WAR WITH IRAN - DAY 246 SAT OCTOBER 31,26 - EUROPEAN SO CALLED PROTESTS.RIOT LOOT, BURN.
THE NEXT US-ISRAEL HIT ON IRAN SHOULD BE VERSE 37. ALL OFFENSIVE NUKE SITES MISSLES,DRONES,AND OF COURSE KHEMENI AND THE IRGC GUARDS.THEN AFTER IRANS REGIME CHANGE. MUSLIMS COME TO JESUS BY THE MILLIONS.
JEREMEIAH 49:32-39 (IN IRAN AT THE BUSHEHR OR ARAK NUKE SITES AND ALL OFENSIVE WEAPONS DESTROYED IN IRAN)
Jeremiah 49:32-39
32 Their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter to all winds those who have the corners [of their hair] cut off; and I will bring their calamity from every side of them, says Yahweh.
33 Hazor shall be a dwelling-place of jackals, a desolation forever: no man shall dwell there, neither shall any son of man sojourn therein.(Location & Size: It was strategically located along the Via Maris (Way of the Sea), a major trade route connecting Egypt with Syria and Mesopotamia.)
34 The word of Yahweh that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam,(IRAN) in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
35 Thus says Yahweh of Hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam,(IRANS OFFENSIVE WEAPONS) the chief of their might.(MISSLES AND NUKE SITES)
36 On Elam (IRAN) will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of the sky, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation where the outcasts of Elam shall not come.(SINCE 1979 IRANIANS HAVE GOTTIN OUT OF IRAN BECAUSE OF KHEMENI AND HIS APOCOPOLIPTIC DEATH CULT BELIEF-BLACK HATER 12ERS)
37 I will cause Elam (IRAN) to be dismayed before their enemies, and before those who seek their life;(ISRAEL THE LITTLE SATAN AND THE U.S THE BIG SATAN) and I will bring evil on them, (MISSLES) even my fierce anger,(FIRE) says Yahweh; and I will send the sword after them,(IRANS OFFENSIVE WEAPONS) until I have consumed them; (DESTROYED THEM ALL NUKE SITES,MISSLES ETC)
38 and I will set my throne in Elam,(IRAN WILL BECOME A CHRISTIAN NATION) and will destroy from there king (KHEMENI CLAN) and princes, says Yahweh.(IRANIAN ARMY GUARDS)
39 But it shall happen in the latter days, that I will bring back the captivity of Elam,(IRAN) says Yahweh.(WERE IN THE LATTER DAYS NOW)
WHEN ARE THE 500 MILLION MIGRATING BIRDS IN ISRAEL IN THE SPRING TIME.(GET READY ISLAM TO BE BIRD SEED FOR THESE BIRDS)
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/m0bXU5Xqc5M
The 500 million migratory birds in Israel during the spring arrive from Africa and head toward Europe and Asia, with the peak migration occurring in March and April. While migration starts in late February, the most intense movements, particularly of birds of prey, storks, and pelicans, occur during the third week of March and continue into April.
Key Details on the Spring Migration
Peak Period: Mid-March through April.
Main Migration Route: The birds use the Great Rift Valley, which includes the Hula Valley and Eilat, acting as a "bottleneck" where millions of birds fly through the narrow land bridge.
Best Spots: The Hula Lake Park (Northern Israel) and the Eilat Birding Center (Southern Israel) are primary locations for observing the migration.
Key Species: Hundreds of thousands of white storks, along with black kites, raptors, and pelicans, pass through over these months.
uration: The spring migration runs from late February and continues into June, though the heaviest traffic is in March/April.
The 500 million migratory birds fly over Israel in the fall between late August and mid-December. The peak migration period for the autumn, when the highest volume of bird traffic occurs, is typically October and November.
Key Fall Migration Details
Location: The Hula Valley (Agamon Hula Park) in northern Israel is the premier spot to witness this phenomenon.
Timing: Migration starts as early as late June with some waders, but intensifies from mid-August through November.
Peak Festival: The "Annual Hula Valley Bird Festival" is usually held in November to align with the peak migration traffic.
Key Species: Many birds of prey (raptors), including honey buzzards and steppe eagles, cross during this time, along with massive flocks of storks and cranes.
While roughly 500 million birds pass through in the autumn on their way to Africa, the same number crosses again in the spring (mid-February to May) on their way back to Europe and Asia.
JEREMEIAH 49:23-27
23 Concerning Damascus.(SYRIA) Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea;(WAR SHIPS WITH NUKES COMING ON SYRIA) it cannot be quiet.
24 Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
25 How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
27 And I will kindle a fire (NUKES OR BOMBS) in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.(ASSADS PALACES POSSIBLY IN DAMASCUS)
BILL CLINTON TELLS THE TRUTH ABOUT NEW WORLD ORDER CARNEY AND THE EUROPEAN UNION.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtKpiSe_Wok
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3B833sbQLg
Iran strikes on US Mideast bases first took out early-warning systems, analyses finds-AP study finds more than 115 missile and drone strikes damaged or destroyed structures at 26 sites, including radars, aircraft and base infrastructure, causing billions in losses-By M. REO, Samy Magdy and KONSTANTIN TOROPIN Today, 6:29 pm-OCT 31,26
WASHINGTON (AP) — Iran’s strikes on more than two dozen US bases in the Middle East focused on early-warning systems before hitting aircraft and buildings, causing billions of dollars in equipment damage, according to an Associated Press analysis.The AP independently verified damage to American targets using satellite imagery from multiple providers and spoke to four regional officials who were briefed or have firsthand knowledge of what was hit. The AP found that, through August, more than 115 drone or missile strikes claimed by Iran or Iranian-backed militias damaged or destroyed structures on 26 military bases and other sites with US equipment.The AP found that Iran initially focused its attacks on aircraft hangars and systems that detect incoming strikes, clearing the way for further strikes on warehouses, troop housing and more.The damage has significantly reshaped the American foothold in the Middle East, with two regional officials saying the US has moved many of its assets out of the Persian Gulf. That includes aircraft, air defense systems, communications systems and other equipment crucial to base operations, one of those officials said.The impact of the damage raises questions about American defenses in the region as President Donald Trump considers new strikes after Tuesday’s midterm elections and Tehran has vowed major retaliation. A return to hostilities threatens additional costly damage to bases, which would heighten uncertainty about whether the United States will choose to rebuild its bases and equipment in the region when the war ends.The AP’s analysis offers new insight into Iran’s strategy for its retaliation and what precisely has been damaged on US bases during the eight-month war, going beyond the details that have been released in independent reviews, including from the Pentagon’s inspector general. It found that from April 1 to June 30, Iranian strikes had damaged and destroyed hundreds of buildings and other structures on US bases.Such assessments provide the only overall snapshot because the Trump administration and the US military have provided few details about the toll of the conflict on people and equipment, even putting measures in place to impede outside review, such as delays in the release of satellite images.US Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East, has refused to comment on or specify damage to bases or equipment, usually citing the need for operational security. The command did not comment for this story.Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell asserted that US “forces and bases are well protected and America’s military is stronger than ever.”“Our service members in CENTCOM have everything they need to continue their historic success ensuring Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon,” Parnell said in a statement to the AP.Here’s what Iran targeted at US bases in the Middle East-Most of the Iranian attacks have been in Kuwait, while US sites in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also have been targeted, the analysis of satellite imagery shows. The deadliest known strike on US troops in the Iran war was in Kuwait, where six soldiers were killed in a drone attack at Port Shuaiba on March 1.Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait was struck at least 30 times, damaging or destroying at least 15 aircraft hangars, numerous warehouses and 10 buildings near a residential area.Camp Buehring, also in Kuwait, faced even heavier losses. While Iranian attacks made most of its hangars inoperable, gathering places for troops sustained much more damage because the base had limited aircraft. Its gym was destroyed in March and a store for troops to buy products on the base was hit in late July.A strike also severely damaged the garage and dining room there, according to the two regional officials. They and two others, who are regional military officials, spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive details about the damage to bases.While strikes were much heavier against Iran, American matériel losses were inevitable, said Raphael Cohen, director of the National Security Program at the RAND School of Public Policy. The way wars are fought today makes all militaries “susceptible to large-scale, cheap drone attacks,” he said.“This should be a wake-up call for the United States,” Cohen said.Iran focused on targeting US systems meant to detect incoming strikes-Iran launched its response to the war with accurate attacks on systems meant to detect and thwart incoming strikes, then broadened its targets to buildings and equipment that made US bases useful and habitable.Iran destroyed enclosures protecting US radar systems at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait and Naval Support Activity Bahrain within the first two days of the war’s start in late February. Additionally, Iran hit portable radars at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia and Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan.Iran prioritized striking at the backbone of the US air defense system, targeting key early-warning radars that are difficult and expensive to repair or replace, said N.R. Jenzen-Jones, director of the technical intelligence consulting firm Armament Research Services.A radar was hit in Jordan and said to be destroyed. It was one of only 13 possessed by the Army globally, manufacturer Raytheon said. Budget documents show each costs about half a billion dollars.Another radar in Qatar was damaged significantly, but it is unclear if it was destroyed. Purchased by the Gulf country in a 2013 deal valued at $1.1 billion, it appears to have been the only one in the region.Hitting such sites was likely “intended to disrupt and degrade the US and allies’ ability to respond to further strikes,” Jenzen-Jones said.After hitting the radars, Iran launched more than 50 successful strikes on 18 locations with US military equipment in the first month of the war, prioritizing areas with aircraft.Iran damaged refueling aircraft, communication systems, fuel bunkers and troop accommodations at various bases, the two regional officials said. An Iranian strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in March damaged the back half of a Boeing E-3 Sentry surveillance aircraft and another hit a CIA unit at the US Embassy in Riyadh.A separate regional military official, who recently visited the Saudi air base, described a severely damaged facility with scattered debris and broken construction materials. He said he saw damaged equipment, including bombed-out barracks and mess halls.The official said the attack that hit the surveillance plane also damaged several other aircraft, including two aerial refueling tankers. A Congressional Research Service report updated in October said 15 US aircraft had been damaged on regional bases.Al Dhafra Air Base, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Abu Dhabi in the UAE, was hit frequently early in the war, according to a second regional military official with direct knowledge of the damage. The official noted damage to infrastructure like aircraft hangars and other installations as well as to equipment such as an early-warning radar system and surveillance drones.Satellite imagery has been delayed-Major providers with US contracts have blocked or delayed public release of satellite imagery at the request of American officials, who sometimes cited it being a national security risk. That has left limited options to visually confirm strike damage until imagery could be obtained from OneAtlas, a satellite provider owned by Airbus.In the example of Camp Buehring in Kuwait, one of the hardest-hit bases, high-quality imagery from reliable providers was not available until late August. From the halt of imagery in early March to its reemergence in August, more than 30 structures on the base were damaged or destroyed. The AP confirmed that Iran struck Camp Buehring numerous times in March, April, May and July.Months later, no endgame for the war has been articulated, and more damage could be ahead if hostilities resume, which the US and Iran both say is possible.The conflict could foreshadow a new reality for US forces.“This is the operating environment that we’re going to face in the future,” said Cohen, the RAND analyst. “The idea that we can rely on fixed infrastructure in the way that we have during the global war on terrorism is over.”
US to Gulf allies: Iran strikes could begin Nov. 4 - report-Khamenei said to order military response without ‘geographic limits’ if US, Israel attacks
Supreme leader, still not seen in public, reportedly tells Iran’s army to target Israeli and US ‘tangible and intangible assets’ if war resumes; Arab diplomat ‘extremely worried’ renewed war would be more destructive-By ToI Staff and Agencies Today, 4:20 pm-OCT 31,26
Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Saturday reportedly warned the United States and Israel against returning to war, according to a written statement, following threats from Tehran’s foes of a possible resumption of strikes, which a report said could come as early as November 4, the day after the US midterms.“If the enemies once again launch military or terrorist attacks, it is the armed forces of the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation that will determine the time and conditions for ending them,” according to a statement attributed to Khamenei posted on his website.The remarks came during a reported meeting between Khamenei and senior military commanders, including armed forces chief of staff Ali Abdollahi, army chief Amir Hatami and Revolutionary Guards commander Ahmad Vahidi. It was the first reported meeting between them.Khamenei has not been publicly seen since he became supreme leader, following his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s killing in the opening strikes of the war on February 28. The younger Khamenei is believed to have been injured in a US-Israeli strike the same day his father was killed.According to the statement, Khamenei ordered the commanders to ensure that “any level or type of threat must be met with an immediate, impactful and geographically unrestricted response.”It also said that Khamenei ordered the commanders to update Iran’s target list to include “all types of tangible and intangible assets belonging to the American-Zionist enemy.”Iran launched thousands of drones and missiles during this year’s war, targeting Israel, US bases in the region, as well as energy sites throughout the Middle East. It also managed to shoot a missile at the Diego Garcia air base some 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) away in the southern Indian Ocean, signaling its ability to fire at nearly anywhere in Europe.Israeli officials have repeatedly warned of the Iranian threat to Europe, and several European countries have said that they believe Iran is behind a series of attacks and plots against Jewish targets throughout the continent.Joining in on the threats was the Iranian Armed Forces, which warned Saturday that any new US attack would only spread their war wider.“If the US president once again embarks on more regional adventurism under pressure from, and in an attempt to appease, the Zionists, the flames of war will undoubtedly engulf a much wider geographical area,” Iranian army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia said in a post on X, without elaborating.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also warned on Saturday that “Iran’s Powerful Armed Forces will deal against those who dare harm our people.”The statements came as fresh diplomatic efforts were underway to avert a resumption of fighting.A Qatari delegation arrived in Tehran on Friday for talks with Iranian officials, after Iran reportedly received a letter from US Vice President JD Vance.According to Iranian media, Tehran had yet to respond to the letter.Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said he’s “extremely worried” that a new round of escalation in the war between the United States and Iran would be more destructive and have a major impact, speaking at the IISS Manama Dialogue security summit in Bahrain.Report: US warns Gulf of possible Iran strikes as early as Nov. 4-Parallel to the talks, Washington warned Gulf allies to prepare for a possible new round of strikes on Iran as early as November 4, a day after the US midterm elections, MSNOW reported Saturday, citing three senior Gulf Arab officials familiar with the discussions.The strikes are expected to be brief but intense, according to the officials, who said the Gulf states are pressing Washington to de-escalate amid fears of Iranian retaliation.One official said they “would not be surprised” if some Gulf countries opposed the use of American military bases on their territory to launch the attacks.The US has not struck Iran since September 1, while US President Donald Trump has pledged to refrain from further attacks until after the midterms.Asked about the reported plans, a White House official told MSNOW that “we do not comment on sensitive military plans that may or may not exist,” adding that Trump “keeps all options on the table to ensure that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.”“He’s obsessed with Iran not getting a nuclear weapon,” a former Trump administration official familiar with White House foreign policy deliberations told the outlet. “He’s been convinced that with this final attack we can get a deal with the Iranians, or we can finally destroy their nuclear program.”Meanwhile, Iran said two fishermen it had reported missing on Saturday have now been found, following what it called a US attack on a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.“Two fishermen from Qeshm, who had gone missing following an attack by the American enemy on their fishing boat this morning, have been found,” state television said.Earlier, state TV had cited a provincial official as saying that two fishermen had gone missing and two others were wounded in what he called an attack by the United States on their vessel in the crucial Hormuz waterway.US Central Command (CENTCOM) did not immediately comment on the reported strike. The White House and the Pentagon also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Biometrics and standards bring cross-border digital ID closer-Governance is the challenge-Oct 31, 2026, 11:42 am EDT | Chris Burt
Cross-border digital ID is advancing rapidly in terms of biometrics and cryptographic tools, technical standards and capabilities. But like everything else in digital identity, building it is easier than making it work. One of the key themes running through this week’s top stories on Biometric Update is why that remains the case.Governance is hard, and particular to each country, which makes aligning it with your neighbors, and everyone else in the world, very challenging. But it can be done, and this week’s industry news includes a series of lessons from the progress made so far.Policy pitfalls-A report from consultancy Thetius and credential provider Maritime Passport warns of a troubling scenario in which fragmented digital seafarer credentials fail to improve the lengthy checks workers must frequently complete. Interoperability and ease of verification are needed, and the International Maritime Organization has issued relevant guidance, but important questions remain unresolved.Yet cross-border digital ID use is creeping ever closer to reality, and from a technical standpoint could be widely implemented now, according to a workshop held by the Cambridge DPI Regulatory Programme and Alan Turing Institute. The hold-up is in governance, regulations and the gaps between how countries handle those controls.A guest post by Consult Hyperion Principal Consultant Gillan Ward for Biometric Update looks to mature digital identity schemes like BankID and SingPass for lessons on how to build a successful EUDI Wallet ecosystem. Clear goals, certification for technical components, evolving governance and iteration are all key, but cross-border interoperability is needed from day one.Africa’s governments are targeting interoperable digital identity and DPI on sovereign cloud infrastructure which will enable cross-border digital services through the Yaoundé Declaration. The declaration makes the African Observatory on E-Government and AI permanent and gives it a coordination role.As for getting across borders more easily, IATA’s latest Global Passenger Survey shows more good news for airport biometrics. Distaste for lineups is nothing new, but the first certifications for an airline and an airport to IATA’s One ID and its Contactless Travel Directory are.The challenge of maintaining trust-The technology and infrastructure needed for digital identity are becoming more capable, but the systems themselves still face major implementation and security challenges. Establishing trust is difficult. Maintaining it is harder.
