The step is part of a broader policy tightening restrictions on Chinese vehicles, after they were already banned from entering IDF military bases.

The process is being carried out gradually: In the first phase, vehicles are being collected from officers in classified roles or those with access to sensitive security information. By the end of the first quarter of 2026, the measure will extend to all officers. The IDF estimates that around 700 vehicles are involved, most of them CHERY models that had been allocated to officers with large families because they seat seven passengers.

Officials explain that some Chinese vehicles include systems equipped with cameras, microphones, sensors, and connectivity technologies that transmit data to external servers, sometimes without the control of the user or even the local importer.

A former senior officer told Israel Hayom the problem goes far beyond cameras and microphones: every "smart" car is essentially a computer on wheels, with a closed operating system and wireless connections that can enable intelligence gathering near sensitive installations. Several months ago, the Chinese ambassador to Israel, Xiao Junzheng, told Israel Hayom that the allegations against his country's electric vehicles were unfounded.

According to estimates, the IDF's decision is also influenced by a global trend. The US and the UK have already banned Chinese vehicles from security-sensitive zones. A senior official familiar with the issue added that the move is also linked to Israel's relations with Washington, amid the ongoing economic confrontation between the US and China.

The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said it does not intend to comment on the matter.

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Throughout Joe Biden's presidency, there have been persistent claims that he is being "managed" by a group of advisors and Democratic leaders who not only support him but potentially steer his policies. The frequent calls from former President Barack Obama to the White House have fueled this perception, suggesting that Biden's tenure is effectively Obama's third term – albeit a far more radical one.

Now, in light of the incumbent president's recent on-air stumble, it seems the proverbial smoking gun has been found. The president is functioning at a subpar level, while an extreme progressive group, led by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, is driving US foreign policy. None of the issues concerning American citizens and those of other nations, such as Israel and Ukraine, are being adequately addressed or resolved.

In a world rife with aggressive forces, the unflattering image of an American president – the leader of the free world – appearing weak and incoherent encourages them to exploit opportunities. Biden's decline mirrors the collapse of his Middle East policy vis-à-vis Iran and its proxies, as well as the incomprehensible crisis at the southern border with Mexico. This porous region is drawing millions of migrants of all types into the United States, including criminal and terrorist elements.

Now, in light of the incumbent president's recent on-air stumble, it seems the proverbial smoking gun has been found. The president is functioning at a subpar level, while an extreme progressive group, led by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, is driving US foreign policy. None of the issues concerning American citizens and those of other nations, such as Israel and Ukraine, are being adequately addressed or resolved.

Donald Trump didn't gain supporters following the televised confrontation early Friday morning. But Biden lost a great deal, according to the veteran Fox News commentator Bret Baier's simple summary. For many months, the question of whether Biden will actually be the Democratic presidential nominee has loomed large. Nikki Haley repeatedly stated that he won't be. Speculation abounds – if not him, then who? The situation has deteriorated to the point where New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman is pleading with Biden to step aside. A sad sight to use a word Trump is so fond of.

Serious reporters with extensive Biden coverage have repeatedly claimed that Biden is self-confident and doesn't entertain the thought of withdrawing from the race. Too arrogant, too stubborn. Even now, he justified his failure with the excuse that it's difficult to contend with a liar. Leaders are expected to deal with other leaders who are far worse than "liars" – mass murderers, for instance.

There was a point when it seemed that former President Obama and his allies in the foreign relations establishment and the party were comfortable having a president who was weak in many respects in the White House. This situation invites evasion of responsibility. Every mishap is filed away as an event that Biden can't be expected to handle. Conversely, those responsible for strategic blunders are not called to account.

The case of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stands out, where contact with him was lost until it was discovered he was hospitalized, and President Biden was completely unaware. The Defense Secretary! A person supposed to be responsible for world peace takes his hands off the wheel. Perhaps this is what Trump alluded to when he spoke about Biden not firing any generals.

