U.S. Supreme Court refuses to halt $655.5 million judgment against the Palestinian Authority and PLO over terror attacks.

By World Israel News Staff

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has rejected an emergency request from the Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization to freeze a $655.5 million judgment awarded to American victims of terrorist attacks in Israel.

Sotomayor denied the request Monday without providing an explanation or referring it to the full Supreme Court, according to the court’s docket. The decision allows the victims to continue seeking enforcement of the judgment while the Palestinian organizations pursue a further appeal. It does not resolve the merits of that appeal.

The judgment stems from a lawsuit brought by Americans who were killed or injured, along with relatives and survivors, in a series of shootings and bombings in and around Jerusalem during the Second Intifada.

A federal jury in Manhattan found the PA and PLO liable in 2015 for supporting six attacks carried out between 2002 and 2004. The attacks killed 33 people and wounded more than 450 others. The jury initially awarded $218.5 million, which was automatically tripled to $655.5 million under the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act.

The PA and PLO asked Sotomayor to suspend enforcement while they challenge a March decision by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstating the award.

In their emergency filing, the Palestinian organizations argued that paying the judgment could severely damage the PA’s finances, disrupt government operations in the West Bank and threaten regional stability.

They said the plaintiffs could attempt to collect the award from Palestinian tax revenues transferred through Israel, which represent a major source of funding for PA institutions. Security, sanitation and school services in the West Bank “are hanging by a thread,” the filing said.

The PA and PLO also argued that the original judgment could not legally be revived after it was overturned and the previous appeals process ended.

“The money judgment at issue became a legal nullity when … appeals were exhausted in 2018,” their lawyers wrote.

The case has moved repeatedly between federal courts during more than two decades of litigation.

The 2nd Circuit overturned the verdict in 2016, ruling that U.S. courts lacked personal jurisdiction over the Palestinian organizations because the attacks occurred abroad and were not specifically directed at the United States. The Supreme Court declined to hear the victims’ appeal in 2018.

Congress subsequently passed the Promoting Security and Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act in 2019. The law allows the PA and PLO to be treated as having consented to the jurisdiction of U.S. courts if they engage in certain activities in the United States or make payments to attackers or their families when Americans were harmed in the attacks.

A lower court later found the law unconstitutional. However, the Supreme Court unanimously reversed that ruling in June 2025, finding that the law did not violate the Palestinian organizations’ Fifth Amendment due process rights.

Following the Supreme Court’s ruling, the 2nd Circuit reconsidered the Sokolow case and reinstated the original judgment on March 30.

“We conclude that the original judgment for the plaintiffs should be reinstated,” the appeals court said. “That conclusion is consistent with the plain import of the Supreme Court’s decision.”

Kent Yalowitz, an attorney representing the families, welcomed the March decision.

“They have been waiting for a very long time for justice to be done,” Yalowitz said.

The original lawsuit accused PA and PLO employees and affiliated organizations of providing material support for attacks attributed to Hamas and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. The plaintiffs argued that Palestinian officials supplied money, weapons, salaries and other assistance to attackers and their families.

Lawyers for the PA and PLO denied that the organizations directed the attacks, arguing during the 2015 trial that they condemned the violence and that any involvement by Palestinian employees was the unauthorized conduct of individuals acting independently.

After the original jury verdict, attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, who helped represent the victims, said the case established a financial consequence for sponsoring attacks.

“Now the PLO and the PA know there is a price for supporting terrorism,” she said at the time.

Sotomayor handles emergency applications arising from the 2nd Circuit, which includes New York. Her refusal to freeze the judgment leaves the award in place but does not necessarily end the legal battle, as the PA and PLO can continue seeking full Supreme Court review of the appeals court’s decision.

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The lawsuit was filed by victims of attacks in Jerusalem in the early 2000s that killed 33 people and wounded hundreds more.

By The Associated Press

Palestinian authorities asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to halt for now a $656 million judgment in a long-running lawsuit filed by Americans killed or wounded in attacks in Israel.

The emergency appeal comes after a lower court reinstated the damages in the wake of a Supreme Court decision that followed more than two decades of litigation.

The Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority said in court documents that paying the hefty judgment now would “destabilize critical government services Petitioners provide in the West Bank, injure innocent citizens, and jeopardize regional security.”

They asked the justices to pause payment as they appeal the reinstatement of the verdict.

The lawsuit was filed by victims of attacks in Jerusalem in the early 2000s that killed 33 people and wounded hundreds more.

Families brought their lawsuit under the Anti-Terrorism Act, a law aimed at opening U.S. courts to victims of international terror attacks.

A federal court in New York tossed the original verdict on appeal and continued to rule in favor of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority as Congress revised the law to allow suits to go forward.

In 2025, the Supreme Court sided with the families and revived the lawsuits.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to reinstate the verdict in March.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs said at the time that the families were pleased and relieved by the decision, saying it would allow “justice to be done.”

They declined to comment on Thursday’s petition.

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There are an estimated 150,000 illegal weapons owned by Judea and Samaria Arabs, suggesting a potential for massive internal disruption that could stretch IDF resources thin.

By Hezy Laing

A growing number of security analysts and former military officials are issuing stark warnings that Israel faces an unprecedented strategic threat involving a simultaneous multi-front war combining external state actors and internal insurgencies.