Haiti does not have sufficient identity infrastructure and is not able to effectively use what it has, according to a new World Bank report. Insecurity is a major factor, but the civil registry and national ID systems are not interoperable, either.A cyberattack on Moldova’s digital government infrastructure exposed personal information associated with approximately 750,000 national ID numbers. Attackers targeted government services without authentication and were able to collect information including biographical data, photographs and bank account info. Perhaps just as worrying, a breach of more than 41,000 personnel records for employees and contractors of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has grave potential implications for the country’s intelligence operations. The “Icepick” files reportedly originate from an Okta identity management environment.Switzerland is looking for a new chief for its already-delayed national e-ID. Urs Paul Holenstein is due to retire in 2027, shortly after the country’s digital trust infrastructure is expected to become operational.Nigeria’s INEC is putting the upgraded biometric voter verification system through its paces ahead of next year’s national elections. The agency is drawing on its experiences to make the devices’ software, batteries and biometrics all more resilient.And with Halloween preceding the U.S. midterm elections, deepfakes are providing a different kind of scare. Pindrop’s Vijay Balasubramaniyan joins the Biometric Update Podcast to explore the growing threat of synthetic media, fraud and election misinformation.Please tell us about any podcasts, reports or other content you think we should share with the people in biometrics and digital identity in the comments below or through social media.
Passkeys move from availability to everyday use, FIDO Index finds-Authenticate 2026 speakers outline how passkey adoption improves sign-in success, reduces phishing and cuts authentication costs-Oct 30, 2026, 2:06 pm EDT | Joel R. McConvey
Passkeys have come of age. Having started out as a tricky-to-explain replacement for ubiquitous passwords, passkeys have been successfully shepherded by the FIDO Alliance into mainstream tech integration. Many of the world’s largest tech companies have adopted passkeys. As the summary for a talk at Authenticate 2026 puts it, passkeys are no longer a pilot project.The talk, Moving Passkeys from Deployment to Everyday Use, focuses on the FIDO Alliance’s 2026 Passkey Index, which draws on data from 15 consumer relying parties. Among those reporting sign-in usage, an average of 36 percent of successful sign-ins used passkeys, compared with 26 percent in last year’s Index.“On average, 90 percent of active accounts are eligible for passkeys,” says Diego Zavala, director of ecosystem development for the FIDO Alliance. “Passkeys are within reach for every user.”In a nutshell, Zavala says, “the report tells us first and foremost that passkeys are now part of everyday sign-in, and that they deliver on success and on speed.” They’re faster and more reliable, and nine out of 13 respondents plan to offer passwordless accounts in the next 12 months.Passkey sign-ins succeeded 93 percent of the time, compared with 78 percent for passwords and traditional multi-factor authentication.The Index found passkey sign-ins were 2.8 times faster than alternatives, saving an average of 27 seconds per sign-in among the nine participating organizations that measured speed.Core function for fraud prevention works as intended-And yet, certain factors continue to hold back adoption. Only 42 percent of eligible accounts have a passkey enrolled. While the gap between enrollment and usage is shrinking, Zavala emphasizes that the most effective way to increase both is to make passkeys the default option for sign-in.The Index estimates that 38 percent of all active accounts have an enrolled passkey, compared with 36 percent of successful sign-ins using one, narrowing the gap between enrollment and usage.The arguments for doing so don’t stop with eligibility, speed and success: a core point of the passkey is to eliminate phishable passwords, and all eight Index participants that measured phishing reported fewer successful attacks after deploying passkeys. Three participants also reported declines in account takeovers. Four organizations reported annual savings on SMS one-time passwords ranging from approximately $1 million to hundreds of millions of dollars.During the talk, the senior director of identity product management for PayPal, Rakan Khalid, says transactions with passkeys convert better. The company’s data shows that passkey users tend to be more engaged customers, with passkey adoption bringing them into “a more engaged state.”Benchmark, measure, prioritize for passkey success-For takeaways, Zavala offers four insights. First, use the Passkey Index for benchmarking. Second, “put the passkey first” in terms of sign-in. Zavala says “there are good ways to do that without introducing friction for the user.”Third, measure the payoff to help build the business case. And, fourth, “plan for passwordless” by removing weak fallbacks.In short, get with the program: passkeys are here to stay.
Brazil mandates SIM registration with face biometrics, Level 2 PAD-New rules require facial verification with Level 2 PAD as Brazil phases in biometric checks for more than 280M mobile subscriptions-Oct 30, 2026, 1:52 pm EDT | Chris Burt
Brazilian telecommunications regulator Anatel has published a directive making identity verification with face biometrics mandatory for mobile phone registration in the country as of next year.Anatel’s Technical Standard GT-SEG.2026.11 stipulates the use of either a government-held biometric database or one belonging to a private authentication provider. The biometric check must be carried out with presentation attack detection (PAD) based on ISO/IEC 30107-3 and reaching “level 2 or higher.”Level 2 refers to criteria for different degrees of attack sophistication as established by accredited biometrics testing laboratories, including iBeta, BixeLab, Ingenium and Fime. The ISO standard defines presentation attack instruments (PAIs) and species of PAIs, but does not establish “levels” of PAD.If a private authentication provider is used, the reference biometric data must also have been captured with PAD that meets Level 2 protection and complies with ISO 30107.Mobile network operators can layer additional biometric modalities or behavioral analysis overtop of the face biometrics verification for stronger fraud prevention.Subscriber verification must also include document authenticity checks, fraud detection measures and software to catch digital manipulations. Anatel anticipates spoof attacks using photographs, pre-recorded videos, masks, deepfakes, real-time videos and synthetic data.Whatever verification methods and technologies are used, they must be documented and auditable.280M mobile subscriptions face phased biometric checks-There are more than 280 million active mobile subscriptions in Brazil, according to Anatel data.MNOs are expected to make biometric verification available through in-person service channels and through their websites and apps. Alternative procedures should be made available in compliance with Brazil’s data protection law (LGPD).The new rules are expected to be in place for new prepaid activations by the end of September, 2027, and for postpaid activations and account changes by the end of next year.Users who have not had their biometrics verified will be notified of impending suspension by November 1, 2028, with 120-day suspensions commencing in January, 2029. After May 1, 2029, accounts that have been suspended for 120 days will be deactivated.Biometric SIM registration is increasingly common, particularly in the Global South, with countries including Indonesia, Mexico, Ghana and Saudi Arabia all in the midst of campaigns.
US Treasury makes ID.me mandatory as federal policy shifts toward Login.gov-Senators question Treasury's reliance on private identity verification after Login.gov gained the certification previously cited to justify ID.me -Oct 30, 2026, 1:10 pm EDT | Anthony Kimery
Two U.S. senators are demanding that the Treasury Department explain why it continues to rely increasingly on private identity verification provider ID.me just as federal policy is pushing agencies toward the government’s own Login.gov identity infrastructure.The questions from Sens. Ron Wyden and Elizabeth Warren come as that reliance has become mandatory for Americans who use TreasuryDirect to buy and manage U.S. savings bonds and other Treasury securities online.Since October 28, ID.me has been the only way to log into TreasuryDirect. Customers who decline to create an ID.me account can still manage investments using paper processes, but risk losing online access to their accounts and tax documents. Wyden and Warren have asked Treasury to postpone the requirement until after the 2027 tax filing deadline, warning that the transition could complicate access to tax documents, particularly for older investors. They have requested a response by November 9.That puts a private digital identity provider that uses facial recognition for identity verification between Americans and online access to their Treasury securities less than two months after the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a policy intended to make Login.gov the government’s universal sign-on.In their letter this week to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Chief Executive Officer Frank Bisignano, Wyden and Warren ask Treasury to identify, for every major Treasury or IRS service that requires ID.me but does not offer Login.gov, the specific “security, technical, capacity, fraud-prevention, or operational requirement” that Login.gov cannot satisfy.The question is particularly significant because earlier Treasury documentation identifies a specific technical reason some Fiscal Service applications were directed to ID.me rather than Login.gov, which uses identity proofing and fraud prevention technology from LexisNexis and has integrated Socure‘s biometrics through its partner Xcelerate.The Bureau of the Fiscal Service operates the Common Approach to Identity Assurance (CAIA), an authentication architecture developed to standardize access across multiple Fiscal Service applications.Earlier CAIA implementations supported several credential options. A Do Not Pay implementation guide, for example, says CAIA allowed authentication using a federal Personal Identity Verification or Common Access Card, ID.me, or Login.gov.But a separate 2023 Fiscal Service CAIA onboarding guide explained why some applications were different.“Login.gov does not have a current IAL2 compliant offering,” Treasury said at the time, leaving ID.me as “the only current CAIA-enabled CSP IAL2 offering.”Applications rated at Identity Assurance Level 2 (IAL2), including Intra-Governmental Payment and Collection and G-Invoicing, were instructed to enable ID.me.The guide said Fiscal Service and Treasury were monitoring Login.gov’s development and would provide an update “if additional options become available.”On October 9, 2024, the General Services Administration (GSA) announced that Login.gov was offering an independently certified IAL2 identity verification service.The Government Accountability Office (GAO) subsequently reported that Treasury officials had cited ID.me’s IAL2 certification in explaining its selection and that IRS officials were considering Login.gov for IAL2 applications after Login.gov received its certification.Treasury nevertheless continues to use ID.me exclusively for some Fiscal Service applications.The Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP), which federal agencies use to pay grant recipients and other organizations, tells public users that a driver’s license and Social Security number are required as part of its CAIA integration. Its current guidance says ID.me is the only option.Treasury also continues buying ID.me services for the shared architecture. A June 2026 order for $817,284 was described as an “ID.me subscription for Fiscal/CAIA.”A separate $1.57 million order signed August 25, six days before OMB issued its Login.gov policy, was described as an ID.me subscription for “Fiscal/Common Approach to Identity Assurance.”Those orders were placed under a five-year Treasury blanket purchase agreement for ID.me identity verification and authentication services with a ceiling of approximately $1.03 billion.Federal procurement records show about $93 million obligated against the vehicle so far.Against that backdrop, OMB issued Memorandum M-26-18 on August 31.The memorandum says agencies “must offer Login.gov” for covered public-facing services and, when identity verification is required, must use Login.gov unless an agency determines it cannot meet requirements specific to the service’s users, risk profile, or operations.Agencies may continue offering other identity systems where Login.gov cannot fully serve the use case. But OMB directs agencies to make Login.gov the default for populations it can serve and phase out alternatives that do not meet an applicable exception.The memorandum also excludes websites serving only organizations or people acting on behalf of others, although agencies are encouraged to extend Login.gov to those services voluntarily.Wyden and Warren acknowledge that Login.gov may not serve some taxpayers living abroad or using Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers, and say alternative providers may remain necessary for those users. Their objection is to requiring ID.me where the government-operated service can meet the relevant requirements.Existing in-scope websites generally have up to two years to deploy Login.gov or submit a notice to OMB explaining why they cannot.President Donald Trump’s September 29 America.gov executive order reinforced that direction by requiring covered services to complete Login.gov integration consistent with M-26-18 and federal law.TreasuryDirect has instead moved from its own legacy authentication system to ID.me alone.Treasury says ID.me was selected because it aligns with Treasury and IRS security requirements and meets federal identity verification and fraud-prevention standards. Its public explanation does not identify a specific current capability Login.gov lacks.That is the gap Wyden and Warren are asking Treasury to fill.Their letter also suggests the answer could involve differences beyond basic identity proofing.The senators cite reports that Treasury and IRS considered allowing ID.me to retain taxpayers’ biometric data for the life of an account and for up to 36 months after closure, as well as permitting one-to-many biometric matching.“If either capability is part of the reason for continuing to rely on ID.me,” they wrote, Treasury and IRS should explain why it is necessary, whether Login.gov can provide comparable protection and how the resulting privacy and security risks are being addressed.They also ask whether Treasury and IRS intend to authorize ID.me to use facial recognition to verify users of government services including TreasuryDirect, whether ID.me is permitted to retain user data, and whether it is authorized to use one-to-many matching.The senators do not say those capabilities were ultimately authorized.But their questions sharpen a contradiction Treasury’s own records help illuminate. The department once documented a concrete reason for using ID.me alone for IAL2 applications: Login.gov could not meet the requirement. Login.gov now can.Wyden and Warren want Treasury to explain what requirement remains that the government’s own identity system cannot meet.
Türkiye plans digital ID wallet pilot for 2027 as age verification expands-National prototype will support identity and academic credentials as e-Devlet prepares for wider age verification requirements-Oct 30, 2026, 12:25 pm EDT | Ayang Macdonald
Türkiye plans to develop a national digital identity wallet prototype in 2027, initially supporting identity documents and academic diplomas, with testing planned at a university.A mention of the wallet initiative appears in the country’s 2027 Presidential Annual Program, published in the Official Gazette on October 27.According to the plan, the wallet will hold basic identity documents and academic diplomas, and a pilot is planned with an unnamed university. The project will prioritize public employees, although a timetable for wider public availability has not been announced.Leading the project is the country’s Cybersecurity Presidency, which is working with the Ministry of Interior and other government agencies responsible for different aspects of the country’s digital transformation.e-Devlet expands services and age verification-Alongside the wallet prototype launch is a plan to expand the digital government gateway, e-Devlet, by integrating more services, including common payment applications and identity verification tools.Its targets for 2027 include at least 71 million registered users, an estimated 10,000 services, and 7,500 mobile services.As of last month, authorities announced that e-Devlet provided 9,436 services from 1,130 institutions and organizations, including government agencies, local councils, universities, as well as private institutions. In February, the platform had surpassed 68 million users, with 33.9 million authenticating via SMS passwords and 30.9 million through domestic password envelopes.The move to expand the platform comes as Türkiye is banking on it for wider use of its national digital ID in attribute verification.This month, it introduced regulations that will require social media platforms to verify users’ ages through the e-Devlet portal.From November 1, social media platforms covered by the regulation will be prohibited from offering accounts to children under 15. New users will have to verify their age through e-Devlet, while existing accounts must be verified by March 31, 2027.Authorities say the system uses an age token model designed around data minimization which communicates whether someone satisfies the relevant age threshold without disclosing any more details about their personal identity.Age verification for Tobacco purchase-A similar age verification plan is coming up, as announced by the country’s Minister of Health, Kemal Memişoğlu, earlier this month. He said the measure would require anyone who intends to buy tobacco to confirm if they have attained the legal age of 18.Concerns about data protection and privacy have since been raised, but the government has clarified that it is looking for a system that would protect privacy and personal data while making age verification easier, according to Daily Sabah.Dubbed the Electronic Sales and Age Verification System, the draft model would have customers present a QR code generated by the relevant public authority and scanned using their phones, as reported by Hurriyet Daily News.The system would cross-check the code against the buyer’s Turkish identification number to confirm whether they have reached 18, without giving sellers access to the buyer’s name, exact age, or other personal details. Physical outlets and online sales are both being considered, with a target of implementation within one year.
