News Digest — 2/11/26
Shin Bet Breaks Up West Bank Terror Cell Directed From Lebanon
The Shin Bet security agency announced Tuesday (10th) that it had broken up a terror cell operating in the West Bank under the direction of operatives in Lebanon.
The cell, which was in the advanced stages of planning an attack, included recruits who conducted surveillance on an Israeli settlement in the northern West Bank. Five suspects have been arrested and indicted.
The operation began in October, when Shin Bet detained Mohammad Sadka, a resident of the village of Anza in the northern West Bank, on suspicion that he was preparing to carry out a terrorist attack. During his interrogation, investigation discovered that Sadka had traveled to Lebanon, where he was recruited by Musa Abu Saif, a member of a terror network known by the cell sign “Jibril.” and tasked with operating inside the West Bank and recruiting additional members to form armed cells.
After returning to the West Bank via Jordan, Sadka recruited several others, including Mohammad Khalil from Ramallah and Mohammad Barahmeh, also from Anza. Both were later arrested and questioned.
According to the Shin Bet, Sadka maintained communication with his Lebanese handlers via social media platforms and gaming apps up until his arrest.
A second cell was also uncovered during the investigation, also allegedly operated by the same Lebanese network. Two residents of the village of Tell in the northern West Bank, Dia al-Din and Nasser Asida, both in their 20s, were arrested
The interrogation revealed that they had been recruited by a Lebanese terror operative named Mujahid Dahsha, who coordinated activities with other figures identified by their aliases “Abu Ahmad” and “Abu Wahid.” Communication was conducted primarily through online messaging platforms.
As part of their recruitment process, the two young men reportedly underwent firearms training and were instructed to photograph an Israeli community in the West Bank. They were also promised funding for the purchase of weapons.
Shin Bet intelligence indicates that Dahsha, who has known ties to both Hamas and Hezbollah, was the central figure behind the network that recruited both terror cells. The agency said that the network’s objective was to carry out attacks against Israeli targets.
Hamas Leader Tells Norwegian TV That Group Is Proud Of October 7, Denies Civilians Were Killed
A senior Hamas official told Norway’s state broadcaster that the group remains proud of the October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel and rejected accusations that its fighters killed civilians during the attack.
In a rare on camera interview with NRK, Hamas leader Osama Hamdan spoke from a concealed location in Istanbul with presenter Yama Wolasmal. It marked his second appearance on the network since the start of the war.
Despite nearly two years of fighting in Gaza, Hamdan said that Hamas views October 7 as a success. “I’m proud that we are continuing to resist under 75 years of occupation,” he said.
He argued that one of the main outcomes of the attack was Israel’s diplomatic isolation, which he described as a deliberate objective.
“The first achievement is that Israel has been isolated. The international community thinks that Israel is not just an occupier, but a state that commits genocide,” he said. He added, “The second achievement is that we have shown that this state, even if they commit genocide, is not as strong as they are claiming.”
When Wolasmal noted that Gaza itself has been devastated and Hamas remains sidelined internationally and excluded from negotiations, Hamdan dismissed the point, saying no cost could be placed on “freedom.”
He insisted that efforts to end the war had failed because Israel avoided agreements and maintained that all suffering on both sides stemmed from Israeli actions.
Asked why a Palestinian widow living in dire conditions should support Hamas after October 7, Hamdan replied that civilians understood who was responsible for their losses and cited a figure of 75,000 Palestinians killed by Israel.
It should be noted that the 75,000 figure is derived from the Hamas Health Ministry, which doesn’t make the distinction in its numbers between civilians and terrorists killed.
Hamdan denied that Hamas killed civilians at the Supernova music festival, claiming Israeli forces were responsible despite videos released by the group’s Al-Qassam Brigades.
Challenged on this, he maintained that the narrative had been fabricated.
He also defended Hamas’s governance, saying that elections held in 2006 were sufficient to establish legitimacy and rejected claims that Palestinians fear criticizing the group.
Hamdan acknowledged summary executions of alleged collaborators, calling such actions legal “field trials” under Palestinian law.
1 In 3 American Jews Were Targeted By An Anti-Semitic Incident Last Year, AJC Survey Finds
One third of American Jews reported being the target of an anti-Semitic incident in 2025, according to a new survey published by the American Jewish Committee.
The finding marked no change over the previous year, suggesting that American Jews could be settling into a distressing new normal in the aftermath of Oct. 7.
“Things aren’t getting markedly better,” said Ted Deutch, CEO of the AJC, in an interview. “I don’t think that we can afford to accept it as a baseline. We can’t accept that, and America shouldn’t accept that.”
Surveying 1,222 Jewish American adults from Sept. 26 to Oct.9, the AJC found a plateau in several indicators of sentiment.
Overall, 55% of American Jews reported avoiding specific behaviors in 2025 due to the fear of anti-Semitism, including steering clear of certain events and refraining from wearing things or posting things online that would identify them as Jewish.
The finding also marked no change since 2024, when 56% of Jews reported changing their behavior for fear of anti-Semitism, but was up from 45% in 2023 and 38% in 2022.
