News Digest — 7/16/26
Netanyahu To Travel To U.S. On Saturday, Expected To Meet Trump On Monday
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to the United States on Saturday night (18th) senior Israeli officials told The Times of Israel on Wednesday (15th).
Netanyahu is expected to meet US President Donald Trump on Monday (20th), the official added, but that is not yet finalized.
He will attend the Tuesday (21st) memorial service for US Senator Lindsey Graham, an ardent Israel advocate who died unexpectedly over the weekend.
Netanyahu is eager to meet with Trump before Lebanese President Joseph Aoun does so, according to the Walla news site. Aoun will be at the White House on Tuesday (21st).
Aoun has refused to engage with Netanyahu as long as Israeli troops are still in Lebanon.
US-brokered talks between Israel and Lebanon wrapped up on Wednesday (15th) in Rome, with a State Department Spokesperson calling this round’s two days of discussions “productive and positive.”
However, an exact timeline for when Israel will fulfill its pledges to withdraw from two small pilot zones in southern Lebanon has still not been offered.
Netanyahu has visited the US to meet with Trump seven times since the US leader was inaugurated for his second term last year. This visit would mark Netanyahu’s first since the US and Israel launched their joint campaign against Iran in late February.
After longtime South Carolina Senator Graham passed away, Netanyahu eulogized him as one of Israel’s “greatest friends.” praising him for his decades of stalwart support for Israel in Washington and for devoting his life to “defending America, strengthening our alliance and standing up for the free world.”
A date for the funeral has not been announced.
The potential meeting with Trump will be the first sit-down since the US President publicly insulted Netanyahu over matters relating to the fighting inIran and against Tehran’s proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah. The US leader referred to the prime minister as “crazy” with “no judgment,” and said that “he knows who the boss is.”
Netanyahu has sought to downplay those comments, insisting earlier this month that “America has no greater ally than Israel and Israel has no greater ally than the United States.”
According to a report by the Kan broadcaster, Netanyahu is expected to stay in the US until at least the following Sunday (26th), the date of the World Cup final match, which is being hosted in New Jersey.
The report speculated that the premier may look to attend the match, potentially alongside fellow Israel ally Argentine President Javier Milei, whose national team beat England in the semifinals and will face off against Spain in the final match. However, the report did not offer details or any specific plans for Netanyahu to attend the match.
That would mean Netanyahu would remain in the US for the Tisha B’Av fast day on Thursday (23rd), the Jewish day of mourning that principally mourns the destruction of the two ancient Jewish temples that stood in Jerusalem and that were destroyed millennia ago.
Ahead of the expected trip, Netanyahu’s office asked Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker to postpone his scheduled visit next week, informing Vienna that Netanyahu would be in the US, The Times of Israel learned.
Stocker was slated to visit on Tuesday and Wednesday (21st and 22nd) .
Israel Limits US Aerial Refueling Aircraft At Ben-Gurion Airport
Israel and the United States have agreed to cap the number of American refueling planes parked at Ben-Gurion International Airport at 20, with additional aircraft to be relocated to Israeli Air Force bases, the Transport Ministry announced on Wednesday (15th).
The decision, which comes amid the breakdown of the ceasefire with Iran following its persistent attacks in the Gulf, was made to enable capacity for civilian flights at Israel’s main international gateway during the peak summer travel season, Transportation Minister Miri Regev said.
The unprecedented deployment of some 72 US military aircraft at Israel’s main civilian airport, which began in February, was reduced after the June 17 US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding took effect.
The aircraft created a bottleneck at the airport outside of Tel Aviv, as international carriers resumed flights amid a shortage of parking space.
The US paused the drawdown and returned additional aircraft to the airport this month due to escalating tensions with Iran, bringing the number of aircraft there to exceed the agreed-upon cap.
Amid US dissatisfaction with the limit, new understandings were reached with the American military to enforce the 20-plane limit to keep the busy commercial airport fully operational.
“Israel is a strong military ally, and we appreciate the warm hospitality for American forces as we work shoulder to shoulder in promoting regional security and stability,” US Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, US Central Command spokesperson, said in a statement sent to JNS on Wednesday (15th).
“US Central Command will continue working with our Israeli partners to best position US aircraft to support operations.”
Knesset Passes Law Recognizing Combat-Related PTSD, Expanding Aid For Disabled Veterans
On Wednesday (15th) the Knesset voted to unanimously pass a law formally recognizing combat-related PTSD as its own legal designation and establishing a statutory committee to provide exceptional assistance to disabled veterans and, in certain cases, their family members.
The law defines those with “combat-related PTSD” in the Disabled Veterans Law for the first time, and requires the Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Department to provide treatment specifically tailored to them, and places the committee for exceptional assistance on a statutory footing.
Sponsored by coalition and opposition lawmakers, the bill passed its first reading unanimously last night and was fast-tracked through committee today with broad bipartisan backing.