Retired IDF Major General Yitzhak Brik stated in April 2026 that the political leadership fails to recognize the danger of a strategic alliance between Turkey and Egypt, noting that the Egyptian army now stands shoulder to shoulder with the Turkish military against Israel.

This concern was echoed in July 2026 when analyst Amine Ayoub described joint military exercises codenamed Golden Eagle as a strategic nightmare, highlighting that elite paratroopers and commando units from both nations are practicing synchronized operations on Egyptian soil.

The convergence of these forces involves American-made F-16 fleets and advanced drone technology, including the locally produced Turkha drone, creating a formidable conventional threat on Israel’s southern and northern peripheries.

Compounding this external danger is the internal threat posed by the Palestinian Authority (PA).

A May 2026 study by the Regavim movement revealed that PA security forces have evolved into a trained army comprising approximately 65,000 individuals, with between 45,000 and 60,000 armed operatives.

Moriah Michaeli, the study’s lead researcher, noted that PA units such as Unit 101 specialize in urban warfare, tactical skydiving, and naval commando operations and are trained in Pakistan, Italy, and Algeria.

The report emphasizes that these forces explicitly train to invade coastal cities including Tel Aviv, Jaffa, Haifa, and Acre, with diving exercises in landlocked Jenin indicating intentions to reach the Mediterranean coast.

Former spy Jonathan Pollard, a former security analyst, warned in May 2026 that Israel must prepare for wars against Turkey and Egypt, stating that the storm is coming and that Israel may not have an easy time against Turkish forces.

In a nightmare scenario in which PA forces attempt to invade Greater Tel Aviv while Turkey and Egypt launch coordinated attacks, Israel would rely on its doctrine of fighting a deep battle using air power, cyber capabilities, and rapid mobilization.

The IDF strategy typically involves disrupting enemy leadership and infrastructure rather than holding large territories, allowing forces to surge between fronts.

However, experts like Ragheb argue that Israeli military doctrine does not traditionally allow for fighting multiple major powers simultaneously, and US support might be uncertain in such a conflict.

The IDF would likely prioritize neutralizing immediate internal threats in the center while using its air force to degrade Egyptian and Turkish command structures.

If all this were not enough, there are an estimated 150,000 illegal weapons owned by Judea and Samaria Arabs, suggesting the potential for massive internal disruption that could stretch IDF resources thin.

Managing such a conflict would require immediate activation of reserve divisions, reliance on the Arrow missile defense system for ballistic threats, and potentially preemptive strikes to break the coordination between the external alliance and internal insurgents before they can fully synchronize their operations.

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Trump’s son-in-law and adviser reportedly working behind the scenes with Saudi Arabia to improve administration’s ties with the PA as part of an effort to secure Saudi-Israeli normalization.

By World Israel News Staff

US presidential envoy Jared Kushner is working behind the scenes with Saudi Arabia to establish a new communication channel between the Trump administration and the Palestinian Authority as part of a renewed effort to secure normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel, according to an Israeli television report.

Channel 14 reported Wednesday that Riyadh has recently signaled a willingness to resume discussions about joining the Abraham Accords but is demanding significant Israeli concessions in Judea and Samaria.

According to the report, Kushner is attempting to use Saudi mediation to restore direct contact between Washington and the Palestinian Authority and strengthen the PA’s standing within the Trump administration.

The talks would reportedly seek to produce a new memorandum of understanding that could serve as the basis for further negotiations among the United States, Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Palestinians.

Channel 14 did not identify the sources for its report or provide details about the proposed concessions, the contents of the potential memorandum or the Palestinian officials involved. The White House, Saudi government and Palestinian Authority have not publicly confirmed the reported channel.

The report nevertheless comes amid a broader American effort to revive Saudi-Israeli normalization after the war with Iran altered the region’s diplomatic and security landscape.

Axios reported earlier this week that Kushner and US envoy Steve Witkoff had agreed to coordinate with the late Republican senator Lindsey Graham on a renewed normalization initiative. Graham reportedly discussed the plan with President Donald Trump, senior Saudi officials and Israeli officials before his death.

The initiative envisioned intensive negotiations after Israel’s October election and the US midterm elections, with the goal of assembling the components of an agreement before a new Congress took office.

Saudi Arabia has continued to insist that normalization must be accompanied by major progress toward Palestinian statehood.

Saudi officials were demanding an “irreversible, time-bound path toward the creation of a Palestinian state,” according to the Axios report. Such a demand would face strong resistance from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s current government and many members of the governing coalition.

The proposed agreement could also include a formal US-Saudi defense treaty. Such a treaty would require approval from two-thirds of the US Senate, meaning Democratic support would likely be necessary.

Democratic senators would be expected to demand Israeli commitments on the Palestinian issue before supporting increased American security guarantees and advanced weapons sales to Saudi Arabia.

The reported Kushner initiative appears intended to address both the Saudi and American political obstacles by giving the Palestinian Authority a formal role in a broader regional framework.

Saudi Arabia has repeatedly said that a future agreement with Israel cannot bypass the Palestinian question. Reuters reported last year that Riyadh had told Washington it would not recognize Israel without a credible roadmap toward a Palestinian state.

Saudi officials also called for the Palestinian Authority to return to power in Gaza as part of a postwar arrangement, alongside an Israeli withdrawal and the deployment of an international security force.

Saudi diplomat Manal Radwan reaffirmed the kingdom’s position at a meeting of international donors in Brussels this week, saying Riyadh would continue “standing alongside the Palestinian government politically, economically and diplomatically.”