Moldova data breach exposes records linked to 750,000 national ID numbers-Attackers queried 1M personal identifiers through government services, prompting widespread shutdowns and a security investigation-Oct 30, 2026, 12:20 pm EDT | Ayang Macdonald
A cyberattack on Moldova’s digital government infrastructure exposed personal information associated with approximately 750,000 national identification numbers, according to preliminary findings from the country’s Electronic Governance Agency (AGE).According to a technical update by the AGE on October 27, the attackers queried about one million state identification numbers of a natural person (IDNP), which is the basic identifier used in the country to verify individuals for access to a wide range of public services. The 13-digit number underpins the country’s unified digital government architecture.The preliminary figures do not mean that 750,000 digital identity accounts were hacked. Prime Minister Vasile Tofan said the figure represents cases in which attackers obtained at least one piece of personal information associated with an identifier.The incident took place between October 19 and 23. Information exposed included names, dates and places of birth, family relationships, health insurance status, social benefits, driving licence details, photographs, vehicle ownership, bank account numbers and tax information. Not every affected person had data exposed in every category.According to AGE, the attackers exploited vulnerabilities in government services accessible without authentication, using personal identification numbers to retrieve data and then information obtained from those queries to extract further records.In the wake of the crisis, the country’s President Maia Sandu has convened an emergency meeting for the “coming days” to look into the situation and decide on what next steps to take, Radio Free Europe reports.The head of the country’s Cybersecurity Agency, Mihai Lupascu, said the attack was “without a doubt” the largest recorded so far, describing it as “highly sophisticated.” It affected approximately a third of the resident population.Prime Minister Vasile Tofan said authorities are investigating possible involvement by foreign state actors, but no perpetrator has been identified publicly. He insisted that Moldova will continue to make cybersecurity a priority and would do everything it takes to strengthen its cybersecurity architecture in order to guarantee its digital sovereignty.“This is a matter of the highest priority for us, and we will continue to focus on protecting citizens’ data, and preventing such incidents in the future. To achieve this, we must invest in our security, including cybersecurity,” Tofan is quoted by state news agency MoldPres as saying.Authorities examined 82 digital public services and temporarily disconnected vulnerable services and information systems to contain the attack. Most affected services have since undergone remediation, with operations being restored following security checks.There are similar concerns in Denmark where government is thinking whether to reissue the Central Person Register (CPR) after personal numbers of about 8.8 million people were hijacked. In Senegal, a breach of the country’s population database in February halted ID card issuance for days.Moldova has been modernizing its identity infrastructure in the last five years through different projects including the introduction of electronic ID cards in April last year.
Building trust in biometrics: How organizations can implement safeguards-HID’s Daniel Asraf outlines how encryption, PAD, multimodal authentication and privacy governance can strengthen trust in biometric systems-Oct 30, 2026, 11:31 am EDT | By Daniel Asraf, Vice President, Product Management & Innovation, Biometric Identity Technologies, HID
Biometric identity systems are quickly becoming the preferred method for identity verification across a wide range of environments. From air travel to hospitality to stadiums and live event venues, biometrics have become central components of a broader strategy for delivering seamless authentication while protecting identity systems and personal data.Achieving that balance is vital, given the rapid growth in biometric adoption across industries, a move viewed as “strategic” by 45% of respondents in HID’s 2026 State of Security and Identity Report. Led by fingerprint (71%) and facial recognition (50%), 34% of the organizations surveyed had already deployed biometrics and 23% were actively planning implementation. This growth comes even as ethical and privacy concerns more than doubled, increasing from 31% to 67% between 2025 and 2026.The message is clear: while biometric identity technology offers clear benefits in accuracy, reliability and fraud prevention, heightened scrutiny and privacy concerns require organizations to be aware of how they collect and handle data. The good news is that as protection technologies mature, striking the balance between efficiency and security is becoming more achievable.Maturing technologies create new risks-As biometric identity systems become more widely deployed, security measures must evolve in tandem. Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) are enabling more sophisticated attack methods that may attempt to bypass identity verification processes or disrupt trusted identity workflows if not properly addressed.As technology matures, new risks emerge: Model manipulation. Attackers may attempt to corrupt biometric AI models through malicious data, potentially degrading accuracy or shifting matching thresholds over time.Presentation and digital injection attacks. AI-generated synthetic faces or injected video streams may be used to fool facial recognition systems, particularly where liveness detection is limited.Biometric data compromise. Attacks may target databases, cloud repositories, or identity infrastructure that store biometric templates. The goal is to steal, misuse, or potentially leverage compromised template data to facilitate identity fraud or future attacks.Alongside these risks sit broader structural factors: legacy IT systems, supply chain dependencies and internet-accessible operational technology. As a result, protecting biometric integrity is becoming less of a technical choice and more of an operational and security priority.Strengthening biometric trustAlong with implementing stronger protections against these new attack vectors, systems that support biometric identity authentication must also prepare for zero-days and other attack variants as malicious actors develop new strategies. An effective approach is a three-pronged strategy consisting of encryption, strong presentation attack detection (PAD) and multimodal authentication. Individually, each addresses different attack vectors. When combined, they provide a layered security model that is particularly valuable in public environments where identity verification is critical.Encryption protects biometric data in transit between systems and when it is stored as templates. This matters because biometric identifiers are highly sensitive and permanent. Unlike a password or ID number, a person cannot reset their fingerprint or face if that data is exposed. End-to-end encryption at every stage—from capture to transmission to storage—prevents unauthorized access, data breaches and interception of biometric records.Presentation attack detection helps guard against spoofing, where someone attempts to fool the system using a photograph, video, mask or synthetic image. Advanced PAD technology can analyze biometric samples, such as eye movements, facial depth, skin texture, blinking patterns, or other physiological indicators. It also helps protect the integrity of each verification while maintaining an effortless user experience.Multimodal authentication reduces reliance on a single factor, significantly increasing security and reducing the risk of identity fraud by forcing an attacker to compromise more than one credential simultaneously to gain access. It combines multiple forms of identity verification, such as facial recognition plus fingerprint scanning, facial recognition plus passport verification or biometric verification plus a mobile credential. If one biometric modality produces a false match or cannot be captured effectively, another factor can provide additional assurance. This improves both security and operational reliability in high-volume environments.Building trust through governance-Biometric security is as much a regulatory challenge as it is a technical one. To keep pace with an evolving regulatory landscape, organizations benefit from treating biometric strategy as a governance and communication priority. This means aligning deployments with regulatory frameworks such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and emerging standards to ensure every deployment has a clear legal basis, data‑minimization principles and audit trails.Security leaders should work with legal, compliance and privacy teams to define strict retention schedules, access controls and breach‑response workflows before biometrics are rolled out.Equally important are clear internal policies and transparent external communication about biometric system security to win public trust. Possible actions include publication of plain‑language notices explaining why and how biometrics are used, what data is collected, how it is stored, how long it is kept, and how it can be corrected or deleted. Paired with privacy‑by‑design architectures and ongoing third‑party testing, such as ISO 30107‑3 for biometric presentation attack detection and NIST Face Recognition Technology Evaluation (FRTE) to evaluate facial recognition software, this transparency can help elevate biometric programs from compliance exercises into trusted, long-term identity services.Rising to the challenge-The evolution of digital biometric identity is entering a promising new phase that offers opportunities to improve security, efficiency and convenience. Long-term success depends on earning and maintaining trust through strong security, privacy and identity protection.
7 YEARS OF DEATH AND HELL.
REVELATION 6:7-8 (8 BILLION- 2 BILLION = 6 BILLION)
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth,(2 BILLION) to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).
REVELATION 9:15,18 (6 BILLION - 2 BILLION = 4 BILLION)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,
18 By these three was the third part of men killed,(2 BILLION) by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMBS)
HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
LUKE 17:34-37 (8 TOTAL BILLION - 4 BILLION DEAD IN TRIB = 4 BILLION TO JESUS KINGDOM) (HALF DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD JUST LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS)(GOD DOES NOT LIE)(AND NOTICE MOST DIE IN WAR AND DISEASES-NOT COMETS-ASTEROIDS-QUAKES OR TSUNAMIS)
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other shall be left.(half earths population 4 billion die in the 7 yr trib)
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten by the birds).THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES.BECAUSE NOT HALF OF PEOPLE ON EARTH ARE CHRISTIANS.AND THE CONTEXT IN LUKE 17 IS THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION OR 7 YR TREATY PERIOD.WHICH IS JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH.NOT 50% RAPTURED TO HEAVEN.
MATTHEW 24:37-42 (THESE ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES-SURE NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken,(IN WW3 JUDGEMENT) and the other left.
42 Watch therefore:(FOR THE LAST DAYS SIGNS HAPPENING) for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
WORLD TERRORISM
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.(CAN YOU SAY TORNADOES,HURRICANES,VOLCANOES,EARTH QUAKES,LANDSLIDES,FLASH FLOODING,EXPLOSIONS,SNOW STORMS,THEN FINALLY NUKESAND ANY OTHER JUDGEMENTS THE EARTH CAN VOMIT THE SINNERS OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH WITH.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places,(DIFFERNT PLACES AT THE SAME TIME) and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
2 Peter 3:6-7 Amplified Bible (AMP) (HOT SUN, NUKES ETC)
6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.
7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in the moon,(MAN ON THE MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the stars;(ASTEROIDS-PROPHECY SIGNS) and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)
GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her,(HAGAR) Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;(FATHER OF THE ARAB/MUSLIMS) because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he (ISHMAEL-FATHER OF THE ARAB-MUSLIMS) will be a wild (DONKEY-JACKASS) man;(ISLAM IS A FAKE AND DANGEROUS SEX FOR MURDER CULT) his hand will be against every man,(ISLAM HATES EVERYONE) and every man's hand against him;(PROTECTING THEMSELVES FROM BEING BEHEADED) and he (ISHMAEL ARAB/MUSLIM) shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.(LITERAL-THE ARABS LIVE WITH THEIR BRETHERN JEWS)
ISAIAH 14:12-14
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,(SATAN) son of the morning!(HEBREW-CRECENT MOON-ISLAM) how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I (SATAN HAS EYE TROUBLES) will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.(AND 1/3RD OF THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN FELL WITH SATAN AND BECAME DEMONS)
JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.(ISLAM MURDERS IN THE NAME OF MOON GOD ALLAH OF ISLAM)
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE.
Joel 3:2-King James Version (YOU DIVIDE JERUSALEM IN HALF - YOUR POKING GOD IN THE EYE - GOD SAYS AN EYE FOR AN EYE AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH- YOU WANNA DIVIDE JERUSALEM IN HALF - HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION 4 BILLION DIE ON EARTH.
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE.
LUKE 19:40
40 And He answered and said unto them, “I tell you that if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.
Frustration and fear fueled record Arab turnout, making potential kingmakers of Ra’am, Joint List-Arab voters say high crime, far-right ministers pushed them to vote; Joint List’s Jabareen: ‘We have promised our community to do our best to get rid of this fascist government’By Agencies and ToI Staff Today, 3:12 pm-OCT 31,26
SAKHNIN — For Israel’s Arab citizens, Tuesday’s election result was a rare moment of political triumph.Hundreds of thousands voted in record numbers, giving two Arab-led parties their largest-ever number of seats in the Knesset.Many boycotted past elections, seeing little point. But after years of their communities being demonized or neglected, Israel’s largest minority community turned to the ballot box to fight back against the most hardline government in the country’s history.“We are here and we’re not on the sidelines,” declared Mansour Abbas, leader of the Ra’am party, as supporters cheered in a wedding hall Tuesday night, watching the exit polls.The surge makes them a major political force that could enable opposition parties to assemble a coalition to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.But the question is whether Netanyahu’s main rival, Gadi Eisenkot, and other opponents will ally with them. Only once has an Arab-led party ever served in an Israeli government. During the campaign, Netanyahu had accused his main opponents of planning to form a coalition with Arab parties, which Eisenkot denied.Netanyahu and his allies are now turning up the anti-Arab rhetoric even further, making unproven claims that foreign powers bribed voters to back Arab-led parties. In a Thursday post on X, Netanyahu warned against any party forming a government with them, saying it would lead to the “Islamization of Israel.”Grievances fueled the surge-Nearly 840,000 people on Tuesday voted for Ra’am and the Joint List, a coalition of three Arab-led parties, a 64 percent increase from the last elections in 2022, according to final results from the Central Election Committee.The parties won 19 seats in Israel’s 120-member Knesset, surpassing the previous record of 15.Crowds packed polling places in Arab communities from the Negev Desert to the northern Galilee.In Tarabin, a Bedouin village in the Negev, Netanyahu’s party had won majorities in the past two elections. Turnout nearly doubled on Tuesday and Ra’am won 93 percent of the vote.The northern town of Sakhnin had Israel’s highest voter turnout, at 87%. Mayor Mazen Ghnaim said voters saw it as an emergency measure to fight rising violent crime in Arab communities and incitement by Netanyahu’s far-right allies.“I want to protect my constituents from being killed, my children from being attacked at their universities and Arab doctors getting attacked at hospitals,” said Ghnaim, a Ra’am supporter, referring to recent incidents of anti-Arab violence, as well as the violence within the community.The parties worked hard to overcome past reluctance to vote among Israeli Arabs, who have long felt ignored in the halls of power.They held community meetings in cities and towns that Jewish-led parties mostly ignored. A grassroots movement went door-to-door in Bedouin villages to encourage women to vote.Voters and candidates said their heightened participation did not reflect faith in Israeli democracy — it was a sign of desperation to unseat Netanyahu.Two of Netanyahu’s far-right allies, Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, are responsible for some of Israel’s most extreme policies and anti-Arab incitement.Ben Gvir, the national security minister, raised alarm on Election Day over Arab turnout, telling his supporters, “If you want this country to remain Jewish and Zionist … then get out and vote!”The rhetoric, also echoed by Netanyahu and Smotrich, may have only galvanized Arab voters.“We see the government going from bad to worse,” 52-year-old Awni Zoabi said after voting in Nazareth. “We want to live, we want a future for our children, and we want a future for ourselves.”The parties offer different visions-Israeli Arabs are the descendants of Palestinians who stayed in Israel after the 1948 war surrounding its creation — when hundreds of thousands were expelled or fled — and now make up more than 20% of the population. They have Israeli citizenship, but many also feel deep solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.Ra’am and the Joint List both campaigned on combating crime and securing investment for Arab communities. But they offered different visions for how to approach the wider conflict.Ra’am made the advantages of joining a coalition government central to its pitch to voters and said little that could alienate potential Jewish allies. It placed a Jewish former police official and Yesh Atid MK, Yoav Segalovich, second on its candidate list.In contrast, some members of the Joint List called Israel’s campaign in Gaza a genocide and compared the situation in the West Bank to apartheid South Africa. Most Jewish Israelis ardently reject both accusations, as does Israel’s government itself.“People are clever enough to see what’s happening. Of the two options, one is proposing a genocide, and the other is proposing apartheid. These are the choices: bad or worse,” said Sami Abou Shehadeh, the leader of one of the slate’s parties.Abou Shahadeh stepped down from running ahead of the election after the Supreme Court urged him to withdraw, saying there was a majority on the bench to greenlight the Central Elections Committee’s decision to ban the former lawmaker over an article he published the day after the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023, and which the attorney general argued constituted support for armed struggle against Israel. Abou Shahadeh has expressed regret for writing the article but denied supporting armed struggle against the state.Strong showing doesn’t guarantee a role in government-Mainstream Israeli parties have long resisted partnering with Arab-led parties elected to the Knesset, portraying them as threats to Israel’s Jewish character or questioning their loyalty to the state.Netanyahu’s opponents welcomed Ra’am into a short-lived coalition government in 2021, offering investment in Arab communities and legal status for unrecognized Bedouin villages facing the threat of demolition.The Islamist party’s inclusion broke a longstanding taboo and gave it newfound political influence.But given Israel’s rightward shift, it will be difficult for Eisenkot to maintain support if he partners with Arab-led parties this time, said Tamar Hermann, senior research fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute.Israel, she said, has been “moving away from a liberal democracy and moving toward an ethnic democracy where one ethnicity has advantages over others.”Ra’am and the Joint List could handily give Eisenkot the numbers needed to form a government. Both have expressed openness to anything that removes Netanyahu, including abstaining from a Knesset leadership vote to lower the threshold Eisenkot would need to win a majority.But in public, rather than court them, Eisenkot has set conditions, including that they profess that Israel is a Jewish and democratic state and declare Hamas a terrorist organization “to be demolished.”Leaders of both Arab parties have condemned Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel but have balked at labeling the group a terrorist organization, in part because it would appear to justify Israel’s devastating campaign in Gaza. Abbas acknowledged Israel as a Jewish state in 2021, while some Joint List leaders have questioned whether a country can be both democratic and privilege members of one religion.Abbas said Tuesday that he was confident Ra’am would join a government. But his party did not respond to questions this week about whether it would accept Eisenkot’s conditions or what its own terms were.On Wednesday, Abbas suggested that his party was also in contact with members of Netanyahu’s coalition.“Everyone is speaking with us, not just from the change bloc,” he told Channel 12 news.Yousef Jabareen, the Joint List’s leader, told The Associated Press on Wednesday he had not yet spoken to Eisenkot but was ready for talks. He said parties on his slate had not agreed on their conditions, but hoped for protections and equality for Arab citizens, and promised to revive the peace process.Above all, he recognized the desire to see Netanyahu gone.“We have promised our community to do our best to get rid of this fascist government,” Jabareen said.