The law’s explanatory notes state that “in recent years, and in light of the most recent military campaigns, soldiers and members of the security forces have increasingly faced complex physical and psychological injuries.”
This bill is intended to recognize the unique nature of combat-related PTSD and to establish a committee to consider requests for exceptional assistance beyond the letter of the law,” it continued.
The law comes just one day after the coalition passed a series of controversial laws shielding ultra-Orthodox men from military service, including halting the arrests of draft dodgers and therefore freezing haredi enlistment, and a Basic Law declaring Torah study a foundational value, even as Israel remains engaged in a prolonged multi-front war, during which the IDF has already warned of severe manpower shortages and the number of soldiers suffering physical and psychological injuries, including PTSD, has skyrocketed.
Israel Now Controls Up To 70% Of Gaza, Security Cabinet Told Amid Expanded IDF Offensive
Senior Israeli military officials told the Security Cabinet on Tuesday (14th) that the IDF now controls between 67% and 70% of the Gaza Strip, according to two Israeli sources.
In response Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested a detailed map showing the current deployment of Israeli forces.
Under the hostage-release agreement, the IDF was expected to remain in roughly 53% of the Gaza Strip, along what became known as the Yellow Line.
However, after Hamas refused to disarm as required under President Trump’s 20-point plan, and amid the continuing threat posed by the terrorist organization, the IDF expanded its operations in recent months to capture territory beyond the Yellow Line.
“We are not allowing them to rearm or attack us, and we are also eliminating their senior commanders,” Netanyahu said during a cabinet meeting last month.
Several weeks ago, Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the IDF to expand its control to 70% of the Gaza Strip.
“My directive is to move to 70% control of the Gaza Strip,” Netanyahu said at a conference in the Jordan Valley at the end of May.
As audience members called on him to take control of 100% of the territory, Netanyahu urged patience.
“We’re at 60% right now – let’s do this step by step – first 70%,” he said.
“We’ll start with that. We’re closing in on them from every direction, and then we’ll deal with what’s left,” he concluded.
Germany Opposes EU Trade Embargo In West Bank Settlements, Freezes Latest Attack Against Israel
The German government made it clear on Tuesday (14th) that any vote by the European Union on a boycott or toughening of trade terms with Jewish settlements in the West Bank requires unanimous agreement from all 27 member states, which significantly reduces the chances of the measure being adopted. EU foreign ministers gathered on Wednesday (15th) in Brussels for a meeting where, after months of pressure from countries that oppose Israel, such as Spain, Belgium and Ireland, the issue was discussed.The issue divides not only countries in the EU, but also within the EU hierarchy itself, and is leading to a conflict between the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Commission vice president and foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas.
The pro-Palestinians in the EU have so far failed in their demand to suspend the EU’s association agreement with Israel, or to harm trade with it (the EU is Israel’s biggest trading partner), due to what is happening in Judea, Samaria and Gaza.
The EU has unanimously passed a series of resolutions against violent settlers, against the heads of organizations operating in the territories, and against some organizations (such as Emunah and Regavim). Now, the pro-Palestinians are trying to initiate a boycott at the EU level of settlement products. Such a move would be the first use of economic leverage as part of foreign policy regarding Israel.
To promote the boycott, the pro-Palestinian countries have demanded an opinion from the commission on the matter. After many months in which the Commission has been reluctant to enter the fray, it was supposed to present a series of options on Wednesday (15th), from trade controls to trade bans, and which organizations would oversee the measures.
If any measures are solely in the field of trade, then a qualified majority is sufficient (at least 15 countries representing more than 65% of the population in the entire EU). If the measure is considered a measure in the field of foreign policy, then a unanimous majority is required.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has made it clear that for Germany, this is a foreign policy issue, which complicates the decision-making process.
In practice, this means that Germany has once again come out in support of Israel.
Wadephul, a member of the ruling pro-Israel Christian Democratic Party, visited Israel last week, for the tenth time since he was appointed to the position last year. He made it clear that despite Berlin’s strong opposition to settlements and continued Israeli construction in the territories, “Dialogue must continue.” with Israel and extreme measures must not be threatened.
Wednesday’s (15th) discussion and the preliminary statements also illustrate the depth of the division that exists within the European Commission itself. On the one hand, the President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen is close to Germany and has positions that support Israel, while on the other hand, the EU’s foreign relations chief Kaja Kallas is considered more critical of Israel. Kallas said before the hearings Wednesday morning (15th) that in her opinion, this was a decision that required only a privileged majority.
But even if at the EU level Germany repeatedly succeeds (together with a few other countries, such as Czechia) in preventing sanctions on Israel, at the level of nation states the situation is different. Ireland is moving forward with legislation that would ban trade with settlements, while Spain and the Netherlands have already adopted similar measures, and even the UK, which is outside the EU, is considering imposing an embargo on trade with West Bank settlements.
