decision by the United States to refuse to grant visas for its officials to attend the UN General Assembly in New York next week, a move that includes President Mahmoud Abbas.

In a statement, the Palestinian Authority foreign ministry calls it “an unjustified measure that runs counter to efforts to rebuild trust, develop Palestinian-US relations, and create the necessary political climate for implementing the two-state solution and achieving peace and stability.”

IDF says strikes this week killed 2 elite Hamas fighters, including one who invaded on Oct. 7

A Hamas terrorist who invaded the Erez border crossing during the October 7, 2023, onslaught was killed in a recent strike in the Gaza Strip, the military announces.

The Tuesday strike in Gaza City killed Sharif Shadi Ibrahim Labad, identified by the IDF as a member of Hamas’s elite Nukhba Force.

The military says Labad invaded Israeli territory and attacked the Erez crossing on October 7.

Palestinian media reported that the Tuesday strike also killed a child identified as Muhammad al-Zinati.

The military says that it is “aware of reports indicating that an uninvolved individual was harmed as a result of the strike.”

“The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and makes every effort to minimize such harm,” the army says, adding that the incident is under further review.

A separate strike in northern Gaza on Monday killed Yusuf Saad a-Din Rashad Zain, a commander in the Nukhba Force, according to the military.

The IDF says both terrorists had recently been advancing attacks on troops and Israeli civilians, as well as attempting to restore Hamas capabilities, “in a systematic violation of the ceasefire.”

“The terrorists were eliminated to remove the threat that they posed,” the army adds.

כוחות צה"ל בפיקוד הדרום פרוסים במרחב בהתאם להסכם וימשיכו לפעול להסרת כל איום מיידי.

מצורפת תמונה של המחבל שריף שאדי אבראהים לבד במעבר ארז במהלך טבח 7 באוקטובר: pic.twitter.com/9bzzxGonLv

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) September 17, 2026

Ex-generals Eisenkot, Winter accuse each other of taking the wrong approach to Gaza before, after Oct. 7

People of Israel party chair Ofer Winter (left) and Yashar party chief Gadi Eisenkot in 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot pushes back against right-wing People of Israel party leader Ofer Winter’s efforts to portray himself as the more hawkish former general, claiming that Winter warned political and military leaders of potentially massive Israeli casualties from a ground offensive in Gaza while Eisenkot was pushing for the IDF to go in.

Speaking to Kan Radio this morning, Eisenkot says that after joining the wartime cabinet in October 2023, he was told that Winter and retired general Yitzhak Brik were warning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that a Gaza ground operation could result in thousands of Israeli deaths. He tells Ynet that a senior commander also informed him that Winter was going to IDF brigade commanders and “frightening them” with predictions of hundreds or thousands of casualties.

Eisenkot says that he, by contrast, told Netanyahu at the time: “I trust the IDF’s soldiers. Nothing can stand against an IDF brigade combat team. If we don’t maneuver and conquer it, we have no future in this region.”

He also rejects claims that he blocked Winter’s military advancement, noting that he promoted him to brigadier general. Eisenkot says that after Winter became then-defense minister Avigdor Liberman’s military secretary, and Liberman resigned, he proposed Winter as one of the candidates to serve as the premier’s military secretary, but Netanyahu declined, telling him to “keep Winter in Tel Aviv.”

Eisenkot says he sees “a great many contradictions” in Winter’s positions.

“Which bloc does he belong to? The draft-dodging bloc? He is going with those who are running away from responsibility and don’t want a commission of inquiry, while he is in close contact with Liberman,” Eisenkot says, adding that he finds it “difficult to understand the path [Winter] has chosen.”

Winter has said he would join a government led by Netanyahu, despite also campaigning on the need for a new government and opposing exemptions from military service for Haredim — whose parties Netanyahu needs in order to form a coalition.

People of Israel hits back in a statement, saying “the General Staff that Gadi Eisenkot built as IDF chief of staff is the one that led the IDF on October 7 [2023], with a disastrous misconception of the enemy and a fundamentally mistaken approach to protecting IDF soldiers.”

The statement adds that Winter “pushed with all his might not to carry out raid after raid, but rather to push the Gazan population southward and impose a smart siege, so that the IDF could bring its full force to bear, protect our soldiers and achieve a complete victory.”

“After more than 1,000 days of war, it is absolutely clear that Winter was right and Gadi was wrong,” it continues.

