A far larger armed force than Hamas used on Oct 7 now operates only about 22 kilometers from Israel’s main population centers.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

The Palestinian Authority’s security forces have expanded into what amounts to a military force capable of threatening Israel, according to a study released by the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs that calls for an immediate overhaul of Israeli policy.

The report, “22 Kilometers – The Threat Posed by the Palestinian Authority’s Terror Army,” was written by Lt. Col. (res.) Adv. Maurice Hirsch, who argues that the force created under the Oslo Accords bears little resemblance to its original mandate.

Hirsch writes that the accords authorized a Palestinian police force of 30,000 personnel, including 12,000 in Judea and Samaria, armed with 4,000 rifles, 4,000 pistols, 120 machine guns and 15 armored vehicles. He contends that the force has since grown to roughly 70,000 security personnel equipped with tens of thousands of firearms and organized along military lines.

The study charts that expansion, saying the force numbered about 18,000 personnel in 1995, increased to approximately 32,000 in 1997, 40,000 in 2001, 52,000 in 2003, 61,000 in 2006 and about 65,000 in subsequent years. It says most of the growth occurred after Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007.

The report also states that Palestinian Authority security personnel receive advanced military instruction through American and European assistance and at Pakistan’s military academy.

Hirsch says the training includes armored warfare, artillery, sniper operations, parachuting, heavy machine guns and shoulder-fired missiles, adding that official Palestinian Authority publications describe the force as the “Army of Palestine.”

Drawing a comparison with Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, Hirsch notes that approximately 6,000 terrorists entered Israel during the assault, including about 3,000 trained members of terrorist organizations.

He argues that a far larger armed force now operates only about 22 kilometers from Israel’s main population centers and warns of a possible “turning of the guns” scenario in which Palestinian Authority personnel attack Israel.

The study recommends ending weapons transfers to the Palestinian Authority, restoring force levels to those permitted under the Oslo Accords, establishing independent weapons oversight, closing military training facilities, preparing operationally for such a scenario and urging foreign governments to halt military training for Palestinian security personnel.

“Continuing to ignore the strengthening of the Palestinian Authority’s ‘terror army’ is a dangerous gamble with the lives of millions of Israelis. The writing is on the wall, less than 22 kilometers from the heart of the country. The danger is real and almost certain. To prevent a disaster far greater than the October 7 massacre, we must act proactively before we are left counting the victims.”

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Municipal officials have urged the Defense Ministry to station additional infantry units, expand drone surveillance, and reinforce the perimeter with advanced detection systems.

By Hezy Laing

Residents of Rosh HaAyin are calling for a significant increase in IDF forces around the city amid growing fears of a potential Palestinian invasion from nearby Arab settlements.

The city, which sits on the edge of the Samaria region and borders several Palestinian towns, has long been considered a sensitive security zone.

But the current regional instability has heightened concerns, prompting local leaders to demand immediate reinforcement of military patrols and surveillance.

In recent weeks, residents have reported a rise in attempted border breaches, suspicious movements near the security fence, and increased activity by hostile elements in adjacent territories.

While the IDF has responded with targeted operations and expanded intelligence gathering, community leaders argue that the current deployment is insufficient for the evolving threat.

They warn that the city’s proximity to open terrain and unfortified access routes makes it particularly vulnerable to a surprise infiltration attempt.

Since October 7, Hamas and Fatah members have made repeated threats to invade central Israel.

Municipal officials have urged the Defense Ministry to station additional infantry units, expand drone surveillance, and reinforce the perimeter with advanced detection systems.

They emphasize that Rosh HaAyin is not only a residential hub but also a strategic gateway to the densely populated Gush Dan region. A successful infiltration, they argue, could endanger thousands and disrupt the country’s economic heartland.

Residents have echoed these concerns, organizing community meetings and petitioning for a stronger military presence.

Many point to recent attacks in other parts of the country as evidence that complacency is not an option. Parents of school‑aged children have been particularly vocal, requesting increased patrols near educational institutions and public parks.

The IDF has acknowledged the concerns and stated that it is continuously evaluating force distribution based on real‑time intelligence.

