Members of the media raise their hands to ask U.S. Vice President JD Vance questions, in Kiryat Gat, Israel, October 21, 2025. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

He said his vice presidential responsibilities stem from Trump's trust, with the role being "very dependent on the president of the United States" and his accomplishments possible "because the president trusts me and he's empowered me with a lot of responsibilities." Vance praised Trump as someone who "is such a unique person unbelievably people have no idea," noting he "really sleeps less and still has more energy than anybody that I know that's 40 years younger than he is" – "trust me I've seen it from the inside he has unbelievable energy." Trump "has unbelievable instincts" and "automatically understands when somebody is trying to get one over on him," Vance explained.

Trump privately discussed a 2028 "dream ticket" pairing Vance with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, his "best friend in the administration." Vance considers this "premature," maintaining focus on current work with the belief that "if we take care of business the politics will take care of itself."

The post Vance slams Knesset 'stunt' on West Bank annexation appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened an urgent meeting Tuesday afternoon after his testimony in court was cut short due to security developments.

Video: IDF forces delineating Yellow Line / Credit: IDF

Israel is examining a series of punishment measures against Hamas for repeated agreement violations. Some of the sanctions under consideration include moving the yellow line westward, meaning expanding Israeli-controlled territory; re-entering the Netzarim Corridor to restrict Palestinian movement; reducing aid convoys and limiting entry of goods; and continuing the closure of the Rafah crossing.

A first penalty step was already decided when Hamas operatives were banned from working with the Red Cross in Israeli-controlled areas. The move was approved earlier this week to locate fallen hostages.

Netanyahu already faces pressure from cabinet members, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, to "let all hell break loose." Smotrich sent a letter to the prime minister stating, "I intend to demand that the prime minister order the IDF to immediately rearrest all the terrorists released to the West Bank in the hostage deal in response to Hamas's repeated violations."

Ben-Gvir wrote on X, "The fact that Hamas continues playing games and not immediately transferring all our fallen soldiers' bodies proves the terror organization still stands on its feet. The time has come to break those legs once and for all. Now we don't need to 'extract a price from Hamas' for the violations. We need to extract its very existence from it and destroy it completely – in accordance with the central objective defined for the war of revival. Mr. Prime Minister, enough hesitation – give the order!"

Another person who called on Netanyahu to respond forcefully was his main electoral rival and former prime minister, Naftali Bennett. "Not 'we'll settle accounts' and not 'painful response.' Hamas is cancer. Hamas must be destroyed," Bennett wrote.

"Not Learning from Mistakes"

The family of fallen hostage Hadar Goldin responded, "Hamas continues the psychological terror as in all 4,107 days they have held him, except this time Hamas made a mistake from which there will be no way back – this is an act of terror that Hamas is now doing personally and deliberately against US President Donald Trump. We are confident President Trump will respond uncompromisingly, especially in light of the ultimatum he set for the terror organization Hamas. Not only did Hamas not meet its commitment but also in its attempt to humiliate the most powerful man in the world."

"We call on Prime Minister Netanyahu to act according to his commitments, which were guaranteed by all the mediators, including Emir of Qatar Mohammed bin Thani, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Once again, the State of Israel, as has been its pattern for the past 11 years, does not learn from systematic past mistakes, 'pays in advance' to the terror organization Hamas for all its demands despite Hamas violating the agreement already in the first stage – to transfer all information on the location of the fallen soldiers, with all necessary efforts to find and return all the fallen."

"The family and the entire public will continue the uncompromising struggle to return to Israel's soil the heroic soldier Lt. Hadar Goldin. We call on the people of Israel to take to the streets and not give up until the return of the last fallen soldier immediately!"

The post Israel weighs expanding Gaza control after Hamas breaks hostage deal appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The post Biden-era general claims Israel deliberately killed journalist appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

"We had very good talks about Gaza, with Middle East representatives, kings, leaders – and also very good talks with Bibi Netanyahu about bringing the hostages home and ending the situation in Gaza, which is very bad," Trump said.

"We think this can happen, maybe very soon. We want the hostages back, the bodies, and to have peace in the region. So we had very good discussions," he added.

Trump noted his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had recently visited Washington. "We had a very good meeting, decisive on many issues – things we want and he wants. We will announce this soon, and he will make his own announcement as well. We had a meeting with their president. We had a meal and a discussion, those two things."

