Israel Update 19.2.26

IRAN

 

PM Netanyahu told President Trump that if a deal (with Iran) is to be reached, it should have several components:

1. All (nuclear) enriched material has to leave Iran.

2. There shall be no enrichment capability – not (just) stopping the enrichment process, but dismantling the equipment and the infrastructure that allows enrichment on the first place.

3. To deal also with the question of ballistic missiles.

4. To dismantle the axis of terror that Iran has built.

5. Finally, distrust and always verify. So there have to be real inspections, substantive inspections.  PMO

 

 

 Senior Israeli defence and government officials have been stepping up their preparations for the worst-case scenario, in which America and Iran get into a war that might well involve Israel.
Israel remains very sceptical about the chances that an American-Iranian agreement will be achieved.
The IDF has been accelerating its preparations to defend against an Iranian revenge attack, and if necessary, also to join the U.S. in an attack on Iran. Report here (paywall)

 

Yuval Steinitz, chairman of Rafael Advanced Defence Systems said “Israel will not allow Iran to implement its plan to produce tens of thousands of ballistic missiles to threaten Israeli civilians. If Iran is preparing to attack us, it is clear that a pre-emptive strike must be considered.” Report here

 

In the past two weeks alone, hundreds of demonstrators arrested during last month’s protests in Iran have been sentenced to death in expedited proceedings. Most of these trials were conducted online, in rapid fashion, with almost no opportunity for the accused to respond or mount a defence. Report here

 

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said on Friday at the Munich Security Conference that the Iranian regime “are the weakest they’ve been since 1979…It is a great disruptor of the region. It’s a religious theocracy that, if they could get a nuclear weapon, they would use it to advance their religious goals, which are three. Purify Islam, destroy the Jewish state, and come after us.”  Video here

 

Footnote:

President Herzog on Wednesday extended Ramadan greetings to the people of Iran while sharply condemning as Tehran’s “reign of terror”. Report here

 

THE IDF

 

IDF commanders received operational legal advice throughout the Gaza war over the last two years from three dozen full-time IDF International Law Department (ILD) lawyers, together with 100 reservist legal advisers…ILD lawyers were in position at HQ and in the field by 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 7.
No one had ever fought a war with an enemy so deeply entrenched in their civilian population, and who so systematically abused international law, as the IDF faced with Hamas. Report here

 

The IDF  has appointed the first-ever female missile boat commander, Lt.-Cmdr. R. who will be the navy’s most senior female officer. Recent years have seen an increase in female naval sailors and officers.Report here

 

GAZA

 

US President Trump  presided over the first meeting of his Board of Peace on Thursday, with unresolved questions on the future of Gaza hanging over an event expected to include representatives from more than 45 nations. The disarmament of Hamas terrorists, the size of the reconstruction fund, and the flow of humanitarian aid to the war-battered populace of Gaza are among the major questions likely to test the effectiveness of the board in the weeks and months ahead. Report here

 

The Trump Administration recently asked for a 60-day period for Hamas to disarm during which period, Hamas “will have to give up all of its weapons,” including its AK-47 rifles. Trump on Sunday urged Hamas to move forward with disarmament under his plan for postwar Gaza.Report here& here

 

 (Deception) An Israeli security source said that Hamas was collecting light weaponry from civilians by setting up checkpoints in areas it controls. A senior Israeli Security Studies researcher said the effort by Hamas to create a “proxy” stockpile “creates a semblance of disarmament, while the major armed factions themselves do not dismantle their arsenal.” Report here (paywall)

 

 

On Saturday five armed Palestinian operatives emerged from a tunnel and approached IDF troops in northern Gaza on the Israeli side of the ceasefire line. After they entered a damaged building, an IAF drone struck, killing at least two of them.   Report here

 

 

The leader of an anti-Hamas militia based in IDF-controlled areas of the southern Gaza said recently that it is working on demolishing the terror group’s tunnels. Last month, the Popular Forces militia captured a prominent Hamas commander in the Rafah area after he fled a tunnel, and handed him over to the IDF. Report here

 

 

GAZA HOPE

 

 

A network of free private schools in Gaza called Academies of Hope are the brainchild of Palestinian American neurosurgeon Dr. David Hasan. Some 9,000 pupils in grades one through nine are attending classes in five campuses in southern Gaza built with money raised largely from Jewish donors in the U.S. and Israel.
Dr. Hasan has worked to keep Hamas from endangering his schools, verifying that none of his staff have ties to militant groups. He has revamped the Palestinian Authority’s curriculum without permission, prompting threats of reprisal from its education ministry. There are no lessons demonizing Jews or glorifying perpetrators of violence against Israel.

