News Digest — 8/14/26
21 Years After Disengagement, Samaria Town Of Ganim Resettled
Israeli families moved into the reestablished northern Samaria community of Ganim on Thursday (13th), 21 years after Israel evacuated and demolished the settlement as part of the 2005 disengagement, marking another major step in the government’s effort to reverse the withdrawal from four Samaria communities.
Thirty families moved to the site after dozens of prefabricated homes were brought in to accommodate residents.
A branch of the Bnei David yeshiva in Eli is also being established there.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also holds authority over civilian affairs in Judea and Samaria through a ministerial position in the Defense Ministry, attended the return and portrayed it as the correction of what he has long described as a historic wrong.
Smotrich said Israel was “erasing the disgrace of the expulsion” from northern Samaria referring to the 2005 evacuation.
Ganim was one of four northern Samaria communities evacuated under then-prime minister Ariel Sharon’s disengagement plan. Israel also removed all 21 of its towns from the Gaza Strip and withdrew its permanent military presence from the enclave under the plan.
The northern Samaria component was intended in part to create greater Palestinian territorial contiguity in the area. For nearly two decades, Israeli civilians were legally barred from returning to the evacuated sites.
That policy began to unravel after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s current government took office.
In March 2023, the Knesset repealed portions of the Disengagement Law that prohibited Israelis from entering or residing at the four evacuated northern Samaria settlements.
The military subsequently lifted restrictions on returning to Sa-Nur, Ganim, and Kadim in May 2024, after access to Homesh had already been authorized.
The government moved from permitting a return to formally rebuilding the communities over the following two years. The security cabinet approved Homesh and Sa-Nur as part of a package of 22 settlements in May 2025, and approved Ganim and Kadim in December as part of another decision establishing or recognizing 19 settlements.
Homesh was formally repopulated in March, followed by Sa-Nur in April. With families now moving into Ganim , Kadim is the only one of the four evacuated northern Samaria communities that has yet to be physically reestablished, though preparations for its resettlement are underway.
Smotrich indicated Thursday (13th) that the four former settlements form only part of a much wider expansion planned for the region.
“This summer we are establishing 11 new communities,” he said, adding that the government intends to dramatically increase the number of Israeli communities in northern Samaria.
The government last month approved more than NIS 1 billion for access roads and security infrastructure serving dozens of newly approved communities in Judea and Samaria, including Homesh, Sa-Nur, Ganim and Kadim.
The NIS 1.075 billion program is to be funded through the Transportation and Defense ministries over three years.
The return to Ganim was preceded Wednesday (12th) by an Israeli operation to demolish 26 Palestinian structures near Ganim and Kadim that Israeli authorities said had been built illegally.
Smotrich described removing the construction as necessary to secure the renewed Israeli presence in the area. Palestinian media characterized the demolitions as part of an effort to clear the way for settlement expansion.
Samaria Regional Council Chairman Yossi Dagan, one of the leading advocates of reversing the 2005 evacuation, said the renewed settlement would eventually be substantially larger than its predecessor.
“Today, we are beginning life back to Gamin,” Dagan said, predicting the new community would ultimately become “10 times” larger.
For Smotrich, however, the return was not presented merely as the restoration of a community dismantled two decades ago. He explicitly linked settlement expansion to preventing the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
“We are strengthening the security belt,” Snotrich said, while declaring that the policy was “killing the idea of a Palestinian state.”
Smotrich argued that a permanent Israeli civilian presence in northern Samaria protects population centers inside Israel, including Afula, Hadera, Kfar Saba, Ra’anana, Herzliya, and Netanya.
Smotrich made clear Thursday (13th) that he views the reversal not as the endpoint but as part of a broader transformation of Judea and Samaria.
“There is more to come,” he said.
IDF Strikes Hamas Terror Cell, Resuming Preemptive Strikes
The Israeli Air Force on Thursday (13th) attacked a Gazan terror cell in Khan Yunis, the second such attack in two days. These attacks had ceased since the US Hamas deal in late July.
IDF sources told The Jerusalem Post that the cell, while not very senior, was nonetheless in the process of planning and preparing an operation against the military.
According to the sources, the IDF has halted its attacks on Hamas terror group members and leadership since the US-Hamas deal. However, they said that the IDF is still carrying out strikes against operatives whom it knows are preparing attacks.
This means that the IDF is willing to attack terrorists to thwart their attacks before it is too late.