Military officials note that several defensive upgrades are already underway, including expanded observation posts and rapid‑response teams positioned closer to the city’s outskirts.

Still, for many in Rosh HaAyin, reassurance will only come with visible, sustained reinforcement.

As tensions remain high across the region, the city’s residents insist that proactive defense—not reactive response—is the only way to prevent a potential infiltration and ensure the safety of their community.

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Palestinian terrorists targeted Israeli Jews in Judea and Samaria at least 5,051 times in 2025.

By JNS

The Israel Defense Forces on Monday launched a multi-day counter-terrorism operation in the Binyamin region of southern Samaria, according to a message sent to residents of nearby communities.

“Yesterday (Monday), an operation by IDF soldiers began in the villages of Turmus Aya, Sinjil, and Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya, and is expected to continue in the coming days,” the municipality of Eli announced.

“During the operation, increased movement of security forces may be felt in the area, and gunfire and explosions may be heard,” the Israeli community, which is located between Sinjil and Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya, said in the announcement to its some 4,790 residents.

The raids were part of a “proactive and planned operation aimed at restoring security and order in the area,” according to the notice.

Earlier this month, an Israeli woman sustained light wounds when her vehicle was stoned near Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya. For some 0.6 miles, Israel’s Route 60 north-south road passes by the schools of the Arab village, and such attacks have again surged in recent weeks.

On Jan. 31, Israel Defense Forces soldiers fired on three Palestinians who had attacked them with stones near Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya, eliminating one terrorist, during a military operation in the area.

The Binyamin Regional Council noted that due to repeated stonings, the army decided to close the main access road to Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya.

The IDF previously closed off the entrance to Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya in late June, following repeated terrorist attacks emanating from the town.

That blockade came after Jewish residents of the area organized daily prayer rallies outside the Arab village in protest against the attacks.

Palestinian terrorists targeted Israeli Jews in Judea and Samaria at least 5,051 times in 2025, according to figures published by the Rescuers Without Borders (Hatzalah Judea and Samaria) NGO this month.

Twenty-four Israelis were murdered in Judea and Samaria in 2025, and more than 400 others were wounded, the NGO said in its annual report.

The data, which were cross-checked against official data from the Jewish state’s security agencies, included 3,299 instances of rock-throwing, 458 attacks with Molotov cocktails, 655 attempts to blind drivers with laser pointers, 286 explosive charges and 19 terrorist shooting assaults.

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Lebanese-run terror cell photographed Israeli town in Samaria, carried out firearms training, and sought to purchase weapons for planned attack.

By World Israel News Staff

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.

During his interrogation, Tzedaka admitted that he had traveled to Lebanon, where he was recruited by a terrorist operative identified as Moussa Abu Seif, also known as “Jibril.”

Investigators said the recruitment was aimed at promoting terrorist activity in Judea and Samaria and at establishing local operational cells.

After returning to Samaria via Jordan, Tzedaka recruited additional terrorists, including Mohammad Khalil from Ramallah and Mohammad Barahmeh, also from Anza. Both were subsequently arrested by the Shin Bet.

Investigators found that Tzedaka maintained ongoing contact with his Lebanese handlers through social media platforms and online gaming applications, a method increasingly used by terror groups to evade detection.

In parallel, Shin Bet agents exposed a second cell linked to the same Lebanon-based network. Two residents of the village of Tell in Samaria, Diaa al-Din Hamad and Nasser Osaida, both in their 20s, were detained for questioning.

Their interrogations revealed that they had been recruited by a Lebanese operative named Mujahid, who coordinated the activity with additional handlers using the aliases “Abu Ahmad” and “Abu Wahid.”

According to the Shin Bet, members of the cell carried out firearms training in preparation for an attack, were instructed to photograph an Israeli community in Samaria, and were promised funding to purchase weapons.

Intelligence gathered during the investigation indicated that the overall network was headed by Mujahid Dahsha, a Lebanese resident with ties to operatives from Hamas and Hezbollah.

Indictments have been filed against all five suspects.