There are new weekly lessons on “peace building” that teach ideals like tolerance and respect for differences, the golden rule and conflict resolution. In a video of a recent lesson, a boy draws pictures of the Palestinian and Israeli flags side by side. “I wish there will be no more wars so that we can live,” he says. Report here (paywall)

 

 

SYRIA

 

 

The Syrian Foreign Minister said that negotiations on a security deal with Israel were focused on “the withdrawal of Israel” from Syrian territory occupied after Assad’s ousting on Dec. 8, 2024,  but significantly “not from the Golan Heights.”
Israel and Syria have held several rounds of direct talks in recent months, and after talks held in Paris in January, they agreed to establish an intelligence-sharing mechanism.Report here

 

 

According to a recent YouGov poll  59% of Syrians said peace with Israel is likely in the future, compared to 14% who said it’s unlikely. 64% of Syrians support a security arrangement with Israel, while 9% oppose. Report here

 

 

COUNTER TERRORISM

 

 

IDF troops located a downed drone on Saturday ferrying 10 handguns and 30 magazines into Israel from Egypt. Earlier, the IDF announced it downed a drone ferrying three assault rifles over the Egyptian border.Report here

 

 

THE UK

 

 

Six British anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian activists will face a retrial on a number of charges relating to a 2024 raid on Israeli defence firm Elbit’s UK factory, after they were acquitted of the charge of aggravated burglary earlier this month. The retrial will concern criminal charges on which the jury failed to reach verdicts and is due to take place in Feb. 2027. During the raid, a police officer’s spine was allegedly fractured in a filmed sledgehammer attack by an activist. Report here

 

 

A British woman has been convicted of theft in connection with a 2024 incident in which she removed an Israeli hostage poster and threw it in the trash.Report here

 

 

DEFENCE

 

The  Israel Defence Ministry’s AI and Autonomy Directorate (MAFAT)  established in December 2024, is focused on delivering AI and robotic capabilities at an “industrial pace” to keep up with the demands of a multi-front war. Modern warfare development is being fuelled by two years’ worth of intensive combat data, which is used to train and refine algorithms. For example, AI systems are being used to identify threats in environments where the human eye would struggle, marking targets and distinguishing suspects from routine activity for soldiers on the ground. Report here

 

 

Israel has modified its F-35I fighter jets to have extended range capabilities, by developing  fuel tanks that extend the aircraft’s range without compromising stealth. Report here

 

 

Elbit Systems has secured contracts worth approximately $277 million from an international customer for the supply of 30mm turrets and munitions. Report here

 

 

THREE NGOs

 

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)

 

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has suspended non-critical medical activities at Nasser Hospital in Gaza due to the presence of armed men at the medical facility and “a recent situation of suspicion of movement of weapons.” Armed men have been arresting patients.

MSF’s statement appears to mark the first time that an international humanitarian group in Gaza has publicly reported the presence of armed men in a hospital or the possible use of such a facility for moving weapons. Report here

 

Oxfam

 

Dr. Halima Begum, former CEO of Oxfam GB, has accused the charity of being toxic and antisemitic during her tenure. Having resigned in December, she accused the charity of having a disproportionate focus on Gaza compared with other world crises, and said it was too quick to describe Israel’s actions in Gaza as a genocide. Report here & here (paywall)

 

World Vision

 

Mohammed al-Halabi, former Gaza director for the NGO World Vision, who was convicted in Israel in 2022 for diverting aid to Hamas, actually worked for the terror group, according to Hamas’ own documents. Report here

 

 

MEDICAL RESEARCH

 