She said Saudi Arabia remained committed to the creation of an independent Palestinian state along the pre-1967 lines, with east Jerusalem as its capital.

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The reality is that Abbas has never been eager to test his popularity at the ballot box.

By Khaled Abu Toameh, Gatestone Institute

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has once again announced legislative and presidential elections, presenting the move as evidence of democratic renewal.

According to a presidential decree issued on July 9, legislative elections are scheduled for November 28, 2026, while presidential elections are to follow during the first quarter of 2027.

The decree calls on Palestinians in Judea and Samaria, the Gaza Strip, and Jerusalem to participate in “free and direct” elections aimed at strengthening democracy.

Western governments and donors will undoubtedly welcome the announcement as a sign that Abbas is finally responding to long-standing demands for reform. They should not.

Holding elections for the sake of holding elections is not reform. Elections alone do not create democracy, end corruption, or establish accountability.

Elections by themselves, as Natan Sharansky and Ron Dermer emphasize in The Case for Democracy, do not signify a democracy.

There first need to be functioning institutions of democracy—freedom of speech, freedom of the press, separation of religion and state, freedom from religion, an independent judiciary, separation of powers, equal justice under the law, due process, and so on—and then, at the end of these processes that actually embody democracy, after they are up and running, an election can be held that represents a democracy.

Otherwise, as seen in Russia, Venezuela, Iran, and other dictatorships, elections are not signs of reform at all but just choreographed burlesques.

The Palestinians desperately need transparent institutions, an independent judiciary, a free press, functioning checks and balances, and leaders who answer to the public rather than rule indefinitely by presidential decree.

None of that exists under the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank or under Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Abbas, now 91, is serving the twenty-first year of what was supposed to be a four-year presidential term, after being elected in January 2005.

The Palestinian parliament, known as the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), has been effectively defunct since Hamas violently seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, and Abbas formally dissolved it in 2018.

Since then, Abbas has governed without a functioning parliament, without meaningful oversight, and without genuine public accountability.

According to the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR):

“The suspension of the activities of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) in the West Bank in 2007, in the immediate aftermath of the Hamas violent takeover of the Gaza Strip, has been one of the most damaging governance measures taken by the PA since its creation. ”

But the clearest evidence of the slide to authoritarianism has been the decision taken by the party that lost the 2006 elections, Fatah, to dissolve the PLC in 2018.

The inevitable outcome of the suspension of the PLC meetings has been the transfer of its legislative and oversight functions to the executive authority represented by the president.

Since 2007, President Abbas has issued more laws by decree than those ever issued by the PLC during its entire life since the first election in 1996.

Most of these laws were not urgent, as required by the Basic Law, and many of them violated the terms of that law.

In the absence of a parliament, the president gave himself the power to rule by decree without accountability or oversight.

Without a parliament able to defend its members, the president gave himself the power to annul the immunity of the PLC members, to suspend the payment of their salaries, to send them to court, and to close their offices, ending eventually in his decision in December 2018 to dissolve the entire PLC, utilizing for that mission the services of a body he created for that purpose, the constitutional court.

This is not democracy.

The latest election announcement also deserves skepticism because it is not the first time Abbas has made such promises. In 2021, he announced legislative and presidential elections, only to cancel them at the last minute, blaming Israel’s refusal to allow voting in Jerusalem.

This explanation was always unconvincing. According to the Palestinian Central Elections Commission back then, 150,000 eligible voters from Jerusalem suburbs “can vote in the upcoming elections without Israeli obstructions since they do not require Israeli approval.”

Abbas used the Jerusalem issue as an excuse to call off the elections because he was afraid that his Fatah faction and loyalists would not win.

The reality is that Abbas has never been eager to test his popularity at the ballot box.

If Abbas truly enjoyed broad public support, he would have little reason to fear elections. The reality is that for years, Palestinian public opinion surveys have consistently shown that most Palestinians want him to resign.

The latest poll conducted by the PCPSR found that 80% of Palestinians want him to leave office.

Such findings explain why many Palestinians view Abbas’s latest election announcement with deep skepticism.

Even if elections are eventually held, another fundamental question remains unanswered: who will be allowed to run?

If Abbas and the Fatah leadership decide which candidates may participate, the outcome will be largely predetermined before the first ballot is cast.

Recent internal Fatah elections offer little reason for optimism. Elections for Fatah’s Central Committee and Revolutionary Council introduced several younger faces, yet they produced no meaningful political transformation.

Fatah remains firmly under the control of the same leadership, the same political culture, and the same patronage networks.

Some names changed, but the system remained unchanged. Same old politics, decorated with a few new faces, including Abbas’s son, Yasser.

The broader Palestinian political landscape is equally bleak.

For ordinary Palestinians, the choice remains essentially between Fatah and Hamas. There is no viable third force capable of competing nationally, and both movements have spent years suppressing independent political voices.

This is perhaps the greatest tragedy of Palestinian politics.

For decades, both Fatah and Hamas have systematically prevented the emergence of alternative leadership. Independent candidates, reformists, liberals, and pragmatic figures have found little political space to organize or compete.

Both factions have monopolized Palestinian political life while accusing each other of authoritarianism, even as each exercises authoritarian control over the territories it governs.

The result is a political monopoly that has suffocated Palestinian society.