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The three Bethlehem attackers had sought “martyrdom” in the July 2023 assault.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

The Jerusalem District Court handed down lengthy prison sentences to three Arabs from Bethlehem who attempted to murder a Jewish man in a stabbing attack in Jerusalem in July 2023.

The victim, Or Sayer, 25, was walking through the Gilo neighborhood to visit his grandparents when the three assailants approached him, according to the police indictment.

The attackers had set out with the explicit intention of finding a Jew to kill in order to become martyrs.

After speaking with Sayer briefly and realizing he was Jewish, they stabbed him more than 20 times across his body with large kitchen knives before fleeing in a car back toward the Bethlehem area.

One knife was left embedded in Sayer’s back, another at the scene, and a third remained in the attackers’ possession when they were apprehended less than two days later.

The suspects were captured while hiding in a cave by the Duvdevan undercover commando unit, acting on intelligence provided by the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet).

Sayer was rushed to hospital in critical condition and had to be resuscitated during emergency surgery.

In addition to severe physical injuries, he suffered serious psychological trauma and underwent a lengthy rehabilitation process.

The Hebrew University chemistry student was left with a permanent disability assessed at 46%.

The attackers were 17, 18 and 19 years old at the time of the assault, with the youngest tried as a minor.

They were convicted of attempted murder in a nationalistically motivated terror attack, unlawful possession of a knife, and unlawful residence in Israel.

Their sentences ranged from 20 to 23 years, and the court also ordered that they pay NIS150,000 in compensation to the victim.

Prosecutors had sought 25-year sentences, citing the ideological motivation, prior planning, and joint nature of the attack on a random civilian in a public place.

Attorney Einat Baruchi Yariv emphasized the gravity of the harm inflicted on the victim and the need for a clear deterrent to protect public safety.

In its ruling, the court largely agreed, citing “the determination and great cruelty that characterize the shocking act they committed and its serious outcome.”

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The security agency said the men were planning a large-scale attack against Jewish Israelis that would lead to a “great war of the end of days.”

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Israeli authorities announced Friday that four residents of East Jerusalem’s Beit Safafa neighborhood were arrested on suspicion of preparing an attack influenced by the Islamic State organization or ISIS.

The Shin Bet, working with Israel Police, said the men—each in his 20s—had been monitored for weeks before officers moved in.

The security agency said the men were planning a large-scale attack against Jewish Israelis that would lead to a “great war of the end of days.”

Security officials said the group had immersed themselves in Islamic State content online, including graphic videos circulated by the organization.

Investigators indicated that the men adopted the group’s worldview and spoke openly about gearing up for what they called an end-times battle targeting Jews.

During interrogations, one suspect reportedly stated that a pistol he had acquired would be used “against Jews or anyone who is not a Muslim.”

During searches, officers found a handgun tucked inside a chicken coop on the property of one of the detainees, along with additional equipment that authorities believe was intended for future use.

The Shin Bet said prosecutors are preparing charges against two of the suspects, while investigators continue questioning the other two. All four remain jailed.

In a separate investigation, the Shin Bet disclosed that an 18-year-old Israeli from the Sharon area was taken into custody last month after allegedly studying how to manufacture explosives. Officials said he had shown interest in carrying out an ISIS-inspired attack, though the inquiry into his activities is ongoing.

Authorities said the cases reflect a pattern of individuals consuming online propaganda and attempting to act on it without direct operational support.

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Israeli forces raided a Ramallah-area terror cell overnight, arresting three suspects and seizing a rocket-production lathe, dozens of rockets—including two ready for launch—and explosives in what officials warn is a dangerous new escalation of Palestinian terrorism in Judea and Samaria.

צפו בתיעוד: כוחות צה”ל ויחידת החבלה של מג״ב איו״ש בהובלת חטיבת בנימין השמידו את אמצעי הלחימה שאותרו הלילה במרחב רמאללה

הבוקר, כוחות צה”ל בהובלת חטיבת בנימין, יחידת ההנדסה של פיקוד המרכז, כוחות מגדוד קדם, גדוד רם ולוחמי דובדבן במילואים, השמידו את הרקטות, מטענים, חומרי נפץ וחבלה… pic.twitter.com/0qDUUns5n1

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) September 19, 2025

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The unanimous decision opens the way for American victims to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

In a unanimous decision Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that American victims of Palestinian terrorism can sue the entities that financially back and actively promote the murderous acts.

