Author: AFSI Staff

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) could face a gradual shutdown under a proposal to transfer its responsibilities in Gaza to the US-backed Board of Peace and its operations in Judea and Samaria to the Palestinian Authority, according to a report published Sunday by Israel Hayom.

Arab and Western diplomatic sources told the newspaper that UNRWA Acting Commissioner-General Christian Saunders has been advancing the initiative in response to the agency’s worsening financial crisis and Israeli legislation restricting its activities.

The proposal would mark a significant restructuring of international assistance to Palestinians, potentially ending UNRWA’s decades-long role as the principal provider of education, healthcare and social services to millions of Palestinians.

AFSI Insight
The possible permanent closure of UNRWA would be a welcome and long-overdue development. For years, UNRWA has perpetuated the Palestinian refugee narrative, promoted an inherited refugee status across generations, and operated in an environment where employees and facilities have been linked to Hamas and terrorist activity. Its financial crisis should not be viewed merely as a budgetary problem, but as an opportunity to dismantle an institution that has helped sustain the conflict rather than resolve it. Humanitarian assistance should be delivered through transparent, accountable organizations that do not perpetuate hatred, terrorism, or the false promise of a so-called right of return. UNRWA must not be rebranded or rescued under another name. Its closure should be permanent.

The reported plan to transfer UNRWA’s responsibilities in Gaza and Judea and Samaria must not become a cosmetic restructuring that allows the agency’s destructive legacy to continue under new management. The real test is whether the world finally ends UNRWA’s role in perpetuating the Palestinian refugee fiction, the so-called right of return, and an institutional culture that has enabled Hamas and fueled generations of hostility toward Israel. Humanitarian services can and should continue through accountable organizations, but UNRWA must be permanently dismantled—not rescued with a new name or funding source.

Source:
UNRWA may be permanently shut down amid growing deficit – report, by World Israel News Staff, November 2, 2026

Disturbing footage emerged on Monday from the evacuation of the “Ura Yisrael” hilltop outpost near Ariel, after security forces arrived at the site, located near the Palestinian Authority town of Salfit, earlier in the morning to demolish structures erected there.

According to the IDF, the operation was part of renewed enforcement action against illegal construction in an area declared a closed military zone.

During the demolition, a Civil Administration bulldozer was filmed striking a residential building while several teenagers were sitting on its roof. Following the impact, the teenagers were seen losing their grip and falling from the roof.

AFSI Insight
The disturbing footage of the evacuation near Ariel raises ongoing and serious concerns about the treatment of Jewish residents in Judea and Samaria and the government’s priorities in protecting Jewish communities. While law and order must be maintained, the use of heavy machinery against a residential structure with teenagers on its roof is deeply troubling. AFSI believes that Jewish communities and strategic hilltop outposts are essential to maintaining Israel’s presence and security in Judea and Samaria. The government must stop undermining the very communities that help secure Israel’s heartland and ensure that enforcement policies do not target Jewish pioneers while illegal Arab construction and territorial encroachment continue.

Source:
Disturbing footage from Hilltop outpost: Tumultuous evacuation near Ariel, by Israel National News, November 2, 2026

An attempt to pave a road from the city of Shechem (Nablus) toward the site of Joshua’s Altar on Mount Ebal was thwarted last Thursday morning after residents of the Mitzpe Yehoshua outpost spotted heavy construction equipment operating in the area.

The residents alerted the security coordinator of a nearby community, reported the incident to the IDF, and arrived at the scene. According to the residents, the equipment operators stopped working and fled toward Shechem, while one of the construction vehicles was seized and confiscated.

The incident occurred near the Mitzpe Yehoshua community, which was established close to the ancient site on Mount Ebal. According to the residents’ account, several pieces of heavy construction equipment were being used to pave a gravel road intended to connect Shechem with the area of the altar.

AFSI Insight
AFSI views the thwarted attempt to pave a road from Shechem to Joshua’s Altar on Mount Ebal as another example of the Palestinian Authority’s ongoing efforts to encroach upon Jewish historical and biblical sites in Judea and Samaria. These repeated attempts to take control of sites of profound Jewish significance underscore the urgency of establishing a permanent Jewish presence, protecting Israel’s heritage, and asserting Israeli sovereignty. Israel must not allow its biblical history to be erased or surrendered through incremental territorial encroachment.

Source:
Attempt to pave road to Joshua’s Altar thwarted, by Israel National News, October 30, 2026

Central Elections Committee chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg has instructed Shin Bet director David Zini to urgently investigate allegations that foreign money was used to illegally increase Arab voter turnout in Tuesday’s Knesset elections.

Investigators are examining suspicions that millions of shekels entered Israel through foreign financial networks, potentially involving Qatar and Turkey, and were distributed through intermediaries and local organizations. Some suspected transfer routes reportedly overlap with networks previously used for terror financing.

Sohlberg requested findings within a week. Neither Qatar nor Turkey has been publicly established as a source of the alleged payments, but most suspicions are pointing at Qatar as the prime suspect.