The post Trump: Israel will not annex the West Bank appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Israeli military forces under the leadership of the Benjamin Brigade initiated an operation with the goal of targeting terror infrastructure in the vicinity of the villages, Qatana and Qubayba, from which the perpetrators who executed the deadly assault in Jerusalem came.

Throughout the operation, IDF troops encircled multiple villages, surveyed the two residences of the perpetrators who executed the assault, detained over 20 suspects accused of terror activities, searched over 700 objectives, and seized 38 combat items, including firearm components, ammunition clips, and ISIS banners.

Furthermore, in the villages of Qubayba and al-Mughayyir, from which perpetrators recently emerged, buildings and structural elements that were constructed in violation of the law were razed by the Civil Administration. The Manasseh Brigade conducted a simultaneous comprehensive brigade operation during the week in the Sanur Valley, Qabatiya, and the Jenin vicinity.

Brigade troops neutralized multiple terrorists, detained various terror operatives, and seized dozens of thousands of shekels derived from terror financing along with combat weapons. Within the framework of the operation in the Manasseh Brigade, three terrorist residences were razed, and in the Ephraim and Judah brigades, two more terrorist residences were razed.

Throughout operations in the Etzion and Samaria brigades, 21 suspects were detained, among them perpetrators who hurled rocks. The suspects who were detained and the arms that were seized were handed over for processing by the Judea and Samaria District Police and the Shin Bet.

The post IDF storms terrorists' West Bank villages appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Through this decision, Spain enters a considerable list of other nations that already declared similar sanctions against the two ministers this past June. The countries in question include the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Norway. Ben-Gvir reacted to the announcement by suggesting Madrid let Gazans who want to leave immigrate to Spain, writing in Spanish: "No me dejen entrar amí... a los de Gaza, denles entrada libre a España" (Don't let me in... to those from Gaza, give them free entry to Spain). The plan to have Gazans relocate voluntarily has been met by opposition by many countries, who view this as illegal, although Israel said this is never going to be imposed on the population.

Those nations attributed the sanctions to "incitement to violence against Palestinians" carried out by Ben-Gvir and Smotrich. The official statement at the time asserted that Ben-Gvir and Smotrich were "responsible for incitement, promotion, and support of activity that constitutes a serious violation of the human right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, especially acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians in the West Bank."

On Monday, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez stated that Spain "will increase the pressure" on Israel by forbidding ships and planes transporting weapons to Israel from docking at Spanish ports or entering Spanish airspace. He also announced the recalling of the ambassador.

Spain will also boost its assistance to the Palestinian Authority and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and will place an embargo on goods manufactured in Israeli settlements in the "occupied" Palestinian territories, he said.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa'ar stated in a declaration that Sánchez is attempting to deflect public focus from his internal corruption scandals and described his measures as "antisemitic."

Israel reacted by barring Minister of Labor and Social Economy Yolanda Díaz and Minister of Youth and Children Sira Rego, both from the junior far-left Sumar coalition partner, from entering Israel.

The post Spain bans Ben-Gvir, Smotrich as diplomatic row escalates appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Video: Twenty years after they were forcibly evacuated, families from the expelled residents of Sa-Nur and young couples have coalesced as a nucleus preparing for return and rebuilding the settlement / Credit: Samaria Regional Council

Dagan said at the meeting, "We are beginning a historic step today, the first session lasting two and a half hours of the founding nucleus of the renewed Sa-Nur settlement. The Government of Israel, led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, made a strategic and historic decision to return Jewish settlement to Sa-Nur in an official, state-sponsored, and complete manner. This step is not only a correction for the expelled families or for this nucleus of families, it is a national correction," Dagan added.

According to him, "What enabled the Holocaust of October 7, which led us to horror and the continuing war, is directly the expulsion from Gush Katif and northern Samaria. The nucleus here is consolidating in the coming months, to create settlement work, community work, together with all government ministries, and the State of Israel will rebuild northern Samaria and with God's help, also Gush Katif."

Religious Zionism party chairman and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who led the government decision, blessed the move and said, "Historic correction, the return to Sa-Nur – Zionism at its best. Twenty years after the expulsion and this year is a peak year in which we established 50 new settlements in Judea and Samaria."

"We re-established Sa-Nur, and establishing this return nucleus is truly good news. We are correcting the injustice in northern Samaria, and God willing, we will also correct the injustice of the expulsion from Gush Katif. I feel the fruits of the terror that sprouted in Gaza with enormous pain – the time for correction has come," he added.