This opens the way for families who have collectively already won judgments of over a billion dollars against the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in previous American court cases and had them blocked, to have the original rulings upheld.

Technically, this final decision upheld a 2019 law called the Promoting Security and Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act.

In doing so, the justices overruled a lower court’s decision that the law violated the rights of the PA and PLO to due process under the U.S. Constitution because it forced them to agree to American jurisdiction.

“It is permissible for the federal government to craft a narrow jurisdictional provision that ensures, as part of a broader foreign policy agenda, that Americans injured or killed by acts of terror have an adequate forum in which to vindicate their right” to recompense under the 1990 Antiterrorism Act, wrote conservative Chief Justice John Roberts.

The 2019 law had closed a loophole in the earlier one in stating that even if foreign-based entities acted against Americans outside the U.S., if they paid those who attacked Americans, they were thereby automatically consenting to American jurisdiction in adjudicating lawsuits that could arise against them as a result.

The Act was a direct answer to the PA’s long-held “Pay for Slay” policy, which awards jailed terrorists monthly “salaries” that are increased on a sliding scale depending on how heinous their acts were and how long they sit in prison.

Families of terrorists killed while attacking Israelis receive the same kind of payments.

The PLO, the movement that is the PA’s primary backer, technically became the terrorists’ paymaster after Congress passed the 2018 Taylor Force Act to stop American economic aid to the Palestinian Authority until the PA ceases handing out such stipends.

The PLO has also been directly responsible for hundreds of terrorist attacks in Israel, including many Americans among the victims.

The Promoting Security Act was passed after the 2018 murder of Israeli-American Ari Fuld by a teenage Palestinian terrorist outside a Gush Etzion shopping area.

Fuld’s family, which had won subsequently won a $655 million lawsuit against the PA for their son’s death, had appealed to the Supreme Court after the Second Circuit Court of Appeals had struck down the ruling based on the due-process question.

The Justice Department under the Biden administration had also appealed the ruling, and the Supreme Court had combined the two cases in April 2024.

An amicus brief had been filed in support of the plaintiffs by 17 Jewish and pro-Israel organizations in February, including the International Legal Forum (ILF), a global network of lawyers fighting antisemitism.

ILF CEO Arsen Ostrovsky said at the time, “Since their founding, the PLO and the Palestinian Authority have been an instrumental element in inciting, funding, and rewarding terrorism, especially through the pay-for-slay program. They are not a powerless bystander but a leading driver of modern-day terrorism. Enough is enough.”

Supporters of the PA fear that it could collapse financially if forced to pay out the huge amounts that have been awarded its victims.

It is considered doubtful that Palestinian leaders would dip into their personal vast fortunes to bail out their government in such a case.

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The two aided and abetted a top operative in the Tulkarm Brigade terrorist group, with one attempting to participate in the attack.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Two Arab-Israelis, citizens of Israel, were indicted on Friday for their role in a stabbing attack on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem during Ramadan last year.

The Haifa District Attorney’s Office indicted Israeli citizens Nur Shabat, a resident of the village of Nahf, and Amir Kiwan, a resident of Deir al-Asad, for terrorist activity.

The two aided and abetted a top operative in the Tulkarm Brigade terrorist group and Shabat attempted to participate in the attack.

Shabat also approached terrorist groups in Judea and Samaria in an attempt to perpetrate attacks against Jews.

Shabat asked Kiwan to assist him with travel arrangements to facilitate his terrorist activity.

While visiting the Temple Mount during Ramadan, the two hatched a plan to attack security personnel.

A combined effort of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and the Israel Police led to their arrest and investigation of their involvement in terrorism.

In a statement, the Shin Bet and Police said, “We take any involvement of Israeli citizens in actions that threaten the security of the state and its people very seriously, and we remain committed to preventing terrorist activity and ensuring those responsible are brought to justice.”

