News Digest — 9/9/26
UK Bans Judea And Samaria Products, Prompting Calls For Reprisals
Britain’s foreign secretary Ed Miliband, announced on Tuesday (8th) that his country would ban products from Judea and Samaria, amid threats by two senior Israeli Cabinet ministers for punitive diplomatic measures against the United Kingdom.
“The government believes the unlawfulness of the occupation should be reflected in the economic relationship we choose to have with the occupied territories,” Miliband said in parliament. The ban would come into effect next year, within six months, he added.
Shadow Foreign Secretary Tom Yugendhat protested the move, saying it risked “encouraging sectarianism and antisemitism at home.”
Shortly after Miliband’s announcement, he and the foreign ministers of 11 additional countries – Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Spain and Ireland–said in a joint statement that they intended or were considering restrictions on trade in goods from Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.
Spain and Ireland already imposed total trade bans on Israeli goods from Judea and Samaria. The foreign ministers of the Netherlands and Belgium, which have also announced plans for imposing a ban, were not among the 12 cosignatories.
Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister, called for the British ambassador to be “expelled” immediately, adding: “We will not be a doormat trampled by an antisemitic government, in a country conquered by radical Islam, trying to save itself from economic and social decline by attacking Jews and the State of Israel.”
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s national security minister, called in a Spanish-language post on X for Israel to recognize “the Malvinas Islands as Argentine territory under occupation, which the British are violently stealing from the Argentine people.” This was a reference to the decades-long British-Argentine dispute over the territory, which in the United Kingdom is called the Falkland Islands.
“The British are not content with merely occupying the territory: they also carry out oil drilling there and steal the money from the Argentine people,” Ben-Gvir’s X-post continued.
He called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “impose sanctions on Great Britain as long as the occupation continues.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog in a speech on Tuesday (8th), said the ban “will prove to be a grave miscalculation, a decision that will fall on the wrong side of history,” before describing it as meddling in Israel’s general elections next month.
Miliband had previously said there would be a “reset” of British-Israeli relations following Israel’s plans to build new homes in the E1 area in Ma’aleh Adumim, east of Jerusalem.
Richard Tice, a lawmaker for the Reform UK Party and deputy to the party’s leader, Nigel Farage, condemned the ban.
“Sanctions imposed by this hard-left, an anti-Jew Burnham government against Israel will embolden antisemitic hate crimes in the UK, and are damaging to our international standing with the US and Israel, two of our most important security partners. It is self-destructive virtue signaling that will make us less safe,” Tice wrote on X.
The US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, told the BBC on Tuesday (8th) that the sanctions were “discrimination against the Israeli government,” and “discrimination against the Jewish people,” in addition to being irresponsible. “The UK is a sovereign country, they can do what they want, but so is the U.S.,” he said.
Huckabee on Saturday (5th) accused the British government of antisemitism, writing on X that “the Brits have lost it.” He was sharing a post by Israel’s Foreign Ministry, which pushed back on a video by British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, in which he recounted “stories” he was told about the Gaza Strip. Miliband in the video recalled stories “of medicines being blocked, children dying while waiting for vital, life-saving treatment.”
“The Jew hate of the government knows no boundaries and knows no facts,” Huckabee wrote.
The Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem noted that “there are no restrictions on the entry of medicines into the Gaza Strip. Some 22,500 tons of medical supplies have entered the enclave since the ceasefire began. Gazans also exit the Strip for medical treatment including 200 in the past two weeks.”
Last week, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said that there would be consequences for London should it implement measures targeting Judea and Samaria.
“We are preparing. I hope they won’t make that mistake,” said Sa’ar. “If they do, there will be a reaction. Gone are the days that one can act against Israel without it responding.”
(jns.org)
Shin Bet, Police Dismantle Broad West Bank Hamas Network Recruiting Armed Cells Across Region
A large Hamas-linked terrorist infrastructure that recruited calls across the West Bank to carry out attacks against Israeli civilians and security personnel was uncovered in a joint operation by the Shin Bet, Israel Police and the IDF, the agencies announced on Tuesday (8th).
More than 30 suspects from Jerusalem and the West Bank were arrested as part of the operation, according to the security agencies. Investigations into some of those detained remained ongoing.
Among those arrested were Jerusalem residents Tzabih Abu Tzabih and Rashid Rishq, whom authorities identified as members of Shabab al-Asa, an organization affiliated with Hamas.
Abu Tzabih is the son of Misbah Abu Tzabih, who carried out a shooting attack in Jerusalem in October 2016 that killed two Israelis. The victims in that attack were Adv.-Staff-Sgt.Maj. Yosef Kirma, 29, a police officer, and Levana Malichi, 60, a former Knesset employee.
Abu Tzabih opened fire near Israel Police Headquarters before being pursued and killed by police. Rashid Qishq was released in 2025 as part of a hostage-release deal, according to Tuesday’s (8th) statement.
Israeli security operations in the West Bank have intensified amid continued concerns over terrorist activity and the stability of the Palestinian Authority.
The Shin Bet and the Jerusalem District Police’s Central Unit investigation found that Rashid Rishq and Tabih Abu Tabih had allegedly established the broader terrorist infrastructure and recruited armed cells under their command throughout the West Bank, according to the statement.
The cells were intended to carry out attacks against Jews and Israeli security personnel, authorities said. Weapons allegedly intended for attacks, along with other equipment, were seized during the investigation.
Investigators also found that Ahmad Azmi Bakri and Rishq allegedly intended to advance an attack at a restaurant in Modi’in where Bakri worked,
Rashid Rishq and Tzabih Abu Tzabih also allegedly planned a shooting attack against security personnel in Eizariya, east of Jerusalem, the agencies said.
