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Saudi Arabia has no interest at present in formalizing relations with Israel, and any such shift would require a fundamental change in Israel’s conduct, according to Prince Turki al-Faisal, the kingdom’s former intelligence chief.

In a rare interview with Israeli media published Sunday, Prince Turki told The Times of Israel that normalization is not on the table under current circumstances. “Saudi Arabia is not considering a normalization deal with Israel. Should Israel become a normal country with normal acceptance of international law, then Saudi Arabia will consider normalization,” he said.

The comments underscored how distant Riyadh remains from establishing ties with Israel, despite sustained efforts by Washington to expand the Abraham Accords framework. Although Prince Turki no longer holds office, his views are widely seen as aligned with Saudi Arabia’s official position, even if he often voices them in blunter terms.

Prince Turki headed Saudi Arabia’s General Intelligence Directorate from 1979 to 2001 and later served as ambassador to the United Kingdom and the United States. Since leaving public office, he has remained active in foreign policy discourse and currently chairs the King Faisal Foundation’s Center for Research and Islamic Studies.

Saudi officials typically avoid direct engagement with Israeli outlets, making the interview itself unusual. Asked to spell out Riyadh’s conditions for normalizing relations, Prince Turki rejected claims of ambiguity between Saudi references to a Palestinian state and talk of a mere “pathway” toward one.

“Realizing the two-state solution requires a serious and trusted pathway that leads to the end goal, which is a viable Palestinian state as envisioned by the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002 and the vision of peace presented for a final settlement of this protracted conflict in that initiative,” he said.

That initiative, endorsed by Saudi Arabia, calls for an independent Palestinian state based on pre-1967 lines and a negotiated resolution to the refugee issue — parameters long rejected by successive Israeli governments.

“Normalizing ties with Israel was conditioned by reaching that final and fair solution to the Palestinian cause,” Prince Turki continued. “Therefore, Saudi statements on a ‘pathway’ mean the need for a reliable peaceful process that leads to [that] final solution, with the understanding that such a process requires involvement of many international and regional countries, including Saudi Arabia, to engage in such a process.”

Reflecting on past diplomatic efforts, he cited the period following the 1991 Madrid Peace Conference, when Saudi Arabia and other Arab states engaged in negotiations. “Alas, all went in vain. Israel was not ready to pay the price of peace. The man of peace in Israel at the time was assassinated and his partner from the Palestinian side was poisoned,” he said, referring to former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat.

Israel has denied Palestinian claims that Arafat was poisoned, and multiple international investigations have not definitively concluded that his 2004 death was caused by poisoning.

The remarks come as the Trump administration seeks to revive momentum for Saudi-Israeli normalization and hopes Riyadh will eventually join the Abraham Accords, brokered in 2020 between Israel and several Arab states.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, however, dampened expectations during a recent White House visit, saying, “We want to be part of the Abraham Accords, but we want also to be sure that [we] secure a clear path [toward a] two-state solution.”

Saudi officials have since added qualifiers to that demand, including that the process be “time-bound” and “irreversible.” Prince Turki argued that Israel’s current leadership makes such assurances implausible.

“Unfortunately, with the ruling mentality in Israel nowadays, every step toward peace is reversible and not ‘time-bound,’” he said, accusing the government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of blocking Palestinian statehood.

He pointed to Israeli military actions in Gaza and the West Bank, as well as operations in Syria and Lebanon, and accused Israel of reversing commitments related to ceasefires and the Abraham Accords. “Israeli aggressive behavior in the region — in Gaza and the West Bank, in Syria, in Lebanon — reversing on the commitments to the ceasefire during Gaza war and reversing its verbal commitment to the Abraham Accords about not changing the status on the ground, along with the statements on Biblical Greater Israel do not call for trust in Israel,” he said.

Prince Turki added that trust would require Israel to adhere to international norms. “Gaining trust requires Israel to conduct itself according to rules and norms of international law and the resolutions of the UN Security Council and abide by them,” he said.

Asked whether rejecting normalization risks damaging relations with US President Donald Trump, Prince Turki dismissed the idea that Riyadh would bend under pressure. “Saudi Arabia bases its foreign policy on its own national interests, not according to the wishes and pressures of others,” he said.

He also denied reports that Saudi Arabia had been close to normalizing ties with Israel before Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack. “All the speculation about normalization before Oct. 7 was out of wishful thinking on the part of mostly Israeli or American pro-Israeli sources,” he said, reiterating that “there is no normalization without a peaceful resolution to the Palestinian issue that entails the two-state solution.”

