Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday banned International Red Cross representatives from visiting Palestinian terrorists in Israeli prisons. Critics of the Red Cross say the visits facilitate the Palestinian Authority’s controversial “pay for slay” salaries distributed to security prisoners.

“The opinions presented to me indicate without a doubt that this would constitute a serious harm to state security,” Katz said.

Itamar Marcus, director of Palestinian Media Watch, told The Press Service of Israel that the visits enable prisoners to fill out and sign paperwork necessary for the Palestinian Authority to begin making the payments.

“The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an impartial, neutral and independent organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence.” — ICRC Mission Statement

Israel is fully justified in banning the ICRC from visiting Palestinian terrorist in Israeli prisons. Throughout the two-year hostage crisis in Israel, the International Committee of the Red Cross refrained from seeking access to the hostages. They did not call for medical examinations, failed to send verification teams, and made no public announcements. It is evident that their actions were an effort to appease terrorism, thereby compromising their core mission.

Source:
Israel Blocks Red Cross Visits to Prisons That Enable ‘Pay for Slay’ Salaries to Terrorists, Pesach Benson/TPS-IL, October 29, 2025

Construction is set to begin in the coming weeks on the first two sections of an upgraded security barrier along Israel’s border with Jordan, the Defense Ministry announced on Thursday.

“Looking ahead to the emerging threats, we must act with a sense of urgency and strengthen the strategic grip on the eastern border,” said Maj. Gen. (Res.) Amir Baram, the Defense Ministry’s Director General. “This is not just a physical obstacle, but a complete multi-layered system that will include the deployment of flexible and mobile forces, adapted to the topography and changing threats. This is alongside encouraging Zionist-security settlement and investment in security-civilian infrastructure.”

Israel’s border with Jordan, the country’s longest, has seen a surge in weapons smuggling as Iranian operatives attempt to deliver arms to Palestinian terror groups via the Jordan Valley, due to its proximity to Syria and Lebanon.

Proactive strategies for enhancing security should continue to be a top priority on Israel’s defense agenda.

Source:
Israel Greenlights Initial Work on Jordan Valley Security Fence, by Pesach Benson/TPS-IL, October 30, 2025

At the start of the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed claims regarding American involvement in Israel’s security policy.

“Over the past month, we have been witnessing ridiculous claims regarding the relationship between the United States and Israel. When I was in Washington, it was said there that I control the American administration, that I dictate its security policy to it. Now, the opposite is being claimed – the American administration controls me and dictates Israel’s security policy. Neither of these is true,” the Prime Minister insisted.

Later in his remarks, the Prime Minister discussed recent military actions: “But I want to make one thing crystal clear: Our security policy is in our own hands. We are not prepared to tolerate attacks against us. We respond according to our own judgment against attacks, as we saw in Lebanon and most recently in Gaza. We dropped 150 tons on Hamas and the terrorist elements after the attack on our two soldiers. And of course, we also thwart dangers as they are being formed, before they are carried out, as we did just yesterday in the Gaza Strip.”

Netanyahu asserts that Israel does not need any form of authorization and that state security is under Israel’s management. Therefore, the choice to assert sovereignty over Judea and Samaria is exclusively Israel’s responsibility. This declaration of sovereignty is essential for enhancing Israel’s security and must be executed IMMEDIATELY.

Source:
Netanyahu: ‘Israel controls its own security, not the US’, by Israel National News, October 26, 2025

Finance Minister and Religious Zionism Party Chairman Bezalel Smotrich addressed recent political and security developments during his party’s faction meeting on Monday, saying that “the war is not yet over.”

According to him, “There are agreements and attempts to stabilize the situation, but the real test lies in implementation. The State of Israel will not allow the reconstruction of Gaza as long as Hamas is not completely dismantled – militarily, politically, and administratively.”

Smotrich stressed, “We will not allow the creation of a renewed terrorist entity under the guise of ‘humanitarian reconstruction.’ Genuine demilitarization is a fundamental condition for rebuilding, and any attempt to bypass this will be categorically rejected. The security of Israel’s citizens comes first.”

Source:
Smotrich: ‘We won’t allow reconstruction of Gaza as long as Hamas rules’, by Israel National News, October 27, 2025

Last week, IDF forces continued intensive counterterrorism operations throughout Judea and Samaria.

As part of operations carried out across various sectors, dozens of weapons and arms were located and confiscated, and suspects involved in terrorism or planning attacks were arrested.

In the Etzion and Binyamin Brigades, focused operations continue: In Beit Ummar and the village of Qatanna, two additional “Carlo” guns were confiscated. Dozens of suspects were arrested in these areas, including two terrorists who were planning to carry out terror attacks in Jalazone and Beit Ummar. Additionally, a terrorist who had thrown rocks at Israeli civilians was arrested in Halhul.

Notwithstanding the alleged ceasefire, preparations for terrorist attacks continued to be formulated. Who, on the opposing side, is ensuring accountability for those violating the ceasefire?

Source:
Judea and Samaria: IDF arrests 44 terrorists, two of whom were planning attacks, by Israel National News, October 24, 2025

With a majority of one vote, the Knesset on Wednesday approved, in a preliminary reading, a bill proposed by Noam Party Chairman MK Avi Maoz to apply Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.

In addition, a bill proposed by Yisrael Beytenu Chairman MK Avigdor Liberman to apply sovereignty over the city of Maale Adumim passed 32-9.