US approves proposed $2.1 billion sale of 500 Patriot interceptors to Ukraine-Patriot PAC-3 missiles not expected to be delivered until 2030s; Kyiv encouraging Pentagon to instead give munitions already in US arsenal and backfill with new interceptors-By Agencies Today, 9:39 am-OCT 31,26
The US State Department said on Friday it had approved the sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 missiles to Ukraine for an estimated $2.1 billion, in what would be one of the most significant steps to supply defensive weapons to Kyiv since the start of the second Trump administration.“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a partner country that is a force for political and economic stability in Europe,” the department said in a press release.Delayed missile deliveries have added to Ukraine’s tensions with the US after President Donald Trump announced a diesel deal with Russia and criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for Ukraine’s unwillingness to stop attacks on Russian refineries.Ukraine has long said it urgently needs more missile interceptors to knock down the growing waves of missiles Russia’s military fires at the country. The Patriot missile system is the most effective weapon to counter fast-moving ballistic missiles.On Thursday, a Russian drone strike killed at least 14 people on a crowded rail platform in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, while five died in daytime strikes on two other provincial cities and a late-evening missile strike killed one person in the capital Kyiv, officials said.Zelensky said on Monday that Ukraine had been waiting for almost a month for the US to sign off on critical missile supplies, as Russia stepped up attacks on energy and civilian infrastructure.But despite Ukraine’s urgency, it will likely not receive the missile interceptors quickly. Weapons sales typically take years to fulfill, and two people briefed on the US decision said the missiles — which are yet to be manufactured — are not expected to be delivered until a couple of years into the 2030s.One of the people said Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense is encouraging the Pentagon to bring forward the delivery date, possibly by giving Kyiv missiles already in the US arsenal and backfilling with the new Patriot interceptors.Ukraine will pay for the missiles with contributions from Canada, Germany and Norway routed through a program called US JUMPSTART, along with national funds financed by the European Union’s Ukraine Support Loan, the State Department said in a statement.The program uses donations from allies to buy weapons, services and training for Ukraine to support its self-defense following Russia’s invasion, according to a Pentagon website.The JUMPSTART program was used in August to buy 3,350 air-launched cruise missiles worth $825 million made by Zone 5 Technologies and CoAspire.Lockheed Martin is the principal contractor for the sale of the Patriot interceptors.The US has supplied large quantities of weapons to allies while also using munitions in its own military operations in Iran, raising concerns about inventories of key air defense and precision-guided weapons.In July, the US Army awarded Lockheed a contract worth up to $58.6 billion to produce Patriot interceptor missiles.Lockheed has said that deal would allow it to follow through on a promise to triple PAC-3 MSE production capacity by the end of 2030 and increase jobs at its Camden, Arkansas, plant by 50 percent, to about 1,850 from 1,200. Lockheed previously announced Patriot PAC-3 missile interceptor production would go to 2,000 units annually.Pentagon negotiators are pressing contractors to move much faster, with tentative production agreements struck earlier this year at the center of efforts to increase missile output.
Saudi Arabia says at least 2 suspected Houthi drones shot down over kingdom-Coalition spokesman says UAVs intercepted over Riyadh, Southern Region; Syrian FM says Damascus weighing whether to join Mecca defense pact with Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia-By AFP and ToI Staff Today, 1:38 pm-OCT 31,26
Saudi air defenses intercepted at least two suspected Houthi drones on Saturday morning, according to the spokesman for the Saudi Arabia-led military coalition fighting the Iran-backed rebels in Yemen.“Air defenses intercepted and destroyed a hostile drone in the Riyadh region,” Turki al-Malki wrote on X, adding that “debris from the interception fell without causing injuries.”Malki did not say who launched the drone.The coalition also said it later intercepted and destroyed a drone that was launched by Houthis toward the Southern Region.In recent weeks, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have ramped up attacks on Saudi Arabia, including by launching deadly strikes on Riyadh airport that forced its closure for two weeks and the cancellation of flagship events — threatening the kingdom’s economic diversification plans.On Friday, Malki said the Houthis had targeted the Medina region, home to Islam’s second holiest city, but the group later denied the claim. The Houthis have repeatedly denied targeting Mecca and Medina, Islam’s two holiest cities, rejecting Saudi accusations that it had launched drones toward the cities.The Houthi attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure, airports and ships come after hostilities resumed in Yemen over the summer between the Houthis and the country’s internationally recognized government, which is backed by Riyadh.More than 1,600 people have been killed and over 275,000 displaced since the fighting reignited, according to United Nations figures.In July, a fragile 2022 truce fell apart after the Houthis allowed an Iranian plane to land in Yemen’s capital Sanaa in defiance of Saudi control over Yemeni airspace, setting off a spate of attacks.Later, the Houthis declared a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and began hitting its ships, territory and oil facilities, before seizing Yemen’s entire Red Sea coast in a lightning campaign.The Houthis have reported frequent Saudi airstrikes in areas they control as Riyadh retaliates.On Friday, the Houthis also targeted the presidential palace in Aden with two missiles, a police official said. Aden is the seat of Yemen’s Saudi-backed and internationally recognized government.Two eyewitnesses said they saw ambulances entering the palace in Aden, a large compound made up of several buildings including facilities used by government and Saudi-led coalition forces, after the incident.Shortly before, residents said they heard two blasts in the city.Syria weighing whether to join Mecca pact-Meanwhile, as fighting between Riyadh and the Houthis continued, Syria’s top diplomat on Saturday said Damascus was considering whether to join the NATO-style Mecca defense alliance that binds Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.Saudi Arabia is a key backer of Syria’s government that came to power after the fall of former strongman Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.“Discussions are currently underway to evaluate Syria’s entry into the Mecca alliance,” Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said at the Manama Dialogue conference in Bahrain.Saudi Arabia has been rallying support against escalating Houthi attacks, though Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey have not announced any attacks on the Iran-backed Houthis.Last week, Egypt’s parliament voted to authorize military support for Saudi Arabia, in what the Houthis said was a “declaration of war” against the group from Cairo.Earlier this month, French President Emmanuel Macron made a surprise visit to Riyadh and said France had sent troops to help shield a key Saudi oil terminal from Houthi attacks.Also in October, the UK government announced it would deploy British fighter planes to help Saudi Arabia against the attacks.
Turkey throws name of former FM, envoy to Israel into the race for next UN chief-Official says Feridun Sinirlioglu’s name submitted with Erdogan’s backing; Turkish president has long called for Security Council reform, criticizing dominance of 5 permanent members-By AP and ToI Staff Today, 1:20 pm
Turkey has officially nominated a former foreign minister and yearslong ambassador to the United Nations for the next UN secretary-general, state-run media reported Saturday.The next UN chief will succeed António Guterres, who has led the world body for almost 10 years. The organization is under pressure to reform as it finds itself sidelined in wars in Iran, Ukraine and Gaza while also facing a financial crisis that has forced major cuts to humanitarian and development programs.Feridun Sinirlioglu, a 70-year-old former Turkish foreign minister and UN diplomat, had floated his candidacy on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly’s high-level meeting in New York last month.Sinirlioglu was Turkey’s top diplomat for a few months in 2015, an interim period between elections, and its UN ambassador between 2016 and 2023.He was Turkey’s ambassador to Israel 2002-2007.He currently serves as the secretary-general of the Vienna-based Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. His current three-year mandate is scheduled to end in December 2027, but the top UN job would have a Jan. 1 start date.Ahmet Yildiz, Turkey’s current representative to the UN, told the Anadolu news agency that Sinirlioglu’s name was officially submitted with backing from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.Erdogan has been vocal in calling for UN Security Council reform, especially criticizing the dominance of its five permanent members. Sinirlioglu is likely to reflect the president’s agenda.The next UN secretary-general will be decided by the 15-nation UN Security Council, especially its five veto-wielding members — the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France. The 193-member General Assembly must give final approval.Sinirlioglu will likely face obstacles from several corners, including Turkey’s neighbor Greece, which is one of the 10 elected members of the Security Council. Pushback also would be expected from Israel, a close ally of the United States.Seven other candidates are vying to replace Guterres as he finishes his second five-year term. Under an informal regional rotation of the UN’s top job, a candidate from the Latin American and Caribbean region could be selected.
Majority voted for change’: Rallies to be held Saturday calling for Jewish-Arab government-Protests planned for Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Beersheba, Haifa, Tayibe; organizers: ‘Arab votes are worth the same as Jewish votes, Arab citizens must be full partners in shaping the country’s future’By ToI Staff Today, 10:39 am-OCT 31,26
Several demonstrations are expected across the country on Saturday night in support of the formation of a Jewish-Arab government by the so-called change bloc.Organizers from the Standing Together group said rallies will be held at 7:30 p.m. at Tel Aviv’s Habima Square, Jerusalem’s Paris Square, as well as in Beersheba, Haifa and Tayibe, calling for the formation of such a government following Tuesday’s election.The election saw the opposition win 67 seats to the coalition’s 53.However, those 67 are made up of 48 seats for Zionist parties and 19 seats for Arab non-Zionist parties, with whom most leaders of the Jewish opposition parties have previously said they would not cooperate.The four Zionist parties are Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar, Nafatali Bennett’s B’Yachad, Yair Golan’s The Democrats and Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu, while the two Arab-led parties are Yousef Jabareen’s Joint List and Mansour Abbas’s Ra’am.“Protesters are demanding that the bloc’s leaders recognize their victory and form a government based on Jewish-Arab partnership,” the rally organizers said.“The Jewish-Arab majority that voted for change must also be reflected in the next government. Now is not the time to abandon our partnership, but to turn it into a political force that changes reality,” they said.“Arab votes are worth exactly as much as Jewish votes, and Arab citizens must be full partners in shaping the country’s future,” said organizers.On Friday night, Golan expressed optimism that the change bloc could form the next government with the support of the Arab-led parties, despite Liberman’s public refusal to entertain the notion.Golan strongly rejected the idea of any unity government that included Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, and argued that the opposition parties “can establish a government and we must establish a government,” despite receiving only 48 seats out of the 120-member Knesset. With Ra’am, the bloc would have 56 seats, while the Joint List controls another 11 seats.Golan said he met with Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot, B’Yachad No. 2 Yair Lapid and Ra’am chief Mansour Abbas on Thursday, “and I found all three deeply determined to form a government.”However, Liberman reiterated on Friday his party’s refusal to join any coalition that includes the two Arab-led parties in the next Knesset. “We will not sit with supporters of terrorism!” he wrote on Facebook, citing a number of statements and actions from Ra’am and Joint List MKs.In addition to saying he will not join a government with the Arab-led parties, Liberman has also said he will not join a government with Netanyahu.A historic surge in Arab voter turnout in Tuesday’s election has placed Israel’s Arab-majority parties in a position to determine the next government, putting the Zionist opposition’s disinclination to rely on their support to a potentially decisive test.Despite leading the largest party, Netanyahu has no obvious path to expanding his bloc beyond his existing far-right and ultra-Orthodox allies to get the 61-seat majority he needs to form a government.For years, Netanyahu has campaigned to portray Arab lawmakers as illegitimate political partners — effectively excluding representatives of roughly one-fifth of Israel’s population from governing.Despite that, there have been multiple accounts in recent years that Netanyahu has sought alliances with the Islamist Ra’am party.Abbas said Wednesday, as he said after the last election in 2022, that his party was in contact with members of Netanyahu’s coalition.“Everyone is speaking with us, not just from the change bloc,” Abbas told Channel 12, suggesting that figures from the pro-Netanyahu bloc have also approached him.Since his Islamist party became the first Arab-majority faction to join an Israeli government in 2021, Abbas has sought to make his party more palatable to Jewish voters and potential coalition partners, most notably by recruiting former Yesh Atid lawmaker and deputy public security minister Yoav Segalovitz, a Jewish Zionist, as his party’s No. 2 candidate.On Wednesday, the Joint List offered to support an alternative government from outside the coalition, with chair Jabareen vowing to use his faction’s newfound parliamentary strength to oust Netanyahu.Moshe Ya’alon, a former hawkish defense minister turned vocal Netanyahu critic, also called on the Jewish-led opposition parties on Friday to form a government with Ra’am and offer a ministerial post to its chair Abbas.He contrasted Abbas’s actions with those of far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.“I know Itamar Ben Gvir from his time as a subject of Shin Bet surveillance, when he incited hatred, agitation, and violence in the Hebron area,” Ya’alon wrote. “He was convicted on eight separate indictments for his actions, including support for a (Jewish) terror organization.“I know Bezalel Smotrich from the period leading up to the Disengagement, when he was arrested on suspicion of planning to detonate 700 liters of fuel on Route 1,” the former defense minister and IDF chief continued.“Mansour Abbas is not Jewish, but I would hope that most Israeli citizens align more with his values than the values of the messianists, racists, and fascists,” he said.
FRANCE IS GOING TO BE DESTROYED BY THESE SO CALLED PEACEFUL PROTESTS OF RIOTING,LOOTING,BURNING.I HEARD ON THE INTERNET THAT THESES PROTESTS WILL GO THROUGHT ALL OF EUROPE.BREAKING FANCE AND GERMANY UP INTO SMALLER TRADE ZONES OF THERE OWN.ESSENTIALLY BREAKING UP THE EU. BUT BY THE BIBLE I CANNOT SEE THIS HAPPENING. BUT GODS IN CONTROL. NOT ME. IN SOME WAY THE E.U WILL BECOME THE WORLD ECONOMIC LEADER.AND MAKE A MICROCHIP ECONOMY OF CASHLESSNESS.