The Democrats' problem now is that they have no candidate who can motivate their voters to turn out en masse at the polls or make an effort to fill out early voting ballots. Not even Biden himself. Kamala Harris intimidates people; California Governor Gavin Newsom hasn't logged enough miles on the national stage. And Michelle Obama? It seems too late for her to suddenly jump into the boiling political cauldron.

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Opposition MK Moshe Arbel (Shas) reached out to Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit on Tuesday, asking him in a letter to look into alleged fraud and breach of trust commited by the coalition in the Knesset plenum in an attempt to get a citizenship law passed that would replace a temporary order regulating the status and residency of Palestinian spouses of Arab Israelis.

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In a defeat for the new government, the law was voted down in the Knesset early Tuesday morning following a tie of 59:59.

"The discussion of the bill in the plenum last night raised a serious picture in which the government appeared to be knowingly lying and misdirecting MKs in order to promote its goals of security a majority for the vote, to the extent of [alleged] fraud and breach of trust," Arbel wrote.

"During the discussion, Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked was asked a number of times whether there was a written or verbal agreement between coalition factions for MKs from Ra'am and Meretz to support the vote or abstain in exchange for the interior minister 'upgrading' the status of Palestinian residents of Israel who are married to Israeli citizens.

"Minister Shaked responded that the 'former interior minister … issued 1,600 people permits for family reunification. We have remained at a similar number of permits that will be examined by a humanitarian committee… which will convene and discuss the 1,600 cases.' Given these remarks, it can be assumed that MKs considered their stances and voted accordingly in the plenum," Arbel wrote.

However, the Shas MK told Mendelblit, "In a radio interview today [Tuesday] Regional Cooperation Minister Esawi Frej [Meretz] said that 'the agreement reached with [Prime Minister] Bennett and Shaked gave over 3,000 Palestinian families legal standing in Israel. We didn't want to make that public because of the Right. We missed a one-time opportunity to do justice to thousands of our people's families.'"

Arbel alleged that Frej had admitted that Shaked had "lied to MKs in the plenum" in order to promote the interests of the government and the Yamina party, and concluded by asking Mendelblit to launch an investigation into the matter.

Yamina was considering the possibility of bringing the bill to the plenum for another vote, but it was not certain when that might happen.

Minutes before the vote, the cabinet announced that the vote on the bill would in effect be a vote of confidence in the new government and that if the bill fell, so would the Center-Left government.

At 2:40 a.m., Shaked presented a compromise agreement, according to which the temporary order, which thus far has been renewed on an annual basis, would be extended for six months, until January 2022.

The Opposition rejected Shaked's compromise, arguing that any alterations to the original temporary order needed to be presented two months ahead of the Knesset vote. This led to an uproar, and the Opposition ultimately appealed to the Knesset legal counsel for an opinion.

MK Ahmad Tibi asked Arab MKs, "How is it possible that the 'Palestinian rib' of the government will vote for the most anti-Palestinian law possible?"

MK Kati Shitrit (Likud) attacked both Tibi and Intelligence Minister Elazar Stern, calling them "Ra'am's dishrags." MK Orit Strock was removed from the plenum for heckling.

While Knesset Speaker Mickey Levy (Yesh Atid) was speaking, a number of Opposition MKs began calling out "Shame!"

Shaked pointed out that understandings secured by the coalition, not in any written agreement, would grant immediate approval for 1,600 requests for family reunification for Palestinian spouses of Arab Israeli citizens.

Earlier, Shaked and Ra'am leader MK Mansour Abbas discussed the matter of the citizenship law. Abbas also met with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid in an attempt to reach a compromise.

Hours before the Knesset vote, MK Israel Katz tweeted: "While the Likud faction is weighing its vote on the matter of the citizenship bill, we were informed that the government has promised Ra'am it will gloss over the entry of another 1,800 Palestinian families. My position is to vote against the bill and the anti-Zionist deal between Shaked and Abbas. However, we will promote a Basic Law about entry to Israel that will completely prevent any Palestinian 'right of return.'"

Speaking in the Knesset plenum, Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu attacked Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Shaked.