Israel adds tender for 2,167 housing units to E1 settlement expansion plan, rights group says

This picture taken from the 'E1 corridor' northeast of Jerusalem in the West Bank shows vehicles moving along a highway near the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim (top) on February 4, 2026. (AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)

Israel has added a tender for 2,167 housing units to its E1 settlement expansion plan, a left-wing Israeli rights group says of a project that critics — and proponents — say undermines prospects for a future Palestinian state.

The project would bisect the West Bank and cut it off from East Jerusalem, fragmenting the land Palestinians hope will form the heart of a potential state.

The tender for 2,167 units is in addition to a tender for 1,234 units announced at the end of August, bringing the total number of housing units to 3,401, rights group Ir Amim says in a statement issued last night.

The decision is condemned today by a representative for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who says the E1 tenders are in violation of international law.

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has boasted that the plan would “bury” a Palestinian state.

The tender is scheduled to open for bidding on October 25, two days before the Knesset election.

Ir Amim claims the bidding date shows the government’s resolve to push ahead with the E1 project and “create an increasingly irreversible reality on the ground ahead of the elections.”

The Prime Minister’s Office does not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Eisenkot rules out power-sharing government with Netanyahu, appears to contradict his No. 2 over partnering with Smotrich

Yashar party chair Gadi Eisenkot attends the presentation of the party’s candidate list ahead of the upcoming general elections in Rosh HaAyin, September 7, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90)

Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “unfit to lead” due to his responsibility for and conduct surrounding the October 7, 2023, onslaught, flatly rejecting the possibility of serving in a power-sharing government in which they both get to serve as premier for part of the term.

Asked during an interview with Kan Radio this morning whether he would agree to a rotation agreement with Netanyahu, Eisenkot says: “Netanyahu was the supreme commander, according to his own words, on October 7. He was negligent in his role.”

“I am familiar with the Shin Bet and Military Intelligence investigations — when they are published, they will shake the foundations. Netanyahu, like all the members of the cabinet on October 7, is unfit to lead,” he adds.

The remarks appear to rule out not only a unity government between Eisenkot and Netanyahu, but also with other October 7 cabinet members, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and much of Likud’s senior leadership, despite Yashar No. 2 Yoram Cohen saying earlier this week that Yashar would consider sitting with Smotrich’s Religious Zionism and a Likud no longer led by Netanyahu.

The Yashar leader recalls Netanyahu appearing “gloomy” and “frightened” during an October 11 cabinet discussion. “He wasn’t in control of the discussion; it essentially ran itself,” says Eisenkot, who joined the emergency government with Benny Gantz days after the Hamas attack and says he felt during the first weeks that the two were “saving the country,” recalling Netanyahu telling him: “You saved us.”

“[Netanyahu] remembers that, and despite this, he repeats lies every day, claiming that I opposed conquering Gaza, when it was Likud ministers who voted against it,” Eisenkot says.

Eisenkot also backs a recent Haaretz report that said Netanyahu’s office received a warning about Hamas’s intentions ahead of October 7 from a senior source connected to the UAE, though he says he cannot confirm the report’s claim that the warning came directly from UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed (MBZ).

“From the checks I carried out, it’s true,” Eisenkot says, adding that the information came from a trustworthy and “very senior source” and was passed to the Prime Minister’s Office, which “did nothing.”

“Netanyahu’s statement that MBZ did not speak to him may be true, but the claim that no such information was received is a complete lie,” he says, arguing that the warning should have been investigated.

Palestinian community in Jordan Valley blocked to vehicles for 2 days due to construction of security barrier

Palestinians report that for the past two days, Ras al-Ahmar, a Palestinian community in the Jordan Valley home to some 40 families, has been blocked to vehicles from all sides due to construction work on a security barrier that the IDF says is intended to prevent smuggling across the Jordanian border and thwart terror attacks in the area. The security barrier consists of a dirt road for military vehicles, trenches and mounds of earth.

Thaer Basharat, a resident of the community, tells The Times of Israel that because of the trenches dug around the area, it is no longer possible to enter or leave by vehicle. He says that he was forced yesterday to cross the trenches on foot in order to leave, despite having a disability that makes walking difficult.

According to another resident, who asked not to be named, the army is also preventing residents from passing in an area that is not blocked by the trenches, having declared it a military road open only to IDF vehicles, even though it is normally used by the local residents.

Construction of the security barrier, which is planned to be 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) long, began in July. For the project, the IDF issued an order expropriating the land on which the barrier is being built. More than 85% of the area seized under the order for the barrier runs through privately owned Palestinian land.

The IDF has not responded to a Times of Israel request for comment.

