Author: AFSI Staff

Israeli authorities have extended morning visiting hours for Jewish worshippers at the Temple Mount by one hour during Ramadan, marking the first such move during the Islamic holy month.

An Israel Police spokesman confirmed to JNS on Sunday that the holiest site for the Jewish people would be open for Jews between 6:30 and 11:30 a.m., Sunday through Thursday, as non-Muslims are routinely barred from visiting in the afternoon hours during Ramadan, which began on Tuesday evening.

The status quo has increasingly been tested in recent years, with Jewish rights activists pushing the boundaries and police at times appearing to tolerate visible prayer, in particular since Ben-Gvir took office in 2022.

Thousands of Israeli security personnel were deployed across Jerusalem and the surrounding areas on Friday as authorities went on alert for the first mass prayers of Ramadan, traditionally a period of heightened tensions.

Until complete Israeli sovereignty over the Temple Mount is established, along with equal rights for the Jewish people to this holy site, any incremental progress will be insufficient; thus, merely adding one more hour for Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount is inadequate.

Source:
Israel extends visiting hours for Jews at Temple Mount during Ramadan, by JNS Staff, February 22, 2026

US President Donald Trump delivered a speech at the start of the inaugural meeting of his Board of Peace Thursday. Trump noted that representatives of 48 nations attended the meeting.

“We have a large group of leaders, the ones that aren’t here are watching on Zoom,” he said. “What we’re doing is very simple: Peace. It’s called the Board of Peace, and it’s all about an easy word to say, but a hard word to produce. We’re gonna produce it.”

He called the Board of Peace “one of the most important and consequential things that I’ll be involved in.” He added that “there’s never been anything close” to the Board of Peace “in terms of power and in terms of prestige” because of the world leaders who agreed to join the board or to support it. “This is the most prestigious board ever put together.”

On Iran, Trump stated, “Now we may have to take it a step further, or we may not. Maybe we’re going to make a deal. You’re going to be finding out over the next probably 10 days,” he said. He added that Iran “must make a deal” or “bad things will happen.”

“With the commitments announces today, the Board of Peace is proving that it does not just convene countries, it devises and implements and real solutions happen. We’ve come up with solutions. This is very little talk- all action,” he said.

As of now, Hamas has neither disarmed nor has Gaza been demilitarized. Reconstruction of the strip cannot commence until these two matters are addressed which presents a significant dilemma for Hamas. Will they opt for the straightforward path of disarmament, or will they face the repercussions of their inaction? Additionally, the ceasefire has been repeatedly violated. With Trump’s ultimatum directed at Iran looming, we maintain our hope for a regime change that will eradicate proxies and other threats; nuclear capabilities alone are insufficient! All of these factors remain precariously balanced as the Board of Peace progresses with these mandatory unresolved issues. The top priority must be enforcement and the challenge is ahead of them. We hope they will rise to it.

Source:
Trump at Board of Peace: There might be a deal with Iran, you’ll find out in 10 days, by Israel National News, February 19, 2026

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/422681

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Tuesday that his party will work after this year’s Knesset election to push for the nullification of the Oslo Accords which established the Palestinian Authority.

Speaking at a conference of community leaders at the Psagot Winery north of Jerusalem, Smotrich laid out some of the Religious Zionist Party’s goals for the next Knesset: chief among them, taking steps to ensure that a Palestinian state will never be formed in Judea and Samaria.

“I am now presenting to you one of our goals for the next term: the destruction of the idea of an Arab terror state, the cancellation of the cursed Oslo Accords, and moving onto the path of sovereignty,” Smotrich said. His party will also lobby for the abolition of the Oslo Accords and the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority. Smotrich added that he would work to promote Palestinian mass emigration, as well as the resettlement of the Gaza Strip, reestablishing Israeli towns.

In place of the Palestinian Authority, Smotrich proposed a new Israeli military administration to govern Judea and Samaria.

We commend MK Smotrich for his continued endeavors to amend yet another unsuccessful policy that confronts Israel. What was meant to be a long-lasting peace agreement with Israel has proven to be quite the opposite. The Palestinian people viewed the Oslo Accords not as a definitive resolution to improve their circumstances, but rather as a continuation of their resolve to eradicate Israel. For them, the objective of Oslo was always to gradually expand the territory under Palestinian governance, with the ultimate aim of Israel’s disappearance and its replacement by ‘Palestine.’ The Knesset must unanimously annul the Oslo Accords, and if the reasons for this are not clear by now, they ought to reconsider the criteria for their decision-making process.