"Bennett and Shaked say they have formed a 'Zionist government,' but they aren't capable of passing such a simple law because they're dependent on anti-Zionist entities that oppose Israel being a Jewish, democratic state," Netanyahu said.

"The responsible, correct thing to do is to pass a Basic Law on immigration, today, in a preliminary vote, and postpone extending the temporary order by two months, which will lead to a solution to the issue," Netanyahu continued.

On Monday, the Shin Bet security agency warned that the government's failure to pass the citizenship law was hurting national security.

In a meeting of the Opposition bloc on Monday, a decision was taken for every Opposition faction to review the citizenship law, after which the Opposition would re-convene to decide how to vote.

Netanyahu reached out to Bennett and Lapid, telling them, "Don't expect us to save you from anti-Zionist entities," referring to factions in the coalition that oppose the law.

"Bennett wants us to come along but feel like we aren't there," Netanyahu said. "To be prime minister with six mandates, Bennett made a hash of things. He gave things to Meretz, to Ra'am, to Lapid, to the Labor Party, and for whom was nothing left? The Right."

Earlier Monday, Bennett discussed the controversy over the law, saying, "The Opposition is trying we wear us down through childish games. But there are things you don't toy with. National security is a red line. The government needs control over who enters its borders and who receives citizenship. Bringing in thousands of Palestinians, granting them citizenship, and hurting national security for the sake of scoring political points – that's simply not the right thing to do," he said.

Shaked asked members of the Opposition not to torpedo the bill.

"This law was originally passed for security reasons. They saw that over time, most of the terrorist attacks perpetrated by Arab Israelis were committed by people who came into the country under 'family reunification,' or by their children," Shaked said.

"You must understand that if the law is shot down today, despite what some Opposition leaders are choosing to lie to you about, over time, not even the interior minister will be able to stop a process of ongoing naturalization [of Palestinians], which is why the law is so important," Shaked added.

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Former Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot and Professor Col. (res.) Gabi Siboni, who heads the Program on Military and Strategic Affairs at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv, recently issued a position paper titled, Guidelines for Israel's National Security Strategy.

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The document was published at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and at the INSS. The aim now is to spark public discourse and get future governments to adopt formal guidelines, said Siboni.

Efforts to promote the document have been made more difficult by the lack of any functioning government and the current political crisis that has paralyzed the Knesset.

"This is an ongoing process, not a one-off event," said Siboni. "The government doesn't have to accept the document as it is, but it is designed to stir up dialogue among the public and decision-makers."

For years, Israeli governments and cabinets have made strategic decisions without formal principles on how to conduct national security efforts, including the use of military power. Yet continuing to function in this way would be "irresponsible," argued Siboni.

"This led us to publish the document. We want the State of Israel to have a guiding security strategy. We put forward a methodology. This can also further, by becoming legally binding for every government if the Knesset votes in favor of that," he stated.

The document outlines, in an organized manner, the state's top objectives, its priorities, and interests. It outlines how Israel's security establishment will function during periods of calm, emergencies, and war.

It also formulates a third layer as an addition to the two known layers of preparing for war and going to war. The additional layer is the low-profile, ongoing campaign to damage the force buildup of Israel's enemies and improve Israel's ability to gain victory in a future war.

This layer is known among military planners as the "campaign between the wars" – an ongoing Israeli military and intelligence effort to disrupt the force buildup of the Iranian-Shiite axis throughout the Middle East.

"If in the past, one would prepare for war or be at war, but now there is the 'Campaign Between Wars,'" said Siboni. "There are combat operations during routine times. They safeguard deterrence. We offered a way of formalizing these activities within the overall national security efforts."

When it comes to entering states of general conflict, the document lists concrete reasons that could justify a war. "What do we go to war for? We suggested new concepts here," he said.

The document notes that the main changes in the security environment stem from Iran's attempt at becoming a regional hegemony, its efforts to acquire nuclear weapons and Tehran's construction of a zone of influence that includes Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and the Gaza Strip.