Top doctor sentenced to six years for rape, sexual assault

Prof. Arie Levine, suspected of multiple sexual offenses, appears at the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court on October 4, 2021. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Prof. Arie Levine, a former longtime head of the Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition Unit at Wolfson Medical Center, has been sentenced to six years in prison by the Tel Aviv District Court, Hebrew media reports.

The doctor was convicted as part of a plea deal for raping the mother of one of his patients, committing indecent acts against two female patients, and abusing his authority.

Under the terms of the agreement, he deposited NIS 750,000 ($247,000) as compensation for the victims before the sentencing hearing.

Additionally, he committed to notifying the Health Ministry that he will no longer practice medicine and to requesting the permanent revocation of his medical license, which is currently suspended.

Police shoot dead man who allegedly attacked officer after car chase near Umm al-Fahm; municipality demands probe

Police shot and killed a man who allegedly attacked an officer after a car chase near Umm al-Fahm around noon, the northern Arab municipality says.

The man is identified as Alaa Mahameed, a man in his early 50s.

The Umm al-Fahm municipality condemns the killing, holds police responsible for the death and demands an independent commission to “probe the circumstances of the incident, the arrest and the motive for the shooting.”

According to police, Border Police officers operating on Route 65 noticed a “suspicious vehicle” and ordered it to stop, but the driver failed to comply and instead “fled from the forces in a manner that endangered travelers.”

The chase ended inside Umm al-Fahm, but the driver “acted in a manner that aroused the suspicion” of the officers, and when one of them approached the car, “the suspect exited his vehicle, tackled the officer and began assaulting him,” police say.

The officer, “sensing his life was in danger,” shot the suspect, who was taken by medics for treatment, police add. The suspect was later pronounced dead.

Drone sirens sound in northern towns; IDF probing cause

Sirens warning of a suspected drone infiltration from Lebanon sound in the northern border communities of Manara and Margaliot.

An interceptor missile was launched over the area, according to eyewitness reports.

The IDF says the incident is under review.

Serbia’s president inaugurates assembly factory for drones made by Israel’s Elbit

Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic says he has inaugurated an assembly factory for Israel-made drones in the Balkan country to boost its military.

Vucic announced in April that Serbia would produce the combat drones with Israel. Regional BIRN news service reported in the same month that Serbia’s Yugoimport SDPR state arms producer would open a drone plant with Elbit Systems.

In an Instagram post today, Vucic says the new factory will employ about 100 people and produce “the most modern equipment” for the Serbian military and the armed forces of some other countries.

No other details about the factory are revealed. Vucic says in his post that he could not invite the press due to the “confidentiality of the production process.”

“Our plans are huge,” Vucic writes. “We believe that we will open with our Israeli partners at least three more factories throughout Serbia.”

Videos posted on Instagram show the populist president visiting the factory and inspecting and briefly operating a drone.

“Now you can see how the drone is used and how it works,” Vucic says. “They go through the windows and chase the opponent, they are incredibly efficient.”

“I am very happy that we have reached this level of development,” he says, adding that warheads will be produced in Serbia’s Krusik weapons factory.

Vucic is also seen in the video listening to a Serbian employee explaining the drone to Vucic, who responds that “it looks even more complicated than I expected.”

Serbia’s leader is facing a high-stakes, early parliamentary election on October 25 that will test his tight rule following nearly two years of anti-government protests.

Serbia ordered 12 French-made Rafale jets in 2024 in a bid to modernize its fleet as Vucic’s government has sought to strengthen its military. Belgrade has also acquired military equipment from China and Russia, maintaining close ties to those two countries despite formally seeking membership in the European Union.

Police say special forces arrested wanted Palestinian man in West Bank last night

A wanted Palestinian man affiliated with the mostly dormant Tanzim terror group was nabbed last night by Israeli special forces in the Nablus area of the northern West Bank.

Police say that officers of its elite Gideon unit, also known as Unit 33, raided the Balata camp on the outskirts of Nablus and located the wanted man in a store.

Police say the man, aged 35 and a resident of Kafr Qallil, is a Tanzim operative and has “access to weapons.” He is named by Palestinian media as Rami Shalbai.

“Upon entering the building and identifying the wanted man, the terrorist attempted to flee the scene while resisting the force,” police say, adding that the commandos shot the man in the leg and detained him.

He was then transferred to the Shin Bet for questioning, police add.

A wanted Palestinian man affiliated with the mostly dormant Tanzim terror group was nabbed by Israeli special forces in the Nablus area of the northern West Bank last night.

