Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu briefed the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee behind closed doors on Thursday on security and diplomatic matters, but the discussion quickly devolved into a tense showdown with opposition lawmakers.
In the course of the session, Netanyahu disclosed that at 5:15 a.m. on October 7, 2023, the Shin Bet (ISA) circulated a formal document summarizing all alerts received overnight from the Gaza Strip. He said the paper did not reach his office until 9:47 a.m., more than four hours after it had been issued.
Netanyahu asserted that the original version of the document contained no directive to notify the Prime Minister. He said that only in more recent Shin Bet submissions did an instruction to inform him suddenly appear, alleging that the agency retroactively inserted that directive. The document bears the signature of then–Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.
The Prime Minister added that he forwarded these findings to State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman as part of the ongoing probes into the October 7 events, saying Englman was “amazed” by what he saw. Members of the committee were also described as reacting with disbelief.
Earlier in the briefing, Netanyahu read aloud excerpts from previous Cabinet meeting protocols and argued that former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had repeatedly prevented large-scale operations in the Gaza Strip.
“Bennett always opposed the occupation of Gaza,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying as he cited the protocols.
The atmosphere deteriorated further when several opposition lawmakers walked out of the meeting, voicing sharp criticism. “Is this why we came to the session? To hear Bibi reading us protocols from the Cabinet against Bennett, [Gadi] Eisenkot, and [Benny] Gantz?”
“Does he think we’re stupid? They didn’t even let us ask a single question.”
{Matzav.com}
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday was presented with a draft provisional constitution for the proposed “State of Palestine,” a move that advances the Palestinian leadership’s ongoing campaign to lay the groundwork for independent statehood.
The effort traces back to August, when Abbas approved the creation of a panel of legal and policy experts charged with drafting a constitutional framework. The proposed document is designed to serve as the legal foundation for a transition from the existing Palestinian Authority to the institutions of a sovereign state.
Those involved in drafting the text say it is rooted in the 1988 Palestinian declaration of independence and sets out core principles such as the right of return, commitment to international law, United Nations resolutions, global human rights conventions, and agreements concluded by the Palestine Liberation Organization or under the banner of the “State of Palestine.”
In the written authorization launching the initiative, Abbas said the provisional constitution is intended to anchor a democratic system based on the rule of law, a clear separation of powers, and safeguards for civil rights and personal freedoms.
Upon receiving the draft, Abbas proclaimed 2026 the “Year of Democracy,” outlining plans for a broad slate of elections throughout the year. These would include voting for the Palestinian National Council both within the Palestinian territories and among Palestinians abroad, local municipal elections, and the convening of the eighth congress of the Fatah movement.
Abbas instructed that the draft constitution first be distributed to members of the PLO Executive Committee for examination. After that review, the document will be released publicly to invite feedback and suggested revisions.
Officials say the push to advance a constitutional framework comes amid mounting international pressure on the Palestinian Authority. The United States and several European governments have urged sweeping institutional reforms, linking them to any future role the Authority might play in governing the Gaza Strip and in shaping political arrangements after the war concludes.
{Matzav.com}Nearly two decades after a deadly terrorist attack in Nachal Telem, a military court in Judea on Thursday imposed three life sentences on terrorist Ali Dandis, bringing a measure of judicial closure to a case that has haunted the families of the victims for 19 years. Alongside the prison terms, the court ordered Dandis to pay an unprecedented 5.2 million shekels in compensation to the families of slain soldiers David Rubin and Achikam Amichai.
The ruling stems from a 2007 attack in which Rubin and Amichai, both off-duty IDF soldiers, were hiking in Nachal Telem in Judea when they were ambushed. The assault was carried out by a terrorist cell composed of members of the Palestinian Authority’s security forces, according to the indictment.
During the exchange of gunfire at the scene, one of the terrorists was killed, while Dandis and another accomplice managed to flee. The two later surrendered to the Palestinian Authority, where they were placed in what was described as “protective custody.”
Court documents revealed that this arrangement did not halt Dandis’s activities. Even while incarcerated in a Palestinian Authority prison, he continued to direct terrorist cells, procure weapons, and orchestrate additional attacks, including a shooting at a bus in the Hebron Hills, all while supposedly under official supervision.
Dandis remained beyond Israel’s reach for years and was apprehended only about a year ago, after leaving the PA facility, in a coordinated operation involving the Shin Bet, the Yamam, and the Israel Defense Forces. The court adopted the prosecution’s arguments in full, citing both the double murder and Dandis’s ongoing terror activity over two decades in handing down the severe sentence.
