Category: Articles

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday downplayed US influence over Israel’s policies in the Gaza Strip, marking the second time in a row he has addressed the issue at a government meeting.

Speaking at the opening of the weekly meeting, Netanyahu said that Israel retained the right to strike at terrorist forces in Gaza whenever a risk to Israeli security personnel is detected.

The Israeli premier emphasized that, in contrast to accusations and a growing popular perception, the US does not determine Israel’s military policy in Gaza.

“We report to our American friends; we do not ask for their permission. This must be understood because I hear things that are simply incorrect. We maintain the supreme security responsibility, and we will not relinquish it.”

As we see Hamas and Hezbollah regrouping and rearming the Prime Minister maintains that Israel alone has the prerogative to use military might to maintain security. We look forward to seeing him exercise said right as needed.

Source:
Israel, not US, has ‘supreme security’ control over Gaza – Netanyahu, by David Rosenberg/World Israel News, November 2, 2025

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled a major shift in military doctrine Monday, one which would require a larger standing army.

The prime minister addressed a conference of the Forum of Senior IDF Reserve Commanders and said that the multi-front war which began on October 7th, 2023 – including hostilities in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Iran – has forced Israel to reconsider the military paradigm of the preceding generation.

“We not only changed the Middle East, we also changed ourselves,” Netanyahu said.

The IDF, he continued, can no longer react to developments in the field and instead must take the “initiative.”

“There is no more containment. There is initiative and around-the-clock activity. And we are doing that because we know who you are, and we know what an amazing military we have. Not only the regular force – with everybody calling this ‘the TikTok generation’, and it’s obvious by now that that’s not the case – but our reserve force which mobilized again, contrary to everything that the enemy expected. They were wrong – wrong about us, wrong about you.”

Netanyahu emphasized that to confront new challenges, the Israeli military must expand both its regular, active-duty forces and its reserves. It is a hard truth, but one that must be faced and dealt with promptly.

Source:
‘No more containment’ – Netanyahu announces major shift in IDF doctrine, by World Israel News Staff, November 3, 2025

This week, the Regavim Movement, which acts to prevent illegal seizure of state land, in collaboration with the Gush Etzion Regional Council, petitioned the court for an injunction to halt construction of a multi-story building in the village of Walaja, south of Jerusalem, which is being erected without permits or authorization.

The massive project is on a site adjacent to the Jewish community of Har Gilo, near the security barrier in the northern Gush Etzion section of the Jerusalem Envelope. The development resembles the infamous Holyland Project in Jerusalem’s Malha neighborhood: Two 12 story towers, connected by an additional 4 story building, totaling 8,472 square meters.

Yaron Rosenthal, Head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council, added: “The structure, located just 200 meters from Har Gilo and the security barrier, rises to a great height and poses a security threat to the surrounding region. We will not tolerate such rampant construction that endangers the safety of residents and all those traveling on our roads. I call on the authorities to act swiftly against the structure – and the hundreds of additional illegal structures spilling over from the boundaries of Walaja into the open areas of Gush Etzion.”

The Holyland project is a scar on the city of Jerusalem and should never have been permitted to proceed. This new project must be halted in its tracks before it does further damage to our eternal capital.

Source:
Regavim petition: Massive illegal building project in Walaja, by Israel National News, October 31, 2025

At “The Future of Judea and Samaria” conference, co-sponsored by American Friends of Judea & Samaria and the Jewish News Syndicate, Knesset member Simcha Rothman delivered an address emphasizing the urgency of asserting Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.

Rothman described the moment as both “dangerous and full of opportunity,” citing growing attention to the future of the biblical homeland of the Jewish people, including discussions within Congress and circles close to U.S. President Donald Trump.

He warned that competing political agendas make the current period pivotal, asserting that decisions made “in the next few weeks and months” will shape not only Israel’s future but international affairs.

“This is the time to make sure the world knows this is our land,” Rothman said, stressing the link between the land’s biblical roots and Israel’s national identity.

“I’m a big believer in the ideology of ‘America First,’ but also ‘Israel First.’ President Trump must understand that sovereignty is a matter of ‘Israel First,’” Rothman told JNS.

Numerous countries are participating in the initiative to establish peace in the Middle East. They are eager to preserve the extremely delicate ceasefire while minimizing the breaches perpetrated by Hamas. This is their viewpoint while terrorists persist in carrying out acts of terror and continues to wound and kill Israeli soldiers. The IDF remains vigilant in preventing planned orchestrated terror attacks but cannot contain them all.especially after the immense prisoner release in return for the hostages. Sovereignty over Judea and Samaria is far from implementation. It is imperative to make this declaration and act on it before the phrase “Israel first” transforms into “Israel last.”

Source:
MK Rothman: ‘Now is the time to secure sovereignty in Judea and Samaria’, by David Isaac/JNS, October 30, 2025

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