Addressing claims that weakening Iran and its proxies might incentivize closer Saudi-Israeli cooperation, Prince Turki said there was no benefit in engaging with an Israel that has not accepted peaceful coexistence. “There is no strategic benefit for Saudi Arabia’s normalization with Israel that is not yet a normal country that is peaceful and lives with its neighbors according to rules and norms of natural relationships between countries,” he said.

He also rejected arguments that corruption or dysfunction within the Palestinian Authority excuses the lack of progress. “I believe Israel is responsible for the failure of the PA, since Israel is in control of all aspects of life in the Palestinian territories,” he said. “Therefore, the failure of the PA is not a justification to avoid the real issues of peace.”

Prince Turki concluded by saying that any future Israeli leader seeking peace with Saudi Arabia would need to embrace a two-state framework. “Whoever succeeds Netanyahu should accept the two-state solution. That is for the Israeli people to decide.”

{Matzav.com}

In a heartfelt collaboration, Tantzers and the NYC Police Benevolent Association came together to host a special Chanukah program at the NYC PBA headquarters, honoring children known for facing ongoing medical challenges and the families who support them every day. The initiative was hosted with the support of NYC PBA President Patrick Hendry, reflecting the […]

Israel’s political system moved a step closer this week toward establishing a new investigative body to probe the failures surrounding the Hamas assault of October 7, 2023, after a ministerial panel endorsed controversial legislation redefining how such a commission would be formed.

The bill, a private proposal sponsored by Likud MK Ariel Kallner, passed the Ministerial Committee for Legislation on Monday and is slated for a preliminary vote in the Knesset plenum on Wednesday. Unlike a traditional state commission of inquiry, whose members are appointed by the president of the Supreme Court, the proposed framework would place the power of selection in the hands of the Knesset.

Under the bill’s provisions, commissioners would be approved by a supermajority of at least 80 lawmakers. Should the opposition refuse to cooperate, the coalition and opposition would each be entitled to appoint an equal number of members. If the opposition fully boycotts the process, however, the authority to select the entire panel would fall to the Knesset speaker, Likud MK Amir Ohana.

At the committee meeting earlier in the day, Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu laid out what he believes the scope of any investigation into October 7 must include. According to a government source, Netanyahu argued that the inquiry cannot be confined to immediate operational failures but must examine decisions and developments stretching back decades, “from Oslo, through to the [Gaza] Disengagement, and up to [reserve duty] refusal.”

His reference to “refusal” alluded to threats made in 2023 by some opponents of the government’s judicial overhaul, who said they would stop reporting for IDF reserve service in protest.

In a video statement released later Monday, Netanyahu defended the idea of a specially constituted commission, saying that a catastrophe on the scale of October 7 demands an exceptional mechanism. He compared the proposal to the special US commission formed after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

“No one then complained about political bias, and I must say that its conclusions received broad legitimacy precisely for this reason. That is exactly what we are doing,” he said.

Netanyahu insisted that alternatives would lack broad public confidence. “The government could have established a governmental review committee, whose entire composition would be determined solely by the government,” he said, adding that such a body would only be trusted by part of the public. He then rejected an opposition-backed model in which appointments would be made exclusively by Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit, arguing it would similarly enjoy the confidence of only a narrow segment of society.

“I say to the opposition: Go ahead — bring whatever experts you want, ask whatever questions you want, investigate whomever you want — including me,” the prime minister said. “All issues will be examined, without exception. The political, the security, the intelligence, the legal — everything.”

Despite those assurances, polling consistently shows broad public support for a classic state commission of inquiry, whether appointed solely by Amit or jointly with his conservative deputy, Noam Sohlberg — options Netanyahu has firmly ruled out.

The proposal drew internal criticism even within the coalition. Ze’ev Elkin, a minister in the Finance Ministry, was the lone vote against the bill in the ministerial committee. Elkin warned that the clause empowering the Knesset speaker to appoint commissioners in the event of an opposition boycott would effectively turn the panel into a government-appointed body, something already permitted under existing law.

Opposition figures responded with sharp denunciations, accusing the government of trying to avoid accountability for the October 7 failures. Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said the initiative was designed to “bury the truth” and deceive the public.

“Those directly responsible for the disaster will appoint a cover-up commission whose sole purpose is to clear them of guilt. It will not help them. They are guilty,” Lapid said. He went on to call the proposed body “a death certificate for the truth,” warning that political control would allow testimony to be distorted, evidence undermined, and the public misled.

