News Digest — 10/27/25
Netanyahu: ‘Israel Controls Its Own Security, Not The US.
At the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting on Sunday (26th), Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed claims regarding American involvement in Israel’s security policy.
“Over the past month, we have been witnessing ridiculous claims regarding the relationship between the United States and Israel. When I was in Washington, it was said there that I control the American administration, that I dictate its security policy to it. Now, the opposite is being claimed – the American administration controls me and dictates Israel’s security policy. Neither of these is true,” the Prime Minister insisted.
Netanyahu stressed, “Israel is an independent country; the United States is an independent country. The relations between us are relations between partners, and this partnership, which has reached an all time high, was also expressed in the operational cooperation in the second part of Operation Rising Lion. It is also expressed, and was expressed just recently, in the release of all the living hostages from Gaza,and of course in the effort to return all the fallen, and also in other areas in which we are changing the face of the Middle East together.”
Later in his remarks, the Prime Minister discussed recent military actions: “But I want to make one thing crystal clear: Our security policy is in our own hands. We are not prepared to tolerate attacks against us. We respond according to our own judgment against attacks, as we saw in Lebanon and most recently in Gaza. We dropped 150 tons on Hamas and the terrorist elements after the attack on our two soldiers. And of course, we also thwart dangers as they are being formed, before they are carried out, as we did just Saturday (25th) in the Gaza Strip”.
Netanyahu concluded: “We do not seek anyone’s approval for this. We are in control of our security, and we have also made it clear regarding international forces that Israel will determine which forces are unacceptable to us and the United States as well, as its most senior representatives have expressed in recent days. Israel is an independent state. We will defend ourselves with our own forces, and we will continue to control our destiny.”
Within An Hour, IDF Eliminates Two Hezbollah Operatives In Southern Lebanon
The IDF on Sunday (26th) conducted a precise and intelligence-guided strike, eliminating two key Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon.
In the strike, terrorist Ali Hussein Al Mousawi, a weapons smuggler for the Hezbollah terrorist organization, was eliminated near Beqaa in Lebanon.
Al Mousawi operated as a weapons dealer and smuggled on behalf of Hezbollah, and as part of his role, he handled the purchasing and transfer of weapons from Syria to Lebanon. Additionally, he played a significant role in the reestablishment and strengthening of Hezbollah.
In addition, earlier on Sunday (26th) the IDF conducted a precise strike that targeted the terrorist Abd Mahmoud Al-Sayed in the area of An-Naqoura in southern Lebanon,
Al-Sayed served as the local representative of Hezbollah in the area of Al-Bayada in southern Lebanon. As part of his role, he was responsible for communication between the organization and the residents of the area, regarding financial and military subjects. In addition, this terrorist took part in Hezbollah’s attempts to reestablish its military capabilities in the town.
“The terrorists’ activities constituted a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the IDF stressed. “The IDF will continue to operate to remove any threat posed to the State of Israel.”
Palestinian ‘Pay For Slay’ Isn’t Over, Watchdog Says, Citing Saturday’s Payouts
The Palestinian Authority paid stipends to security prisoners and to the families of “martyrs” at PA post offices on Saturday morning (25th), despite publicly claiming to have ended the practice, according to a new report by Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) director Itamar Marcus on Sunday (26th).
“Saturday, October 25th, at 10: 00 am, the PA Post offices paid terrorists’ salaries and stipends to families of terrorist “martyrs,” Marcus wrote, adding that there was “no official announcement” and that payments were delayed so “everyone, even the terrorists’ families, would think that the program had ended.
PMW printed screenshots of social media conversations among recipients discussing the amounts deposited, including one exchange stating, “50% of the salaries and those making less than 2,000 received the full amount. FYI, the salary is for June.” PMW said the percentage matched the partial salaries the PA paid civil servants earlier this month due to its fiscal crisis.