Protests also expected in 30 cities across Germany-France braces for fresh unrest amid protests, as officials vow tough response to rioting-70,000 police deployed for nationwide protests; authorities concerned rioters may take advantage of Halloween to disguise themselves; march banned between Republique and Bastille squares By Reuters Today, 12:31 pm-OCT 31,26
France deployed a 70,000-strong police presence to contain a widely expected bout of fresh unrest on Saturday in the latest nationwide protests driven by anger over living costs, public services and President Emmanuel Macron’s government.The demonstrations, which fall on Halloween, come two weeks after riots and looting caught security forces off guard, leaving damaged shops, public buildings and businesses in cities across France. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez has vowed not to let a repeat happen.“Everyone is on deck to ensure an extremely firm response to any trouble,” Nunez told a news conference earlier this week as he set out details of security arrangements for a day he described as carrying “a very high risk” of unrest.France’s top administrative court confirmed on Saturday a march between the emblematic Paris squares of Republique and Bastille will be banned, rejecting a challenge by unions. Demonstrations will instead have to be held on boulevards on the eastern fringe of the city, away from the main shopping areas in central Paris.Authorities are also alert to the possibility that rioters could use Halloween masks to conceal their identities. Nunez noted that laws already allow police to ban face coverings when public order is at risk.Some 150 gatherings were planned across France, the interior ministry said.The US Embassy advised travelers to avoid areas where demonstrations or large gatherings are planned.The protests gathered pace in late September as Macron’s minority government launched 2027 budget talks. Facing public debt approaching 120% of economic output and rising borrowing costs, the government is under pressure to rein in spending, narrowing its room for manoeuvre.Students angry at the dilapidated state of many schools, crowded classes and a university admissions system widely seen as unfair have been joined by trade unions and a re-emergent “Yellow Vest” movement demanding action on the cost of living.Protests spread across Europe-The protests have inspired youth-led protests across Europe, with demonstrations planned in more than 30 German cities on Saturday.The French government’s promises to reform education and ease fuel costs have failed to calm discontent.“When I was little, I was told young people were the future,” said Aaron Berthier de Grandry, a 15-year-old high school student in the Paris suburb of Nogent-sur-Marne who plans to join his third consecutive weekend of protests.“Well, if we, as the future of France, lack resources, that means France will end up collapsing.”The unrest has handed a political boost to far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who leads opinion polls ahead of April’s presidential election, while potential centrist successors to Macron remain divided.The troubles are the latest blow to an economy which, data on Friday showed, was already shrinking in the third quarter.The Chamber of Commerce estimates losses to retailers exceed €1 billion ($1.1 billion). Other estimates put the total at double that when including uninsured damage and lost revenue.Along Paris’ main shopping boulevards, early Christmas lights glow around boarded-up windows and security grilles.Among the shops targeted in previous unrest were outlets belonging to luxury brands including Hermes, Louis Vuitton and Burberry.The government is pushing ahead with a controversial law making rioters liable to pay up to €10,000 for damage caused either by themselves or by groups they are deemed to be part of.Rights groups and some lawyers say the measure risks undermining the right to peaceful protest.
Interview 'How does this beautiful childhood end in Auschwitz?'How France betrayed the little Jewish girls in white dresses immortalized by Renoir
New book ‘The Renoir Girls’ chronicles how the gilded existence of wealthy Belle Époque Parisian Jews ultimately ended in dark tragedy due to historical, ongoing antisemitism-By Renee Ghert-Zand Today, 9:39 am-OCT 31,26
The paintings “Pink and Blue” and “Little Irène” by renowned Impressionist artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir are world-famous. The two portraits, created in the early 1880s, feature pretty little girls in white lace dresses and pastel-colored ribbons.They capture an innocent childhood moment that would not last. The girls grew up, the cruelties of history played out, and life would never again be as it was depicted in oil paint.The girls were three French-Jewish sisters: Irène, Elisabeth and Alice Cahen d’Anvers, daughters of banker Count Louis Cahen d’Anvers and his salonnière wife Louise. The parents were among Paris’s business, social cultural, and Jewish leadership in the Belle-Époque, the period from the end of the Franco-Prussian War to the outbreak of World War I, when France experienced cultural flourishing, major technological and industrial advances, and relative peace.In a new book, “The Renoir Girls: A Hidden History of Art, War & Betrayal,” author Catherine Ostler digs beneath Renoir’s brushstrokes to trace the Cahen d’Anvers’s fates amid France’s shifting social, economic and political realities. Ostler wanted to understand the specific, sparkling moment Renoir captured, but also to move forward in time to learn what happened to the sisters and their privileged Jewish family and friends as they weathered the darkness of the first half of the 20th century.During this 75-year period, ever-present French antisemitism ebbed and flowed, ultimately leading to collaboration with the Nazis during the Holocaust. Despite the Cahen d’Anvers’s extreme riches and status, and their unwavering patriotism, they were not immune to the eventual horrors.“Renoir takes us by the hand and leads us into that gilded life, when flourishing, flamboyant Paris was the heart of the civilized world… But in some ways, this gilded life, this civilized Paris — even, in fact, the Cahen d’Anvers family — was a lie,” Ostler wrote.The following is an interview with Ostler from her London home, edited for length and clarity.The Times of Israel: What drew you to these portraits by Renoir? Catherine Ostler: I’ve always been fascinated by portraits because two things are going on: It’s a work of art, but it’s also a person, and I’m wondering who they are. Why were they being painted at that point? What was the person who commissioned the picture trying to project, and how did the artist feel about it? In “Pink and Blue,” it is lovely how the little girls [Elisabeth and Alice] are standing. The little four-year-old [Alice] has her feet splayed, just as four-year-olds do, and her thumb is stuck in her sash. And the way the girls’ hands are holding. I just thought, this is such a sort of perfect kind of moment. It’s not a conventional portrait at all; it’s almost like a picture of childhood and sisterly relationships. I was just sort of very touched by it.A bestselling book by artist and writer Edmund de Waal sparked you to write your book.I was reading “The Hare with the Amber Eyes,” and in it he mentions this great love affair between his ancestor [art critic, historian, and collector] Charles Ephrussi and Louise [Cahen d’Anvers], and his encouraging her to have her husband commission Renoir to paint the children.Two hundred pages later in de Waal’s book, he says that Elisabeth died in Auschwitz. It just seemed to say so much about the madness of humanity. How does this incredibly privileged, beautiful childhood, where the parents are commissioning these avant-garde portraits, end in Auschwitz? I wanted to try to understand how this could possibly happen. I had a beginning and an end, and I wanted to fill in the middle [of the story].While you were initially unfamiliar with the era’s leading French-Jewish families, you did know about the notorious antisemitic Dreyfus Affair of 1894 and wrote in depth about how it damaged French society and politics, and affected families like the Cahen d’Anvers.I’ve had a side interest in the Dreyfus Affair. My father-in-law wrote a book about it, and I’ve read it. The Dreyfus Affair is a clear example of society’s readiness to be taken in by prejudices, cling to strange ideas, and become polarized. The Dreyfus Affair has long obsessed — even haunted — me.How did you approach your research for this detailed, epic book, which not only traces the sisters’ lives, but also covers political, military and social history, along with many peripheral and auxiliary characters? ‘The Renoir Girls’ by Catherine Ostler (Atria Books)-It’s sort of maximalist history, isn’t it? I suppose the first thing I did was look at these three sisters and start building a family tree. Who are these people and what happened to their descendants? To my amazement, I went through the generations and discovered that I vaguely knew Alice’s great-grandson, the well-known London restaurateur Gavin Rankin. I rang him up. He said he didn’t know much about the family history, but introduced me to his mother, Marina, who did. She’s now 94.She had quite a painful and difficult childhood for many reasons. She said, “I’ve never wanted to talk about this, but you know, I feel like if I don’t talk about it now, I never will. So I will help you.”She got her grandsons to carry an enormous First World War trunk up from her basement. It belonged to her grandfather, Major-General Sir Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend, Alice’s husband. His name was printed in gold letters on the side. It was a historian’s dream. I don’t really know if anyone had ever opened it before this. I forced the lock, blew off the dust, and found photo albums of tiny Alice in her couture and in her couture wedding dress at the family’s historic Château de Champs-sur-Marne. The albums also included photos of Alice and her husband in South Africa and India, when he was in the British Army. I also found private detective reports, letters to [Winston] Churchill, and Louise’s will in French, in which she apologizes to her children for being a difficult mother.You met other Cahen d’Anvers descendants and visited international sites associated with the family. Did you also find any specific archives particularly useful? The Camondo family archive had a lot of information about the divorce between Irène and Moïse de Camondo [her first husband]. I also visited the archive at Raynham Hall in Norfolk, England, the seat of the Townshend family, which Alice married into. Then there was The Rothschild Archive in London. That was an amazing thing because no one who’d written about the Cahen d’Anvers family had got access to that before.Why would letters between members of the Cahen d’Anvers family have ended up with the Rothschilds? Yvonne, a daughter of Robert Cahen d’Anvers, the eldest child of Louis and Louise, married a Rothschild. So, for some happy reason, lots of Robert’s letters to his wife and some of his siblings ended up in The Rothschild Archive. Many of the letters were about the girls, like Elisabeth’s terrible taste in men…and Irène behaving appallingly and collaborating with the enemy during World War II.Irène survived the war and the Holocaust by laying low in Paris as a Christian [she and her sisters had all converted as young women], and falsifying information about her ancestors’ heritage. But was she an actual collaborator? They all thought Iréne was a collaborator, which isn’t something others have written about. It’s very difficult, 80 years on, to call someone a collaborator. Do we mean active collaboration? Do we mean turned a blind eye? Whatever the case, the family was clearly appalled by her.She didn’t seem to be particularly concerned about the fate of her eldest daughter Béatrice, her ex-husband Léon Reinach, and their young adult children Fanny and Bertrand, who were all murdered at Auschwitz.She got all their money. There’s an awful bit in the book where one of her sisters-in-law is appalled by the seeming glee with which Irène inherits the money, and talks about how she’s going to spend it. We begin the story with this beautiful Renoir picture of Irène as a little girl, and by the end of my research and the book, it’s clear she was probably a terrible person.Irène’s possible collaboration with the enemy aside, the rest of the family appears to have been extremely patriotic and willing to sacrifice their lives for France.They loved France, felt French, and were deeply loyal. Every single man in the family who could fought in the First World War. Every woman in the family was a nurse. And in the Second World War, every male family member who could fight served. Irène, controversial though she is, had the defining tragedy of her life when her beloved son Nissim de Camondo was shot down by the Germans [in World War I].You traced the remarkable journeys of “Pink and Blue” and “Little Irène,” and recounted how they survived against all odds. But you were left with a niggling question: Why did Louis and Louise Cahen d’Anvers give Irène’s portrait pride of place, but relegate the painting of Elisabeth and Alice to the servants’ quarters? You solved the mystery by using genetic genealogy. I had several theories. Maybe Louis and Louise just didn’t like “Pink and Blue” as a painting. Or maybe Louis didn’t want a work whose commission his wife’s reputed lover, Charles Ephrussi, had pushed on him, hanging in his face. There was also the possibility that Alice (and possibly the family’s youngest child, Charles) was biologically fathered by Ephrussi. I came across several pieces of information that hinted at this.I learned about genetic genealogy and was amazed that it’s possible to figure out who someone’s father was, even for someone born in 1876. I turned to an expert named Mia Bennett for help, and I asked Marina, Alice’s granddaughter, to give a DNA sample, and she agreed. It was a long shot, but people started popping up on DNA databases, including two people I knew were descended from Ephrussis.This map started to form, and then I showed Mia, and she went further into the DNA. The only possible solution was that Alice was Charles Ephrussi’s daughter. Nobody on the Cahen d’Anvers side came up. This science is extraordinary. Never in my wildest dreams, when I decided to try it, did I think it would actually lead to an answer — but it did!
UK police arrest dozens at London protest in support of banned Palestine Action-Police detain demonstrators outside US Embassy ahead of Supreme Court hearing to lift ban on group; UK Greens reportedly lose nearly 20,000 members amid anti-Zionism row By Agencies and ToI Staff Today, 9:08 pm-OCT 31,26
At least 48 people were arrested in London on Saturday as hundreds of protesters gathered outside the US Embassy in support of Palestine Action, openly displaying signs supporting the banned group despite a police warning that doing so could lead to arrest.London’s Metropolitan Police began detaining people shortly after hundreds began a lunchtime “mass action” outside the US Embassy in the British capital.The force said in a mid-afternoon update that 48 people had been arrested and that officers were “continuing to make arrests.”“The majority of arrests have been for expressing support for a proscribed organisation,” it added on X.Officers have arrested nearly 4,000 people for allegedly showing support for Palestine Action, according to police and campaigners, after the British government outlawed it under anti-terror laws in July 2025.Many of those arrested have displayed signs at rallies reading: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”BREAKING: BLANKET ARRESTS BEGIN OUTSIDE US EMBASSY The Met Police began making arrests before any signs were on display, arresting volunteers like this woman for supporting people holding signs, and arresting people for having blank placards. pic.twitter.com/t4mY2XvnOB Advertisement — Defend Our Juries (@DefendOurJuries) October 31, 2026-Defend Our Juries, which organized the demonstration, estimated that around 400 people took part and accused the police of “making arrests before any signs were on display, arresting volunteers like this woman for supporting people holding signs, and arresting people for having blank placards,” the group wrote on X.Palestine Action was outlawed under Britain’s terrorism legislation in 2025 after its activists broke into the Royal Air Force’s Brize Norton base and damaged two military planes. It also carried out a series of actions targeting Israel-linked defense companies in Britain, including one in which a police officer was seriously wounded after being hit in the back with a sledgehammer.The ban has since been fought through Britain’s courts. The High Court ruled in February that the proscription was unlawful, but the Court of Appeal overturned that decision in June and upheld the ban. Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori was subsequently given permission to take the case to the Supreme Court, which was due to consider the challenge on November 4.In August, the US government announced sanctions against Palestine Action, designating it as a terror group.The ban puts the group on a blacklist that also includes Palestinian terror group Hamas and the Lebanese Iran-backed Hezbollah.It made membership of, or support for, Palestine Action a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison.Palestine Action, founded in 2020, aims to stop UK military support for Israel, which it says is committing genocide against the Palestinians — an accusation that Israel strongly denies.The group says it aims to stop genocide by disrupting “corporate enablers of the Israeli military-industrial complex.”Saturday’s London protesters held banners bearing slogans like “How is trying to stop a genocide a crime?” and “We are protesters, not terrorists.”Attendee Angie Zelter, 75, told AFP she had already been charged at least eight times at previous rallies but wanted to protest again ahead of the Supreme Court hearing.“I am hoping they will come to their senses and agree PA (Palestine Action) should not have been proscribed,” she said.Marji Mansfield, 70, a retired financial adviser, said she had previously been arrested about 10 times.“I am losing faith in judicial system,” she told AFP.“But if they lift the ban, it would be a way out for the government,” Mansfield added, while noting there was currently “no sign” of the ban’s reversal.Police warn support could lead to arrest-Ahead of Saturday’s demonstration, the Metropolitan Police stated officers would be deployed around the embassy and warned that enforcement would extend beyond protesters personally carrying Palestine Action placards.People judged to be organizing the event, directing others or providing logistical assistance could also face arrest, police said.“All those intending on coming to this event know that supporting a proscribed organization is unlawful — they are essentially meeting to purposefully commit a crime,” said Commander Adam Slonecki, who was leading the operation.Slonecki said police were not seeking to prevent people from expressing political views, but would act where such expression crossed into criminal support for a banned organization. He also urged potential participants not to attend, saying such demonstrations diverted substantial police resources from local communities.Police also imposed a Section 35 dispersal order covering parts of central London between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m.A Section 35 dispersal order will be in place in parts of central London from 8am to 11pm today. This is following information that a group are planning to attend an event and express support for a proscribed organisation, which is an offence under the Terrorism Act. The order… pic.twitter.com/KEtI1joelL Advertisement — Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) October 31, 2026-Green party looses members amid Zionism dispute-Amid the dispute, opposition to Israel continued to roil UK politics.The Green Party of England and Wales reportedly lost nearly 20,000 members in less than six months, amid internal divisions over its decision to adopt a resolution declaring Zionism a form of racism and support for a Palestinian state in all of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.The party has also seen its support decline in opinion polls, while several local councilors defected in protest over the resolution, according to the Daily Mail.The latest departure was the leader of the Greens in Cornwall, Drew Creek, who said Friday that the motion “crossed a line” and accused party leader Zack Polanski of having “doubled down” on his support for it.At its annual convention on October 4, the Green Party voted 1,022 to 813 to adopt a motion calling for Zionism to be treated like other forms of racism and advocating a Palestinian state in place of Israel, “with equal rights for all.”Polanski, who is Jewish, did not take part in the vote.Israel strongly condemned the resolution at the time, accusing the Greens of endorsing the elimination of the Jewish state and legitimizing terrorism.