In a breakthrough study, Israeli scientists in the psychiatric department of Rambam Health Care Campus have developed a novel deep brain stimulation approach for patients with schizophrenia. This therapy for the severe chronic mental disorder could restore functions that control movement, learning and decision-making. Report here

 

 

TRAVEL

 

 

Tel Aviv Municipality has announced that a bus line will be set up to connect the city with Ben Gurion Airport on weekends, when regular bus and train services do not operate.Report here

 

BOY GEORGE

 

In response to the circulation of an historic video of Lady Gaga showing support for Israel during a performance there, British pop legend Boy George reaffirmed his love for his Israeli fans in a post on X, in which he also referenced the deadly Hamas-led terrorist attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

He wrote “I love Israel too.”…“Blaming an entire people is moronic…Good for her…She loves her Israeli fans. Like I do. Some of them were probably killed on Oct 7th. I have DJ’d in Tel Aviv a number of times. I hope I will in the future!” Report here

 

COMMENT & OPINION

 

Emerging Sunni Coalition threat to Israel.

 

Yoni Ben Menachem:  A coalition led by Turkey and including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Pakistan is reportedly taking shape as Iran’s influence gradually weakens.

The coalition aims to replace the “Iranian firewall” with a unified Sunni diplomatic wall to isolate Israel and limit its manoeuverability.

Turkey is reportedly signalling a reassessment of its own nuclear options as a means of reshaping regional deterrence.

As a nuclear-armed state, Pakistan’s inclusion provides Saudi Arabia with an internal Sunni power structure to rely on, potentially making normalization with Israel a lower priority.  Article here

 

 

Iran

 

Zohar Palti: …A “good deal” with Iran should be defined by whether it permanently removes the regime’s ability to transition rapidly from civilian nuclear activities to a military nuclear capability.

Any future agreement with Iran must have much longer terms (at least 50 years) without short “sunset clauses” that would allow Iran to rebuild its capabilities quickly.

A future framework must include an absolute prohibition on the production, operation, or storage of advanced centrifuge models.

The preferred standard is that no enrichment should be conducted on Iranian territory; instead, nuclear fuel should be supplied externally.

Verification must exceed traditional monitoring and approach counterproliferation standards, including no-notice access and real-time remote monitoring by the IAEA.Article here

 

Palestinian Authority (PA) – Draft Consitution

 

Bassam Tawil: As part of an attempt to persuade the international community that the Palestinians are seeking to create a democratic state “based on the rule of law and human dignity,” the PA leadership last week published a 162-article draft “constitution”, while the current PA and Hamas regimes deprive Palestinians of free speech and elections.
The new “constitution” reaffirms the “right of return” for Palestinian refugees and their descendants to their former, mostly no-longer-existent homes inside Israel; the continuation of stipends paid to Palestinian terrorists (“Pay-for-Slay”) and the perpetual denial of the Jews’ far-reaching history and religious roots in Jerusalem… This “constitution” demonstrates that the Palestinians still have not come to terms with Israel’s right to exist, still have not abandoned their dream of destroying Israel, and are still as committed as ever to encouraging terrorists to murder more Jews. Article here

 

West Bank/Judea & Samaria

 

Alan Baker: Recent administrative changes in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) are being misrepresented by both supporters and critics.

“De facto annexation” is a legal misnomer in this context, as for annexation to occur, the government would have to openly extend sovereignty through formal legislation, which has not happened. The measures—such as easing land registration and property acquisition—are bureaucratic improvements rather than political moves toward sovereignty.

Israel remains obligated to the 1990s Oslo Accords, which require it to administer the territories until a permanent-status agreement is reached.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres and other international leaders are guilty of  “reflexive international criticism” and a “superficial reading of the facts.” Article here

 

 

Israel & The Faroes

 

Jose Lev Alvarez Gomez:  the growing strategic partnership between the Faroe Islands and Israel is based on mutual interests in food security, trade routes, and technological edge rather than symbolic or institutional validation.  As an autonomous territory within the Danish Realm, the Faroe Islands operate with a “functional sovereignty” that allows them to bypass EU norms to secure their own economic and strategic interests. The partnership focuses on concrete areas such as fisheries (with the Faroes exporting high-value protein) and Israeli innovation to build resilient supply chains. Article here