Source:
Israeli minister pushes to annul Oslo Accords, promote Palestinian mass migration, by World Israel News Staff

Iran was elected on Wednesday to the position of vice-chair of the United Nations Charter Committee- a committee that deals with the fundamental principles of the UN Charter and explores ways to “strengthen the Charter.”

The Charter Committee is a special committee of the UN Legal Committee, which convenes once a year. In practice, it is a forum that has difficulty promoting practical steps due to the requirement of consensus, but in recent years it has become an arena for political confrontations and harsh criticism of Israel.

Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, criticized the move, saying: “This is a moral absurdity. A country that systematically violates the basic principles of the UN cannot sit in a leadership position that deals with strengthening them. The UN cannot continue to grant legitimacy to regimes that violate the very principles of its own charter.

We are shaking our heads in disbelief. There is nothing positive to express regarding this disgraceful agency.

Source:
‘Moral absurdity:’ Iran elected vice-chair of UN Charter Committee, by Israel National News, February 18, 2026

Jerusalem’s decision to resume the process of registering land in Judea and Samaria intends to put an end to the “current chaos that is bad for everyone—Jews and Arabs alike,” Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who led the move, told JNS on Monday afternoon.

“We have been controlling Judea and Samaria for over 50 years, but the land registration process was halted—the British and the Jordanians registered 30% of the land, and we stopped it,” Smotrich explained, speaking at a meeting of his Religious Zionism Party in Jerusalem.

According to Smotrich, who also serves as a second minister in Israel’s Defense Ministry with responsibility for civilian matters in Judea and Samaria, “when land is not formally registered, it is not recorded anywhere; there are many mistakes, arguments and disputes.”

The current reality, he said, “the current chaos, is bad for everyone—Jews and Arabs alike. It harms rights. All we want to do is create order.”

Sunday’s decision to reopen land registration for the first time since the 1967 Six-Day War “does not dispossess anyone of their rights—on the contrary, it protects those rights,” the finance minister continued.

This plan aims to guarantee lawful governance and historical rights for Israel and its citizens and is also essential for effective governance, security, and sustainable development. The nearly six-decade land freeze that Israel has faced has resulted in a significant legal and administrative void, leading to extended land conflicts, document falsifications, and widespread illegal land appropriation. By endorsing this measure, Israel will be able to assert its sovereign authority over its land and safeguard its national interests.

Source:
Judea and Samaria land registry to benefit ‘Jews and Arabs alike,’ says Smotrich, by Akiva Van Koningsveld, Amelie Botbol/JNS, February 17, 2026

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid out Israel’s terms Sunday for the implementation of the second phase of the Trump administration’s Gaza plan and set out conditions for Jerusalem’s acceptance of a possible nuclear deal between the US and Iran.

President Donald Trump, Netanyahu said, “is determined to exhaust the possibilities of achieving a deal,” while the Israeli premier said he was skeptical that a positive agreement can be reached.

Netanyahu added that along with strong measures to verify Iranian compliance, any nuclear deal must include the removal of all enriched uranium from Iran along with not having capability to enrich in the future.

Iran must also abandon its development and production of long and medium-range ballistic missiles, Netanyahu said. He emphasized that Israel will not accept a partial disarmament of Hamas either.

Netanyahu’s conditions regarding Iran are absolute. Even a minimal concession that permits Iran to possess any degree of enrichment or weaponry merely enables them to sustain their malicious objective of annihilating Israel.

Source:
Netanyahu rules out partial Hamas disarmament, says Iran must surrender uranium stockpile, by David Rosenberg/World Israel News, February 16, 2026

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has directed that a proposed constitution for a future Palestinian state be made public.

The initial drafts claim that Jerusalem is the center of its state and appear to support the “pay for slay” policy of providing money to terrorists and their families.

The preamble frames the constitution as part of a broader struggle against what it describes as “colonial settlement occupation,” “ethnic cleansing,” and “genocide” in Gaza and the West Bank.