Democrats party chairman Yair Golan echoed that criticism, describing the effort as “a pathetic attempt to engineer a political investigation” and saying it amounted to an admission of guilt.

Netanyahu’s comments about Oslo and the Gaza disengagement also revived scrutiny of his own past record. As finance minister under Ariel Sharon, he voted repeatedly in favor of measures advancing the 2005 withdrawal from Gaza, before resigning days ahead of its implementation in protest. And while he opposed the Oslo Accords before their signing, he did not move to dismantle them during his terms as prime minister, later endorsing and partially implementing further agreements such as the Hebron Protocol and the Wye River Memorandum.

{Matzav.com}

Mercedes-Benz USA and parent company Daimer AG have agreed to pay $149.6 million to settle allegations that the automaker secretly installed devices in hundreds of thousands of vehicles to pass emission tests, a coalition of attorneys general announced Monday. According to the coalition, between 2008 and 2016 the German automaker equipped more than 211,000 diesel […]

Traffic along key arteries near Bnei Brak was brought to a standstill on Monday as members of the Peleg Yerushalmi daction, affiliated with Rav Tzvi Friedman’s community, demonstrated against the detention of young chareidi men accused of failing to present themselves for military service.

During the protest, demonstrators blocked Route 4 and Jabotinsky Road for several hours, creating major disruptions and leading to direct confrontations with police officers deployed to the scene.

As tensions escalated, a police commander formally announced that the gathering constituted an illegal assembly and warned participants to disperse. Protesters refused to comply, continuing to obstruct the roadway.

Police ultimately resorted to force to clear the area. In response, some demonstrators shouted “Nazis” at the officers. One protester was taken into custody on suspicion of assaulting a police officer.

{Matzav.com}

An investigation by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), conducted in partnership with the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), accuses Instagram of actively amplifying and monetizing extremist, antisemitic, and racist content through its recommendation algorithm, driving massive reach and significant revenue for sellers of “hate merch.” The report, titled “Hate for Sale: How […]

A Beechcraft Super King Air (N479BR) made an emergency autonomous landing at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Colorado on Saturday after the pilot became incapacitated. Garmin confirmed that its Autoland system was activated, resulting in a successful landing. The company said it will release additional details at a later time. Garmin Autoland is designed to […]

Police officers in Illinois crawled beneath a burning, overturned car early Sunday morning to rescue a trapped motorist after a high-speed crash on Interstate 88, authorities said. The driver and two officers suffered minor injuries, including smoke inhalation. All were treated at a local hospital and later released.

Trump ban on wind power projects overturned by federal judge * President Donald Trump halted permits for onshore and offshore wind projects on his first day in office. * Judge Patti Saris of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled that Trump’s ban is “arbitrary and capricious and contrary to law.” * […]

A second round of direct, civilian-level negotiations between Israel and Lebanon concluded Friday in the southern Lebanese town of Naqoura, underscoring sharp disagreements over border arrangements, visible American pressure on Israel, and the notable absence of France, according to a report by Al-Monitor.

The talks were led by US Deputy Special Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus and brought together senior officials from Israel, Lebanon, and the United States. The Israeli delegation included Deputy National Security Council chief Yossi Draznin and Uri Reznik, a senior figure in the council’s Foreign Policy Division. Lebanon was represented by former Ambassador to the United States Simon Karam, who was accompanied by a military officer. Also in attendance was US Gen. Joseph Clearfield, head of the Mechanism created to supervise the ceasefire.

One of the most striking aspects of the meeting was the absence of France, despite its formal role within the Mechanism. Al-Monitor reported that French Ambassador to Lebanon Herve Magro sought to attend the talks but was rejected by both Washington and Jerusalem. Israeli officials reportedly made clear that France’s inclusion would prompt Israel to withdraw altogether. While French sources denied that any official request to attend had been submitted, they acknowledged that no French civilian representative participated.

The report linked France’s exclusion to growing strains between Israel and Paris. These tensions have been fueled by disputes over President Emmanuel Macron’s diplomatic initiatives and French criticism of Israel’s military conduct in Gaza and Lebanon. Although Israel initially viewed French engagement with Lebanese actors as potentially beneficial in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, officials later worked to curtail France’s involvement as relations worsened.

Substantive differences between Israel and Lebanon also surfaced during the discussions. Lebanese representatives focused primarily on enabling the return of civilians displaced from southern villages since fighting erupted in October 2023. Israel, by contrast, pressed for the establishment of an economic or security zone along the border, which it considers necessary to prevent attacks by Hezbollah.