Police say that officers of its elite Gideon unit, also known as Unit 33, raided the Balata Camp on the… pic.twitter.com/vgM7y7gkIS

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) September 17, 2026

Netanyahu pledges to continue targeting Hamas terrorists in Gaza

(L-R) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and Shin Bet chief David Zini attend a ceremony honoring outstanding Shin Bet employees at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, September 17, 2026. (Maayan Toaf/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterates Israel’s determination to eliminate Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip, as well as to defeat the regime in Iran and its proxy Hezbollah, during a speech at a ceremony honoring Shin Bet employees at the President’s Residence.

Rejecting the notion that “Hamas is protected” within the area it controls in Gaza, Netanyahu asserts that “we are settling accounts with these murderers who murdered our people, our daughters, our women and our children on October 7,” adding: “There are not many left because we are dealing with them.”

The remarks come amid a series of recent IDF strikes targeting Hamas operatives in Gaza, which Israel has continued to carry out during the ceasefire, a growing point of contention with the US-backed Board of Peace as it seeks to advance US President Donald Trump’s plan for the Strip.

“We will eliminate Hamas, and first and foremost we will defeat the regime in Iran. We will bring it down, it will fall. We will also deal with Hezbollah, and it too will fall,” Netanyahu adds.

Sirens in Lebanon border communities likely a false alarm, IDF says

The IDF says the sirens that sounded a short while ago in two communities near the Lebanon border were likely false alarms.

Drone alerts were triggered by an apparent “false identification,” the military says.

Sirens warning of rocket fire in the same area were set off due to the launch of an interceptor missile at the target.

The army says the incident is under further investigation.

One killed, two injured in drone interception in Saudi Arabia’s Taif, says state TV

One person was killed and two were injured in a drone interception in Saudi Arabia’s southwest governorate of Taif, Saudi state TV says.

The death, of a Yemeni resident, is the first announced in the kingdom this month since the Iran-backed Houthis in neighboring Yemen intensified their attacks on Saudi Arabia.

Suspect arrested following alleged assault, arson by settlers near Ramallah

Police announce the arrest of a suspect following a reported arson and assault by settlers this morning in the Palestinian village of Burqa, near Ramallah in the central West Bank.

The suspect has been taken to a police station for questioning, police say.

Officers accompanied by the military are still gathering evidence and testimony on the scene, according to police.

Lockheed Martin gets first batch of Patriot interceptor parts from General Motors

Patriot long-range air defence systems of the German Bundeswehr armed forces are deployed at Vilnius Airport ahead of the upcoming NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania on July 7, 2023. (PETRAS MALUKAS/AFP)

Lockheed Martin says it has received its first shipment of critical components from General Motors for Patriot interceptors, less than a month after the two companies inked a manufacturing agreement, as the Pentagon pushes for faster weapons production.

The ⁠Patriot missile defense system remains one of the world’s most sought-after weapons for the US-Israeli war with Iran and Russia’s prolonged war with Ukraine.

GM Defense delivered the initial batch of housing components for the Patriot interceptors called the PAC-3 MSE — on August 28, just 22 days after the August 6 contract signing, Lockheed says, for parts that traditionally take months or years to produce.

Reuters has reported that the US military has used “virtually all” of its global supply of certain precision missiles. A Center for Strategic and International Studies estimate said that by July, the United States had used about 65% of its Patriot interceptors and reduced its THAAD (Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense) interceptor stockpile by at least 38%.

Turkey’s Erdogan to run again in 2028, top adviser says

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a media conference at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, July 8, 2026. (AP/Hussein Malla)

A top adviser to Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the Turkish leader would run again in an early election likely to be held in April 2028, media outlets report.

“If 360 lawmakers back a decision to call a new election, it will be held on April 16, 2028,” Mehmet Ucum says in remarks cited by private NTV broadcaster and Cumhuriyet newspaper.

Under Turkish law, an election would normally be held in May that year. But the constitution allows parliament to trigger early elections if such a move has the support of 360 of the Turkish parliament’s 600 lawmakers, which would open the way for Erdogan to seek another term.

Erdogan’s ruling Islamo-conservative AKP and its nationalist ally MHP control 326 seats in parliament.

Until now, the government has repeatedly insisted elections will be held on schedule. Erdogan, 72, who came to power as prime minister in 2003, was elected president in 2014 after serving three terms as premier.

Following Turkey’s switch to an executive presidential system, he was reelected in 2018 and again in 2023. He is limited to two terms unless a snap election is called.

When he was reelected for what he said would be his final term in May 2023, amid growing concerns over Turkey’s economic outlook, Erdogan vowed to entrust the country’s future to “our youth.”