According to a statement by the two security organizations, in April 2023 the two organizations thwarted a shooting attack planned against police officers in Jerusalem.

The suspect in that attack was a student in Ramallah who began to communicate via Facebook with a terrorist operative from Lebanon. Later, they switched to chatting on Telegram.

At a certain point, he was instructed to carry out a shooting or bomb attack when he would have received financial aid for this purpose through additional operatives from Judea and Samaria.

In 2022, a Palestinian who tried to stab an Israeli police officer near the Temple Mount was shot and wounded.

The incident occurred at the Cotton Merchants Gate on the western side of the Temple Mount. The suspect yelled “Allahu Akbar” while lunging at an officer.

The officers responded by opening fire on the suspect.

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Cousins Ahmed and Mahmoud Zidat murdered a woman and injured over two dozen people in combined ramming and stabbing attacks.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

A pair of Palestinian terrorists were sentenced on Tuesday to life in prison plus 60 years for an attack they carried out in January 2024 in Raanana in central Israel during which they murdered an elderly woman and injured over two dozen other people.

Cousins Ahmed (24) and Mahmoud Zidat (44) were convicted in July of carrying out multiple acts of terrorism and serious damage under aggravated circumstances in connection with the attack.

The pair had stolen two vehicles from the car wash Ahmed worked at and split up to cause as many deaths and injuries in the city as possible.

Ahmed first rammed into a pedestrian, seriously injuring him before crashing into another car. He subsequently stole another one after threatening its female driver with a knife.

He ran over two more victims and left the car to stab one of them. When his knife broke, he fled on foot.

In the meantime, Mahmoud plowed at high speed into a group of pedestrians at a bus stop on the other side of Raanana and crashed into the structure, injuring 18, four of them seriously, and killing 79-year-old Edna Bluestein, a social worker .

He also tried to run away on foot, but was captured a short time later by security forces, who also caught his cousin.

When reading out their sentence, the judges noted that their motivation was linked directly to the war Israel was, and still is, fighting in the Gaza Strip.

“The defendants acted out of a desire to take part in the Hamas war,” the judges said, which had been sparked three months earlier after the Gaza terrorist organization led an invasion of Israel in which they murdered 1,200 men, women and children.

They had acted “out of terrible hatred for Israel and the desire to identify with the October 7 attack, while Israel was still mourning its dead and concerned for its hostages,” the justices said.

The judges also ordered them to pay NIS2.3 million in compensation to their victims and Bluestein’s family.

The Zidats, who come from a village near Hebron and worked in Israel illegally, were also convicted of two planned attacks they did not manage to carry out.

One was to be an ambush of security forces in Judea and Samaria in late October 2023, when they equipped themselves with knives and an axe.

Two months later, Ahmed plotted to assassinate the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman , Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee.

By chance, he had seen Adraee in a Raanana restaurant. He followed him around, wanting to kill him, but had no weapon handy. He returned to the same eatery several times in hopes of seeing Adraee, this time with a knife in hand, but never found him.

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MK Yulia Malinovsky calls out those who are not stopping UNRWA activities, which are now against the law.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

The United Nations agency charged with providing relief to Palestinians and barred from operating in Israel over the agency’s links to terrorist groups, including Hamas, continues to function in Israel, a Knesset member from the opposition claimed.

One of the MKs who initiated the law barring the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) from working in Israel due to its collaboration with Hamas has charged government ministers with not upholding the law and thereby cooperating with terrorism.

MK Yulia Malinvosky was very specific in her criticism.

“Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich did not sign an order instructing the Bank of Israel to close UNRWA’s accounts in banks operating in Israel,” she wrote. “Infrastructure and Energy Minister Eli Cohen did not give instructions to disconnect UNRWA facilities from electricity and water networks.”

Both these actions could indirectly speed up the agency’s departure, but even more direct action mentioned by Malinovsky could be taken as well, she said.

