Israel Update 1.9.26

This Update was published on Tuesday 1/9/26

JERUSALEM’S ARAB RESIDENTS

On August 25, the Jerusalem Municipality began renovating a former UNRWA site in the Kafr Aqab neighbourhood into an educational and community centre for thousands of Arab residents. Following international condemnation, Israel’s Foreign Ministry defended the renovation, asserting that UNRWA used the compound illegally and was banned due to its employees’ involvement in terrorism and the Oct. 7 attacks.

The complex will serve many more Arab and Palestinian residents of Jerusalem than the UNRWA facility did.

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Driven by growing interest in Israeli higher education and job market integration, all new first- and seventh-grade classes in public schools across Arab-majority eastern Jerusalem are adopting the Israeli curriculum this school year. This shift brings the total number of local Arab students learning the Israeli curriculum to 45,000 (38%), reflecting a steady decline in community opposition over recent years.

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FINLAND

Finland has chosen not to renew its annual 20m euro funding agreement with UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestine refugees, after it expires this year.  Finland had suspended its contributions to the agency in 2024 over allegations that UNRWA employees participated in Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, then reinstated the funding. Click here

 Finland has signed a 10-year memorandum of understanding with Israel to extend bilateral defence research, development, and procurement cooperation through 2034. The expanded agreement builds on 23 active joint projects, including the integration of Israeli active protection and anti-tank systems into Finnish armoured vehicles alongside Finland’s acquisition of the David’s Sling air-defence system. Click here

GREECE

To preserve the regional balance of power alongside a developing Sunni alliance, Israel and Greece have signed the $3.6 billion “Achilles’ Shield” defence deal to build a multi-layered air-defence architecture across Greek airspace. The agreement integrates advanced Israeli missile systems and long-range radar networks with existing Greek assets, providing high-precision target tracking and boosting local defence industries through 25% Greek production participation. Click here

Due to a lack of expected NATO support in the event of Turkish aggression, Greece is proactively strengthening its defence capabilities through strategic military ties with Israel. By procuring high-technology anti-missile and anti-drone systems, Greece aims to independently counter potential two-sided threats from both an increasingly belligerent Turkey and regional capabilities linked to Iran..Click here

THE IDF CONTINUES TARGETING HAMAS TERRORISTS

The IDF eliminated Hamas commander Ismail Mohammad Ibrahim Barim in Khan Yunis, targeting him for facilitating attacks on Israeli troops and civilians as well as holding three hostages in a Gaza tunnel. This follows the recent targeted killings of Yahya Sinwar’s bodyguard, Razek Sahil Suleiman Abu Shahma, and Oct. 7 infiltrator Hazem Mousa. Click here

The IDF has captured a senior Hamas terrorist while carrying out strikes on several targets in the Gaza City area.
Palestinian reports identified him as a senior official in the organization’s internal security apparatus in the Gaza district. IDF sources would not deny foreign reports that Israel worked alongside Gazan militias to arrest him.

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GAZA KITES CONTINUED

Hamas’s renewed launch of kites from Gaza is an effort to test Israel’s defences and gauge its response, paving the way for potential future attacks using explosive or swarming drones if met without significant resistance. Click here

In 2018, terrorist groups in Gaza flew kites and balloons carrying incendiary devices over the border fence, igniting 678 fires and burning over 2,500 acres of forests and farmland. These airborne arson attacks continued for the next three years. Click here

LEBANON

Israel has informed the U.S. that the Lebanese Army’s pilot programme to dismantle Hizbullah infrastructure in southern Lebanon has failed, citing a complete lack of action on IDF-provided coordinates. Senior Israeli security officials emphasized that Lebanese Army Chief of Staff Rudolf Haykal continues to cooperate with and avoid confrontation with Hizbullah, prompting Israel to withhold agreement on expanding the program to new areas. Click here

A senior American official noted that some Lebanese army officers oppose an immediate IDF withdrawal out of fear that Hizbullah will quickly reclaim lost territory, aligning with Israel’s demand for security guarantees before considering any changes to its southern Lebanon deployment. Click here