Rabbis file petition after Tel Aviv bans gender-segregated selichot service on beach

Israelis pray in a public space during a protest in Tel Aviv's Dizengoff Square against the municipality's decision to ban gender-segregated prayers in public spaces during Yom Kippur, in Tel Aviv, August 8, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

A petition has been filed against the Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality after it refused to allow a large selichot prayer service with gender separation at Tel Baruch Beach.

The Association of Community Rabbis says the event, scheduled for Saturday night, received preliminary approval from the municipality, but organizers were told they could not use physical barriers to separate the genders.

The association says the restriction prevents the service from being held according to Jewish religious practice and infringes on participants’ freedom of religion. The municipality has not commented on the petition.

The event was expected to include appearances from Tel Aviv Chief Rabbi Zavadia Cohen, Safed Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, and several neighborhood rabbis.

The dispute comes amid a broader debate in Tel Aviv over gender-separated prayer in public spaces. The issue drew widespread attention after confrontations over an outdoor Yom Kippur service in Dizengoff Square in 2023.

The municipality has opposed the use of physical partitions and gender separation at public events, saying such restrictions should be limited to synagogues.

Yemen’s Houthis say government strikes kill 3 children

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis say three children have been killed in government strikes, according to the group’s media.

“Three children were killed and several Yemeni nationals were injured in strikes by the Saudi-backed mercenaries” in the Taiz province, according to Almasirah television.

Earlier, the broadcaster said Saudi airstrikes had killed one person.

Lapid said to request AG freeze 12 Sa’ar ambassador appointments until after election

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid speaks with New Hope chairman Gideon Sa'ar during a vote on the state budget at the assembly hall of the Knesset, March 13, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara today, requesting that she freeze 12 planned appointments of new ambassadors by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, saying their approvals in the current election period would “tie the hands” of the next foreign minister, according to an unsourced Ynet report.

Lapid, who held the post of foreign minister in 2021-2022, argues that ministers in a caretaker government are required to exercise restraint when there is no urgent public need to act, citing attorney general guidelines and a High Court ruling on limiting nonessential government decisions during an election period, the report says.

The appeal, submitted by Lapid’s attorney, reportedly stresses that it does not challenge the candidates’ qualifications, but argues there is no need to complete the process now, five weeks before the election.

Sa’ar intends to bring 12 candidates before the Foreign Ministry’s appointments committee, with 11 of them due to take up their posts only in summer 2027, while one appointment would not begin until 2028, Ynet says.

The Foreign Ministry told the Hebrew outlet in a statement yesterday that the appointments should be completed early to give diplomats and their families sufficient time to prepare for overseas postings, including schooling arrangements, relocation and obtaining host-country approval.

The ministry also says the list is relatively small compared with previous years, that similar appointment processes continued during past election campaigns, and that the process is being conducted in full coordination with the Civil Service Commission and Justice Ministry.

Police chief said to approve new senior appointments despite Ben Gvir’s refusal to sign off

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir (right) and police chief Danny Levy attend a ceremony at the Israel Police headquarters in Jerusalem, November 30, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Police chief Daniel Levy reportedly approves a second slate of senior appointments despite National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s refusal to sign off on them.

The latest appointments are to positions with the rank of commander — the police’s fourth-highest rank — according to a message from Levy cited by the Ynet news site.

Levy approved 50 appointments last week to roles with the rank of assistant commissioner — the third-highest rank — but Ben Gvir said he would not sign off on any non-urgent senior appointments because of the proximity to the October 27 election.

However, sources from both the police and the National Security Ministry have been quoted in Hebrew media — including the pro-government Channel 14 — as saying the dispute is over officers whom Levy wants to promote, but Ben Gvir opposes because of their purported links to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.

Police also reportedly accuse the ministry of failing to transfer a NIS 330 million ($108.8 million) budget, while the ministry accuses police of being too profligate in its spending.

Amid the disagreement, National Security Ministry and police officials have told each other that they would stop holding joint meetings, Haaretz reports.

Macron after meeting Lebanese, Jordanian leaders: Stable Lebanon central to Mideast peace

French President Emmanuel Macron, center, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, left, and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun pose before a meeting at the Hotel des Invalides in Paris, September 17, 2026. (Thibault Camus/AP)

A peaceful Lebanon is “hope reborn for the entire Middle East,” says French President Emmanuel Macron as leaders from France, Lebanon, and Jordan meet to discuss ways to strengthen the Lebanese Armed Forces.

“A sovereign and stable Lebanon is a decisive step toward peace and stability for the entire region,” he adds.