Both Fatah and Hamas bear responsibility for widespread human rights abuses, political repression, arbitrary arrests of opponents, media intimidation, and corruption.

Both have repeatedly placed factional interests above the welfare of their own people.

Instead of building democratic institutions, they have built systems designed to preserve their own power.

Many Westerners continue to believe that elections automatically produce moderation and legitimacy. The Palestinian, Russian, Venezuelan, and Iranian experiences demonstrate otherwise.

The 2006 parliamentary election brought Hamas to power through the ballot box. Instead of strengthening democracy, the outcome triggered violent conflict between Hamas and Fatah, culminating in Hamas’s bloody takeover of the Gaza Strip a year later.

Since then, Palestinians have lived under two rival authoritarian administrations.

There is another compelling reason why rushing into Palestinian elections would be a grave mistake. Hamas, after nearly three years of a devastating war in the Gaza Strip and the immense suffering it has brought upon the Palestinians, continues to enjoy significant support among many Palestinians, especially in Judea and Samaria.

Public opinion surveys over the past two years have repeatedly shown that Hamas remains one of the most popular political forces in Palestinian society and, in many cases, enjoys greater support than Abbas’s Fatah faction.

Under these circumstances, new elections could once again hand victory to Hamas. Such a result would strengthen an Iran-backed terrorist group that openly seeks Israel’s destruction, rejects peace, and continues to advocate armed jihad (holy war).

Repeating the same experiment while expecting different results would be idiotic. Allowing an armed organization to compete in elections without first requiring it to disarm and renounce violence would repeat one of the gravest mistakes made in 2006.

Equally dangerous would be allowing Fatah to manipulate the electoral process by deciding who may or may not compete.

Democracy cannot exist when the ruling faction controls the rules, the institutions, and the political playing field.

The deeper problem is that the Palestinian Authority continues to function less like a democratic government than a centralized political machine dominated by Abbas and his closest loyalists.

Power is concentrated in a small inner circle. There is no functioning parliament. There is no meaningful separation of powers. There is little room for genuine public debate. Journalists operate under constant pressure and fear. Political appointments often depend more on personal loyalty than merit.

The Palestinian political system has become increasingly personalized, with major decisions resting almost exclusively in the hands of Abbas and a narrow leadership elite.

This is precisely why many Palestinians no longer believe elections alone can solve their political crisis. The question is not whether Palestinians should vote. The question is whether the conditions for free and meaningful elections exist.

As long as Hamas remains an armed terrorist group with substantial public support, and as long as Fatah continues to monopolize Palestinian political life, elections are more likely to reproduce the current crisis than resolve it.

Palestinians need institutional reform. They need independent courts. They need financial transparency. They need anti-corruption mechanisms. They need genuine freedom of expression. They need political pluralism. They need peaceful transfers of power.

Only after these foundations are established can elections produce meaningful change. Otherwise, elections merely provide democratic decoration for an undemocratic system.

It is also difficult to ignore the timing of Abbas’s latest announcement. The PA has faced growing international pressure to demonstrate reform as Western governments continue financing it and discussing a larger role for it in governing post-war Gaza.

Announcing elections helps project an image of modernization and democratic renewal precisely when international donors are demanding evidence of political change.

Yet appearances should not be confused with reality.

If Abbas genuinely believed in democracy, he could have stepped aside years ago and allowed a new generation of Palestinian leaders to emerge. Instead, he has remained in office for more than two decades while repeatedly postponing elections and concentrating power in his own hands.

Western governments should therefore resist the temptation to celebrate Abbas’s latest decree as evidence of reform and democratic progress.

His decree should be viewed for what it most likely is: another political maneuver designed to preserve international legitimacy and secure continued Western financial support, rather than a sincere effort to bring democracy to the Palestinian people.

The post The great Palestinian election scam appeared first on World Israel News.

Israeli authorities say Barghouti is working to unite Hamas and the Palestinian Authority and aiming to form a united front against the Jewish state.

By World Israel News Staff

Convicted Palestinian terrorist Marwan Barghouti, who is serving multiple life sentences for orchestrating deadly attacks against Israeli civilians, continues to pose a significant threat to Israel despite being behind bars, according to a new assessment by the Israel Prison Service (IPS).

The report, reviewed by several Hebrew-language media outlets, argues that Barghouti remains one of the most influential Palestinian political figures and continues to wield considerable ideological and organizational influence from prison.

According to the assessment, Barghouti has been successfully rebranded internationally by many pro-Palestinian activists as a political prisoner comparable to former South African President Nelson Mandela.

In reality, the IPS report warns, Barghouti maintains an extreme anti-Israel ideology and continues working from prison to encourage violent attacks against the Jewish state.

Speaking to the Hebrew-language outlet Ynet, a senior IPS official said Barghouti remains one of the most dangerous figures in the Palestinian arena, despite his incarceration.

Barghouti “does not need to hold a weapon to be dangerous,” she said, emphasizing that his influence extends well beyond prison walls.

“He is a kind of Yahya Sinwar,” she added, comparing Barghouti to the late Hamas leader widely understood as the architect of the October 7, 2023, massacre.

The official argued that Barghouti was “even more sophisticated” than Sinwar, citing his political influence and ability to shape public opinion while imprisoned.