"There are a number of threat elements, ranging from the sub-conventional – terror organizations and nonstate actors – to conventional, which are state armies. There is also the unconventional threat level – nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons – and a fourth threat level – the cyber environment. We analyzed these threats," stated Siboni. "From there, we built scenarios of what Israel will need to deal with – not just today, but a wider look at the future of the threats. We looked at ways of strengthening national security. This requires putting various efforts together."

Tackling the cracks in internal cohesion

The document also tracks Israel's changing internal environment. It notes the country's growing population, and its economic, scientific, and technological power, but also, the worrying cracks that are developing in national cohesion.

"One of the key insights is that the power of Israel comes from the cohesion of its society," noted Siboni. "Without that, we have nothing. This cohesion must be fostered, as part of the effort to boost security."

The authors proposed a framework of security-boosting principles that cover the military world but are not limited to it.

"We took into consideration the critical need to safeguard the people's army [mandatory conscription] model, and the need to get rid of ideas like having a small professional military," said Siboni. "We also propose that the service is seen as a value in itself. Everyone should serve – some in the military, others in national civilian programs."

Service programs should be set up to meet the needs of haredi youths and Israeli-Arab youths, he added.

"The people's army model is the national provision for big emergencies," he stressed.

In addition, the document states that national security is directly tied to Israel's special strategic relationship with the United States. It describes the US alliance as "a cornerstone of the overall Israeli effort to attain national security by political means."

The related goals of combating delegitimization efforts also require a comprehensive strategy, as well as cooperation with parties in the international community and in the Jewish Diaspora, the document says.

"Alongside this, Israel must strengthen its bond with Diaspora Jews. Israel's role as the national home of the Jewish people is and has always been dependent on the mutual relationship and support between the state and the Jewish Diaspora. This connection is a pillar of Israel's national security and is reflected in its national values and raison d'être," wrote the authors.

"We described the linkage with the US, and with the Jewish Diaspora, as vital and powerful," said Siboni. "If Israel once relied on the Diaspora, today the tables have turned, and Israel must think of how it supports the Diaspora Jewish communities."

Such efforts must combat the major erosion underway to the Jewish identity in sections of overseas communities, and ways of strengthening bonds to Israel, the document said, listing such processes as having a tangible influence on national security.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Diplomatic Security Cabinet approved the new oversight body Wednesday. The panel, led by the Finance Ministry, is to include a number of security agencies.

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The panel is set to begin its work early next year.

"The processes that were agreed upon will find the appropriate balance between the need to encourage foreign investments in Israel and ensure continued economic prosperity, and considerations of national security," a statement said.

Regulators would approach the committee on a voluntary basis and the panel would act in an advisory capacity, dealing only with investments that required Israeli government approval, such as telecommunications, energy and transportation projects.

While the statement did not mention China, the US has repeatedly raised concerns with Israel about technology transfers and potential espionage by Beijing.

Chinese investment in Israel's tech sector reached more than $325 million in 2018, an Israeli venture capital research group said.

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"We congratulate Mr. O'Brien on his appointment, and we look forward to working with him to further strengthen the US-Israel relationship," American Israel Public Affairs Committee spokesperson Marshall Wittmann told JNS.

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"O'Brien is a solid pick, with a good reputation within the State Department bureaucracy as a result of his previous role as the administration's point man on hostage affairs," Ilan Berman, senior vice president of the American Foreign Policy Council, told JNS. "In that capacity, he is intimately familiar with most of the hot-button issues – Iran, North Korea, the 'War on Terror' – that are on the front burner in Washington at the moment."

The appointment, which doesn't require Senate confirmation, came as America weighs how to respond to Iran striking two Saudi Aramco oil facilities on Sept. 14.

"He also inherits a national security bureaucracy that has increasingly begun to 'think big' about strategy in places like the Middle East and Africa, and will be able to harness this team to great effect, if he chooses to do so," said Berman.

Other looming geopolitical threats that O'Brien, who previously served as the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, will face in his new role are Russia and China.