This year’s responders were also asked if they felt “less safe” as a result of several high-profile recent anti-Semitic attacks, including the arson attack on Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s home in April; the deadly shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, DC, in May; and the firebombing of a demonstration for the Israeli hostages in Boulder, Colorado, in June.
About a quarter of respondents said the attacks had made them feel “a great deal” less safe, while 31% responded “a fair amount” and 32% responded “a little.”
Overall, according to the report, two thirds of respondents said that they believed Jews in the United States were less secure than a year ago.
Deutsch said the findings of the group’s latest report should serve not only as a warning for Jews, but as a “warning sign of the cracks in the foundation of our society” for the wider public.
“This is about more than what is happening to Jews,” he said.
“We’ve always been first, the Jews have always been a canary in the coal mine, and we have to take this seriously. The broader community has to take this seriously for the benefit, not just of our Jewish community, but for our society and our democracy.”
For the first time, the AJC also asked American Jews whether they approved of the way President Donald Trump was responding to anti-Semitism in the country.
Roughly two thirds of respondents said they disapproved of Trump’s actions, though views split sharply along party lines, with 85% of Jewish Democrats disapproving of Trump’s response as opposed to 9% of Republicans.
Last month at the Second International Conference on Combating Ant-Semitism in Jerusalem, political theorist Yoram Hazony decried what he described as “an extremely high-level of incompetence by the entire anti-Semitism-industrial complex.”
Bret Stephens, the right-leaning Jewish New York Times columnist argued in an address last week that the Jewish community should abandon its efforts to combat anti-Semitism and instead invest in strengthening Jewish life.
For Deutch, the decision between combating anti-Semitism and strengthening Jewish education and infrastructure was a false choice.
“It’s not a trade-off. We can’t afford to choose one or the other,” said Deutch.
“We don’t have the luxury of deciding that we’re either going to invest in more education for our leaders and for ourselves and help to create the next generation of well educated Jewish leaders, or engage with the broader Jewish community and leaders about the scourge of anti-Semitism.”
Venezuela Sends First Oil Shipment To Israel In Years In Sign Of Improving Relations
Venezuela sent its first shipment of crude oil to Israel in several years, according to a Tuesday (10th) report by Bloomberg.
The shipment represents a renewal of contacts between the Venezuelan government and Israel, ever since former Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez cut relations in 2009.
According to people familiar with the deal, Israel’s Bazan Group will be responsible for transporting the cargo.
The report also notes that the deal was not made public, which aligns with Israel’s policy of not revealing the sources of its crude oil imports.
The last shipment of oil from Venezuela to Israel consisted of 470,000 barrels, according to Kpler data shared by Bloomberg.
The news comes after Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar met with Nobel Prize laureate and Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on February 4.
“Maria Corina Machado is a courageous woman, and her struggle is a source of inspiration to many in Venezuela and beyond. We discussed developments in Venezuela since the historic US operation ‘Absolute Resolve,’ led by President Trump,” said Sa’ar.
“I wish the people may soon be able to choose their leadership in free elections, after the long years of repression under Maduro and Chavez,” he added.
“Dear Minister Sa’ar, I am truly grateful for the opportunity to engage in an extensive conversation about the challenges and opportunities we face in a process that is already moving Venezuela toward democracy,” said Machado.
“Our country will be a reliable and stable partner for the world’s democracies and will offer major opportunities for investment and exchange. Venezuela’s reintegration into the democratic world will also allow us to build global alliances in the face of those who threaten our security,” she added.
Israel Thrives While Its Haters Flounder – Sir Michael Ellis
The mullahs say they have their “fingers on the trigger” and most regional states are rather nervous. Meanwhile Israel seems to shake it all off and get on with life. One supposes there is nothing like being attacked multiple times over the decades to build resilience. Despite leading a country only the size of Wales, Prime Minister Netanyahu has pointed out that within a decade Israel’s economy will be worth $1 trillion.
While the Iranian regime has been busy murdering protestors by the thousands, haters of Israel prefer to focus their efforts on trying to introduce a boycott of Israeli avocados. At the same time, the Government under Sir Keir Starmer has indefinitely paused a UK trade deal with Israel, thereby doing itself out of business with one of the world’s leading high-tech innovators.
Egypt and Israel have recently signed the biggest natural gas deal in Israel’s history, worth $35 billion. The Israeli Leviathan gas field will soon supply a substantial proportion of Egypt’s energy needs. The UAE has signed a defense contract with Israel worth $2.3 billion for a new, highly sophisticated defense system to protect its civilians and military aircraft. This follows the German parliament approving a $3.5 billion expansion of the Arrow-3 deal with Israel. In total, the deal was valued at $8 billion.
Israel’s military, diplomatic,economic and tech strength is extraordinary. But the nation’s true strength rests on the happiness, positivity and industry of its people in the face of those who hate them. Israel is one of the world’s players. The future bodes well for them. The haters – not so much.
The writer, former Deputy Leader of the House of Commons, served as Attorney General for England and Wales. (Sunday Telegraph-UK)