The watchdog outlined a two-week timeline in which families of prisoners and those killed in attacks pressed the PA for updates, held small demonstrations in Ramallah on October 20, and were told informally by post office staff that payments would be made on Saturday (25th) without an official statement. On the morning of October 25th, local Telegram channels began reporting that “the salaries of the prisoners, the wounded, and the Martyrs have arrived at the post office,” and PMW said that payments proceeded “as usual” through the day.
PMW argued that the PA could not announce the transfers because it had assured donors it had ended so-called “pay for slay.” Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas signed a decree in February revoking the system of payments to families of prisoners and those killed or wounded in attacks, according to multiple reports at the time.
European officials later welcomed what they described as reforms. In a September 25 communique, the French Foreign Minister said, “We welcome the reforms already underway by the Palestinian Authority, including: the abrogation of the prisoners’ payment system, that is now effective.”
At the same time, the European Commission pledged significant budgetary support for the PA this year. On June 23rd, Brussels announced 202 million euros in assistance for UNRWA and the PA, including 150 million euros… to support the Palestinian Authority in ensuring the delivery of key public services, including the payment of salaries of teachers, civil servants, and healthcare workers,” tied to a reform agenda.
PMW contends that such funding effectively frees up other PA resources to maintain stipends to prisoners and “martyrs,” a claim PMW has repeated in a series of reports documenting payments through PA post offices in recent months.
In its analysis on Sunday (26th), PMW said recipients reported receiving 50% of the monthly stipend and that the remaining half “is not canceled but is owed” mirroring how the PA has been accruing arrears to public employees during the broader fiscal crunch. The watchdog estimates the PA historically spent more than $30 million per month on these payments before the Gaza war, and says the number of eligible recipients has since grown.
The PA has long argued that payments are part of a social welfare framework for prisoners and bereaved families, while Israel and many Western lawmakers say the policy incentivizes terrorism. The issue remains the focus of litigation and diplomatic pressure. Last week, families of slain and injured Americans filed a lawsuit in the United States accusing the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) of operating a “Pay for slay” scheme that rewards terrorism.
The PA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on PMW’s latest claims.
Syria Demands Return Of The Golan Heights Amid Arab Pressure
Syria, backed by Turkey and several Arab countries, has launched a diplomatic campaign to gain international recognition of its sovereignty over the Golan Heights and to return the territory to its control. The move runs counter to ongoing security negotiations between Syria and Israel.
Israel annexed the Golan Heights by law in 1981 and considers it fully sovereign Israeli territory. That sovereignty was recognized by President Donald Trump during his first term, through a 2019 presidential proclamation. As a gesture of appreciation, the Israeli government announced the establishment of the community, Trump Heights.
The current campaign was initiated by Syria’s envoy to the United Nations, Ibrahim Olabi, in an aggressive speech in the UN Security Council on Friday (24th). Olabi accused Israel of instigating military incidents, violating the post Yom Kippur War disengagement agreement, and infringing on Syria’s sovereignty. He called on the UN and the Security Council to take “decisive” action against Israeli operations on Syrian territory.
Olabi went further, declaring that “Israeli authorities must withdraw their forces from Syrian territory, including the occupied Golan Heights, as well as from areas recently invaded, and refrain from interfering in Syria’s internal affairs. The Golan will remain Arab and Syrian and will never be subject to compromise or concession. Syria reaffirms its unwavering position that the occupied Golan Heights is an integral part of its sovereign territory, a position rooted in international law and repeatedly endorsed in UN resolutions.”
Four Security Council members:Algeria, Somalia, Sierra Leone, and Guyana – joined the Syrian demand,submitting a letter to the council that stated : “The occupation of the Syrian Golan, along with the security challenges stemming from the military’s illegal presence in these areas, poses a significant threat to Syria’s stability and complicates efforts to rebuild the state.”
The letter was presented by Algeria’s permanent representative to the UN , Ammar Benjama, who added, “We reaffirm that the occupied Syrian Golan is an inseparable part of Syria, as established in Security Council Resolution 497. We call for an immediate end to the [Zionist] aggression and a full withdrawal from all Syrian territory, including the occupied Syrian Golan.”