“Minister of Education Yoav Kisch did not send his staff to close UNRWA schools operating in Jerusalem, contrary to the law,” she wrote, while “Health Minister Uriel Busso did not order the closure of UNRWA clinics and pharmacies in Jerusalem.”

In addition, “Minister of Housing and Construction Yitzhak Goldknopf did not give orders to empty the UNRWA compound in Ma’alot Dafna in Jerusalem.”

The parliamentarian from the Israel Beiteinu party also called out Transportation Minister Miri Regev, who, she said, did not instruct her office “to revoke the vehicle licenses registered in UNRWA’s name.”

“So who will be the next scapegoat for the incompetence of this government of dishrags?” she asked sarcastically. “The attorney general? The head of the Shabak (Israeli Security Agency, aka Shin Bet)? The Supreme Court, or perhaps the new Chief of Staff?”

The law banning UNRWA operations within Israeli territory, including Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria, passed overwhelmingly in October with a 92-10 vote. It also prohibits the organization’s staff from operating in or entering Gaza.

The aim was to dismantle the agency that provides aid to Palestinians but has been documented encouraging indoctrination against peace with Israel in its schools for decades. Hundreds on its payroll are members of terror groups, some of whom participated in the October 7, 2023, invasion and allowed Hamas to build and use terror tunnels underneath  its facilities in the Gaza Strip.

The government was given three months to implement the law, but little was done except for ordering the UNRWA in late January to vacate its main headquarters in Jerusalem and cease its operations.

Malinovsky stated just a few days later that she would not rest until UNRWA was completely gone.

“I will pursue them like Elie Wiesel pursued the Nazis,because they are Nazis,” she said, standing in front of the shuttered compound. “This organization is a Nazi organization that supports terrorism, and we know the examples.”

“The Foreign Ministry is still living in La La Land that this is an organization that has diplomatic immunity,” she said. “The State of Israel will first and foremost take care of its own national interests, its sovereignty, and its national pride.”

In mid-February, Malinovsky sent a warning letter to Prime Minister Ntanyahu and other senior government officials, threatening to petition the High Court of Justice over their failure to apply the anti-UNRWA law.

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Just 18% of Israeli Jews back Palestinian statehood compared to 75% who oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state, even a demilitarized one.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

The vast majority of Israeli Jews back President Donald Trump’s plan to resettle the entire population of the Gaza Strip abroad, according to a new poll.

The survey was conducted by the Lazar Research Institute between February 11 and 13, with a sample size of 700 Israeli Jews and Arabs, ages 18 to 65.

The poll was published Tuesday by the Jerusalem Center for Foreign Affairs.

The study found little support for Palestinian statehood among Israel’s Jewish population, with 75% of respondents saying they would not support establishing a Palestinian state – not even a demilitarized one.

Just 2% of Jewish Israelis said they would back Palestinian statehood without conditions, while 16% said they would support the establishment of a demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes Israel as a Jewish state.

Most Arab-Israelis, however, say they support Palestinian statehood along the pre-1967 lines, with just 16% opposing the establishment of such a state.

Arab-Israelis were also more likely to say that Hamas should remain in the Gaza Strip as a “civil body” after the current war with Israel.

Just 4% of Jews agreed that Hamas should retain its civil administration role in Gaza, compared to 27% of Arab-Israelis.

Nineteen percent of Arab-Israelis even say that Hamas should remain the “ruling military body” in Gaza after the war, compared to 3% of Jews who hold the same opinion.

Two-thirds (66%) of Israeli Jews said the Palestinian Authority should not be given a role in the post-war governance of Gaza, while 44% of Arab-Israelis said it should be given a role.

Three-quarters (75%) of Israeli Jews say they support Trump’s plan to resettle all of Gaza’s population in third-party countries, while 58% of Arab-Israelis oppose the proposal.

Nearly three-quarters (71%) of the total Israeli population (Jewish and Arab) back the IDF establishing long-term buffer zones in southern Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza.

Nearly two-thirds (61%) of all Israelis back military action against Iran’s nuclear program. Of those, 38% say Israel should coordinate such an attack with the U.S., while 23% say Israel should carry out the attack unilaterally, without consulting the U.S.

