News Digest — 10/6/26
Closure In Judea And Samaria For October 7 Memorial
Defense Minister Israel Katz has accepted the IDF’s recommendation and ordered a general closure on Judea and Samaria, along with the sealing of Gaza Strip crossings on October 5 through 7. The decision was made following a security assessment ahead of the memorial days marking the events of October 7. According to the directive, exceptions to the Judea and Samaria crossings will be granted only in extraordinary cases and subject to approval by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT).
Movement will be permitted for essential workers from Judea and Samaria in the health sector, as well as in cases where the state has a commitment to the High Court, or for needs related to the seam line.
The closure decision came as the security establishment raised its alert level ahead of the memorial days.
The IDF prepared to reinforce forces in various sectors and elevate readiness levels across all fronts, similar to measures taken in the past during holiday periods and sensitive security events.
Security officials emphasized that the move is intended to prevent security incidents and ensure the safety of civilians and forces on the ground.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said: “Gaza is realizing that Hamas’s path has failed. The closure is expected to remain in effect during the memorial days and will be lifted according to the security assessment.”
Netanyahu Vows At Memorial: ‘No Forgiveness’ For October 7 Killers
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the state memorial ceremony for the October 7 massacre at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem on Monday afternoon (5th), marking three years since the Hamas attack.
Opening his remarks, Netanyahu addressed the bereaved families and said that he and his wife, Sara, stood alongside them in their grief.
“Your grief is the nation’s grief. I know what a void has been torn within you,” Netanyahu said. “Everything reminds us of our loved ones: The empty chair at the table, a favorite food, a touching song. We will cherish the memory of each and every one of the fallen.”
“In their name and for their sake, we will continue to strike our enemies, increasingly strengthen our state, and build our homeland from generation to generation,” he added.
Netanyahu spoke about Karin Journo, who was 24 when she attended the Nova Festival on October 7 and was murdered during the Hamas attack.
The Prime Minister recalled meeting Karin’s father, Doron Journo, at Ben-Gurion Airport several weeks ago. According to Netanyahu, Journo told him: “All that is left of my Karin is three teeth. The terrorists burned her. That is what is left for me.”
Netanyahu said Journo then told him: “Prime Minister, finish the mission. Finish the mission in the Gaza Strip.”
“I hugged him and promised him: ‘This is my commitment. We will finish the mission. And I want you to know – every day we are completing it,” Netanyahu said.
“We will never reconcile with this horrific crime, and precisely for that reason – we will complete the mission,” he continued. “We will settle accounts with those who dispatched and carried out the horrific massacre in our towns, our kibbutzim, and our cities.”
Netanyahu said that there would be “no forgiveness” for those responsible for the murders, abuse, arson, destruction, looting, and kidnappings carried out during the attacks.
“We brought home all our hostages who were held in the tunnels of Gaza, but this is not the end of the story,” he said. “We are hunting without letup the human beasts who attacked us with shocking cruelty, and those who held the hostages with shocking cruelty.”
“We will eradicate Hamas’ regime of blood. We will destroy it,” he declared.
The Prime Minister said that during the October 7 attack, Israelis responded by fighting to defend their homes.
“From the abysses of the fracture, the forces of our life burst forth,” Netanyahu said. “In the most difficult moments, our heroes did not hesitate – they leaped into the fire. Soldiers, female soldiers, policemen and policewomen, security personnel, and no less than that – citizens imbued with mutual responsibility who raced to rescue, save and deliver.”
He said Israel’s enemies quickly realized that the country would respond forcefully.
“Our iron fist strikes everyone who has raised a hand against us,” Netanyahu said, adding that Israel was not only defending itself but also the free world.
Netanyahu also addressed accusations made against Israel abroad, saying: “Lie follows lie. Libel follows libel, and we must fight it.”
He cited Sabin Tassa of Netiv HaAsara, whose husband was murdered in front of her children and who also lost a son at Zikim Beach. Netanyahu described Tassa’s appearance at a screening in the Netherlands of the film “NAZA,” where she stood before the audience and said: “Here is the truth. Here is the truth. I am the truth.”
“To stand there like that, the way Sabin Tassa stood there, is heroism,” Netanyahu said. “She is fighting heroically for truth and justice. I salute you Sabin, the entire nation salutes you.”
“We will continue to struggle for the truth – and the truth will prevail. God will prevail – Israel will prevail,” he added.
Netanyahu said the many acts of heroism during the massacre created what he called a “supreme command” not only to fight Israel’s enemies but also to rebuild.
“We are vigorously rehabilitating the Western Negev, the communities, the cities, the kibbutzim,” he said. “We do not forget the pain, we remember the pain, and we build.”
“Thus it is in the south – and thus it is and will be in the north as well. In place of destruction – building. In place of falling – revival,” Netanyahu said.
Concluding his remarks, Netanyahu quoted from the prophet Isaiah: “To give them beauty instead of ashes.”
Terrorism will not extinguish the eternal light of our nation – the light of our loved ones who were murdered,” he said. “By their light we will persevere on the path. We will persevere in reaching out a hand to one another. We will persevere in marching forward – for the future for the nation and the state.”
“With God’s help, the victims of hostile acts will always be part of our national journey toward revival, hope and victory. May their memory be a blessing.”
The Morality Of The Gaza War – Michael Mandelbaum
The war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, with an attack on Israel by Hamas. Almost immediately after the attack took place, the charge that Israel was committing genocide began circulating. It has gained such wide acceptance that American public officials and candidates for public office have taken to repeating it as if it were a fact.
