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High Court of Justice will take up disqualification of Sami Abou Shehadeh on Thursday
MK Sami Abou Shehadeh speaks during a Joint List faction meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, January 24, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
The High Court of Justice says it will consider on Thursday the Central Elections Committee’s decisions to disqualify Balad party head Sami Abu Shehadeh and Joint List MK Ofer Cassif from running in the October 27 elections.
The rulings by the CEC, made up almost entirely of politicians representing Knesset factions, must be approved by the court, which is likely to strike down the ban on Cassif.
But the 30-4 vote on Wednesday to disqualify Abu Shehadeh had the support of all opposition parties and rare backing from Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, who oversees the panel.
Sohlberg said Abou Shahadeh had failed to adequately answer allegations that he expressed support for Hamas’s armed struggle against Israel in an article he published a day after the October 7, 2023, massacre.
The case will be taken up by a nine-judge panel, consisting of all the current justices except for Sohlberg and Ruth Ronnen.
Key Update
Israeli troops destroy mile-long Hamas tunnel in IDF-held portion of Gaza Strip
Israeli troops razed a two-kilometer (1.2 miles) tunnel in the IDF-held portion of the Gaza Strip recently, the military says.
The IDF says it comes amid efforts to clear the areas of the Strip under Israeli control of Hamas infrastructure.
IDF seals home of Palestinian terrorist who killed Israeli at West Bank spring on Sunday
IDF troops seal the home of a Palestinian terrorist in the West Bank village of Bidu, September 25, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)
IDF troops sealed the home of the Palestinian terrorist who shot dead Netanel Shukrun, an Israeli father of six, at a natural spring in the West Bank earlier this week, the military says.
Following the attack on Sunday, the eve of Yom Kippur, the gunman fled the scene while coming under fire from a soldier in the area. He was captured by troops hours later at a hospital near Ramallah.
Over Yom Kippur, troops operated in the village of Bidu and measured the 37-year-old terrorist’s home.
Overnight, the home was sealed ahead of its planned demolition, the army says this morning.
As a matter of policy, Israel demolishes the homes of Palestinians accused of carrying out deadly terror attacks.
Sealing the homes of attackers is often a replacement or stopgap for demolishing them. In general, the demolition process takes several months, as the High Court must address appeals by the family, and security forces often wait for an optimal time to enter Palestinian cities or neighborhoods for the operation.
The IDF says the temporary sealing of the home was approved by Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, and that the military “intends to continue to advance the process of demolishing the house.”
IDF names two Hamas operatives, including head of funding mechanism, killed in Gaza strikes yesterday
Palestinians in Khan Younis, the southern Gaza Strip, August 12, 2026. (Abed Rahim Khatib/FLASH90)
Two Hamas operatives, including one involved in smuggling funds to the terror group, were killed in separate Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip yesterday, the military announces.
One strike in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah killed Jabr Moqbel, identified by the IDF as a Hamas member and head of the “Moqbel” money exchange network, “which transferred millions of shekels in foreign currency to Hamas.”
“These funds are used by Hamas to finance terrorists, restore military infrastructure, and advance attacks against IDF troops,” the army says.
Another strike on Thursday in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis killed Hasan al-Batta, identified by the IDF as a Hamas sniper operative.
Both operatives were involved in advancing attacks and restoring Hamas capabilities “in systematic violation of the ceasefire,” the military says, adding that they were killed “to remove the threat.”
Turkish parliament will take up Pakistan, Saudi Arabia defense pact next month, speaker says
Illustrative: Turkish members of Parliament attend a session to discuss the 2024 Central Government Budget Law Proposal at the General Assembly of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) in Ankara on December 11, 2023. (Adem ALTAN / AFP)
A joint defense pact between Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan has not yet been submitted to Turkey’s parliament for approval, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus says, adding he expected the agreement to be formally submitted when parliament returns from recess next month.
The regional powers signed the “Mecca Joint Defence Agreement” in August, weeks before Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis launched attacks against Saudi Arabia amid the war in Iran. Similar to NATO’s Article 5, the pact stipulates that an attack on one ally constitutes an attack on all.
“For international agreements to come into effect, parliamentary approval is needed. The meetings held as part of the agreement at the moment are preparatory meetings,” Kurtulmus tells reporters in Ankara.
US proposes UAE host trilateral meeting with Ukraine and Russia on war, Zelensky says
An undated handout photograph released on March 28, 2026, by the United Arab Emirates Presidential Court shows UAE's President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan (R) meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the United Arab Emirates (Abdulla AL-NEYADI / UAE PRESIDENTIAL COURT / AFP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the United States has proposed that the United Arab Emirates host a trilateral meeting with Ukraine and Russia to discuss efforts to end their four-and-a-half-year conflict.
“The American side has proposed… meeting at a technical level in a three-way format,” Zelenskiy tells reporters in a briefing via WhatsApp. “We are awaiting a proposal from the United States regarding the date, and the United States has suggested the Emirates as a possible location.”
Zelensky says India, Turkey, Egypt, Mideast nations in Black Sea talks
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, September 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says that India, Turkey, Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries were taking part in talks on unblocking shipping in the Black Sea.
“Egypt, India, Turkey, and representatives from the Middle East — I had separate conversations with the leadership of these countries, and our Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also been in contact with their counterparts in these countries,” he tells reporters in a WhatsApp briefing.
“In addition to these countries, there were also proposals from other nations to unblock the Black Sea.”
Turkey’s army chief will travel to Saudi Arabia for defense pact meeting on Yemen
In this photo released by the Turkish Defense Ministry, Turkey’s Chief of General Staff Gen. Selcuk Bayraktaroglu poses for a photograph with Libyan Chief of General Staff Gen. Mohamed Ali Ahmed El Haddad (cropped out) during their meeting in Ankara, Turkey, December 23, 2025. (Turkish Defense Ministry via AP)
Turkey’s Chief of General Staff General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu will travel to Saudi Arabia to meet his Saudi and Pakistani counterparts as part of the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, the Turkish defense ministry says.
Earlier, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said the chiefs of staff would hold an urgent meeting to discuss ways to support Riyadh under the defense pact following attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis. Ankara has said it could help meet Riyadh’s military needs if necessary.
IDF will set up expert panel to probe Gaza drone accident that killed two reservists
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has ordered the establishment of an expert panel to investigate the deadly “safety incident” in the Gaza Strip yesterday, in which two reservists were killed by a crashed military drone.
The team will be headed by a brigadier general from the Ground Forces, and it will “examine the circumstances of the incident in order to prevent similar incidents from recurring in the future,” the army says.
An initial IDF probe found that after the explosive drone crashed inside an army post, the soldiers operating it approached it and picked it up before it exploded, killing Master Sgt. (res.) Nadav Kali and Master Sgt. (res.) Ofek Moalem.
Meanwhile, the chief of the Ground Forces, Maj. Gen. Nadav Lotan, ordered that such drones be grounded for at least 48 hours amid the investigation. Following that, a new assessment will be held, the military says.
Man in his 30s wounded in suspected stabbing in Netivot; not terror-related
Police say they’ve opened an investigation after a man in his 30s was wounded in a suspected stabbing in the southern Israeli city of Netivot.
“It is suspected that the background to this incident is criminal,” police say in a statement.
The Ynet news site describes the run-up to the incident as a “clash at a kiosk” on the city’s Hagefen Street.
The man has been transferred for medical care and his condition is considered serious, police say.
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