A total of 68% of Israeli Jews believe that a terrorist massacre, similar to that which took place in southwestern Israel on October 7, 2023, could be carried out by Palestinian terrorists in Judea and Samaria.

Just 25% of Arab-Israelis say they were concerned about such a scenario.

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Among the terrorists slated for release is Zakariya Zubeidi, who carried out several deadly attacks during the Second Intifada.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

A number of the 735 Palestinian prisoners to be released in exchange for 33 hostages in the first phase of the agreement have committed deadly crimes killing hundreds of Israelis. The following are some terrorists slated for release.

Zakariya Zubeidi, the commander of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades of Fatah in Jenin, played a central role in orchestrating several terrorist attacks during the Second Intifada. He is responsible for the 2002 Likud branch attack in Beit She’an, which resulted in the deaths of six people. Zubeidi was also among the prisoners who escaped from Gilboa Prison in September 2021.

Majdi Za’tari, from East Jerusalem, was sentenced to 23 life sentences and an additional 50 years in prison. He was convicted of orchestrating a suicide bombing on a bus in Jerusalem in August 2003, which resulted in the deaths of 23 people.

Ahmed Barghouti, commander of the Fatah military wing in the Ramallah area, is serving 13 life sentences. He was convicted of carrying out a series of suicide attacks during the Second Intifada, which led to the deaths of 12 Israelis. Notably, his actions included the attack on the “Seafood Market” restaurant in Tel Aviv, as well as bombings in Neve Ya’akov and Jaffa Street in Jerusalem.

Thabet Mardawi, a high-ranking member of Islamic Jihad, was responsible for the deaths of 21 Israelis and the injuries of nearly 200 during the Second Intifada. He orchestrated a series of deadly attacks, including a suicide bombing at Kibbutz Shluhot, a shooting spree at a market in Hadera, an assault near Camp 80, and a bus bombing at Moza Junction.

Wael Kasem and Wissam Abbasi were responsible for a series of deadly terrorist attacks that killed 35 Israelis. Their attacks included the bombing of Cafe Moment in Jerusalem, the Sheffield Club in Rishon Lezion, and the Frank Sinatra cafeteria at Hebrew University.

Osama al-Ashkar, a senior member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, is serving eight life sentences and an additional 50 years in prison. He was convicted of planning and executing two attacks in 2002—at Kibbutz Metzer and Kibbutz Hermesh—that resulted in the murder of eight Israelis.

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The eastern Jerusalem resident told his interrogators that he had wanted to die as a “martyr.”

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

The Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office on Thursday filed its official declaration of intent to indict a terrorist who attempted to stab a soldier in the capital last month.

According to details of the investigation, the man, a resident of eastern Jerusalem in his early 30s, had expressed his desire to die as a “martyr.”

He bought a knife in a home improvement store three days before the planned attack.

In the early afternoon of December 23, he drove to the neighborhood of Pisgat Ze’ev, near Jerusalem, and when he saw a soldier walking down the street, he exited his vehicle.

He approached his intended victim, waving the knife in the air and shouted, “Allahu Akbar [God is great], I will kill you and stab you in the head.”

Keeping his cool, the soldier first tried shouting and warning the terrorist off, but when that didn’t work, both the soldier and a civilian bystander who was witnessing the incident shot and seriously wounded the attacker.

According to a Channel 10 report, even while lying on the ground, the terrorist kept trying to reach for his weapon.

A large number of police descended on the scene, as did medical personnel,who treated the wounded suspect and took him to the hospital for treatment.

Jerusalem Police Chief Ronen Ovadia praised the soldier and civilian for taking quick action, saying, “The vigilance and alertness of the security officer, along with the vigilance of citizens, prevented harm to life, and the source of danger was quickly neutralized.”

The prosecutor’s statement is a tool in Israeli law that allows a suspect to be kept in custody for a period of up to five days after the end of the police investigation so that a lawyer can prepare the list of charges.

Police are not allowed to re-interrogate detainees during this time unless they request and receive from a judge an extension of the detention.