Israeli officials emphasized that Israel has no territorial or maritime ambitions in Lebanon and portrayed the proposed zone as a strictly defensive measure. Lebanese officials declined to endorse the idea, arguing that creating an uninhabited zone would constitute forced displacement and violate Lebanese sovereignty. Karam reportedly maintained that the return of civilians must come before any conversation about economic or security frameworks.

According to Al-Monitor, Ortagus also relayed American concerns to the Israeli side regarding civilian casualties caused by Israeli strikes in Lebanon, cautioning that such incidents complicate efforts to stabilize the border area. Lebanese officials, for their part, pressed Israel to recognize actions taken by the Lebanese Armed Forces south of the Litani River since the ceasefire, including the dismantling of unauthorized military sites and the expansion of troop deployments.

Israeli representatives were described as cautiously receptive to acknowledging these Lebanese measures, while stressing that sustained enforcement would be essential. Another round of talks is scheduled to take place on Jan. 7.

{Matzav.com}

The levayah of Harav Mattisyahu HaKohen Katz zt”l, one of the roshei yeshiva of Yeshivas Binyan Olam, took place in Yerushalayim on Monday, Zos Chanukah, following his petirah at the age of 86.

Rav Katz was born on the 12th of Teves, 5700, to his father, Rav Meir Yosef HaKohen Katz, and his mother, Mrs. Tzipporah Katz. From a young age, he immersed himself in Torah with exceptional diligence and depth, becoming known as a devoted and beloved talmid to his rabbeim. He studied with great hasmadah in the yeshivos of Ponevezh and Mir, where he distinguished himself through profound iyun and clarity in learning.

Upon reaching marriageable age, he married the daughter of Rav Ephraim Lerman.

A towering figure of yiras Shamayim, Rav Katz devoted his life to Torah and chinuch. Over the years, he raised generations of talmidim while serving in prominent teaching roles at Yeshivas Kol Torah, Ohr Somayach, Beis HaTalmud, and Maoros HaTorah. He later served as one of the roshei yeshiva of Yeshivas Binyan Olam in Yerushalayim.

Renowned for his humility and gentleness, he dedicated himself selflessly to guiding students, drawing them close to avodas Hashem, and instilling in them precision in halachah and mitzvah observance. He was especially known for his exceptional care in shemiras halashon, setting a personal example that left a lasting impression on all who encountered him.

The levayah departed at midday on Zos Chanukah from the Beis Medrash Beis Yisrael in the Ezras Torah neighborhood of Yerushalayim, accompanied by large crowds, and proceeded to Har HaMenuchos, where he was laid to rest.

The family is sitting shivah at his home, 3 Dovav Meisharim Street.

Yehi zichro boruch.

{Matzav.com}

The antisemitic terror attack in Australia has reignited urgent warnings from intelligence officials and counterterrorism experts who say global jihadist networks are expanding their reach, despite years of assurances from Western governments that groups like ISIS are weakened or in retreat. Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and one […]

TEHILLIM: Please daven for Chaim Tzvi Ben Leah Rochel, the elderly man in his 80s who was struck by a vehicle in Boro Park this morning and is in critical condition.

Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs launched a public and unusually harsh attack on Sunday night against Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara following her publication of a “legal opinion” opposing the government’s establishment of a ministerial commission of inquiry into the failures of the October 7 massacre. Baharav-Miara claimed that the proposed bill is “legislation personalized for the […]

BREAKING: Russia has begun evacuating diplomats’ families from Venezuela, AP reports.

Rabbi Uri Lupolianski, the widely respected chessed leader, founder and chairman of Yad Sarah, and former mayor of Yerushalayim, has been hospitalized at Hadassah Ein Kerem.

According to reports, Rabbi Lupolianski, 74, was admitted after developing a severe case of pneumonia accompanied by breathing difficulties. He is currently receiving medical treatment and is in need of significant rachamei Shomayim.

Rabbi Lupolianski, who battled serious illness in the past and recovered with great siyata d’Shmaya, went on to continue leading the life’s work he established, building Yad Sarah into one of Israel’s largest and most impactful chessed organizations, providing medical equipment and support to hundreds of thousands annually.

All are asked to daven for Uri ben Malka.

{Matzav.com}

The median price of gasoline in the United States has dropped to $2.69 per gallon, while the national average stands at $2.79 per gallon, according to live data from GasBuddy.