Attorney Chaim Bleicher of the Honenu organization, which represents and supports the bereaved families, responded sharply to the verdict: “Despite the verdict, the circle has not yet closed. There is another terrorist still in ‘protective custody’ under the Palestinian Authority who has yet to face justice. While the punishment of the terrorist is necessary, it is not enough to eradicate terrorism. The State of Israel must dry up the terrorist breeding ground – the Palestinian Authority, which continues to encourage terrorism, pay salaries to terrorists, and educate for terror. We await the day when the State of Israel will hold accountable and eliminate all terrorists and their handlers.”
{Matzav.com}New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is pressing city prosecutors to abandon attempted murder charges against a man who was shot by police after allegedly advancing toward officers with a knife during what relatives describe as a severe mental health episode.
The incident unfolded on January 26 in a Queens residence, according to body camera footage released by the New York Police Department. Officers were dispatched following a 911 call from family members who said 22-year-old Jabez Chakraborty was in the midst of a psychiatric emergency and needed to be taken to a medical facility. During the call, a relative reported that Chakraborty had thrown a glass against a wall. When police arrived, they were allowed inside by a woman at the door, at which point Chakraborty appeared behind her holding a large kitchen knife. As the woman extended her arm in front of him, officers drew their weapons and issued commands.
Video from the encounter shows officers shutting the front door, placing it between themselves and Chakraborty. Despite the barrier, authorities say Chakraborty continued to press forward and attempt to push through the door, leading one of the officers to fire four shots.
Chakraborty was rushed to a hospital and remains in intensive care, where he is listed in stable but critical condition.
In the aftermath, the Queens District Attorney’s Office moved to pursue criminal charges against Chakraborty, who family members say has schizophrenia. Relatives have objected strongly, insisting they called for medical help, not law enforcement action, and arguing that police responses intensified an already fragile situation.
“Rather than de-escalate the situation, the officer instead further escalated by drawing his gun and yelling orders at Jabez,” the family wrote. “Within a minute of NYPD’s arrival, Jabez was shot multiple times and almost killed, while he was calmly eating food just minutes earlier.”
Mamdani, who centered his mayoral campaign on reforming how the city handles mental health emergencies, echoed the family’s objections and said prosecution is not the appropriate response in this case.
“In viewing this footage, it is clear to me that what Jabez needs is mental health treatment, not criminal prosecution from a district attorney, and we are talking about a family that is enduring the kind of pain that no family should and an individual that has lived with schizophrenia for many years,” Mamdani said.
“A person experiencing a mental health episode does not always have to be served first or exclusively by a police officer. It is important for us to have all of the options available,” Mamdani continued.
{Matzav.com}
1[Video below.] The Anti-Defamation League on Wednesday sharply criticized comments made by Dr. Mehmet Oz in a recent interview, accusing him of promoting harmful stereotypes about Hasidic Jews and warning that such language can worsen the current climate of antisemitism. The organization circulated excerpts from a two-week-old appearance Oz made on Epoch Times’ “American Thought Leaders,” saying the remarks risk fueling discrimination.
The comments came as Oz, the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, was speaking about investigations into healthcare fraud in Minnesota. In trying to show that fraud cases are not confined to a single state, Oz referenced the Hasidic community in New York in a manner the ADL said unfairly cast them in a negative light, suggesting they were “foreign, criminal, or ‘not real Americans.’”
“Casting Hasidic Jews as foreign, criminal, or ‘not real Americans’ is straight out of the antisemitic playbook,” the ADL wrote on X. “This kind of rhetoric fuels harmful stereotypes and discrimination. Falsely blaming New York’s Hasidic population directly contributes to the climate in which the city just reported a 182 % year-over-year spike in antisemitic hate crimes in January. Words matter, and public officials must do better.”
Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon, a former Republican Senate nominee in Pennsylvania, and a self-described secular Muslim, has taken on a more visible role in public policy discussions in recent years. Advocacy groups said that while he appeared to be drawing comparisons between states, his choice to single out New York’s Hasidic community drew particular concern.
Civil rights advocates have long warned that comments made by prominent figures about minority groups can shape public attitudes and, in some cases, contribute to discrimination or violence. The ADL said its response reflects broader concerns that even remarks made weeks earlier can take on renewed significance as antisemitic incidents continue to rise across the country.
WATCH:
Casting Hasidic Jews as foreign, criminal, or “not real Americans” is straight out of the antisemitic playbook. This kind of rhetoric fuels harmful stereotypes and discrimination. Falsely blaming New York’s Hasidic population directly contributes to the climate in which the city… pic.twitter.com/pD0t1bWRSN
— ADL (@ADL) February 5, 2026