Unlike in the West Bank, where the military and Shin Bet (Israeli Security Agency) tend to arrest these parties, the IDF cannot do so in Gaza. It cannot go in and out of areas controlled by Hamas in Gaza, meaning that airstrikes are still its preferred tool.
Currently the IDF continues to eliminate Hamas fighters who approach the Yellow Line dividing the Israeli-controlled portion of Gaza from the Hamas-controlled section.
The IDF rejects allegations that it is holding its soldiers back from defending themselves. Although not explicit, the implication has been that the US is on board with the IDF’s current approach until Hamas starts to disarm. Hamas has yet to even begin the disarmament process.
On Wednesday (12th), the IDF undertook its first preemptive strike against a Hamas official since the late July deal. Shortly after that deal the US essentially instructed Israel to stop attacking Gaza; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu complied.
Since then, there had been a limited number of instances where the IDF killed Hamas fighters near the border when they presented an immediate threat. Wednesday’s (12th) airstrike was the first to break that trend. It was against a Hamas terror cell commander in northern Gaza,who was planning to order or lead future terrorist attacks, but was not near the border.
The late July deal was supposed to lead to Hamas beginning the process of handing over its weapons. Israel’s airstrike was, in a sense, a reminder of that deal. The US, for its part, looked the other way to remind Hamas that it could easily remove its restraint on Israel.
It is also possible that the cabinet and the IDF ordered the airstrike in response to Hamas’ recent planning of a potential large-scale military drill. Notably, Israeli officials received public criticism for not firing on Hamas.
Earlier on Wednesday (12th), the IDF issued a statement noting that while the Hamas drill never took place, an airstrike signaled that Israel would not approve it.
Hamas’ Secret Weapon To Continue Ruling Gaza – Khaled Abu Toameh
On August 1, Hamas urged Palestinians to register for the Palestinian parliamentary election scheduled for late November. Hamas must not be allowed to participate in the election. The Iran-backed Palestinian group that carried out the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in Israel has no right to exist as a military organization and should have no right to exist as a political organization either.
In 2006, Hamas was permitted to participate in the Palestinian parliamentary election without first being required to dismantle its terrorist infrastructure or abandon its 1988 charter, which calls for the elimination of Israel. The result was disastrous. Hamas won 74 of the 132 seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council, compared with 45 for Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah faction. One year later, Hamas violently seized control of Gaza, expelled the Palestinian Authority, and established its own regime.
Hamas then turned Gaza into a massive terrorist base. It built tunnels, accumulated rockets and missiles, recruited, armed and trained tens of thousands of terrorists, and fought repeated rounds of war against Israel. The lesson could hardly be clearer: allowing terrorists to participate in elections just gives them the legitimacy and institutions they need to consolidate power.
Hamas has reason to be optimistic about elections. Despite the catastrophe it brought upon Palestinians in Gaza by launching the Oct. 7 attack, Hamas remains popular among Palestinians. Polling by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research has shown Hamas maintaining a substantial advantage over Fatah in party preference and in a hypothetical parliamentary election.
69% of the Palestinians oppose disarming Hamas. 86% said they did not believe that Hamas committed the atrocities against Israeli civilians depicted in videos from Oct. 7. Hamas may therefore see elections as its next route back to power and international legitimacy. Did the Allies, after World War II, allow the Nazi Party to continue governing Germany? (Gatestone Institute)
Sderot Grows In The Shadow Of Gaza
SDEROT, Israel—It’s hard to believe that the population of this city, less than a mile from the border with Gaza and with less than 20 seconds to reach a bomb shelter if a rocket is fired from the Strip, has actually increased since October 7, 2023.
According to city statistics , Sderot had 35,477 residents in 2023. Today ,it has 42,000–an increase of nearly 20%.
One of those new residents is Hila Malka, who was born in the United States and grew up in Beit Shemesh as the daughter of American parents.
“We wanted to strengthen the city, and we fell in love with it,” she told JNS. “It’s a very warm community with really good people.”
She works for the Reut Foundation, an NGO that supports the city’s residents with a variety of programs, including providing Shabbat food to families with a parent serving in the reserves and running a summer camp for at-risk children.
Reut this week also sponsored an English-language tour of Sderot, attracting several religious families, including one with six children that made aliyah from Toronto just a year ago.
Many Israelis, especially “Anglos,” as English speakers are called there, have never visited Sderot. Residents are proud of their city and want to make sure the story of what happened here is not forgotten.
Nir Kalfa, 49, a lawyer and father of six who was born in Sderot, told the group about his experience on Oct. 7, when he was in his home’s safe room with his wife and five of their six children.