Writing on X, Macron says that “only diplomacy and dialogue can put an end to an escalation with no way out.”

He says that France emphasized today “the importance of ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea, and the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb.”

Macron also calls the Israeli-Palestinian conflict another source of instability in the region.

EU voices ‘solidarity’ with Riyadh, condemns Houthi strikes

This handout picture released on September 15, 2026, by the Houthi Ansarullah Media Center reportedly shows burning military vehicles that they targeted in Saudi Arabia's al-Jawf. (ANSARULLAH MEDIA CENTER/AFP)

The EU voices its “full solidarity” with Saudi Arabia as it condemns recent strikes on the kingdom by Iran-backed Houthi fighters, including what Riyadh says was an attack targeting Islam’s holy city of Mecca.

“We urge the Houthis to cease all military action,” says a statement from EU foreign affairs spokesman Anouar El Anouni, adding “the targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure is unacceptable.”

IAF drone crashes into the sea after malfunction, says military

An Israeli Air Force drone crashed in the sea off the coast of Palmachim beach earlier today, following a “technical malfunction,” the military says.

The military says Israeli Navy sailors collected the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from the sea.

“There is no fear of information leaking,” the IDF says, adding that the incident is under further investigation.

IDF: Hamas terrorist who took part in Oct. 7 attack killed in airstrike

A Hamas terrorist who invaded Israel during the October 7 onslaught was killed in an Israeli strike in the central Gaza Strip yesterday, the military announces.

Yesterday’s strike in Bureij killed Muhammad Jamal Ahmad Eid, identified by the IDF as a member of Hamas’s elite Nukhba Force, who invaded Israel on October 7, 2023.

A separate strike on Tuesday in Gaza City killed Saleh Ziad Ibrahim Miqdad, who, according to the IDF, was a platoon commander in Hamas’s naval force.

Both terror operatives had been advancing attacks on troops and Israeli civilians, training Hamas terrorists, and restoring the group’s capabilities, “in systematic violation of the ceasefire,” the army says.

“The terrorists were eliminated to remove the threat they posed,” the IDF adds.

Trump weighs return to large-scale Iran strikes: ‘I have a big decision coming up’

US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he arrives on Air Force One, September 16, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. (AP/Alex Brandon)

US President Donald Trump says he is approaching a major decision on whether to resume large-scale attacks on Iran, as Washington weighs how to bring the months-long war to an end, according to Barak Ravid of Channel 12 and Axios.

“I have a big decision coming up. Do I want to go in and annihilate them [the Iranian regime] or do I not?” Trump tells Ravid in a phone interview. “It’s a big decision. Anything could happen with me.”

The comments come days before Trump is set to meet the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, with the future of the Iran war expected to be a central focus.

Trump says he intends to use the meeting to gauge the Gulf states’ positions before determining his next steps.

“I want to find out where they are and how they are doing. We have been very protective of them,” he says.

According to Ravid, Trump has not said whether he will make a decision before or after the US midterm elections in November. US officials warn that the current military posture is difficult to sustain indefinitely, with one telling Ravid, “At some point you have to decide what is the end game.”

Meanwhile, officials say that Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have ordered US forces in the Middle East to remain at current levels through the end of the year, keeping them prepared for a possible return to full-scale combat.

Trump also says Iran remains in direct contact with Washington and is still interested in reaching a lasting ceasefire agreement.

Asked whether he plans to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while in New York next week, Trump replies, “I may.”

PA says Palestinian detainee, 21, dies after a year behind bars despite no prior medical issues

Israeli security forces on guard at Ofer Prison, outside of Jerusalem, February 8, 2025. (Jamal Awad/Flash90)

The Palestinian Authority says that a 21-year-old Palestinian man died early Tuesday at the Ofer security prison in the West Bank despite having no known health issues before he was placed in administrative detention on October 5 last year.

He is identified as Moataz al-Atrash, from Hebron in the southern West Bank.

The PA Commission for Detainee Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society NGO say an Israeli court today ordered an autopsy be carried out on Atrash’s body in the presence of a representative appointed by his family. They don’t specify which court issued the order.

His death brings to at least 92 the number of Palestinian inmates who have died in Israeli security prisons during the war in Gaza, the Palestinian prisoner agencies say, adding that there may be other dead prisoners whose identities are still unknown.

The agencies regularly accuse Israeli authorities of violence and medical neglect in prisons.

In a statement quoted by Haaretz, the Israel Prison Service refuses to discuss individual prisoners “out of privacy and security concerns,” but says “all detainees receive the rights and medical attention they deserve in accordance with the law and professional medical opinion.”