Police fire tear gas, clash with demonstrators as hundreds of thousands protest in France-Third consecutive week of rallies across country, largely peaceful with some in Halloween costumes, but clashes erupt in Paris, other places; attendance down from previous weekends-By Agencies Today, 7:46 pm-OCT 31,26
PARIS, France — French police fired tear gas and clashed with some protesters on Saturday as thousands marched across France against soaring living costs and police violence, with some demonstrators dressed as clowns and witches for Halloween.While the third consecutive weekend of nationwide protests was largely peaceful, tensions erupted in several cities, including the southern port city of Marseille and Paris, where demonstrators clashed with police.Turnout stood at 320,000 nationwide, the interior ministry said, lower than the 410,000 seen the previous Saturday and 550,000 on October 17, when riots erupted across the country.Clashes erupted between police and some demonstrators in Paris as the protest march reached its final destination, with tear gas filling the streets, AFP journalists saw.Dozens of masked people dressed in black used hammers to pry up paving stones and hurl them at police.At least one incendiary device was also thrown at security forces. Police responded with tear gas and several baton charges.Some wore costumes ranging from Spider-Man to Frankenstein as they walked through eastern Paris while a helicopter circled overhead.Placards read: “No need for tear gas to make our future look bleak” and “Dressed up as an angry citizen for Halloween.”“A hard core of several hundred rioters” at the rear of the march was attacking police with projectiles, including a Molotov cocktail, the Paris police prefecture said. Officers were “manoeuvring to restore public order,” it added.Authorities said the dispersal of the demonstration was otherwise proceeding without difficulty.A water cannon truck was positioned near the point where the march, which drew 70,000 people according to the police prefecture, was scheduled to disperse.But the protests drew a smaller crowd in Paris than the previous weekend, when an estimated 110,000 people took to the streets.In Lyon, France’s third-largest city, people threw projectiles at police, prompting officers to fire tear gas, according to a journalist at the scene.In the southern city of Toulouse, police used water cannon against an unauthorized protest that drew several thousand people, mostly young demonstrators, some of them in costume.“We say no to the cost of living, no to the far right, yes to high school students’ demands, yes to giving citizens a voice,” Camille Guerin, 31, said in the western city of Nantes.Officers had made 27 arrests by 2:00 pm on Saturday, compared with 217 arrests a week ago.An aide to Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Friday that police had prepared for street violence on a scale “comparable” to the unrest two weeks ago, when shops were looted and public buildings set ablaze.Between 400 and 800 hard-left activists were expected in Paris, said an informed source.‘Struggle is classy’The demonstrations come in a febrile political climate, with presidential elections less than six months away and far-right leader Marine Le Pen topping opinion polls.The protest movement, bringing together Yellow Vest activists, trade unions, and high school and university students, initially focused on the rising cost of living, inequality, and deteriorating learning conditions.Following a security clampdown and serious injuries to some protesters, the movement broadened its demands to include greater protection of civil liberties and the right to protest.Similar youth-led demonstrations have been seen across Europe in recent weeks.Thousands of young Germans took to the streets nationwide on Saturday.In the northern French city of Lille, 47-year-old Aurelie Herrmann danced at the protest.“I dance because on television they only show damage and destruction, whereas you can perfectly well demonstrate in good spirits,” she said.“Struggle is classy, it needs to come back into fashion.”New school blockades-Student protesters complained the police did not authorize a march through the center of the French capital and vowed to stage new blockades of high schools and universities next week.“Starting this Tuesday, we will blockade our universities and high schools, and we will do so again on Thursday before joining the demonstration on November 5 called by workers and trade unions,” said Sabrine Kharbach, spokeswoman for the Student Union.Ahead of the protests, some shopkeepers barricaded their businesses.In eastern Paris, Wael Boubaker, a cafe employee, covered a storefront with plywood panels.“Everyone is staying home. No one is going to come and buy anything,” Boubaker said.Hard-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, who accused Macron’s government of “taking an increasingly authoritarian turn,” joined the march in Paris.With the eurozone’s second-largest economy on the brink of recession and under pressure to rein in its debt, the government has limited scope to appease protesters through additional spending.Alain Di Crescenzo, president of France’s chamber of commerce, said business owners were worried.“Shopkeepers can’t wait for Saturday to be over,” Di Crescenzo told broadcaster France Inter.Nunez said authorities had detected social media calls for Halloween gatherings on Saturday evening that urged protesters to spark a “revolution.”
Poland suspends chief justice of constitutional court, sparking protests-Government escalates standoff with nationalist right; right-wing president turns plane around en route to Senegal, forces his way into court building-By AFP and Reuters Today, 6:01 am-OCT 31,26
Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki called off a visit to Africa mid-flight and returned to Warsaw, where police surrounded the constitutional court on Friday after the suspension of its chief justice triggered a standoff between the centrist government and the nationalist right.Dozens of police guarded the entrance to the court as followers of the opposition right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS) protested the ousting of constitutional court president Bogdan Swieczkowski.The court’s official X social media account said there had been a “coup d’etat” and some demonstrators chanted “Tusk traitor” as they condemned the government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk.Some tried to force their way through security barricades. Police said they had arrested three people who had tried to enter the court complex.Tusk was “trampling on our constitutional rights,” demonstrator Tomasz Zaleski told AFP outside the court.Tusk’s government has been trying for weeks to force out the court’s judges, who were appointed by the previous PiS government that ruled from 2015 to 2023.After Tusk’s coalition took office in 2023, it pledged to restore the rule of law and reform the court, but Law and Justice ally Nawrocki has acted to thwart those efforts since his election as president in 2025.The court frequently ruled in favor of Polish legislation over EU law and the European Union accused Poland’s highest court of being too close to the nationalist political power of the time.Earlier on Friday, the Constitutional Tribunal said its longest-serving judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska had suspended Swieczkowski, the tribunal’s president and an appointee of Tusk’s far-right predecessor, and was now in charge of the court.Former PiS prime minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski addressed the demonstration and called for Nawrocki to act. The president said he had called off an official trip to Senegal mid-flight and ordered it back to Warsaw.Back in the capital, Nawrocki held a meeting with Swieczkowski and the court’s first chief justice Zbigniew Kapinski at the presidential palace. Nawrocki then entered the constitutional court building, his chief of staff Pawel Szefernaker said early Saturday, adding that the president was accompanied by Kapinski.Nawrocki pushed his way through the crowds to enter the building, footage from local television showed.???????? BREAKING: President Nawrocki pushes his way into the Constitutional Tribunal in the middle of the night Advertisement After an emergency meeting at the Presidential Palace, President Karol Nawrocki and Supreme Court First President Zbigniew Kapiński drove to the Tribunal shortly after… pic.twitter.com/kwzxfpzWnV — DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) October 31, 2026-Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek, who is also the attorney general, told journalists he had requested the lifting of the legal immunity of Swieczkowski and his deputy Bartlomiej Sochanski.“This court has become private property; we must restore its proper functioning,” he added.Tusk justified the action in a comment on X.“Restoring the rule of law is our duty,” he said. “After years of PiS-led lawlessness, this is a difficult process, sometimes painful, and it requires decisive action. There is no other way.”The constitutional court’s official website was not accessible on Friday evening.Its X account said there had been a “coup d’etat” and that Swieczkowski remained in office.Korwin-Piotrowska could not become interim chief as she had not been sworn in by the president, it added.Amid the confusion, Korwin-Piotrowska commented: “In modern Europe, a democratic state cannot function without a constitutional court… that acts as a guarantor of citizens’ rights and freedoms.”
Albanian anti-government protesters hurl firebombs at police; hundreds arrested-In escalation from wave of protests sparked by anger with a Jared Kushner-backed real estate project, capital Tirana engulfed with protesters demanding PM Rama’s resignation-By Agencies Today, 7:38 pm-OCT 31,26
Hundreds were arrested as masked protesters hurled stones and firebombs at police in Albania’s capital on Saturday on the margins of a fresh anti-government demonstration demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama.The leaderless demonstrations had started peacefully in May over perceived corruption, triggered by opposition to a luxury hotel project in a protected nature reserve that is linked to US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.Since mid-October, they have morphed into a wave of often violent protests also railing against shortcomings in the health system and the lack of prospects for young people, including a lack of jobs and poor education standards.Demonstrators demanding Rama’s resignation have set fire to government buildings and banks, smashed shop windows and pulled up paving stones to throw at police.The movement poses the biggest challenge yet to Rama, who has governed since 2013 and won a fourth term in office last year.Saturday’s demonstration began peacefully under rain outside the education ministry in Tirana, before dozens of youths started throwing paving stones and firebombs at police and set fire to rubbish bins.Images showed protesters tossing firebombs and throwing rocks with slings at police.Police responded with two water cannons to disperse the group.On Friday, Interior Minister Ervin Demo said that 350 people had so far been hurt in the protests rocking the country, including some 200 police officers and around 40 passers-by.He said that 269 people aged under 18 had been arrested.The government on Wednesday stepped up its measures against the protests by introducing fines of up to 5,500 euros ($6,100) for violent participants.
Thousands of students, workers protest across Italy amid heavy police presence-Minor skirmishes reported between police and demonstrators demanding more funding for education and relief from high living costs; many carry Palestinian flags, anti-Israel posters-By Alexandria SAGE and Taimaz SZIRNIKS 30 October 2026, 3:05 pm
ROME (AFP) — Thousands of students and workers took to the streets across Italy on Friday, calling for more school funding and relief from the soaring cost of living, amid a high police presence to avert possible clashes.Friday’s Italy-wide protest comes after weeks of demonstrations, led by students who have set up tent camps and occupied schools to make their demands heard, fueled by similar movements in nearby France and Spain.A general strike called by Italy’s Unione Sindacale di Base, or USB trade union, attracted thousands of workers to Friday’s protests, including truck drivers, taxi drivers and farmers who have rallied in recent weeks over the spike in fuel prices and to oppose rising defense spending.Marches were held in dozens of cities up and down the country, including in Bologna, Genoa, Naples and Turin – where a few minor skirmishes between protesters and riot police occurred at the start of the protest.In Rome, university student Beatrice Chilelli told AFP students were “at a breaking point.”“They can’t afford to pay exorbitant tuition fees, and rent… which weighs heavily on their parents’ shoulders,” said the 21-year-old, citing student housing in Rome that could reach 1,200 euros ($1,340) per month for a single room.Thousands of people left Rome’s central Termini train station, accompanied by two tractors and a taxi, making their way past the Colosseum as they waved flags, unfurled banners and shouted into megaphones.An AFP photographer witnessed a heavy police presence outside the Economy Ministry, which the procession passed by.“We need more houses, not bombs!” sang one group in the crowd, making references to Gaza.Many demonstrators carried Palestinian flags and anti-Israel posters.The Milan protest also began at the central train station, but then headed outside the city – far from the center where young vandals had looted stores, destroyed property and clashed with police two weeks ago after another sanctioned cost-of-living demonstration.“Let’s reclaim our future,” read one banner unfurled by students in Milan.Police in riot gear blocked off streets, but no major clashes had been reported as of midday.Besides students, the demonstrators at Friday’s protest included teachers, workers and retired people, with one man in Rome bearing a sign that read “Pensioners – Pissed Off and Furious.”Ahead of the demonstration, a spokesperson for the OSA student movement, 18-year-old Laura Teresi, told AFP she expected a “massive” mobilization that would empty out schools.“We will take to the streets to denounce the rearmament policies of (Italian Prime Minister Giorgia) Meloni’s government and the rising cost of living, which is weighing ever more heavily on families, workers and students,” she added.The students will also protest against the “endless budget cuts to teaching,” Teresi said.Law and order-Following the October 17-18 weekend of clashes between youth and police in Milan, Meloni’s hard-right government toughened laws on public gatherings while easing rules on detaining minors.The government also last week agreed on a 175.2-million-euro ($195 million) aid package for truck drivers, farmers and fishermen hit by soaring fuel prices linked to the war in the Middle East.Measures in favor of young people and families are also planned in the draft 2027 budget currently being discussed among the various governing parties, such as an annual bonus of 2,500 euros for workers under 30.“I hope this can provide answers for young people in general… who feel that the state doesn’t care about them,” Meloni said at a press conference on Wednesday, stressing that these measures were “not for those who smash windows.”Times of Israel Staff contributed to this report
Israel held direct elections for PM between 1996-2001-Opposition bloc said weighing direct PM elections to break political deadlock-Citing sources in bloc, Channel 12 says parties considering model last proposed by Netanyahu in 2021; could pass in Knesset with 61 votes, with anti-PM parties currently holding 67
By ToI Staff Today, 5:19 pm-OCT 31,26
Parties in the opposition “change bloc” are considering advancing legislation to introduce direct elections for prime minister, according to a Friday night report on Channel 12, which said the bloc is looking to form a minority government without relying on the support of Arab parties amid the political deadlock following Tuesday’s election.According to the report, the opposition parties are referring to the move as the “Netanyahu 2021 model,” as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself pushed a similar proposal following the inconclusive March 2021 election, after his own efforts to assemble a coalition had stalled.The proposal would allow voters to elect the prime minister separately from the government, potentially offering a way out of the current deadlock.The anti-Netanyahu parties won 67 seats in the 120-member Knesset, potentially giving them enough votes to advance legislation even before the shape of the next government is settled.Netanyahu’s opponents are split between Jewish-led “change bloc” parties — Yashar, B’Yachad, The Democrats and Yisrael Beytenu — which will hold 48 seats, and Arab-led parties, which will hold a record high of 19. Netanyahu’s supporters will hold 53 seats, short of a 61-seat majority in the 120-seat Knesset.According to the report, sources in the “change bloc” confirmed that the parties are considering advancing legislation for direct elections, though the report noted that it is one of several ideas being considered, and that a decision has not yet been made.Under such a system, a candidate who wins a direct election for prime minister could theoretically form a minority government without securing a Knesset majority.Israel’s quasi-constitutional Basic Law: The Government requires a prospective government to win a vote of confidence in the 120-seat Knesset before it can be sworn in.Introducing direct elections would therefore require amending the law, a move requiring the support of at least 61 Knesset members, which the opposition bloc would theoretically have if supported by Arab parties.It is unclear who would lead the opposition bloc as candidate for prime minster in the event of a direct election, as the main parties did not agree to back one leader ahead of Tuesday’s election, with Yashar’s Gadi Eisenkot, B’Yachad’s Naftali Bennett and Yisrael Beytenu’s Avigdor Liberman all vying for the top spot.Opposition parties did not publicly comment on the Channel 12 report.Israel briefly experimented with direct elections for prime minister in the 1990s — Netanyahu’s first election to the premiership, when he defeated Shimon Peres in 1996, was also Israel’s first direct election for prime minister.However, the country reverted back to voting only for parties five years later, because the move further fragmented the electorate with people have to vote for small sectorial parties after casting a vote for a mainstream prime ministerial candidate, making it even harder to cobble together viable coalitions.The last time a direct election was held in Israel for the premiership was in 2001.