The post 'Historic correction': 20 years after evacuation, Sa-Nur settlement to return appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

I have asked @Israel to aggressively investigate the murder of Saif Mussallet, an American citizen who was visiting family in Sinjil when he was beaten to death. There must be accountability for this criminal and terrorist act. Saif was just 20 yrs old.

— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) July 15, 2025

The ambassador's unusually forceful condemnation represents a striking departure from his typical pro-Israel rhetoric, according to The New York Times. "There must be accountability for this criminal and terrorist act," Huckabee declared in his statement, as reported by The New York Times.

The victim, Sayfollah Musallet, was a Florida resident who had traveled to visit family members in the region. Officials from the Palestinian Authority said that Mohammad Shalabi, 23, also perished in the Friday confrontations. Palestinian health authorities stated that Shalabi sustained gunshot wounds during the settler-Palestinian clashes, though the identity of the shooter remained unclear due to the presence of both armed settlers and Israeli military personnel at the scene, according to The New York Times.

Israeli military officials have declined to confirm or deny the reported fatalities, stating only that violent exchanges occurred between Palestinians and Israeli civilians near Sinjil. The circumstances surrounding Friday's deadly confrontation remain disputed. Israeli military sources claimed the violence began when Palestinians threw stones at Israeli civilians, resulting in minor injuries to two Israelis, according to The New York Times.

Trump selected Huckabee as his ambassador choice shortly after November's election.

The post US ambassador calls Palestinian's death 'terrorist act' appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Over the weekend, several dozen far-right Israelis attacked IDF reserve soldiers during one of their rampages in a Palestinian town. This was followed by other disturbing incidents, one in which Jewish Israelis torched a security installation meant to prevent terror attacks. That act was so outrageous that even National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (known for fanning the flames of settler violence) publicly condemned the perpetrators.

I thought we had seen the worst of it on February 26, 2023, when hundreds of Israeli far-right activists stormed and torched the Palestinian town of Huwara, killing one civilian and injuring hundreds. But what unfolded this weekend in Kafr Malik bore far too many parallels, and it must stop.

One of the most difficult and infuriating things for me to reckon with as an Israeli is not the constant threat of rocket fire or living in a country scarred by war, but knowing that Israeli citizens themselves are at times the source of violence and disruption. As someone who has spent years in public diplomacy, I can tell you that nothing damages Israel's image more than when fringe extremists or far-right politicians behave recklessly. Every society has its radicals, and Israel is no exception. But Israel, as a country already facing a tsunami of global antisemitism and delegitimization, cannot afford to allow these individuals to continue spreading violence unchecked.

And this goes far beyond public image. These extremists should not be on the streets at all. They are a danger not only to Palestinians but to Israelis as well, and they must be arrested and prosecuted like any other fundamentalist would be.

This past weekend, far-right activists stormed Kafr Malik, a Palestinian village near Ramallah, setting fire to homes and vehicles. According to Palestinian reports, they attacked residents without provocation. While media outlets often refer to them simply as "settlers," leaders within the settlement movement have stated that many of these attackers do not live in the West Bank but rather cross over from inside the Green Line to incite violence. At least 10 Palestinians were reportedly injured.

When the IDF arrived, they came under fire from within the village and returned fire, resulting in the deaths of three Palestinians. It remains unclear who initiated the gunfire, but what is certain is that this confrontation began with a Jewish extremist mob storming a Palestinian town, and it ended in bloodshed. The IDF and Shin Bet described the incident as a pogrom.

Roughly 24 hours later, IDF forces intercepted dozens of far-right activists driving through closed military zones near an illegal outpost built on private Palestinian land. The activists attacked the soldiers with stones and reportedly assaulted the regiment commander, attempting to choke him.

I'm not sure how much longer Israel can afford to avoid confronting the far-right fundamentalists operating in the West Bank. Yes, they may be a fringe minority, but they've been allowed to act with impunity for far too long, emboldened by inflammatory rhetoric from far-right politicians and the perception that they will not be held accountable. Their violence ultimately harms the broader settlement movement, the majority of whom are law-abiding citizens. And they stretch the IDF thin, forcing security forces meant to defend settlements to divert precious resources toward controlling rogue actors from within.

Both IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the weekend's events. Zamir made clear that if this violence is not addressed systematically, it could lead to catastrophe.