Following the conclusion of the Shin Bet and Jerusalem District Central Unit investigation into the five Jerusalem suspects, an indictment was filed against them on charges including managing a terrorist organization, active membership in a terrorist organization, conspiracy and preparation to commit an act of terrorism involving aggravated murder, weapons offenses, possession of property for terrorist purposes, recruiting and attempting to recruit members to a terrorist organization, and additional offenses.
Authorities said they expected to file indictments against West Bank residents suspected of involvement in the network in the coming days.
Western Wall Foundation Completes Pre-Holiday Removal Of Prayer Notes From Holy Site
Prayer notes placed between the stones of the Western Wall in Jerusalem over the past six months have been removed and taken for burial as is customary every year ahead of the Jewish High Holidays, the Western Wall Heritage Foundation said.
Tens of thousands of notes from 140 countries around the world were sent over the past year for placement in the Western Wall, the Foundation said.
The notes were physically placed by world leaders, Israeli soldiers, citizens, and tourists but also sent from enemy countries or states considered hostile to Israel, such as Iran, Yemen, Iraq, Qatar, Lebanon, Pakistan, Sudan, Jordan, Egypt and Kazakhstan, the state body said.
Hundreds of notes are sent everyday through the Western Wall Heritage Foundation website, in addition to hundreds of thousands of notes personally placed between the stones by worshipers and visitors throughout the year.
The notes mailed from hostile countries were notably moving requests, particularly prayers for peace, reconciliation, and the establishment of ties between peoples and countries, the Foundation added.
Friendly countries that sent notes include the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Ukraine, and Canada.
Notes were, moreover, sent from more distant and “unexpected places.” including India, South Africa, Indonesia, Taiwan, Jamaica, Kenya, and Nigeria—reflecting the global, cross-border connection to the Western Wall, the agency said.
The removal of the prayer notes was accompanied by Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, the rabbi of the Western Wall and the holy sites.
He offered prayer for the unity of the Jewish people and for the acceptance of the prayers contained in the thousands of notes, according to the Foundation.
The notes were removed in accordance with Jewish law, using gloves and disposable wooden tools, to preserve the sanctity of the site and the personal contents of the notes.
They were collected in special sacks and will be buried alongside worn-out religious books and other sacred texts in accordance with the Jewish practice of genizah (keeping in a repository).
The notes are collected twice a year, ahead of Rosh Hashanah and Passover, and buried in the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives.
Israel’s Seizure Of Hezbollah’s Ali Al-Taher Fortress – Amal Chmouny
In the hills outside Nabatieh, the Ali al-Taher ridge was hollowed out by Hezbollah into a vast network of tunnels and underground complexes – command centers, weapons depots, and missile facilities – allowing Hezbollah to operate UAVs and missiles while sheltering fighters from aerial attacks.
Rising 600 meters above sea level north of the Litani River, Ali al-Taher commands strategic views across southeastern Lebanon. The Ali al-Taher compound was, in effect, an Iranian fortress. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards spent years investing money and expertise in the complex.
“The fall of the Ali al-Taher marked the collapse of the final defensive line protecting Hezbollah’s last major stronghold in Iqlim al-Tuffah. It also meant the loss of the shield for Jabal al-Rihane, exposing Hezbollah’s rear area,” said retired Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) Gen. Fadi Daoud.
The Israeli campaign to capture Ali al-Taher was a methodical operation designed to suffocate Hezbollah’s stronghold over time. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) systematically targeted Hezbollah supply routes to the underground complex with precision airstrikes and artillery. By choking off reinforcements and supplies, Israel forced the defenders to ration resources and limited their activity to rotate personnel.
Israeli small-unit raids and probing attacks then tested Hezbollah’s perimeter, drawing fire and revealing defensive patterns. The IDF mapped tunnel entrances, weapons caches, and defensive emplacements. Israeli special operations units, supported by intelligence and electronic warfare, targeted communication nodes to disrupt Hezbollah’s command and control. (This is Beirut-Lebanon)
Antisemitism Is A Conspiracy Theory – Nicole Lampert (Telegraph-UK)
What underlines the obsessive popularity of antisemitism? Antisemitism isn’t just racism but a conspiracy theory, an entire way of viewing the world which really has nothing to do with Jews at all. Philosopher Jean-Paul Sarte wrote in 1946: “If the Jew did not exist, the antisemite would invent him.” He realized that the Jew is simply a cypher for the ills of society, the international bogeyman. Understanding this makes antisemitism’s enduring appeal clearer.
Antisemitic conspiracy means everything can be – and is – blamed on the Jews. The villain is always the same. A striking, chilling example is a paper just published by the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) that partly blames Zionists for the 2024 Southport anti-immigration riots, the largest incident of social unrest in England since 2011. The riots followed a targeted stabbing at a dance class in Southport on July 29, 2024, which resulted in the deaths of three young girls.
In the paper titled “The United Kingdom’s first anti-Muslim pogroms in a context of genocidal Islamophobia in Gaza,” University of Liverpool human geography lecturer Dr. Kawtar Najib brings Jews into an event that had nothing to do with us by claiming “Zionism” has inspired far-Right racism. She wrote that activist Tommy Robinson had encouraged the riots and claimed that “Robinson’s financiers” were linked “to the Zionist entity. There is therefore a sort of strategic consensus between Zionist groups and fascist groups.”
It is depressing and frightening that an academic at a top British university is openly spreading hatred against Jews, but we already knew how common that is. Even more frightening is that the paper was peer-reviewed by two people. And it was then published by an editor, none of whom saw a problem with the crankery it contained in trying to make out that Jews had anything to do with the riots. They accepted a paper which aligned Jews with racists – as if fascists didn’t hate Jews?