Sandra Parker, the chairperson of CUFI Action Fund, the political advocacy arm of Christians United for Israel, told JNS: "CUFI enjoys a close working relationship with many officials throughout the Trump Administration, and we look forward to working with Ambassador O'Brien on strengthening the US-Israel relationship, confronting the Iranian menace, and curtailing the threat posed by terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah."

"Mr. O'Brien is a great friend of Israel, and is now the top-ranking Mormon in the pro-Israel Trump administration," Zionist Organization of America national president Mort Klein told JNS. "He is also best friends with ardent Zionist US Ambassador to Germany [Richard] Grenell. … And you can't be a great friend of evangelical Christian Grenell unless you support Israel."

O'Brien served under President George W. Bush as a US alternate delegate to the United Nations in 2005, in which he emphasized America's commitment towards solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Bolton was then the US ambassador to the world body.

"Endorsing resolutions that condemn Israeli actions, but that fail to address Palestinian actions or inactions, have real consequences," he said then to the world body.

"The appointment of Robert O'Brien, a skilled negotiator and non-ideological foreign policy professional, to succeed John Bolton as national security adviser marks a significant turning point in the White House's national security strategy to confront and prevail against robust adversaries, especially China and Iran, in an increasingly complex and dangerous international landscape," Washington-based geopolitical strategist and diplomacy consultant John Sitilides told JNS.

Middle East Forum president Daniel Pipes expressed cautious optimism over Wednesday's appointment.

"As expressed in his book "While America Slept," Robert O'Brien has reassuringly conventional conservative views on US foreign policy," he said. "But I worry when, as special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, he writes that 'we implore their captors to release the hostages as an act of humanity.' Let's hope he acquires a more robust outlook in his new role."

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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They are particularly concerned over the increasing use of the measure by Britain which this year revoked the nationality of "jihadi bride" Shamima Begum who left London to join Islamic State in 2015 at the age of 15.

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Britain is also considering the case of British-Canadian Muslim convert Jack Letts who joined ISIS as a teenager and is now being held in a Kurdish-run jail in northern Syria.

"Stripping nationality is a completely ineffective measure – and an arbitrary measure," said Amal de Chickera, co-founder of the Institute on Statelessness, which is hosting the conference in The Hague.

He said countries should retain responsibility for nationals accused of supporting ISIS and ensure they are prosecuted.

"Stripping nationality when people are abroad merely exports the problem to other countries," he said, adding such measures were also likely to have a serious impact on families back home.

Countries should recognize that women married to ISIS fighters, and their children, may have been victimized, he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on Friday.

The conference heard that Britain stripped nationality from more than 100 people in 2017, compared to a total of 12 people between 1950 and 2002, but most cases were done quietly.

De Chickera said it was crucial that all countries' counterterrorism policies should not result in more people becoming stateless – which means someone is not recognized as a national by any country in the world.

To avoid making people stateless, Britain has focused on dual nationals.

But Audrey Macklin, a human rights law professor at the University of Toronto, said if all countries had laws to revoke citizenship from dual nationals then you would get a race to see who could do it first "and to the loser goes the citizen."

"Is this a policy that makes sense as a global practice directed at making the world more secure, at reducing the risk of terrorism? To my mind, not so much," she said.

She said citizenship was a right rather than a privilege and described citizenship deprivation followed by expulsion as the "political equivalent of the death penalty."

The conference comes midway through a UN campaign to end statelessness in a decade. An estimated 10 to 15 million people are stateless worldwide, often deprived of basic rights.

Jawad Fairooz, a former Bahraini MP who was rendered stateless after being stripped of his nationality in 2012, said revoking citizenship should never be used as a political tool or a punishment.

Bahrain has stripped hundreds of people of nationality since a 2011 uprising although many have since regained citizenship.

"If you lose [citizenship], you lose the rest of your rights," said Fairooz, chairman of Salam for Democracy & Human Rights.

"If you are born in a country and serve the country and you [are] part of it and quite suddenly your name is deleted from that country it is really heartbreaking."

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