Several of the dozens of armed terrorists who took over Sderot passed in front of his house. One of his daughter’s, a teenager, was spending Shabbat with her friends, and Kalfa got into his car to try to bring her home before being stopped by police. He said residents did not realize the extent of the attack until several hours had passed.
Overall, 72 Israelis were killed in Sderot on Oct. 7, including a group of Holocaust survivors who were vacationing in the city. One of the fiercest battles took place at the Sderot police station, where terrorists seized the building, killed 11 police officers and fought Israeli forces for hours until the station was demolished.
Today, the site of the police station serves as a memorial and was the first stop on the Sderot tour. Towering concrete and steel pillars, accompanied by music, stand next to a memorial path containing stones and metal from the original police station, an emotional reminder of the battle that took place there.
The next stop was a coffee cart overlooking Gaza established in memory of Capt. Shilo Cohen. His father, Aryeh Cohen, described how his 24-year-old son, who served in the Israeli Air Force’s elite Shaldag unit, was home on a short leave on Oct.7. As soon as he heard about the attack, he grabbed his pistol and headed to Kibbutz Be’eri, one of the communities hardest hit in the Hamas massacre.
He joined a group of other special forces soldiers and fought at Be’eri, where he was killed late that afternoon.
His father dug up a tangerine tree near the site, as well as a piece of the wall of the home in Be’eri where he was killed. They are now placed at a lookout point overlooking what used to be Beit Hanoun in Gaza. All profits from the coffee cart go to the Reut Foundation.
Sderot was founded in 1951 as a transit camp for Jewish immigrants, including those from Iran and Kurdistan. About one-third of its residents are Orthodox, including many of the new arrivals, while many residents who are not Orthodox nevertheless consider themselves traditional.
“No businesses are open on Shabbat,” Kalfa told JNS. “But the swimming pool is open for anyone who wants to go.”
He said Sderot offers residents several advantages, including housing that is far cheaper than in central Israel, a warm community and significant tax benefits. With train service to Sderot, Tel Aviv is just 58 minutes away.
Kalfa said that while Oct. 7 was traumatic for the entire city, residents had already been living under the threat of rocket attacks from Gaza for more than 20 years. Residents have less than 20 seconds to reach a bombshelter, and many of the city’s public buildings including entire schools are reinforced.
In the wake of Oct. 7, there was a desperate need for therapists, and Kalfa said many children, including his own, showed signs of post-traumatic stress. The city marshaled resources to help, including a range of services.
Residents of Sderot want the world to know that despite the trials of the past three years, they remain optimistic.
“Sderot is a beacon of resilience, strength, and hope,” Kalfa told the group. “Despite all the challenges we’ve faced, we didn’t give up and we’re still here.”
(jns.org)
The Christian Israel You Are Not Being Shown – Amb. George Deek
I grew up Christian, Arab and Israeli, going to church every Sunday with my father, the cantor of our Greek Orthodox church in Jaffa. I joined the Christian Scouts as a boy, later became a leader and even ran our marching band, a serious source of community pride. We marched at Christmas and Easter. Our neighbors were Muslims and Jews. We studied together, worked together, argued together and lived together.
I felt rooted, safe, and happy, which is why I sometimes wonder whether the Israel I keep reading about is a different country. Apparently, Christians here live under siege and Jewish hostility is making Christian life increasingly impossible. It is a very strange description of the country in which I actually live.
There have been ugly incidents of religious radicals verbally abusing Christians and vandalizing property. Such behavior is disgraceful. But do these extremists define Israel? In 2025, the Anti-Defamation League recorded 6,274 antisemitic incidents in the U.S., an average of 17 every day. Does that make America an antisemitic society? Of course not.
Extremism exists in every democratic society. But serious people understand the difference between extremists within a society and the character of the society itself. Except, increasingly, when that society is Israel. If you genuinely want to know whether Christians are flourishing in a country, ask: Are Christians disappearing? In Israel, they are not. In 1950, Israel was home to 34,000 Christians. Today there are 184,000, and the community continues to grow.
Christians are physicians and hospital directors, academics and business people, mayors, police officers, soldiers and diplomats. I happen to be one of them, the first Christian appointed to represent Israel as an ambassador. Today, I serve as Israel’s special envoy to the Christian World, a position created specifically to deepen Israel’s relationship with Christian communities. Quite an elaborate way for a country supposedly hostile to Christianity to behave.
The writer is a veteran diplomat with 18 years of experience who most recently served as Israelis ambassador to Azerbaijan. (Fox News)