Ex-defense minister Ya'alon calls for cooperation with Ra'am-Opposition parties said planning to quickly replace Knesset Speaker Ohana-Anti-Netanyahu parties said holding talks on matter, though Liberman may be reluctant to ally with Arab MKs; goal would then be to establish a state commission of inquiry into Oct. 7, 2023, failures By ToI Staff Today, 1:10 am-NOV 1,26
The political parties opposing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are planning to oust the current Knesset speaker, Likud’s Amir Ohana, shortly after the new Knesset is sworn in next month, according to Friday reports.The “change bloc” — Yashar, B’Yachad, The Democrats and Yisrael Beytenu — together with Arab-led parties the Joint List and Ra’am, control the majority of the 120 Knesset seats, with 67 seats, and will therefore be able to remove Ohana from his current position.Channel 12 political analyst Barak Seri reported on Friday that a deal to oust Ohana had already been reached. While Seri did not say who the likely candidate to replace him is, reports have indicated that the opposition parties were considering tapping former prime minister Yair Lapid.Speaking with Seri on Channel 12 on Friday evening, Democrats chairman Yair Golan said “the first thing we will do” after swearing in the 26th Knesset is to appoint a new speaker, then appoint heads of Knesset committees and establish a state commission of inquiry into the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel.Seri reported that the vote on a new speaker would likely happen the day the new Knesset is sworn in, November 10, regardless of ongoing talks to form the next coalition.Kan news also reported Friday that the opposition bloc planned to move swiftly to replace Ohana. However, it said Liberman was not necessarily on board with the move, as he remains reluctant to cooperate with the Knesset’s Arab parties, whose support will be necessary to make the switch.If Liberman does not wish to vote in favor, other party leaders are asking his party to abstain, which would still give the opposition a simple majority in the plenum, the report said.Speaking to Channel 12, Golan also expressed optimism that the change bloc could form the next government with the support of the Arab-led parties, despite Liberman’s public refusal to entertain the notion.Golan strongly rejected the idea of any unity government that includes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, saying, “Absolutely not. That would be another Netanyahu government… he is a national security risk.”Golan argued that the opposition parties “can establish a government and we must establish a government,” despite receiving only 48 seats out of the 120-member Knesset. With Ra’am, the bloc would have 56 seats, while the Joint List controls another 11 seats.Golan said he met with Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot, B’Yachad No. 2 Yair Lapid and Ra’am chief Mansour Abbas on Thursday, “and I found all three deeply determined to form a government.”Ra’am could join the change bloc in a coalition and the Joint List could provide support from outside, Golan said, adding that the Arab parties would agree not to hold seats on the security cabinet due to the “sensitivities of the Israeli public.”He reiterated that the opposition alliance “will form a government that I believe can be stable, but even if its tenure is limited, we will be able, in a relatively short time, to save Israeli democracy and, most importantly, Israel’s security.”Channel 12 reported that Liberman and Lapid were set to meet as early as Saturday to discuss the issue of replacing Ohana.Liberman reiterated on Friday his party’s refusal to join any coalition that includes the two Arab-led parties in the next Knesset. “We will not sit with supporters of terrorism!” he wrote on Facebook, citing a number of statements and actions from Ra’am and Joint List MKs.He pointed to Joint List MK Ofer Cassif — the faction’s only Jewish member — supporting South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, Ra’am MK Yasser Hujirat’s refusal to call Hamas a terrorist organization, and Joint List MK Osama Saadi singing the Palestinian national anthem on election night.The High Court last month overturned a Central Elections Committee decision to disqualify both Ra’am and the Joint List from running, but the court pressured Sami Abu Shehadeh, the chairman of Balad — one of the three factions in the Joint List — to drop out of the race or face disqualification for expressing support for armed struggle against Israel.“Anyone who wants to rely on supporters of terrorism is welcome to do so,” Liberman wrote. “Yisrael Beytenu will not be part of it.”Former defense minister calls for cooperation with Ra’am-Moshe Ya’alon, a former hawkish defense minister turned vocal Netanyahu critic, called on the Jewish-led opposition parties on Friday to form a government with Ra’am and offer a ministerial post to its chair Abbas.In a lengthy post on X, Ya’alon, who said he knows the Ra’am leader both personally and professionally, sang Abbas’s praises, calling him a “courageous Arab Israeli leader” and noting that he has both recognized Israel as a Jewish and democratic state and supports universal enlistment, either in the military or in national service, two conditions set out by Eisenkot for working with any party.He contrasted Abbas’s actions with those of far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, recalling how, during the violent clashes in mixed Jewish-Arab cities in May 2021, he visited the sites of the violence “to douse” flames fanned by “Ben Gvir’s Kahanists” — a reference to the late far-right rabbi Mair Kahane.“I know Itamar Ben Gvir from his time as a subject of Shin Bet surveillance, when he incited hatred, agitation, and violence in the Hebron area,” Ya’alon wrote. “He was convicted on eight separate indictments for his actions, including support for a (Jewish) terror organization.“I know Bezalel Smotrich from the period leading up to the Disengagement, when he was arrested on suspicion of planning to detonate 700 liters of fuel on Route 1,” the former defense minister and IDF chief continued.“Mansour Abbas is not Jewish, but I would hope that most Israeli citizens align more with his values than the values of the messianists, racists, and fascists.”“Mansour Abbas needs to be appointed a minister in the Israeli government,” Ya’alon said. “Stop accepting the rules of the game by those who are responsible for October 7 and who are prepared to burn down the country just to stay in power.”Party leaders name faction chairs-Incoming parties to the 26th Knesset have begun appointing Knesset faction chairs ahead of the swearing-in on November 10.Eisenkot announced that incoming lawmaker Roy Folkman will serve as his party’s Knesset chair. Folkman was a member of Knesset for the now-defunct Kulanu party between 2015 and 2019, and served as its faction chair.Eisenkot praises Folkman as a man with “extensive political experience” who has the necessary “intellectual sharpness, creativity, and proven leadership ability” for the job.B’Yachad’s Bennett, meanwhile, appointed MK Eitan Ginzburg, a member of Blue and White in the outgoing parliament, as his party’s Knesset chair.Argentine-born Ginzburg previously served in several parliamentary roles, including as head of a number of Knesset committees. He also served as communications minister for a brief stint of some six weeks before the dissolution of the Netanyahu-Gantz government in June 2021.
After talks in Tehran, Pakistan military ‘cautiously optimistic’ on US-Iran mediation-Trump says Iran wants to keep negotiating and that US ‘has time’ to do so; IRGC Navy claims 4 tankers exploded in Hormuz after traversing routes unauthorized by the Islamic Republic-By Agencies and ToI Staff 30 October 2026, 11:32 pm
Pakistan’s military is “cautiously optimistic” about its mediation between Iran and the United States, its spokesman said on Friday in his first interview since a high-level delegation visited Tehran this week.Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir — Pakistan’s chief mediator in its efforts to de-escalate the now eight-month-old Iran war — has been to Tehran twice this month, most recently on Monday alongside Saudi and Turkish officials.“Why would the Field Marshal be going twice if it is not for some positivity? So yes, of course,” spokesman Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said when asked whether the trips were a positive sign.US President Donald Trump meanwhile said Friday that Iran wants to keep holding negotiations, claiming that the US “has time” to do so.“There are talks, they want to talk, they keep talking,” he told reporters in the Oval Office when asked about the negotiations. “We have time, frankly.”He asserted that the war with Iran is “not a typical war” and was not costing US taxpayers much money, claiming that any money spent “we made up for in Venezuela like by 10 times.”“I spent a lot of money in order to get rid of a nuclear weapon, which we’ve done,” he insisted.Pact does not bar new members-Speaking in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, where Pakistan’s armed forces are headquartered, Chaudhry declined to say what was discussed in Tehran or whether the United States had backed the trip.“The word that we would use is always cautiously optimistic,” added Chaudhry, director general of Inter-Services Public Relations.There were still “powerful spoilers and detractors,” who believed conflict serves them, he added without naming them.Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin joined Munir in Tehran on Monday.Their two countries signed a joint defense pact with Pakistan on August 7, saying an attack on any signatory will be treated as an attack on all.The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement has taken on added significance as the Iran war has redrawn regional alliances and raised fears of a broader Middle East conflict.While the three signatories say the agreement is aimed at collective deterrence and regional security, analysts see its evolution as closely tied to efforts by regional powers to manage the fallout from the Iran-US confrontation.After Monday’s talks, Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said regional security should be ensured by regional countries without foreign intervention.The wording of the pact does not bar new members, Chaudhry said on Friday when asked whether Iran could join.“Anyone who has a shared vision of collective deterrence and regional peace, why not? Everyone is most welcome,” he said, adding that it was for the political leadership of the three principal parties to decide.
Asked whether more Pakistani troops were being sent to Saudi Arabia under the agreement, Chaudhry said that would depend on the situation and the decision of both countries’ political leadership.He said Pakistan was committed to defending Saudi Arabia and the holy sites of Mecca and Medina. “We are not part of the Yemeni conflict, which is an intra-Yemen conflict,” he added.Fighting between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels has intensified in recent weeks, opening a volatile new front in the wider US-Israel war on Iran.The United States Embassy in Riyadh on Friday ordered that non-emergency government employees and their family members leave Saudi Arabia due to safety risks, citing Houthi attacks on civilian airports and other critical infrastructure.US government employees require special authorization to use Saudi airports following recent missile and drone attacks, the embassy stated, warning US citizens of potential further attacks, airspace closures, flight cancellations, and other travel disruptions.Iran reports four tankers exploded in Strait of Hormuz-Also Friday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy said that four oil tankers had caught fire and exploded in the Strait of Hormuz, while attempting to use what it described as unauthorized routes, Iranian state media reported.An IRGC Navy statement said one of the tankers, which was carrying 2 million barrels of crude oil, had hit a mine.Reuters was unable to immediately verify the statement.Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said it had received a report that a vessel was hit by an unknown projectile on its port side about 40 nautical miles (74 km) south of Iran’s Lavan Island, causing a fire onboard. The crew was reported safe, and there was no reported environmental impact, it said.Lavan Island lies in the Gulf, off Iran’s southern coast. It was not immediately clear whether the vessel cited by the agency was one of the three tankers referred to by the IRGC Navy.Tensions have persisted in the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which around one-fifth of global oil supplies pass, since the US-Israel strikes on Iran at the end of February.State media said Iranian forces also downed and captured an MQM-170 US drone over Iran’s Qeshm island near the Strait of Hormuz. There was no immediate reaction from the US military and Reuters could not independently verify the report.Iran also said it had destroyed an unmanned US vessel in the eastern Strait of Hormuz.But the US military’s Central Command denied this and said in a statement on X: “All US military unmanned surface vessels in the Middle East are accounted for, including a squadron of advanced sea drones on patrol in the Strait of Hormuz.”
Analysis 'We clearly don't have any good options'Political deadlock in Israel prolongs financial suffocation of Palestinian Authority-Failure by Netanyahu’s coalition to secure majority offers PA some respite, but improbability of alternative governing options could keep ministers seeking Ramallah’s collapse in power indefinitely By Jacob Magid Follow-30 October 2026, 10:23 pm
Palestinian Authority Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh reacted to the Knesset election this week by calling it an “internal Israeli matter,” but the results have massive influence over the PA’s continued existence.Ramallah would have struggled to survive another four-year term of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s outgoing government, which took a series of measures that brought the authority to the brink of collapse.PA officials desperately hoped Tuesday’s election would produce a new government that would resume monthly transfers of Palestinian tax revenues, which make up a majority of the PA’s budget. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has refused to sign off on the transfers for the past 18 months, with the funds owed to Ramallah amassing over $7 billion.Netanyahu’s current coalition failed to secure a majority in the election, falling to just 53 Knesset seats, but another round of elections would still appear to be the most likely scenario, unless opposition figures violate key election promises not to partner with the longtime premier or ultra-Orthodox and Arab-majority parties.Extended political deadlock effectively produces the same result that a win for the current coalition would have, as it keeps Netanyahu, Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir in their existing positions of influence over affairs in the West Bank, albeit in a caretaker capacity.Even if Israeli politicians are able to form a new government, it could still take several months until a new cabinet is sworn in, as the leading candidate for prime minister is given 28 days to form a coalition, with the option of a 14-day extension. If no government is assembled by then, there are three other opportunities to form a coalition, ranging from 14 to 28 days each, before another election is called for the spring of 2027.Survival mode-Some PA officials have made the end of 2026 an unofficial deadline for Ramallah’s continued operational capacity.There has been no declaration from the PA that it will cease to exist from that period, but it will likely have to make further cuts to services and public sector salaries in 2027 absent the release of its funds.For much of the past year, the PA has only paid its roughly 150,000 public sector employees 50 percent of their salaries.Two Palestinian officials told The Times of Israel that a continued Israeli refusal to release the PA’s funds — in violation of the 1990s Oslo Accords — will likely force Ramallah to issue further cuts to public sector salaries, which are only $1,250 per month on average, before cuts.It would also force further cuts to the health and education sectors, whose hospitals and schools are already running at limited capacity. Public schools are currently open for just three days a week, and hospitals lack many basic medications.“The PA will likely survive beyond 2026, but under even stricter austerity measures, including further reductions in public services and lower monthly salary payments, unless anticipated financial support materializes or withheld tax revenues are released,” said Palestinian analyst Ibrahim Dalalsha, who heads the Horizon Center research group and previously served as an adviser at the since-shuttered US Consulate in Jerusalem.One PA official said pressure from the US on Israel could help secure the release of at least a portion of Ramallah’s funds, but Washington’s interest in the Palestinian issue has been largely limited to Gaza, where the Board of Peace has struggled to commence postwar reconstruction.The PA official said another form of relief could come in the form of financial aid from European or Arab donor countries, but priorities have been shaken by the Iran war, with frustration in Brussels mounting over PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s decision earlier this month to again delay presidential and legislative elections by another year.Unity over minority? Amid all those poor options, the PA official said Ramallah is left hoping that somehow an alternative Israeli government will end up being established.On paper, a minority government led by Yashar chief Gadi Eisenkot, with varying levels of support from the two Arab-led parties, would be the PA’s best-case scenario.But the second Palestinian official argued that such a coalition would end up being more cautious about taking any immediate steps to alleviate the economic and security crisis for Palestinians in the West Bank, so as not to be exposed to further criticism from right-wing opposition.Accordingly, a unity government may offer a better alternative for initial relief, even if it is still headed by Netanyahu. Such a government would likely sideline Ben Gvir, but the similarly hardline Smotrich could well survive the shakeup and remain in the cabinet.“We clearly don’t have any good options, and will need international intervention, but this is where we are,” the Palestinian official said.
Lebanese military court charges 13 over Hezbollah explosives truck-Charges include crimes against internal state security, possession of weapons and explosives, which Hezbollah has said it planned to use against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon-By Agencies 30 October 2026, 8:27 pm
BEIRUT — A Lebanese military court has charged 13 people in connection with a seized truck carrying explosives belonging to the terror group Hezbollah, state media reported on Friday.The charges marked the latest sign of a dramatic shift in relations between Hezbollah and Lebanon after two wars between the Iran-backed terror group and Israel in the past three years.For decades, Hezbollah moved weapons freely in parts of Lebanon. That changed in March, when the government declared the group’s military activities illegal following the outbreak of the latest war.Two defendants were arrested when authorities seized the shipment earlier this month and remain in custody. The other 11 remain at large and were charged in absentia. Five were identified only by nicknames because their real names remain unknown.The cases were referred to the military court’s investigative judge, Claude Ghanem.The charges include crimes against internal state security, possession of weapons and explosives, and forming illegal associations aimed at undermining state authority, the state-run National News Agency said.Hezbollah did not immediately comment.The truck was stopped at a checkpoint on the main highway linking Beirut to the eastern Bekaa Valley earlier this month. It carried 780 kilograms (1,720 pounds) of explosives, including 250 kilograms (550 pounds) of TNT and 250 kilograms (550 pounds) of C-4 plastic explosives, according to judicial officials.The seizure sparked heated public debate, with many accusing Hezbollah of planning to assassinate domestic opponents as it faces mounting pressure to disarm.Hezbollah later acknowledged owning the explosives, saying they were intended for use against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon. It said it had asked Lebanese authorities to return the shipment and release the two detainees.The government outlawed Hezbollah’s military activities hours after the group fired rockets into northern Israel, triggering a war that has killed nearly 4,000 people in Lebanon and left Israeli forces occupying a large swath of the country’s south. Hezbollah fired the rockets two days after Israel and the United States launched a war on Iran, its main backer.Hezbollah has refused to recognize the government’s decision.