Despite his international image as a potential peacemaker, the official described him as “a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

Barghouti has long been regarded as one of the most popular Palestinian political figures. Public opinion polls conducted over the years have consistently suggested that he would be a leading contender to head the Palestinian Authority if permitted to run for office, despite his imprisonment.

According to the IPS report, Barghouti has sought to leverage that popularity by promoting greater coordination between rival Palestinian factions. The assessment claims he has been working to bridge the longstanding divide between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas in an effort to create a unified political and operational front against Israel.

The report further states that Barghouti maintains close relationships with influential figures in both organizations, enabling him to retain political relevance despite spending years in prison.

Israeli prison officials also allege that Barghouti’s influence extends beyond the Palestinian territories. According to the assessment, he maintains connections with Arab political parties inside Israel, including parties represented in the Knesset, allowing him to shape political discourse and maintain a network of supporters.

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Palestinian Authority sources described Hamas’ announcement as a tactical effort to satisfy ceasefire requirements without relinquishing power.

By World Israel News Staff

Palestinian Authority officials are expressing skepticism over Hamas’ announcement that it intends to dissolve its governing administration in the Gaza Strip, arguing that the move is a tactical maneuver designed to preserve the terrorist group’s influence while complying with the terms of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire.

Hamas, which has exercised de facto control over Gaza since seizing the territory from the Palestinian Authority in a violent coup in 2007, recently announced that it would dissolve its government as part of efforts to implement the Trump-brokered ceasefire agreement.

Under the framework of the agreement, Hamas is expected to relinquish governing authority to facilitate Gaza’s reconstruction and increase international involvement in rebuilding the war-ravaged enclave.

However, Palestinian Authority officials told The Jerusalem Post that they do not believe Hamas intends to surrender its control over Gaza.

Hamas’ move to claim it is relinquishing power is intended “to show that they are not the ones impeding the [peace] process,” an official said.

The terror group is interested in buying “more time, hoping that future circumstances may work to their advantage, possibly as a result of developments between Iran and the United States that could also benefit Gaza,” the source added.

The official said he believes Hamas has no intention of surrendering the weapons that provide it with effective military control over the territory, regardless of whether civilian administrative responsibilities are transferred to a new Palestinian technocratic committee that would include Palestinian Authority representatives.

“Hamas wants its members to be allowed to carry weapons in a way that appears legal under the framework of the new technocratic committee, while in reality, it would continue to guide their actions,” the official added.

A second Palestinian Authority official similarly questioned Hamas’ intentions, arguing that Hamas aims to “secure financial support, knowing that the organization cannot obtain funding or international backing because it lacks legitimacy.”

He continued: “The new technocratic Palestinian committee is recognized as legitimate, so Hamas is trying to use this arrangement to rebuild its infrastructure and embolden itself in the future.”

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IDF soldier found handcuffed in the center of a Palestinian Authority-administered town says he was abducted.

By World Israel News Staff

An IDF soldier in uniform was rescued overnight after Palestinian security forces found him handcuffed in the center of Tarqumiya, a Palestinian town near Hebron, in what Israeli officials believe may have been an abduction.

Palestinian security officials notified Israeli authorities late Wednesday that a man wearing an IDF uniform had been located in the town.

The military’s District Coordination and Liaison office, part of the Civil Administration, contacted its Palestinian counterparts, and Israeli forces in the area helped coordinate the soldier’s transfer at an agreed meeting point.

The soldier, who serves in the regular army and is from southern Israel, was handed over to Israeli liaison officers and later taken to the Hebron police station.

He underwent initial medical checks and was questioned by the commander of the regional brigade before being transferred to Israel Police and then to the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division.

According to Ynet, the soldier said he had been abducted and taken to Tarqumiya. He reportedly told investigators he was removed from a vehicle inside the town before the vehicle fled.

A preliminary inquiry found that the soldier was unarmed when he was located and that he was handcuffed. Israeli officials said the leading assessment was that the case stemmed from a criminal dispute, not a nationalist or security incident.

The Military Police Criminal Investigation Division is now investigating how the soldier reached Tarqumiya, who brought him there, why he was handcuffed and whether other suspects were involved.

The case is considered especially sensitive because Tarqumiya is in the southern Hebron Hills area, and Israelis are barred from entering Palestinian Authority-controlled Area A without authorization.

Israeli officials frequently warn that such entries are illegal and can become life-threatening, particularly when soldiers or civilians are identified as Israeli inside Palestinian cities or towns.

The soldier’s claim that he was abducted remains under investigation. Officials have not yet said whether they believe he was forcibly taken from Israel or another part of Judea, whether he entered Tarqumiya voluntarily before the incident, or what circumstances may have led to him being found handcuffed.

For now, investigators are treating the episode as a criminal case with potential military implications rather than a terror kidnapping.

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The Trump White House is reportedly considering giving the Palestinian Authority a major role in ruling Gaza, with Israel pushing back on the plan.

By World Israel News Staff

A Palestinian Authority official claimed Wednesday that the Trump administration has concluded the Palestinian Authority must be strengthened and may have a role in postwar Gaza, a report that drew pushback from a person familiar with the talks and highlighted growing friction over who will govern the enclave after Hamas.

The source told Sky News Arabia that “the US administration has become convinced of the need to strengthen the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and of the necessity of its existence as a framework for managing the Gaza Strip.”

The official went on to say that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government oppose the emerging American direction and are working to block it.