TURKEY

After identifying Turkish plans to establish a foothold at Syria’s Abu al-Duhur military airfield and having its warnings ignored, Israel had carried out an airstrike on the base to prevent a shift in the regional balance of power. The pre-emptive strike reflects growing Israeli concern over Turkey expanding its military and economic dominance in Syria following the collapse of the Assad regime. Click here

THE UK

Labour MPs warned British PM Burnham that imposing a trade ban on Israeli West Bank settlements could trigger political and economic retaliation from the U.S., citing state-level anti-BDS laws and recent White House criticism of similar Irish legislation. Critics within the party cautioned ministers against symbolic actions, arguing that the resulting risks to UK-US relations and businesses far outweigh any tangible benefit to Palestinians. Click here (paywall)

RESILIENCE

For the first time in three years, Metula’s Hanadiv Elementary School has officially reopened, welcoming 36 pupils. Another 18 children began the school year in a reopened kindergarten. Israel’s northernmost community’s school had been closed since October 2023 due to near-daily Hezbollah attacks, which forced thousands to evacuate until the Nov 2024 ceasefire since when roughly 65% of residents have returned. Click here

WATER CRISIS

Five of the six desalination plants along Israel’s southern coastline have been shut down due to high seawater turbidity caused by microalgae drifting from Egypt. This sudden drop in water supply directly threatens 5,000 acres of newly planted vegetable crops in Nitzana, where farmers are currently receiving less than a third of the hourly irrigation needed. Local leadership has warned that if unresolved, the shortage will ruin the entire growing season, driving up consumer prices and plunging dozens of agricultural families into major financial crisis.

Under instructions issued for the national water system, local authorities will reduce public water consumption; however water supplies to homes would continue despite the shutdowns.

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MEDICAL RESEARCH

Scientists at Tel Aviv University have developed a blood test that is over 90% accurate at diagnosing lung cancer. Instead of genetic sequencing, it identifies the tumour’s chemical ‘fingerprint’ with light, using a technology that can be implemented in standard clinical laboratories.(TY Michael) Click here

BUSINESS

Israeli startups raised nearly $600 million in August, bringing the total in the first eight months of 2026 to $9.6 billion. Recent financing has focused on AI and cybersecurity. Click here

COMMENT & OPINION

E1

Wall St Journal Editorial: Seven Western nations have issued a joint statement condemning Israel’s decision to move forward with construction tenders in the E1 area east of Jerusalem, claiming it violates international law and threatens Palestinian territorial contiguity.

(However) Under any realistic peace plan, E1 would remain part of Israel. That was the case in the maps presented at Camp David and Taba in 2000-01 when, to Bill Clinton’s lament, the Palestinians turned down Israel’s offer of full statehood. As for “contiguity,” have the Europeans looked at a map? Palestinians could easily bypass the tiny area – fewer than five square miles – by travelling a little east. Israel has long offered to build a bypass road for this purpose, with no harm done to the contiguity.

Per the Oslo Accords, E1 is part of the West Bank’s Area C, under full Israeli administration. The Europeans prefer to forget that, issuing threats and loudly objecting to each local zoning decision, as they do nowhere else. For peace, it is far better for Israelis to develop suburbs such as E1, in nearby areas legitimately needed for strategic depth. Click here (paywall)

Gaza

Gaza native Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib says that Western pro-Palestine activists are out of touch with actual Gazans, who view Hamas as an irrational terror organization that holds its own people hostage rather than a heroic movement. He condemns the “unholy alliance” of Western social justice advocates and Islamists for normalizing a jihadist group that has brought devastation to Gaza and dragged its population into a destructive war. Click here (paywall)

The UK

Con Coughlin : UK PM Burnham’s proposed trade ban on West Bank settlements is an unworkable, symbolic gesture that caters to extremists while gratuitously attacking a key Middle East ally, Israel. This diplomatic rift comes at a dangerous time, as Iran poses an escalating security threat to the UK through cyberattacks, targeted plots, and aggression in the Gulf. Picking this fight threatens vital intelligence-sharing ties with Israel at a crucial moment when the UK faces escalating hostilities from Iran and Russia.Click here (paywall)