It is not a fact. The charge is false. Israel conducted its Gaza campaign with greater fidelity to long-accepted international ethical and legal standards than any other country ever has. True, terrible crimes were committed on October 7 and afterward, but they were committed by Hamas, not by Israel. Accepting and repeating the false charge against Israel lends legitimacy to Hamas’ crimes and thereby encourages similar horrific criminal activity in the future.
Genocide must have the intent to kill people because they are members of a particular group, and the actual large-scale killing of them, which judicial commentary has emphasized must involve a substantial part of that group. The German Nazis’ murder of six million Jews during World War II fits the definition. The Israeli war in Gaza does not come close to fulfilling either condition.
The Israeli government made it clear, both by what it said and what it did, that it was fighting Hamas, not the Palestinian people as a whole. The highest plausible estimate of the death toll of Palestinians amounts to only a small fraction – 3% (a large proportion of whom were combatants) – of Gaza’s total population and less than 1% of all Palestinians everywhere, in no small part because Israel went to extraordinary lengths to spare civilians. By comparison, the Nazis killed two-thirds of Europe’s Jews
Palestinians are not confined to Gaza. Millions live in the West Bank – the territory between the 1949 ceasefire lines and the Jordan River – whom Israel could, if it had been bent on genocide, have attacked and killed, but did not. Moreover, two million Arabs live in Israel within the pre-1967 lines. They are as Palestinian as the Gazans. What treatment have they received? They are full citizens of the State of Israel, with the right to vote in free and fair elections – making them the only Arabs in the Middle East to enjoy that right.
Israel conformed scrupulously to what the laws of war require, arguably more scrupulously than any other country ever has. By contrast, Hamas blatantly, systematically, and deliberately violated them, making it guilty of war crimes. Hamas bears ultimate responsibility for all deaths, civilian and military, on and after October 7 because it began the war.
Hamas engaged in cross-border aggression, which the Western ethical tradition prohibits. Hamas did to Israel what Nazi Germany did to Poland in 1939, and what Vladimir Putin’s Russia did to Ukraine in 2022: it invaded a neighboring country with the intent to destroy it. That is a war crime, one of which several Nazi officials were found guilty after World War II and for which they were executed.
The writer is Professor Emeritus of American Foreign Policy at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
UK To Expel 27 Israeli Diplomats If East Jerusalem Consulate Closed, British Diplomats Expelled
Senior British officials have made it clear to Israel that if the British Consulate in east Jerusalem is closed and British diplomats are expelled, the UK will respond by expelling 27 Israeli diplomats along with their families, two sources familiar with the matter told The Jerusalem Post on Monday (5th).
The Consulate is expected to close on October 8, following an order issued by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.
The move reportedly follows Britain’s economic sanctions on the West Bank.
There is no reason for us to address speculation regarding decisions other countries might make in the future, diplomatic sources told the Post.
“We have already demonstrated that any move against Israel will be met with an appropriate response, and this will continue to be the case in the future,” the sources said.
In addition, Britain’s top national security official quietly visited Israel last week in a bid to prevent the closure of the consulate, three sources told Reuters.
National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell, whose visit Britain’s government has not disclosed, held talks with Israeli officials but failed to reach an agreement to keep the consulate open, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Senior British officials have made it clear to Israel that if the British Consulate in eastern Jerusalem is closed and British diplomats are expelled, the UK will respond by expelling 27 Israeli diplomats.
In announcing sanctions, Britain said that Israel’s actions were undermining the possibility of a two-state solution, the idea of a Palestinian state co-existing alongside Israel. Israel has rejected the idea of Palestinian statehood.
Britain cited Israeli government plans to expand settlements and settler violence in the West Bank, for the sanctions, which will begin next year.
The British Consulate, located in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, handles the country’s relations with Palestinians in the city as well as in the West Bank and Gaza. It also provides consular services to Palestinians.
Sa’ar said that Britain’s decision to impose sanctions was “morally distorted,” accusing Britain’s ruling Labour Party of being hostile towards the country, and of interfering in Israel’s upcoming general election on October 27.
Escalation Ahead? US To Bolster Troops, Military Assets In Israel
The US military is planning to increase its troop presence and assets in Israel in the coming weeks as tensions across the Middle East continue to rise amid the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, escalating rhetoric from Tehran – and Washington, and Saudi Arabia’s fight against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.
There are currently some 3,000 US military personnel in Israel, including forces tasked with operating advanced air defense systems, according to a report by the Hebrew-language outlet Walla.
The report said additional US troops and aircraft are expected to arrive in Israel in the near future “as part of preparations for an escalation in the Middle East.”
The expected US buildup comes as Israel prepares for the possibility of a sudden conflict with Iran that could rapidly escalate, Walla reported.
The IDF is working to identify targets that could be struck in Iran if a new round of conflict breaks out, along with additional potential targets on Iranian soil.
A senior Israeli security source told Walla that Israel’s adversaries are also weighing ways to influence the upcoming national elections, which are scheduled to take place at the end of October, in an effort to sway the outcome.
However, the official said Israel’s enemies are wary of triggering a broader confrontation that could provoke forceful Israeli retaliation.
“They understand that the Israeli response this time will be extremely aggressive,” the official said.
Another security source told Walla that Israel is closely monitoring developments across the region, including possible cooperation between the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
The Gulf states could coordinate more closely in confronting the threat posed by the Iran-backed Houthis, who have repeatedly targeted oil infrastructure in the region.
The source said there is growing sentiment among Gulf states that “those who do not join the confrontation against the Houthis now will remain alone and face their attacks accordingly.”