“It is possible that the management of Gaza will be in the hands of the Palestinian Authority directly or indirectly through the new management committee led by Ali Shaath, which is currently in Egypt,” the Palestinian Authority official said.

However, a person familiar with the discussions denied that Washington or the US-backed Board of Peace is preparing to hand the PA direct authority over Gaza.

“There are no US or Board of Peace plans to transfer any supervisory authority to the Palestinian Authority,” the person told Israel Hayom. “But as per UNSCR 2803, the Palestinian Authority can play an important role upon completion of its reform process.”

The dispute comes as the US-led postwar framework for Gaza remains only partially implemented.

UN Security Council Resolution 2803, adopted in November 2025, endorsed President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan, recognized the establishment of a US-led Board of Peace, and authorized an International Stabilization Force.

The plan envisions a transitional mechanism for Gaza, with Hamas excluded from power and a Palestinian role conditioned on reforms.

At the center of that mechanism is the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, a Palestinian technocratic body headed by Ali Shaath, a former Palestinian Authority official.

The committee formally launched its work in Cairo in January, saying it would assume civil and internal security responsibilities in Gaza and oversee stabilization and reconstruction until the PA completes its reform program.

Shaath described the committee at the time as part of an effort to move Gaza from war toward reconstruction.

“The establishment of the National Committee marks a pivotal moment in our collective effort to turn a tragic chapter into a new beginning,” he said. “This is a Palestinian body, created by Palestinians for Palestinians, with the blessing of the PLO, Palestinian Authority, and Palestinian factions. Rebuilding Gaza is not only about infrastructure. It is about rebuilding a society committed to stability, dignity, and sustainable peace.”

But Israel has repeatedly objected to any PA role in Gaza.

In February, Netanyahu told US envoy Steve Witkoff that the PA would not be part of Gaza’s postwar administration.

“The prime minister clarified that the Palestinian Authority will not be part of the administration of the Gaza Strip in any way,” Netanyahu’s office said at the time.

Netanyahu also reiterated Israel’s demand that Hamas be disarmed, Gaza demilitarized, and Israel’s war objectives completed before major reconstruction begins.

The technocratic committee was designed in part to bridge that gap: Palestinian enough to have local legitimacy, but not formally identical to a restored PA government in Gaza. Still, several of its members have ties to the PA or Fatah, and Israel has remained wary of allowing the committee to become a back door for Ramallah’s return.

The renewed focus on Gaza governance also comes after Iran signaled it would raise the issue in its own talks with Washington.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke Tuesday with senior Hamas official Basem Naim and said Tehran would “raise the issue of the occupiers’ ongoing aggression against Gaza” with the US.

Israel Hayom reported that the alleged American shift may be connected to the broader regional diplomacy following an emerging US-Iran understanding and pressure from Tehran to include Gaza in de-escalation talks.

The report said, however, that the claim of a US policy shift had not been independently confirmed and that Washington had not announced a formal change in its position.

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Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas says the PA will hold its first presidential election in more than 20 years – but declines to set a date for the vote.

By World Israel News Staff

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has said a presidential election will be held in 2027, announcing the year for a vote that, if carried out, would be the first Palestinian presidential election since he was elected more than two decades ago.

The announcement was reported by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA as part of a broader decree amending Palestinian election rules.

The measure also set out changes to the Palestinian Legislative Council and said Abbas is expected to issue a decree calling for Legislative Council elections to be held alongside elections for the Palestinian National Council, the parliament of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

WAFA said that Abbas “had also announced that presidential elections would be held in 2027” but did not report a specific date, timetable or mechanism for the vote.

The announcement comes amid mounting pressure on Abbas, 90, to renew the legitimacy of Palestinian institutions after years without national elections.

Abbas was elected president in January 2005 after the death of Yasser Arafat. His four-year term expired in 2009, but he has remained in office while governing the Palestinian Authority by decree.

The last Palestinian legislative election was held in 2006, when Hamas won a majority.

A year later, Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip from Fatah forces, leaving Abbas’s Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority governing limited areas of Judea and Samaria, while Hamas ruled Gaza.

Abbas has repeatedly promised elections in the past.

A 2021 plan called for legislative elections in May and a presidential vote in July, but the process was postponed indefinitely after Abbas cited the lack of Israeli approval for voting in predominantly Arab neighborhoods in eastern Jerusalem.

Hamas, Fatah rivals, and Palestinian civil society groups accused Abbas at the time of using the Jerusalem dispute to avoid a vote that could weaken Fatah.

The new decree changes several features of the electoral system.

According to WAFA, it increases the Palestinian Legislative Council from 132 seats to 200, lowers the electoral threshold to 1 percent and raises the minimum number of candidates on each electoral list from 16 to 20.

It also requires at least one woman among every three candidates on a list and lowers the minimum age for legislative candidates from 28 to 23.

WAFA said the changes were intended to “enhance political participation and broaden democratic representation.”

The electoral announcement follows Abbas’s move earlier this year to schedule Palestinian National Council elections for November 1, 2026.

According to the WAFA report, those elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council would automatically become representatives from the Palestinian territories in the Palestinian National Council.

Abbas has framed the steps as part of a reform program aimed at improving governance and restoring international confidence in the Palestinian Authority.

At a Fatah conference in Ramallah last month, he said, “We renew our full commitment to continuing work on implementing all the reform measures we pledged… We are ready to hold presidential and legislative elections.”