The document does not reference Jewish historical or religious connections to the city.

The text also commits the state to safeguarding Islamic and Christian holy sites and declares that any actions altering Jerusalem’s “character or historical identity” are null and void under international law.

Reminder to Abbas: There is NO independent Palestinian state. The Pay-for-Slay initiative should have been terminated, yet you continue to deceitfully reinvent it in various forms. Israel and the Jewish people possess historical and biblical ties to Jerusalem – a united and whole Jerusalem. President Donald J. Trump’s Board of Peace has been promoted as a “new international transitional body” that would assist in overseeing the reconstruction of the Palestinian enclave after the conclusion of the conflict initiated by Hamas. We are eager to observe how the newly established Board of Peace will address your most recent wave of deceit and falsehoods.

Source:
Palestinians’ proposed ‘constitution’ erases Jewish history, supports payments to terrorists, by Vered Weiss/World Israel News, February 13, 2026

The meeting between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ended after a nearly three-hour meeting yesterday.

President Trump commented on the meeting on his Truth Social platform and stated: “I have just finished meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu, of Israel, and various of his Representatives. It was a very good meeting, the tremendous relationship between our two Countries continues.”

Addressing the issue of Iran, which was a central subject during the meeting, Trump wrote: “There was nothing definitive reached other than I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a Deal can be consummated. If it can, I let the Prime Minister know that will be a preference. If it cannot, we will just have to see what the outcome will be.”

Prior to his meeting with President Trump at the White House, Prime Minister Netanyahu signed up, in the presence of Secretary of State Rubio, as a member of the Board of Peace.

The Office of the Israeli Prime Minister announced that the two leaders discussed negotiations concerning Iran, the situation in Gaza, and other regional developments. Specific details remain unclear, particularly as the conversation extended beyond the anticipated duration and was closed to the press. While Trump maintains his position and preference for ongoing discussions with Iran as opposed to military action, all possibilities remain open. We shall observe the forthcoming developments.

Source:
Trump: ‘Good meeting with Netanyahu, nothing definitive on Iran’, by Israel National News, February 11, 2026

Over the past month, a task force from the Civil Administration has been operating across Judea and Samaria to combat illegal waste-burning activities. The team has focused on intensified enforcement efforts, extinguishing active fire sites and rehabilitating polluted areas.

Following a special situational assessment, authorities decided to prioritize action at an illegal waste site in Na’alin, where pollution had significantly impacted air quality in nearby cities and communities. Dozens of contractors were deployed under enforcement supervision, removing large quantities of illegally dumped waste.

According to recent environmental monitoring data, air pollution levels in nearby communities dropped to roughly half of what was recorded before the operation began.

The act of burning waste illegally constitutes eco-terrorism and poses a significant and urgent issue for the inhabitants of Judea and Samaria. This is not merely a trendy expression reflecting a generation’s anxiety regarding what they view as a global crisis affecting humanity. It is essential for Israel to continue to address this issue as part of the ongoing terrorist agenda that seeks to harm and eliminate Israel.

Source:
Unprecedented measures against air pollution in Judea and Samaria, by Israel National News, February 10, 2026

Israeli security forces recently thwarted a major terrorist attack on a Jewish town in Samaria, breaking up a terror cell being directed from Lebanon.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Shin Bet security agency announced that five Palestinian Arabs were arrested in the past few months, foiling their planned attack on an Israeli community in northern Samaria.

According to the Shin Bet, the terror network had been tasked with gathering intelligence on Israeli communities, conducting firearms training, and preparing attacks against Israeli towns.

Israel’s security establishment first uncovered the terror plot in October, when Shin Bet investigators arrested Mohammad Tzedaka, a resident of the village of Anza in Samaria, on suspicion of planning an attack.

The intelligence gathered and the arrests made in recent months have undoubtedly yielded positive results. This operation represents a substantial disruption of the efforts by Iran-aligned proxies (through Lebanon) to establish terror infrastructure in Judea and Samaria. Given that a genuine ceasefire continues to be violated, the IDF is compelled to persist with its counter-terrorism operations in this area.

Source:
Major terror attack on Israeli town in Samaria thwarted, by World Israel News Staff, February 10, 2026