Administrative detention, the procedure under which Atrash was imprisoned, allows Israeli forces to hold Palestinians in custody for months on end with no charge or trial in cases where the forces suspect intent to commit a security crime but don’t have enough evidence to bring the case to court.

Atrash, accordingly, was held at Ofer “without charge or trial, under the pretext of a ‘secret dossier,'” the agencies say.

US clears way for $24.3 billion military aircraft sale to Saudi Arabia, including F-35s

An F-35A Lightning II sits on the runway at the Florennes Airbase in Florennes, Belgium, October 13, 2025. (Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP)

The US State Department says it has approved the potential sale of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft to Saudi Arabia, as the kingdom has been drawn deeper into the Middle East war.

The estimated $24.3 billion sale would include 48 of the military aircraft and 49 Pratt & Whitney engines along with communications equipment, spare parts and other support items, the department says.

“The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the military balance in the region,” it writes in a notice posted online.

AG’s office rejects Lapid’s attempt to block Sa’ar from filling diplomatic posts before election

The Attorney General’s Office rejects a request from Opposition Leader Yair Lapid to block Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar from filling a number of diplomatic posts until after the October 27 election.

In a letter to Lapid’s attorney, the AG’s office says that delaying the filling of ambassador positions would “harm the public interest.”

It also points out that when Lapid was serving as the foreign minister during an election period, he continued to fill such posts.

German police arrest Afghan man suspected of synagogue arson

An Afghan citizen suspected of having carried out an arson attack against a synagogue in the western German city of Wuppertal was arrested today, police tell AFP.

Confirming reports in the German press, the police spokesperson says someone had “apparently attempted to set a secondary entrance on fire,” but “the fire [was] quickly extinguished afterwards by members of the synagogue.”

The suspect “spread a flammable liquid on the steps in front of the synagogue” before “setting it alight,” the police also say in a separate statement.

“No one was injured,” the spokesman tells AFP, adding that the damage caused is minimal.

According to law enforcement, the suspect is 37 years old, “known to the police and of Afghan nationality.”

He was arrested immediately after the incident near the Jewish temple. According to the initial investigation, he appears to have acted alone, police say.

Netanyahu reportedly will meet Rubio, not Trump, at UN, as PMO says schedule not finalized

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (left) shakes hands with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office on July 28, 2026. (GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not meet with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week, Israel Hayom reports.

Instead, he will meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to the report.

The Prime Minister’s Office tells The Times of Israel that the schedule for the trip is still not finalized.

Asked by Axios today whether he plans to meet Netanyahu while in New York next week, Trump replied, “I may.”

Meanwhile, Walla reports that an advance team is in Texas looking into the possibility of Netanyahu visiting the state during his two-day trip next week. The purpose of a potential visit to Texas is not known.

Ben Gvir hands out gun-shaped bottle openers at high school mock election

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir speaks with Israeli students during a mock election event at Blich High School in Ramat Gan, September 17, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party handed out bottle openers shaped like weapons to high school students today who were holding a mock election.

The keychain featured an image of Ben Gvir, the logo of his party and the slogan: “Guns save lives.”

בפאנל בבית ספר, כשרוב מי ששם קטינים, השר שאחראי על מערכת אכיפת החוק מחלק מחזיק מפתחות שהוא פותחן למשקאות עם אלכוהול ובצורת אקדח. כהניזם עברייני – קווים לדמותו.
אבל האשמה? רק על מי שמינה את האדם המסוכן הזה. pic.twitter.com/tnkhFLhdqb

— Naama Lazimi – נעמה לזימי (@naamalazimi) September 17, 2026

The gift sparked backlash from opposition figures who found it distasteful and inappropriate.

The Blich High School in Ramat Gan is renowned for holding a mock vote ahead of every election that often predicts the eventual outcome. Today, 11th and 12th grade students gave the most votes to Yashar, followed by B’Yachad, then Likud and in fourth place Otzma Yehudit.

The Democrats MK Naama Lazimi writes on X: “At a panel at a high school, where most of the people are minors, the minister responsible for law enforcement hands out a keychain that’s also an opener for alcoholic drinks in the shape of a weapon. Criminal Kahanim in a nutshell.”

Ramat Gan Deputy Mayor Liad Ilani told the Ynet news site that a number of parents turned to him “in horror” about the keychains.

US sanctions Iranian financier’s crypto exchange, says it processes Hormuz payments

A picture made available on March 6, 2016, shows Iran's billionaire tycoon Babak Zanjani (C) in a court in Tehran. (Tasnim News/AFP)

The United States announces sanctions on an Iranian cryptocurrency exchange controlled by sanctioned Iranian financier Babak Zanjani, accusing ‌it of processing payments for ships to transit safely through the Strait of Hormuz.