But skepticism remains high. Abbas was unanimously re-elected as head of Fatah at the same conference, and his son Yasser Abbas won a seat on the Fatah Central Committee, fueling speculation about succession planning inside the movement.

Abbas has become increasingly unpopular and politically weakened, with pollster Khalil Shikaki saying Abbas “has become a liability to his own party, and for the Palestinians as a whole.” Shikaki told AP last year that “His legitimacy was depleted long ago.”

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Palestinians nearly are unanimous in their opposition to US war with Iran, Israelis strongly support the strikes, and Americans are divided along partisan lines.

By World Israel News Staff

Palestinians are virtually unanimous in their opposition to American strikes on Iran, while Israelis are strongly supportive and Americans divided heavily along partisan lines, according to a new poll.

The survey, published by the Pew Research Center on Tuesday, examined public opinion in Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and the United States after the war began on February 28, when US and Israeli airstrikes killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran responded with missile and drone attacks on Israel and Persian Gulf states, and Palestinian areas also came under Iranian fire. A ceasefire went into effect on April 7 after more than five weeks of fighting.

Pew surveyed 1,001 Israelis, including 399 Arab Israelis, from April 5 to May 6. It also surveyed 1,038 Palestinians in Judea, Samaria, and eastern Jerusalem from March 30 to April 28.

The report also drew on three US surveys conducted from March 16 to 22, March 23 to 29, and April 20 to 26.

The survey found that three-quarters of Israelis said the US made the right decision in attacking Iran, while just 2% of Palestinians agreed. Eight in 10 Palestinians said it was the wrong decision.

In the United States, about six in 10 adults said the US made the wrong decision in using military force against Iran, compared with 38 percent who said it was the right decision.

Israeli opinion was divided sharply by ethnicity. Among Jewish Israelis, 87 percent said Israel made the right decision in attacking Iran, compared with 19 percent of Arab Israelis.

Support also differed by political alignment. Among Jewish Israelis who support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition, 96 percent said Israel made the right decision, compared with 77 percent of Jewish Israelis who do not support the coalition.

Israelis were also more likely than Palestinians or Americans to expect positive outcomes from the war.

Most Israeli Jews said the war would make Israel safer, while a minority of Arab Israelis agreed.

Pew found that 66 percent of Israeli Jews said the military action would make Israel safer, compared with 22 percent of Israeli Arabs.

Among Jewish Israelis who support the governing coalition, 84 percent said the war would make Israel safer. Among Jewish Israelis who do not support the coalition, 46 percent said the same.

Palestinians expressed the opposite view. Around seven in 10 said the war would make themselves, the Palestinian Authority, and the world less safe. Palestinians were also more likely to say the war would increase, rather than decrease, the likelihood that Iran develops nuclear weapons.

Thirty-one percent said Iran would be more likely to develop nuclear weapons after the war, compared with 13 percent who said it would be less likely. A 39 percent plurality said they were unsure.

Americans gave more mixed assessments of the war’s consequences. Pew found that 40 percent said the war would make the US less safe, while 22 percent said it would make the country safer.

On the war’s effect on global security, 33 percent said it would make the world less safe, 27 percent said it would make the world safer, 19 percent said it would make no difference and 19 percent said they were not sure.

US opinion was divided along party lines. Seventy percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents said the US made the right decision in attacking Iran. Ninety percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents said it was the wrong decision.

Republicans were also more likely than Democrats to expect the war to reduce Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons. Pew said Americans overall were about evenly divided on whether the war would make Iran more likely, less likely or about as likely as before to develop a nuclear weapon.

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Trump administration reportedly demands the Palestinian Authority’s envoy to the United Nations drop his bid to become vice president of the UN General Assembly.

By World Israel News Staff

The Trump administration has threatened to revoke visas for Palestinian diplomats at the United Nations unless Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour withdraws his candidacy for a vice presidency of the UN General Assembly, according to reports citing an internal State Department cable.

The warning marks a new escalation in Washington’s campaign to block Palestinian efforts to gain symbolic standing at the United Nations, where the Palestinians hold observer-state status but do not have a vote.

A State Department cable issued on Tuesday and obtained by NPR instructed US diplomats in Jerusalem to pressure Palestinian Authority officials to drop Mansour’s bid for one of the General Assembly’s vice presidential posts before the June 2 election.

The cable said Mansour’s candidacy “fuels tensions” and risks undermining President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan.

“To be clear, we will hold the PA responsible if the Palestinian delegation does not withdraw its VPGA candidacy,” the cable said.

The cable also pointed to Washington’s earlier decision to waive visa restrictions for Palestinian officials assigned to the PLO’s UN Observer Mission in New York.

“It would be unfortunate to have to revisit any available options,” the cable said.

The State Department did not comment on the specific visa threat, but told NPR and Reuters that it takes its obligations under the UN Headquarters Agreement seriously. “Due to visa record confidentiality, we have no comment on Department actions with respect to specific cases,” the department said.

The US is required under the 1947 UN Headquarters Agreement to allow access for diplomats conducting UN business in New York, though Washington has previously cited security grounds to deny entry to certain foreign officials.

NPR said the threat to revoke the Palestinian UN ambassador’s visa is unprecedented.

Mansour had already withdrawn a bid for the more prominent post of General Assembly president in February after US lobbying.

But US officials remain concerned that, even as a vice president, he could be asked to preside over high-profile sessions during the next General Assembly, including Middle East debates.