AFSI Insight
The threat to Israel’s security may extend beyond conventional terrorism. If the allegations of foreign funding and illegal election interference are substantiated, they would point to a disturbing possibility: hostile foreign actors attempting to weaken Israel from within by exploiting its democratic system. A country can be undermined not only through violence and rockets, but also through covert financing, political subversion, and efforts to influence its national leadership. Israel must investigate these allegations thoroughly, expose any foreign-backed networks, and prosecute those proven to have violated the law. Protecting Israel requires vigilance against threats from outside its borders and subversion from within. Israel’s democracy must never become a weapon in the hands of those seeking to undermine the Jewish state.

Source:
Shin Bet Probes Suspected Qatar Election Interference Funding Amid Arab Vote-Buying Allegations, by The News Desk/The Jewish Edition, October 29, 2026

Hamas wants Israel to know it is ready to slaughter Jews again, and a senior United Nations official delivered the message. Senior Hamas officials sent Israel an unusually blunt and direct warning that the terrorist organization is prepared to carry out another attack similar to the October 7, 2023, massacre and could strike wherever the opportunity arises, inside Israel, in Judea and Samaria and abroad. The courier was Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN’s Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and its Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator.

For a body that has spent three years refusing to hold Hamas accountable for October 7, serving as its mailman marks a new low.

The Hamas officials met with Alakbarov at his office in the Gaza Strip and asked him to convey the warning to Israel. He did. Alakbarov conveyed the message to Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), Maj. Gen. Yoram Halevy, who wrote to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz that the threat was unusually blunt.

Channel 13 published an excerpt from Halevy’s memo. According to the excerpt, Hamas told Alakbarov it is “ready to again carry out an attack such as the October 7 attack” and is prepared to act on any front where this becomes possible. Israeli officials described it as an extraordinary threat, unprecedented in its bluntness and directness.

AFSI Insight
The UN has reached a new low by relaying Hamas’s threat to repeat the October 7 massacre without publicly condemning its genocidal intentions. Its continued failure to hold Hamas accountable, coupled with persistent allegations of UNRWA complicity with terrorism, exposes the organization’s moral bankruptcy and anti-Israel bias. Israel must never and fortunately does not rely on a compromised international body for its security. AFSI calls for an uncompromising defense of the Jewish state, the thorough dismantling of Hamas, and the assertion of Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria to protect Israel’s heartland from another October 7.

Source:
The UN’s new low: Delivering Hamas’s threat of another October 7, by Tamar Stein/Israel365News, October 27, 2026

IDF forces on Tuesday morning demolished a monument in the Samaria village of Madama that had for decades glorified terrorists who murdered Jews.

During the operation, additional monuments were demolished in nearby villages, following demands by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and MK Tzvi Succot to remove memorials honoring terrorists throughout Judea and Samaria.

Earlier, Smotrich and Succot, who chairs the Knesset Subcommittee on Judea and Samaria, submitted a document to the IDF identifying dozens of such monuments in Palestinian Arab villages.

Succot said, “It is unacceptable for those who harmed Jews and IDF soldiers to be commemorated and regarded as heroes by the next generation.”

AFSI Insight
AFSI welcomes the IDF’s demolition of monuments glorifying terrorists in Samaria as a necessary step toward confronting the culture of incitement that fuels anti-Jewish violence. Terrorists who murder Jews and Israeli soldiers must never be celebrated as heroes. However, removing these monuments is only one part of the response. Israel must go further by dismantling terrorist infrastructure, repealing the Oslo Accords, rejecting the two-state agenda, and extending Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria. The Jewish people’s historic homeland must be defended through decisive action, not temporary measures.

Source:
IDF demolishes monuments glorifying terrorists in Samaria, by Israel National News, October 27, 2026

Israeli security forces are investigating whether an AFP photographer had advance knowledge of last Friday morning’s terrorist attack near Yehuda Junction, outside Hebron, in which five Israelis were wounded, two critically.

The photographer, Hazem Bader, working for the French news agency AFP, was present during the prolonged gun battle between two Arab terrorists and IDF soldiers. His photographs captured the terrorists during the fighting, including while they were reloading their weapons, and subsequently photographed their bodies after Israeli forces killed them.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister and Minister in the Defense Ministry Bezalel Smotrich directed the immediate demolition of illegal Arab structures along the road near the attack site.

On Sunday Israeli security forces launched a major operation in the Hebron area with Hebron and Halhul placed under closure and troops sent into the city to pursue suspects and target terror infrastructure. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also directed the security establishment to prepare for the possibility of closing Judea and Samaria entirely.

Today, the Zionist response to this is that eight new settlement sites are being established in the Hebron Hills following a deadly terrorist attack over the weekend that killed IDF soldiers Staff Sgt. Ron Yonatan Roitman and Sgt. Yuval Shai Soylam. Smotrich described the initiative as strengthening Jewish settlement alongside measures against illegal Arab construction. Recent enforcement actions included demolitions of unauthorized Arab structures near the attack site. Smotrich warned that a future government could halt settlement expansion and enable a Palestinian terrorist state.

