‘The problem is with Israel, not us’: Syrian leader says Oct. 7 shouldn’t dictate Israeli policy

Reports: IDF troops arrest Palestinian Authority security officer

Palestinian media outlets report that IDF troops arrested Majdi Amer, a colonel in the Palestinian Authority’s Preventive Security Service, this morning in the village of Kafr Qallil, south of Nablus.

The arrest of an officer in the PA security forces is a relatively rare occurrence.

The circumstances surrounding the arrest are unclear.

The IDF has yet to comment.

مصادر محلية: قوات الاحـ.tـلال تعتقل "مجدي عامر" عقب محاصرة منزله خلال اقتحام قرية كفر قليل شرق نابلس. pic.twitter.com/2vwQdC6kfm

— فلسطين بوست (@PalpostN) September 23, 2026

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Yisrael Beytenu says it backs barring Ra’am, Joint List from running

Yisrael Beytenu announces that it will back the disqualification of the Joint List of Arab parties as well as Ra’am and Joint List politicians Sami Abou Shahadeh and Ofer Cassif.

The Central Elections Committee is slated to hold hearings today and tomorrow on requests to bar a number the Arab parties and politicians, as well as parties on the far right.

Avigdor Liberman’s hawkish party has regularly led efforts to disqualify Arab political representation, but formerly allied with Ra’am as part of the 2021-2022 government led by former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid. It has since distanced itself from the Islamist faction and sworn off any future partnership.

“Any Zionist government that takes office after elections must set the elimination of Hamas as a central goal of its security policy,” the party says in a statement. “Any party opposed to that has no place in the Knesset.”

Basic Law: The Knesset explicitly prohibits anyone expressing support for armed struggle against the State of Israel from running for Knesset, but contains no such rule mandating support for specific security policies against terror organizations.

The CEC is led by a judge but comprised of representatives of all Knesset parties, making its decisions highly politicized. Most disqualifications are struck down by the Supreme Court on appeal.

However, on Tuesday Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and State Attorney Amit Aisman told the Central Elections Committee that it should “seriously consider” barring Abou Shahadeh, leader of the Joint List’s hardline Balad faction, citing an article he wrote on October 8, 2023, that they said constituted support for armed struggle against Israel.

The opinion could make the court more likely to uphold a decision barring the Balad leader from running.

Iran says Qatar mediated talks with US, demands end to war on all fronts

Iran says it engaged with the United States through a Qatari mediator in New York and conveyed conditions including an end to the war on all fronts and a halt to what Tehran called US “acts of aggression,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei tells state news agency IRNA.

Baghaei says Iran’s conditions also included an end to the naval blockade and economic warfare, and the release of Iranian assets, IRNA reported.

Trump links to article touting Netanyahu poll lead last week

US President Donald Trump posts an article headlined, “Netanyahu Bloc Takes Lead in Latest Israeli Election Poll.”

The Newsmax article shared on Truth Social appears to be the closest that Trump has come to endorsing Netanyahu in the upcoming election.

Trump has repeatedly refrained from endorsing the Israeli premier when asked about the possibility by reporters.

The article is dated from September 17. Most polls before and since the Channel 13 survey cited by Newsmax have shown Netanyahu trailing the opposition bloc.

It’s unclear whether Trump himself posted the article, as aides are also given control of his Truth Social Account.

The post comes amid a slurry of links to unrelated articles posted within less than a minute of each other.

Iranian president arrives in New York ahead of speech at UN General Assembly

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has arrived in New York where he is expected to speak at the United Nations General Assembly, Iranian state media reports.

State broadcaster IRIB posts a video clip of Pezeshkian exiting a plane with a caption saying that the Iranian president has arrived at a New York airport. This is the first time that a leader whose country is at war with the United States sets foot on American soil to address a UN gathering, analysts say.

‘The problem is with Israel, not us’: Syrian leader says Oct. 7 shouldn’t dictate Israeli policy

Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa is asked during an appearance in New York City whether he can envision his country having diplomatic relations with Israel, and whether Damascus is demanding the return of the Golan Heights as a precondition to establishing ties.

Al-Sharaa notes to the Atlantic Council that the countries have already held direct talks in the past year, before saying Israel must first withdraw from areas in southern Syria it occupied after the fall of the Assad regime.

“Then we get into discussions on security arrangements. If those arrangements succeed, then we can get into lasting peace,” he continues according to a translation of his remarks. “The Golan Heights is Syrian territory under recognition of the United Nations… So there is no discussion.”

He is later asked whether he understands the concerns of Israelis after the October 7, 2023, terror onslaught by Hamas, and what message he has for the Israeli public.

“I understand what happened on October 7 for some of the innocent people, but at the same time, it’s not possible that all policies are based on an incident that happened,” he says. “At the same we need to understand what happened in Gaza and more than 70,000 people have been killed there.”

“It’s not appropriate that what happened on October 7 set the policy for Syria,” adds al-Sharaa, who led a jihadist group formerly affiliated with al-Qaeda before taking power. “Israel needs to change its policy because it is creating problems around it.”

“I believe the problem is with Israel, not with Syria.”

Burnham: Public trust in politics ‘would fall even lower’ if UK didn’t sanction settlements

UK Prime Minister tells the UN General Assembly that the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, terror atrocities were “utterly horrific” and says Britain stands with Israel and Jews worldwide as they face continued Iranian threats.

“But this does not justify the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza or the West Bank,” he says. “We will not stand by as the horrific suffering continues to grow and the prospect of a two-state solution… comes under attack.”

Burnham slams Israel for issuing tenders for the controversial E1 settlement project near Jerusalem, which he says would “threaten to put a viable Palestinian state beyond reach.”

“It cannot be allowed to happen,” he continues, noting his government’s recent decision to ban all dealings with settlements.

Burnham defends that decision by saying “we live in an age of low trust in politics. If we were to continue to talk about the two-state solution, but fail to back those words with deeds, that trust will fall even lower and our enemies will seek to exploit the alienation that follows from that. We won’t let it happen.”

Witkoff indicates talks with Iran weren’t direct, says mediators ‘shuttled’ between US and Iranian delegations

NEW YORK — US special envoy Steve Witkoff suggests that Washington’s talks with Iran on Tuesday were not direct, as President Donald Trump suggested.

“Today, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, we engaged in lengthy talks with the Iranian delegation through the mediators, who shuttled between the two sides throughout the day,” Witkoff tweets.

“They successfully completed a round of discussions that we hope will prove constructive and promising. The mediators will continue their work,” he adds.

French official to ToI: Macron meant that Hamas does not govern the West Bank

UNITED NATIONS — Responding to Israeli criticism of French President Emanuel Macron’s claim that Hamas is not active in the West Bank, a French diplomatic official tells The Times of Israel that he “meant to say that Hamas does not govern the West Bank.”

In his speech to the UN General Assembly earlier Tuesday, Macron said, “Look at what’s happening in the West Bank — where day in and day out, we are seeing violations [by Israel]. And in the name of what? Hamas was never active in the West Bank.”