Today, the Prime Minister’s Office published an unusually harsh statement regarding the vote in the Knesset to apply sovereignty over Judea and Samaria. Netanyahu stated, “The Knesset vote on annexation was a deliberate political provocation by the opposition to sow discord during Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Israel.”

Advancing the application of sovereignty over Judea and Samaria has successfully undergone a preliminary reading, which is a significant achievement and a positive step forward. On the flip side, the necessity for this matter to be discussed and voted on incrementally prolongs the process regarding issues that should not require debate to start with. Until a time arrives when there is no doubt or internal contention regarding Israel’s legal rights to Judea and Samaria, political circumstances compel Israel to endure what so far seems like an endless dress rehearsal.

Until a conclusive “yes” vote regarding the application of sovereignty is achieved, it is regrettably accurate to say that Netanyahu’s statement holds truth, while simultaneously it is exasperating that he refrains from officially declaring sovereignty.

Sources:
Knesset passes Judea and Samaria sovereignty bill in preliminary reading, by Hezki Baruch/Israel National News, October 22, 2025

Netanyahu: Sovereignty vote ‘a deliberate political provocation by the opposition’, by Israel National News, October 23, 2025

Chair of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Subcommittee for Judea and Samaria, MK Tzvi Succot, wrote to Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, calling on him to halt plans to disband regional defense battalions in Judea and Samaria.

Succot warned that the move could lead to serious security gaps. He said this risk is particularly acute at a time when the level of security threats is increasing.

Succot emphasized that comprehensive measures to stop terrorist cells operating in Judea and Samaria have not yet been taken. He wrote that since the outbreak of the war, thousands of civilians were mobilized under emergency orders to reinforce defense in the communities, and those reserve forces played a central role in protecting residents.

At the end of his letter, MK Succot called on the Chief of Staff to immediately reverse the planned demobilization. He requested that any change occur only after a solution is found that will ensure the security of all Judea and Samaria communities.

Source:
MK Succot Warns: IDF to cut defense forces in Judea and Samaria, by Israel National News, October 23, 2025

The International Court of Justice has ruled that Israel must facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip through UN agencies, including UNRWA, ignoring the extent to which UNRWA has been compromised by and works with the Hamas terrorist organization.

ICJ President Yuji Iwasawa stated: “The court finds that Israel has not substantiated its allegations that a significant part of UNRWA’s employees are ‘members of Hamas… or other terrorist factions.”

Iwasawa also said that Israel failed to provide sufficient evidence that a significant number of Hamas terrorists were employed by UNRWA.

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon said in response: “The [ICJ’s] decision is a shameful decision. They are blaming Israel for not cooperating with UN organs…They should be blaming themselves. Those organs became breeding grounds for terrorists. Take, for example, UNRWA…an organization that supported Hamas for years.”

No quantity of substantial evidence, such as that presented by Israel, can alter the ruling of a corrupt entity, and the ICJ has undoubtedly demonstrated its corruption once more!

Source:
ICJ demands Israel cooperate with UNRWA, by Israel National News, October 22, 2025

The Trump administration pressured Israel on Sunday not to withdraw from a fragile truce with the Hamas terror organization, a senior US official said, even after Hamas cells carried out attacks on Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip.

On Sunday morning, three separate violations of the Gaza ceasefire were reported: sniper attacks on an IDF position in eastern Gaza, an infiltration attempt by Hamas terrorists in northern Gaza, and a deadly missile attack on an IDF armored personnel carrier in southern Gaza.

After the attacks, one of which left two soldiers dead and three wounded, the Trump administration rushed to save the Gaza truce from collapsing, pressing Israel to limit its reprisals.

Both sides, a Trump administration official added, remain committed to the ceasefire, with Israel and Hamas hesitant to escalate the conflict back into a “full-scale war.”

Another Trump administration official said the future of the ceasefire was far from certain and that its fate would likely be decided in the next month.

It’s understood that Hamas is far from a trustworthy entity and these latest terrorist attacks come as no surprise. Hamas has shown it is not genuinely committed to the ceasefire and through its executions of “collaborators” has asserted its control of the strip. Even if it was a splinter group responsible for the deaths of the two IDF soldiers, the attacks must be stopped. It remains to be seen whether Hamas will implement measures to ensure that their obligations under the ceasefire agreement are upheld.

Source:
US pressured Israel to ‘show restraint’ after soldiers were killed by Hamas – report, by World Israel News Staff, October 20, 2025

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Almog Cohen and MK Tzvi Sukkot held an extended tour last Friday of the illegal Bedouin village of Bir Hadaj to investigate drone smuggling from the Egyptian border.

The roughly two-hour visit drew violent resistance from local residents. The two refused to leave and completed the tour. Although the visit had been coordinated in advance and official requests were submitted, police did not arrive on site in time, which contributed to clashes with rioters.

MK Zvi Sukkot, chairman of the Subcommittee on Judea and Samaria Affairs of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, said: “Today we saw up close how criminal elements are trying to undermine security in the south.”

Deputy Minister Almog Cohen added: “The tour showed how essential it is to act consistently and forcefully against anyone who threatens Israel’s security. We will continue to reach everywhere to restore governance and security to citizens of Israel.

It is critical that the South receive due attention. In the broader context, this represents a different type of war in Israel’s continuous struggle to protect and ensure its security.

Source:
MKs Almog Cohen and Tzvi Succot attacked in Bir Hadaj and refuse to evacuate, by Hezki Baruch/Israel National News, October 17, 2025