Since 2005, extremist Israeli Jews have committed acts of violence against Israeli Arabs, Palestinians, and IDF soldiers, often in retaliation for government decisions to pause settlement expansion or in response to acts of Palestinian terrorism. But regardless of one's stance on how to confront Palestinian violence, so-called "price tag" attacks are too often driven by sheer racism and hatred. Nothing, absolutely nothing, justifies Israeli citizens taking the law into their own hands.

These raids on Palestinian villages have become disturbingly frequent, and both the Shin Bet and the IDF have expressed deep concern over how to respond. The IDF's main roles in the West Bank are to thwart terror and to protect Israeli citizens in settlement communities, not to police Israeli civilians or arrest lawbreakers. That job belongs to the Israel Police and the Shin Bet, who must be given both the mandate and better resources to act.

The Israeli government has previously set up task forces to investigate these attacks, but those efforts have been criticized as insufficient and inconsistent. The failure to act decisively has allowed the problem to fester, and it should never have become a political issue in the first place.

Israel is not a society that glorifies terrorism or lawlessness. The overwhelming majority of Israelis (including those in the settlement movement) reject this violence and want it to end. As Israel considers the future of Gaza and what comes next, it must also look inward and ask: How do we finally confront the threat posed by far-right Jewish extremism? Whether it comes from Hamas rockets or extremist settlers with torches, violence is violence – and it endangers us all.

The post Israel must crack down on far-right extremists – before it's too late appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The Palestinians danced on rooftops when Saddam Hussein fired Scud missiles at us during the first Gulf War (1991), and also on September 11, 2001, after nearly 3,000 Americans were murdered in the world's greatest terror attack. Palestinians also celebrated the "small" events – when five people were murdered in Bnei Brak, they celebrated at Damascus Gate, and in Jenin and refugee camps in Lebanon (March 2022). After the murder of seven people in Jerusalem's Neve Yaakov neighborhood a few years ago, residents in Hebron were beside themselves with joy.

The celebration of that specific murder also spilled over to the Lebanese refugee camp Nahr al-Bared, where masses took to the streets. Palestinians in Jordan also joined the dance of hatred after the murder of three Israelis at the Allenby crossing last September. Even in Ramallah, capital of the "moderate" Palestinian Authority, they celebrated the murder of two Israelis on Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv three years ago.

The examples are countless and space is limited, but the bottom line is that many Palestinians, not to mention Palestinian society, dance on Jewish blood, and often also on "Western" blood – dancing on blood literally. Not as a metaphor or image – but as a disturbed dance, devoid of morality and without restraint.

Israeli Arabs

On the margins, this barbarism also spills over to a small part of Israeli Arabs. Just in recent days, they celebrated in Umm al-Fahm, in Kafr Kanna, and in Silwan the fall of Iranian missiles in Bat Yam and Rishon LeZion. This happens to Israeli Arabs who define themselves as "Palestinians" and explain that they are not really "Israeli Arabs," but rather "Arabs living in Israel."

Palestinians rejoice even when Iranian missiles fall near them or among their houses. The hatred runs so deep. Incidentally, the Jewish song "May your village burn" after the Iranian missile hit the village of Tamra, and the death of four women there, is equally reprehensible, but in the Jewish sector, it is exceptional, and does not constitute a phenomenon.

This accounting with the Palestinians must be done mainly for ourselves, because in a month, or half a year, or a year, when the country may be quiet, again people will rise from among us – they never tire – who will speak to us about "shared life," "in the shared land," with the "neighbor" and the "partner," and about "the two-state solution," as if October 7 never happened, as if the axis of evil – of which the Palestinians, as a population and as a society, are an integral part – was not severely damaged.

Open a file

So, despite the fact that Palestinian culture sanctifies blood and glorifies murderers, this has developed a tradition of many years – we must not tire of dealing with it. Open a file and preserve in it the documentation from these days of war, and from hundreds and thousands more attacks in which families, elderly people, women, and children were murdered, whose deaths brought Palestinians so much satisfaction.

We probably cannot prevent this phenomenon, it is too deep and widespread. Israel will not establish a thought police and is not capable of controlling such fires of hatred-joy on such a scale. But what is possible is to record this before us in bright letters so that we do not forget and do not forgive, and especially so that we do not delude ourselves again with illusions about our "partner."

The post The missiles kill – and they dance appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.