AFSI Insight
More than military operations in response to terrorism are needed along with sovereignty over Judea and Samaria. The murder of two IDF soldiers is another stark reminder that temporary security measures cannot replace decisive political action. Israel must dismantle terrorist networks, eliminate illegal Arab construction that threatens its security and territorial control, and expand Jewish communities throughout the heartland of Israel. Establishing new settlements in the Hebron Hills is a step forward, but it must be part of a comprehensive national policy: extend Israeli sovereignty, repeal the Oslo Accords, reject the failed two-state agenda, and secure Israel’s historic homeland for future generations. Terrorism must never dictate Israel’s borders or determine the future of its land. The time for half-measures is over. Judea and Samaria are the heartland of the Jewish homeland—not bargaining chips. Israeli sovereignty is the path to security, stability, and a secure future for Israel.

Sources:
Eight New Settlements Established in Hebron Hills Following Deadly Terror Attack, by David Israel/TPS-IL, October 26, 2026

Israel launches major Hebron operation after terrorists kill 2 IDF soldiers, by Vered Weiss/World Israel News, October 24, 206

After Terror Attack: AFP Photographer Under Investigation; Smotrich to Demolish Illegal Arab Structures, by the News Desk/The Jewish Edition, October 23, 2026

The Har Hebron Regional Council has announced plans to establish two new communities and six agricultural farms in the southern Hebron Hills following Friday’s deadly terrorist attack near Hebron, in which two IDF soldiers were killed.

The initiative, which includes eight new settlement sites across the region, is being advanced with the support of the Defense Ministry’s Settlement Administration and the Amana settlement movement.

The council said the plan is intended to strengthen Israel’s presence in the area, establish territorial continuity, protect state land, and improve security along roads and in open areas.

AFSI Insight
The planned establishment of two new Jewish communities and six farms in the southern Hebron Hills is a welcome response to terrorism and a vital step toward strengthening Israel’s presence in Judea and Samaria. AFSI believes that Jewish communities must not retreat in the face of terror; they must expand, deepen their roots, and secure the land. But settlement growth must be part of a broader commitment to full Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, ending the failed Oslo framework, and ensuring that Israel’s historic homeland remains firmly under Jewish control. Terrorism must never dictate where Jews can live in their own land.

Source:
Two towns and six farms planned in response to shooting attack, by Israel National News, October 25, 2026

The mayor of Sderot, Alon Davidi, paid a solidarity visit to the temporary encampment “Halutzei Aza” (Pioneers of Gaza), established near the northern perimeter under the leadership of the Nachala Movement.

During the gathering, Lital Slonim, of the Nachala movement management, emphasized the stance of the families settled at the site: “Many families left everything behind and moved here with a clear demand from the government: let us be the pioneers who restore settlement in Gaza. This is the only way to ensure the country’s security, and it is the true answer to what we endured on October 7.”

Davidi voiced support for the pioneers and the movement’s leadership, headed by Daniella Weiss, calling them “the heroes of this story.”

AFSI Insight
AFSI applauds Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi for supporting the Gaza Pioneers and calling for a new Jewish neighborhood in northern Gaza. Israel’s 2005 Disengagement from Gaza was a strategic mistake that weakened security and uprooted Jewish communities. AFSI believes lasting security requires more than military operations—it demands a firm commitment to Jewish sovereignty, rebuilding Jewish communities, and restoring a permanent Jewish presence in this historic part of the Land of Israel.

Source:
Sderot mayor asks for new neighborhood at Gaza Pioneers site, by Israel National News, October 22, 2026

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that he had directed the Israel Defense Forces, Mossad and other security branches to pursue the overthrow of the Iranian regime, calling it the only way to eliminate the nuclear threat from Tehran.

“There is only one way to remove this threat once and for all: overthrow the regime in Iran. And that is my directive to the IDF, the Mossad and the security branches,” Netanyahu told an IDF officer course graduation ceremony.

“As long as they are here, as long as they strive to acquire horrific weapons, the State of Israel faces an existential threat,” Netanyahu said. “And our duty, the duty of all of us, is to save the nation.”

AFSI Insight
AFSI views the prospect of ending Iran’s current regime as a critical security issue for Israel. The Iranian regime’s support for terrorist organizations and its threats against the Jewish state underscore the need to confront the source of regional aggression. Any strategy aimed at regime change must be backed by sustained intelligence, military preparedness, and a clear commitment to protecting Israel’s long-term security.

AFSI supports Israel’s determination to eliminate the Iranian regime’s nuclear threat and its ongoing efforts to prevent Tehran from rebuilding its weapons capabilities. Netanyahu’s directive reflects the recognition that Israel’s security requires confronting not only Iran’s nuclear ambitions but also the regime that supports terrorism and threatens Israel’s existence.

Source:
Netanyahu orders IDF, Mossad to pursue overthrow of Iranian regime, by JNS Staff, October 22, 2026