The Treasury says BitBank has routed hundreds of millions of dollars to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and described the exchange as a key component in Iran’s digital assets-based sanctions-evasion infrastructure. The exchange was used to transfer funds paid to Iran’s newly established Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority, the Treasury says in a statement.

Zanjani has long been a key figure in Iran’s sanctions-evasion networks. He was sentenced to death by Iranian authorities in 2016 for embezzlement. His sentence was commuted in 2024. The following year he re-emerged as a backer of Iranian government economic projects.

The designation is part of the Treasury’s “Operation Economic Outcast” intended to isolate Iran economically and disrupt Iran’s global financial, commercial and logistical networks, according to the statement. The strategy has targeted Iran’s illicit oil trade, financial intermediaries, exchange houses and shipping, aviation and front companies.

The US also sanctioned Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, the software developer behind BitBank, and three close associates of Zanjani, Hossein Ali Zaker Hossein, Mohammad Mahdi Zaker Hossein and Seyed Adel Heidari.

Dozens protest outside home of ‘NAZA’ co-director’s parents for 2nd night

Right-wing activists protest against filmmaker Rachel Szor and her film 'NAZA' outside her parents’ home in Savyon, central Israel, September 16, 2026. (Erik Marmor/Flash90)

A few dozen people protest outside the home of the parents of “NAZA” co-director Rachel Szor in central Israel’s Savyon for a second straight night, footage shows.

The film alleges that Israel used AI to systematically target civilians in Gaza, a charge the IDF has denied.

Video shared in a group chat run by organizers shows protesters chanting, “We’re banishing the traitors.”

Protesters can be seen waving flags of IDF units and hoisting signs that read “traitors.”

Mordechai David, a pro-government provocateur who is among the protest’s organizers, has said they are trying to track down the parents of the other co-director, journalist Yuval Abraham, and vowed that when Szor and Abraham get back to Israel, they will be hounded by protesters.

After US bars his entry, UN votes to allow Abbas to address assembly by video

This handout picture provided by the Palestinian Authority's press office shows Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas applauding as he gives a video address to a UN summit on a two-state solution in New York City, from his headquarters in Ramallah on September 22, 2025. (Thaer GHANAIM / PPO / AFP)

The UN General Assembly has voted to allow Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to address the panel virtually next week for the second consecutive year, after the US barred entry to the PA leader’s delegation.

One-hundred and fifty-two countries voted in favor of the resolution, three — the US, Israel and Paraguay — voted against and four — Colombia, Honduras, Panama and Peru — abstained.

“If the PA wants to be treated as a partner, it must stop subsidizing terror and stop using diplomatic theater as a substitute for serious governance,” US deputy envoy to the UN Tammy Bruce tells the General Assembly ahead of the vote.

The PA insists it has scrapped its previous welfare program that incentivized attacks on Israelis, though Washington and Jerusalem have denied that the reform has been properly implemented.

Bruce defended the US decision, even as a source familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel that Washington would be allowing an Iranian delegation led by its President Masoud Pezeshkian to attend the UN General Assembly in New York.

Under a 1947 UN “headquarters agreement,” the US is required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York. However, Washington has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons.

Iran summons Swedish, German ambassadors for diplomatic offenses

The Iranian foreign ministry summons Germany’s ambassador to object to “inappropriate statements” from Berlin, a reference to recent critical remarks by Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

After a meeting with the visiting Iraqi prime minister on Tuesday, Merz demanded Iran lift its blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, cease its support for armed groups across the region and put an end to its “military nuclear program,” which Tehran has consistently denied pursuing.

The Iranian ministry says in a statement that Ambassador Axel Wilhelm Dittmann was called in following the “inappropriate statements by senior German officials against Iran, as well as certain interventionist actions by the German embassy in Tehran.”

Separately, Iran gives a Swedish diplomat in Tehran 48 hours to leave the country, after Sweden expelled a staff member from the Iranian embassy in Stockholm yesterday.

The Swedish ambassador was summoned to the foreign ministry in Tehran to protest against the Swedish decision, which was “unjustified and contrary to international law,” Iran’s foreign ministry says, in a statement broadcast by state television.

Swedish authorities yesterday accused Iran of having long “conducted activities that threaten security in and against Sweden, targeting both individuals who oppose the Iranian regime and various Jewish and Israeli interests in our country.”

Iran calls the accusations “baseless.”