News Digest — 4/28/26
Israel-Kazakhstan Ties Deepen As Herzog Arrives In Astana
President Isaac Herzog landed in Astana on Monday (27th), beginning his official visit to Kazakhstan.
President Herzog was received by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan at a ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Astana. The two presidents held a private meeting, followed by an expanded bilateral meeting attended by senior Kazakh government officials. The leaders discussed deepening relations and advancing strategic cooperation between the two countries.
President Herzog expressed his deep appreciation for Kazakhstan and commended its decision last November to join the Abraham Accords, as well as its membership on the Board of Peace led by President Trump.
“It’s a huge honor for me to be here in the Presidential Palace in Astana. I bring with me a senior delegation of leaders and experts in fields of importance to the future of the cooperation between our two nations,” Herzog opened.
The Israeli president praised his counterpart’s decision to join the Abraham Accords as “very bold, and added that “It was warmly welcomed in Israel, around the world, and in the White House.”
“I was also happy to witness your presence at the declaration of the Board of Peace, which is a very important entity dealing with the current challenge. This is a move that sends a clear message to the world, that it is possible to choose the path of partnership, responsibility and peace.”
Herzog added: “I would like to focus on how we can double, triple and more the volume of business and trade between our nations. We are close to approving direct flights, and I think that this can have a huge impact on business and trade, especially as part of the Abraham Accords family.”
President Tokayev also addressed the decision to join the Abraham Accords, saying, “We believe that the Abraham Accords have fundamentally reconfigured the Middle East’s geopolitical architecture, creating a strategic framework for regional stability, shared prosperity, and collaborative efforts to address common challenges.”
He proudly emphasized that “there is no antisemitism in Kazakhstan, and Judaism is one of four official major religions in Kazakhstan, alongside Sunni Islam, Orthodox Christianity, and Catholicism.”
Netanyahu: Two Major Threats Remain In Lebanon
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participated Monday (27th) in a conference of the IDF senior command staff.
During the conference, Netanyahu addressed the officers and answered their questions , presenting a strategic overview of the state of the war across all fronts.
At the beginning of his remarks, the prime minister praised IDF commanders and soldiers for their actions and bravery throughout the war – in the air, at sea and on land.
Netanyahu detailed for the commanders the shift in the balance of power against Hezbollah: “In Lebanon, there have been tremendous achievements: the elimination of the rocket array that threatened the entire country, the creation of a security zone that prevents the possibility of an invasion into northern Israel, and now also prevents direct anti-tank missile fire, while also allowing us to change the situation in Lebanon.
“He clarified that the IDF is not limiting itself to the border line: “We are striking, as we are now – both in the security zone, north of the security zone, and north of the Litani River. Our freedom of action to thwart threats – immediate threats and emerging threats – is the agreement we made with the United States and also with the Lebanese government.”
Alongside that praise, Netanyahu presented what he described as a realistic assessment: “I am under no illusion that this will come easily,and I also do not think – I say this honestly – that the job has been completed. There are still two major threats from Lebanon, from Hezbollah: the threat of 122 mm rockets, and the threat of drones and UAVs. This requires a combination of operational activity and technological activity. The defense minister and the chief of staff know this very well – we are making a very great technological effort to solve these problems.”
The prime minister also revealed data on the erosion of the terror organization’s capabilities: “And if through an operational and technological combination we solve them, we are essentially on the path to disarming Hezbollah – because this is the main weapon they have left. They have about 10% of the missiles they had at the beginning of the war. But these still trouble the residents of the north, and I greatly appreciate their resilience and steadfastness.”
In conclusion, Netanyahu addressed the command staff directly with an operational demand: “But we still have two missions left, and what I expect from you is to solve these two problems, because I think we will be able to solve the diplomatic side if we solve this.”
Qassem: Hezbollah Will Not Disarm, Ready For ‘Epic’ Battle
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem on Monday (27th) reaffirmed his rejection of proposals to disarm the terror group as part of the ongoing direct talks between Israel and Lebanon.
“We will not give up our weapons and defense,” the Iranian-backed terrorist leader vowed in a written statement, according to a translation by Tehran’s Press TV outlet.
“The field has known that the resistance is ready for a Karbala-like epic,” he added, referencing a brutal 7th-dentury battle revered in Shiite tradition for its message of sacrifice and martyrdom.
Qassem thanked Tehran for its insistence on including Lebanon in the ceasefire talks with the United States, claiming that the truce “would not have been achieved if the Islamic Republic of Iran had not been involved in the Pakistan negotiations.”
Hezbollah “categorically “ rejects Lebanon’s decision to engage in direct talks with Jerusalem, Qassem continued, calling the negotiations a grave sin” that was putting Lebanon in a spiral of instability.”
“Those direct negotiations and their outcomes are as if they do not exist for us, and they do not concern us in the slightest,” the top terrorist declared.
Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles, and drones at Israel on March 2 in retaliation for the Jewish state’s targeted killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Khamenei was eliminated in the opening strikes of “Operation Roaring Lion/Epic Fury” against the Islamic regime on Feb. 28.
In response to the terror organization’s violation of the US-brokered Nov. 27, 2024, truce agreement, Jerusalem launched an aerial campaign against Hezbollah and ordered IDF troops to advance and take control of additional areas in southern Lebanon to halt cross-border attacks.
Jerusalem and Beirut on April 16 agreed to a 10-day ceasefire following mediation by the U.S. President Donald Trump.
Last week, the two countries agreed to extend the ceasefire for three more weeks following historic direct talks in Washington, D.C.
Israel Unveils Unprecedented Incentives To New Immigrants
Israel is offering new immigrants and veteran returning residents a major new income tax exemption in a bid to encourage aliyah and make relocation financially easier.
Under the reform, eligible immigrants and returning residents who arrive in Israel between November 5, 2025, and the end of 2026 can receive a tax exemption on Israeli-earned income for up to five years.
The benefit applies to income from work or business activity in Israel, not passive income such as rent, dividends or interest.
The exemption is capped by year: up to NIS 600,000 ($201,250) in 2026, up to NIS 1 million ($225,420) annually in 2027 and 2028, up to NIS 350,000 ($117,400) in 2029 and up to NIS 150,000 ($50,310) in 2030.
The Ministry of Aliyah and Integration said the reform is meant to provide “significant financial relief” and help new arrivals integrate into Israel’s economy.
The new tax break is in addition to existing benefits, including tax credit points and the 10-year exemption on foreign-source income.
That exemption will remain in place, though new immigrants and veteran returning residents will be required to report foreign income and assets beginning in 2026.
The benefit also applies to veteran returning residents, defined as Israelis who lived abroad for at least 10 years before returning to Israel.
The reform includes anti-abuse restrictions. People who leave Israel in 2028 or 2029 and spend fewer than 75 days in the country during those years will not be eligible for the benefit. Income from a related party is also subject to a lower cap of NIS 140,000 a year through 2029. The measure was approved by the Knesset as part of broader budget legislation, after earlier discussion in the Finance Committee.
Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the cost of the benefit is expected to reach about half a billion shekels this year.
U.S. Military Aid To Israel Pays Off Big For America – Joseph Epstein
U.S. Military aid to Israel is the best investment the U.S. government makes. Most of the $3.8 billion must be spent on American made military equipment. It’s a subsidy for our own defense industrial base, with the funds flowing to Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, and General Dynamics.
Israel was the first to use the F-35 in combat. It’s real-world combat testing fixed critical glitches that U.S., engineers couldn’t replicate in a lab. Israel also shares operational lessons from every American weapons system it fields, saving years and millions in research and development.
In addition the value of Israel’s intelligence assistance brings a return that dwarfs a $3.8 billion investment many times over. All this is without U.S. soldiers stationed there, while in Europe we spend $25 billion to $30 billion a year to station 80,000 troops.
Israel’s June 2025 air offensive against Iran – featuring 200 U.S.-made F-35s, F-16s, and F-15s – was the most consequential live demonstration of American air superiority in a generation. It exposed the vulnerabilities of Russian and Chinese air defenses and became the best sales pitch Lockheed Martin could ever ask for.
Beyond defense, Israeli firms are the second-largest source of foreign listings on NASDAQ. In New York alone, 600 Israeli founded companies generated $19.5 billion in output last year and supported 57,000 jobs.
The writer is the director of the Turan Research Center hosted by the Yorktown Institute dedicated to modern-day developments in the Turkic and Persian worlds. )New York Post)
In The Middle East, People Don’t Feel Anger At America, They Feel Relief – Majeed Gly
I was born on the Iranian border and raised in the shadow of its wars. I have seen firsthand what these policies do to the people of this region. I was in Erbil, Riyadh, and Dubai just recently. I know what people say when the cameras are off. It is not anger at America – it is relief.
For millions of people across the Middle East, this war did not start on Feb. 28. It started decades ago. Across the Gulf, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, people want what any American wants: a job, a stable country, and a future that is not hostage to someone else’s ideology. What stops progress, every time, is the same force. Iran-backed armed groups in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen – all taking orders from Tehran, all blocking the future the rest of the region is trying to build.
Since Feb. 28, Iran has struck every country in the region that chose partnership with the West – and not one of them fired a shot at Iran. In the UAE, 13 people were killed and over 200 were wounded. Kurdistan has been hit more than 700 times, with 14 dead. Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar all struck. None of them threatened Iran. The fear across this region is not that America acted. It is that the world will lose interest before anything changes.
The writer is president of the American Kurdish Committee. (Fox News)