Former MK Zvi Hauser, Chairman of the “Coalition for the Israeli Golan, warned that Israel was effectively granting legitimacy to the stabilization of a new Syrian regime that openly demands sovereignty over the Golan Heights by failing to condition its reconstruction on the regime’s renunciation of such claims or, at the very least, by not pressing the Americans to intervene.
Hauser said Israel was displaying “historic negligence” that could soon enable the formation of international pressure to withdraw from the Golan Heights. Ignoring the issue, he warned, would carry serious consequences in the future.
An Israeli official stressed that Israel has no intention of conceding “even one centimeter of the GolanHeights,” nor of reducing its military presence in Syrian territory so long as it is necessary for Israel’s security. Another diplomatic source suggested that Syria’s campaign is meant to accelerate the sluggish security negotiations with Israel, which have yet to yield results.
Drone Arms-Smuggling From Egypt A real Security Threat – Yaakov Lappin
A flood of weapons-smuggling drones are entering Israel over the Egyptian border. Oded Ailam, a former head of the Counterterrorism Division in the Mossad and currently a researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, said, “The scope of the phenomenon is severe and constitutes a real security threat. The quantities are large and there is almost no interdiction, and the intelligence is also poor.
Ailam called for the immediate establishment of a “dedicated interdisciplinary body to deal with the phenomenon, which will concentrate all intelligence and coordinate the implementation.” Additionally, Israel must “invest in technological developments that allow monitoring and treatment of drones, including masking [jamming] possibilities in vulnerable areas.”
He noted that the smuggling drones are limited in range, meaning that a dedicated patrol force equipped with sensors and cameras must be established to locate the smugglers on the Israeli side who are collecting the smuggled goods.
Ailam called for Israel to specifically link the issue to the reconstruction of Gaza. “The Egyptians have a great interest in taking an active part in the rehabilitation of Gaza, this is about billions [of dollars]. Therefore, Israel must firmly demand that the Egyptians deal with the phenomenon in their territory and stipulate this as part of the rehabilitation of Gaza. (JNS)
(jns.org)
What The West Could Learn From Israel – Brendan O’Neill
• At Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, as I peruse a vast wall of stickers showing the smiling faces of the men and women who were stolen on Oct. 7 – some of whom made it home, some of whom did not – I feel a sudden rush of anger. Anger that Israel was left almost entirely alone to agitate for the precious lives and liberty of these abducted Jews..
• A short walk and I am in Dizengoff Square, which has become a make-shift monument to the Israelis who have died in this infernal war Hamas started. Hundreds of lovingly framed photos of the dead have been perched on the perimeter wall of the square’s fountain. Untold numbers of joyful, youthful faces. Photos of men and women whose lives have already been given for their country. You see young Israelis with their fierce faith in their nation, with their willingness to die for their people..
• How does a country in the 21st century withstand the cult of fashionable frailty and self-hatred and do that thing you’re not supposed to do – fight? The secret ingredient is self-belief. The sense of nationhood in Israel, of peoplehood, is extraordinary. That doesn’t mean there aren’t divisions. There are millions… But everyone I meet – everyone – is a Zionist. The hippy youth, he pacifists, kibbutzniks, the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans on a rooftop eatery, the old fellas drinking coffee in Dizengoff – all of them.
• They are bonded by something that rises above all of it: peoplehood; sovereign conviction; an attachment to nationhood so powerful that it can even withstand the ceaseless barbs, and libels of virtually the entire intellectual elite of the Western world.
• People say that Europe and the Jews took wholly different lessons from the Second World War. Europe’s rulers decided nationalism was bad, the Jews decided nationhood was essential, in order that they might protect themselves from the murderous urges of organized anti-Semitism. The Jewish people went down the path of restoring their ancient homeland so that they might live freely and securely in the land of their forebears.
• Being there reminded me what a nation is: a place of belonging, of attachment, of sacrifice, of promise. A place where the young are brave and the old are safe. A place where soldiers are celebrated and enemies are defeated. A place where no one is left behind. Not a perfect place – but a place that at least aspires to live by high ideals. Let Israel be – it’s fine.