“In a worst-case scenario, the next PGA might assist the Palestinians in presiding over high-profile sessions related to the Middle East or during UNGA81 high-level week,” the cable said.

The cable accused the Palestinian Authority of prioritizing symbolic international posts over direct engagement with Washington. “A bully pulpit for Mansour would not improve the lives of Palestinians and would significantly damage US relations with the PA. Congress will take it extremely seriously,” it said.

The Palestinian Authority did not immediately comment. NPR said Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas’s office declined comment, and Reuters said the Palestinian UN mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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US President Donald Trump’s administration reportedly threatened to revoke visas for members of the Palestinian UN delegation unless Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour withdraws his candidacy for vice president of the UN General Assembly.

According to an internal State Department cable, Washington warned that the Palestinian bid could “fuel tensions,” undermine Trump’s Gaza peace initiative, and create a scenario in which Palestinian representatives could preside over sensitive UN sessions involving Israel and the Middle East.

The cable reportedly warned the Palestinian Authority that the US could reconsider visa waivers previously granted to Palestinian diplomats in New York if the candidacy continues.

The move highlights growing tensions between Washington and the Palestinian leadership as the Trump administration pushes forward with its broader postwar Gaza and regional normalization strategy.

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Mahmoud Abbas acknowledged that the Palestinian Authority is still making payments to imprisoned terrorists and their families, despite previous claims the controversial system had been abolished under international pressure.

Speaking at Fatah’s General Conference, Abbas criticized Israel for withholding Palestinian tax revenues and openly stated that the funds are needed to cover salaries, expenses, and payments to “prisoners.”

The remarks have reignited scrutiny over the Palestinian Authority’s long-running “Pay-for-Slay” policy, under which Palestinians convicted of attacks against Israelis — including deadly terror attacks — receive financial stipends, along with support for their families.

Israel has long argued the policy encourages terrorism and has used it to justify withholding portions of the tax revenues it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.

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Mahmoud Abbas is facing backlash over signs he is preparing his son to succeed him.

By World Israel News Staff

Longtime Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is apparently preparing his son to take over his role, angering many under his authority who view the nepotistic move as yet another example of the PA’s longstanding corruption.

Abbas, 90, has led the Fatah party, which rules the Palestinian Authority, for two decades. According to polls, he is wildly unpopular among his constituents and has refused to hold elections, likely due to the probability that he would be voted out of office.

Recent meetings between senior PA officials and Abbas’ son, Yasser, along with announcements naming him a “special presidential envoy,” suggest that the nonagenarian leader is positioning his son to eventually take the reins.

Yasser Abbas, 64, has spent much of his adult life living in Canada and has reportedly amassed a fortune through various business ventures there. However, critics have long alleged that his wealth has been bolstered by the illicit funneling of Palestinian Authority funds intended for the public.

Analysts say the apparent effort to position the younger Abbas as his father’s heir is being poorly received by many Palestinians, who are already disillusioned by years without elections and accusations of corruption within the PA leadership.

“This does not resolve the frustration of the Palestinian people, as no democratic elections have taken place since 2006,” political analyst Reham Owda told Reuters.

“Rather, it increases frustration, since the public is looking forward to democratic elections, legislative and presidential elections.”

A prominent Fatah official, speaking anonymously to Reuters, suggested that promoting Yasser Abbas was so damaging that it amounted to deliberate sabotage of the party.

“Abbas is trying to make holes in the Fatah ship before [his death] by installing his son as heir to the crown,” the official claimed, stressing that the move “should be confronted and rejected by all Fatah men.”

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Members of the ruling coalition push bill which would cancel the Oslo Accords and subsequent agreements with the PLO, paving the way for Jewish settlement of Areas A and B in Judea and Samaria.

By World Israel News Staff

Israel’s Ministerial Committee for Legislation convened on Sunday to discuss a bill that would cancel the Oslo Accords, the Hebron Protocol and the Wye River Memorandum, paving the way for the expansion of Jewish settlement into parts of Judea and Samaria currently administered by the Palestinian Authority.

The bill was submitted by Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har-Melech, with the backing of the faction’s other MKs.

It proposes annulling all agreements signed between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization or the Palestinian Authority, and repealing Israeli legislation passed to implement them.

The proposal says the agreements would no longer bind the state or its representatives. Its explanatory notes argue that Oslo harmed Israel’s security and helped create the conditions that led to the October 7 attack.

“The Oslo Accords did not bring peace, but terrorism; not security, but Jewish blood spilled in streets, communities, and cities across Israel,” Son Har-Melech said ahead of the discussion.

She said Israel must “free itself from these failed agreements” and restore “full responsibility for the security of its citizens and its sovereignty.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (Otzma Yehudit) backed the measure, calling the Oslo Accords “a national disaster.”

“After thirty years, it is time to say clearly: the concept collapsed, Oslo is dead, and Israel must free itself from these dangerous agreements,” Ben0Gvir said.

The bill comes amid a broader push on Israel’s right to dismantle the Oslo framework and weaken or abolish the Palestinian Authority. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said in February that one of his goals for the next government term was “the cancellation of the cursed Oslo Accords” and a move toward Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.

Despite support from a number of coalition members, including some within the ruling Likud party, the Ministerial Committee for Legislation voted not to grant its backing for the bill, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged ministers to prevent the measure from gaining formal coalition backing.

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