The prosecutor must declare that, based on a personal examination of the evidence, there is prima facie reason to file an indictment in the case and request that the suspect now be arrested and considered a defendant in an upcoming case.

Usually in nationalist-motivated crimes, defendants are held in custody until the end of the legal proceedings against them.

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Moataz Berri served just three years in an Israeli military prison before his release.

By World Israel News Staff

A convicted terrorist released from an Israeli prison was recently arrested for planning an additional terror attack, Channel 14 News reported on Wednesday.

In September 2020, Moataz Berri was arrested moments before carrying out an attack against Israeli civilians.

Berri, a 24-year-old from the terror hotbed of Qalqilya, had illegally infiltrated Israel from PA-controlled territory. He was detained by security forces in the central city of Rosh HaAyin, where he was found to be in possession of a loaded gun.

The terrorist left behind a “martyrdom letter” and admitted during an interrogation that he had planned to shoot Israeli civilians.

According to his testimony in military court, Berri wandered around Rosh HaAyin searching for victims for nearly two hours.

He told the judges that he had planned to shoot an Orthodox Jewish man whom he encountered but changed his mind after noticing that the potential victim had a baby in his vehicle.

Berri claimed that he had already decided not to carry out the attack when he was arrested.

In 2022, the court acquitted Berri of attempted murder charges due to his expression of remorse.

“We welcome the court’s decision to acquit the defendant. This is an important decision that sends a clear message” to potential terrorists, Berri’s attorney, Merav Khory, said in a media statement at the time.

The ruling “sends a message that says ‘it is never too late'” to “stop their actions and save innocent lives,” she added.

Berri was convicted on less serious charges and served just three years in an Israeli military prison before being freed.

In October 2024, Berri was re-arrested by intelligence and security agencies after an investigation revealed he was planning to carry out another attack. According to the report, Berri had been in communication via “encrypted channels” with Hamas operatives in Turkey.

Berri said during his interrogation that he was instructed by his handlers to retrieve weapons, which had been buried in a field near the PA-controlled city of Tulkarem.

Investigators found an M-16 assault rifle and two handguns at the site.

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This front against Israel is a danger that must be recognized and forceful action must be taken, they wrote to the security cabinet.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Judea and Samaria leaders demanded Sunday that the IDF use the ‘Gaza model’ to empty their region of terrorists in light of the danger that this front could easily erupt at any time and cause loss of life that was preventable.

In a letter to the security cabinet, the heads of the settlement umbrella group the Yesha Council and local regional councils said that terror hotspots in the Palestinian Authority should be cleared out en masse of their residents, much as the Israeli army has done in northern Gaza.

“The population living in zones identified with terrorism, with a focus on ‘refugee’ camps and known terror complexes, should be moved,” they wrote. “After moving the population, the terrorism infrastructure should be dismantled exactly as we have done in the Gaza Strip, meaning: any incriminated building to be destroyed, every terrorist to be taken out.”

Only such actions would enable Israel to deal with the various Palestinian terrorist groups in a way that will “exert effective pressure and extract a significant price.”

The threat to their population was real, they said, because Iranian efforts to roil the territory was bearing fruit and deadly terror attacks and attempted attacks were on the rise.

Just last month, the Shabak (Shin Bet internal security agency) and the IDF seized a large shipment of Iranian weapons that had been smuggled into the region, which included rockets, remote-control bombs, mortar and RPG launchers, firearms and ammunition.

Yesha Council Chairman Yisrael Gantz pointed out that there was no way of knowing how many shipments the security authorities had missed, and that the danger was not limited to Judea and Samaria.

“Even a single missile that may have been successfully smuggled into the country, which we are unaware of and is hidden in someone’s home, is enough to put every plane landing at Ben Gurion Airport at risk,” he noted.

The leaders also asked in their letter that Palestinian movement should be restricted on the region’s roads, which had been the focus of thousands of shooting, ramming and rock throwing attacks a year even before October 7.

The letter said that the precarious security situation in the region was “the result of policies initiated under the Oslo Accords,” and said that “is within your power to change this, and it is your duty to do so.”

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