Report: Shin Bet letting Hamas operatives choose to be killed alone or with their families-IDF identifies at least six members of terror group it killed in airstrikes this week, including a commander involved in holding numerous hostages in the Strip after Oct. 7 attack-By Nurit Yohanan and Emanuel Fabian 30 October 2026, 5:49 pm
As Israel continues to target Hamas operatives in Gaza, the Shin Bet security agency reportedly has been calling members of the terror group ahead of strikes, offering them a choice: Leave their homes and be killed alone, or be killed along with their family members.The report published Thursday in the Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat stated that such incidents occurred at least five times in recent months, citing Palestinian sources familiar with the cases, which could not be independently verified.The Shin Bet and Israel Defense Forces have not commented on the report, which came amid intensifying scrutiny over civilian killings in the Gaza Strip that Israeli officials say are a result of Hamas’s tactics to embed its fighters and weapons caches within civilian areas.The report said Mohammad Alyan al-Bayouk, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis on Wednesday, was on the roof of his home when he was targeted. Before the strike, he received a phone call from Shin Bet officers, who allegedly told him to choose between being hit alone on the roof and sparing his family, or staying inside.Al-Bayouk, who the IDF on Friday identified as a member of Hamas’s elite Nukhba Force, chose to go up to the roof, where he was killed.His aunt was seriously injured when she chased after him in an attempt to stop him from going outside after the call, according to a relative who spoke to the newspaper.The military said al-Bayouk was one of four Hamas operative killed Wednesday in IDF strikes across southern Gaza. It named the other three operatives as Hammam Jaber al-Sayed Abu Labda, Mahmoud Abu Naameh and Mohammed Hamad Shariq Abu Sultan, who the IDF said were together at the time of the strike in Rafah.Later Friday, the IDF confirmed it also killed two terror operatives on Thursday in central Gaza’s Nuseirat, including Ihab Jamil Abu Taqiya. The military said he was a Hamas commander involved in holding hostages taken during the October 7, 2023, invasion of southern Israel that sparked the Gaza war, including Raya Rotem, Hila Rotem Shoshani, Emily Hand, Ohad Ben Ami, Noa Argamani, Andrey Kozlov, Shlomi Ziv, Almog Meir Jan, Maxim Herkin, Yosef Haim Ohana, Segev Kalfon and Alex Lobanov.The same strike also killed Ibrahim Gihad Muhammad Abu Oshaiba, identified by the military as a Hamas platoon commander.The IDF said all the Hamas operatives had been advancing attacks on troops and Israeli civilians and acted to restore Hamas’s capabilities, “in systematic violation of the ceasefire.”Separately, two Hamas weapon depots were also destroyed Thursday night in strikes in the central Strip’s Bureij camp and in Gaza City.The military said Hamas used the sites to store dozens of various weapons, including RPGs, explosive devices, rockets, Kalashnikov rifles, grenades and other equipment.Ahead of those airstrikes, the military said it issued warnings to Gaza civilians residing in the areas to mitigate harm to them.Israel in recent months has increasingly targeted terror operatives in Gaza, including numerous terrorists who took part in the Hamas-led October 7 atrocities, saying they posed a threat to Israeli forces.After a US-brokered ceasefire took hold in Gaza in October 2025, the so-called Yellow Line was established to divide the areas under Israeli control — recently expanded to some 63 percent of the territory — from those under Hamas control.Hamas reportedly told a UN official earlier this month that it was prepared to carry out an October 7-style attack in Israel, the West Bank or abroad, following the IDF’s expansion past the Gaza ceasefire line and the Palestinian Authority’s cancellation of legislative elections in November.Implementation of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza has stalled, with Hamas refusing to disarm and Israel refusing to withdraw from any part of Gaza until that condition is met.
Israel razes homes of gunmen who carried out deadly Hebron shooting attack-Troops separately arrest four terror suspects in Jenin; police launch arson investigation afters settlers reportedly torch Palestinian home-By Emanuel Fabian, Nurit Yohanan and ToI Staff 30 October 2026, 5:02 pm
The Israel Defense Forces on Friday razed the homes of the two gunmen who carried out last week’s deadly shooting attack on soldiers at a checkpoint in the West Bank city of Hebron.During the attack on October 23, Hebron residents Mohammad Jaaba and Firas Jaaba killed Staff Sgt. Ron Yonatan Roytman and Sgt. Yuval Shai Svilem. Roytman, a squad commander, and Svilem both served in the 775th “Ari” Battalion of the Home Front Command’s Search and Rescue Brigade.Three other soldiers from the battalion sustained light and moderate injuries in the shooting.The two Palestinian gunmen were shot dead at the scene following a 20-minute gunfight with Israeli soldiers.The military later confirmed troops operated in Hebron to raze the two homes, releasing video from one of the demolitions.Footage published earlier by Palestinian media also showed one of the homes being blown up.Separately, the military said troops apprehended four Palestinian terror suspects on Thursday in the northern West Bank city of Jenin.Troops of the Duvdevan Commando Unit raided Jenin following intelligence provided by the Shin Bet on the whereabouts of the four wanted Palestinians, according to the IDF, which said the four were “terrorists who traded in weapons” and had been part of a former terror network in Jenin.They were taken to be questioned by the Shin Bet, the army added.Also Friday, Palestinian media outlets reported that settlers set fire to a building overnight in the area of the South Hebron Hills in the southern West Bank.There were no reports of injuries.Police said they had launched an investigation into suspected property damage, graffiti vandalism and the suspected arson of an unoccupied building.“Police officers from the Hebron station and forensic investigators from the Judea and Samaria District are at the scene, under IDF protection, and have begun collecting evidence and taking witness statements as part of the investigation,” police said.The incident came days after Palestinian media outlets reported that two Palestinians were injured in a settler attack near another Palestinian village in the Hebron area.Violence in the West Bank has soared since the Hamas attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war in October 2023.More than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers since the war started, according to the PA health ministry. The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops, or terrorists carrying out attacks.During the same period, 67 civilians and Israeli security personnel have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another eight members of the security forces were killed in clashes during raids in Palestinian cities in the West Bank.The same period has also seen a major surge in attacks by settler extremists on Palestinians and their property across the West Bank. The IDF recorded 867 incidents of nationalistic crime and settler violence in 2025. The total for 2024 was 682 incidents.Critics accuse the government of condoning and even encouraging the violence, which has led to the displacement of dozens of Palestinian families.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other ministers have regularly downplayed the burgeoning violence as a marginal concern, claiming that nearly all incidents are the work of a few hundred wayward youths.
THE FALSE VATICAN POPE LEO 14TH LEADS THE MULTIFATH FALSE CHURCH.
ISAIAH 23:15-17
15 And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot.
16 Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
17 And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.(COULD THIS BE 70 YEARS AFTER ISRAEL BECAME A NATION IN 1948)(IF SO THIS SATANIC ONE WORLD WHORE CHURCH WILL MINGLE TOGETHER BY 2018)(AND NOW ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY AND ALL RELIGIONS ARE MINGLING AS ONE PEACE-LOVE-JOY-GET ALONG RELIGION LEAD BY THE VATICAN RIGHT NOW 4 YEARS FROM THE 70 YEAR TIME WHEN ISRAEL BECAME A NATION).AND IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM.
REVELATION 13:11-18
11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth;(FALSE VATICAN POPE) and he had two horns like a lamb,(JESUS IS THE LAMB OF GOD) and he spake as a dragon.(HES SATANICALLY INSPIRED,HES A CHRISTIAN DEFECTOR FROM THE FAITH)
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him,(WORLD DICTATOR) and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.(THE WORLD DICTATOR CREATES A FALSE RESURRECTION AND IS CROWNED LEADER OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER).
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM
REVELATION 17:1-18
1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:(VATICAN)
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication,(VATICAN IN POLITICS) and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.(THATS PEDOPHELIA-FORNICATION IS SINGLES HAVING SEX OUT SIDE OF MARRIAGE)(AND SINCE PREISTS CAN NOT MARRY IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THIS FALSE CHURCH GOES AGAINST THE BIBLE.THE CATHOLIC CHURCH BECOMES A HOMOSEXUAL HAVEN OF PEDOPHILIAS FACTORY).
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4 And the woman (FALSE CHURCH) was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour,(VATICAN COLOURS)(ANOTHER REASON WE KNOW THE FALSE POPE COMES FROM THE VATICAN) and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:(THE VATICAN GOES AGAINST A PRIEST MARRING A WOMAN-LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS-AND WHATS AN ABOMINATION AGAINST GOD-HOMOSEXUALITY AND PEDOPHILIA JUST LIKE THIS SCRIPTURE SAYS-FORNICATION IS THE SINGLE HOMOSEXUAL PRIESTS IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH HAVING UNMARRIED FORNICATION OR SEX WITH SINGLES-IN THIS CASE ITS SEX WITH CHILDREN OR PEDOPHILIA)
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.(THE VATICAN IS BUILT ON 7 HILLS OR MOUNTAINS)
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen,(1-ASSYRIA,2-EGYPT,3-BABYLON,4-MEDO-PERSIA,5-GREECE) and one is,(IN POWER IN JOHNS AND JESUS DAY-6-ROME) and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.(7TH-REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE OR THE EUROPEAN UNION TODAY AND THE SHORT SPACE IS-THE EUROPEAN UNION WILL HAVE WORLD CONTROL FOR THE LAST 3 1/2 YEARS.BUT WILL HAVE ITS MIGHTY WORLD POWER FOR THE FULL 7 YEARS OF THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD.AND THE WORLD DICTATOR WILL BE THE BEAST FROM THE EU.AND THE VATICAN POPE WILL BE THE WHORE THAT RIDES THE EUROPEAN UNION TO POWER.AND THE 2 EUROPEAN UNION POWER FREAKS WILL CONTROL AND DECIEVE THE WHOLE EARTH INTO THEIR DESTRUCTION.IF YOU ARE NOT SAVED BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS.YOU WILL BE DECIEVED BY THESE TWO.THE WORLD POLITICIAN-THE EUROPEAN UNION DICTATOR.AND THE FALSE PROPHET THAT DEFECTS CHRISTIANITY-THE FALSE VATICAN POPE.
11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.(VATICAN-CATHOLICS ALL AROUND THE WORLD OVER 1 BILLION)
16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast,(WORLD DICTATOR) these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.(GOD HIMSELF GIVES THE OK TO NUKE THE VATICAN)
17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.(VATICAN)
HOW THE FALSE POPE IS ELECTED
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj3Qnr_30Z4
POPE FRANCIS SISTER (PEDOPHILIA WAY WORSE THEN THOUGHT) (CARDINAL MATEO TERESCO-THE NEXT COVERUP POPE OF PEDOPHILIA)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usFshfmBPmY
FALSE POPE LEO 14TH 2012 INTERVIEW
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXVkJ5TQi1s
POPE 14TH WILL BE WORSE THAN FRANCIS.
https://banned.video/watch?id=681cf97a22a2c8ae0e09b5d0
Overview of the Oleshky Ceasefire Controversy
• Melania Trump's Announcement: U.S. First Lady Melania Trump and the White House announced a localized, multi-day humanitarian ceasefire in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky in southern Ukraine's Kherson region. The White House stated she initiated and managed the talks to allow food, medical aid, and civilian evacuations.
• Role of Pope Leo XIV: Critics, media reports, and geopolitical observers accused the First Lady's office of taking or splitting credit that belonged to Pope Leo XIV. The Pope had directly contacted Russian President Vladimir Putin a week earlier from the hospital to request a humanitarian truce in the same flooded, besieged town.
• Dual Involvement & Coordination: While the White House credited Melania Trump's direct channel with Russian and Ukrainian leadership, reports and Ukrainian officials noted that the framework involved overlapping diplomatic efforts, with Melania welcoming the Pope Leo's public and private backing.
Key Details of the Agreement
• Location: Oleshky, a Russian-occupied city in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine.
• Objective: Establish a humanitarian corridor, deliver emergency supplies, restore limited access, and evacuate stranded residents (particularly elderly citizens and children) living amid mined roads and military attacks.
• Timeline: The localized truce and coordinated evacuation operations went into effect around late October 2026 (with varying start dates cited between October 27 and October 29).
Melania Trump, Pope Leo broker humanitarian ceasefire for ravaged Ukraine city Oleshky-Ceasefire for Oleshky in southern Ukraine to begin late next week
Thomson Reuters · Posted: Oct 23, 2026 12:02 PM EDT | Last Updated: October 23
Melania Trump has secured a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in the Russian-controlled city of Oleshky, which will begin on Oct. 29, the White House said on Friday.Residents of the southern Ukrainian town, occupied by Russian forces since February 2022, have reported a deepening food crisis."Both nations agreed to temporarily stop all military action in Oleshky to allow for humanitarian aid to enter and to prepare a civilian evacuation through a designated safe passageway," a White House statement said.The statement said Melania Trump and her representative worked directly with Russian and Ukrainian leadership to define the terms of the localized ceasefire."The situation in Oleshky is dire. Oleshky is a front-line war city on the brink of disaster. Oleshky's remaining population is comprised primarily of elderly residents who urgently need medical attention, medicine, food and clean water," Melania Trump said in the statement.The ceasefire will allow non-military teams from both countries to visit residents in their homes and co-ordinate transportation for those wishing to evacuate to either Russia or Ukraine.An aerial view of a city with several high-rise buildings destroyed or heavily damaged is shown.Ukraine's top negotiator, David Arakhamia, said on Telegram that the humanitarian operation would start once a ceasefire was in place.Arakhamia said the accord, the result of a long process involving Melania Trump and also Pope Leo, would set up a humanitarian corridor for residents to leave and allow assistance into the town.The Kremlin said an evacuation in Oleshky would take at least a few days. It praised Melania Trump and said work was underway to ease the humanitarian situation in Oleshky after Russian President Vladimir Putin told Pope Leo he was ready to co-operate on the issue. Leo and Putin reportedly spoke by telephone last week.Russian forces will halt fire from 4 a.m. local time on Oct. 27 to facilitate the humanitarian operation, Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov said on Friday.Since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the White House early last year, Melania Trump has been been active in trying to get Ukrainian children seized by Russia during the war returned to their families.Oleshky, located across the Dnipro River from Kherson, has a remaining population of 1,700 to 2,000 people — primarily elderly residents, along with about 50 children — down from roughly 24,000 before the war, the White House said. About 90 per cent of the city was flooded following the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam, according to the White House.Plans for talks in the works-Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that peace negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the United States had agreed to meet at a technical level in the first half of November in Abu Dhabi.Zelenskyy, in comments to the Hudson Institute think-tank, said he spoke with U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff on Friday after their meeting with Putin earlier this week. Zelenskyy said any peace agreement would need strong security guarantees for Ukraine and funding for 10 years to maintain the Ukrainian army.Previous rounds of talks with mediation from Turkey did not change the landscape of the war, though exchanges of war prisoners followed.The developments Friday come after a two-week period in which the White House's interventions into the nearly five-year war have received bracing criticism from Ukraine's European allies, Democrats and even some Republicans.First, President Trump struck a deal with Putin to import diesel. The Trump administration has pressured Kyiv to halt its attacks on Russian energy infrastructure — which it blames for driving up the price of diesel.Trump announced soon after, unilaterally, that the two sides had agreed to a ceasefire on energy attacks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was open to that possibility, but Russia had shown no inclination to halt its fire.Zelenskyy on Oct. 14 then said Elon Musk's SpaceX had restricted its Starlink services. Throttling the speed of the satellite service, according to Ukraine officials, hampers its ability to conduct strikes on Russian targets and to defend itself from Russian drones using its own interceptor drones.Trump and Musk, along with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have since offered shifting explanations on precisely what occurred and who ordered the Starlink services throttled."Whether I called or whether somebody else called, doesn't make any difference, I guess," Trump told reporters on Thursday. "The bottom line — [Musk] put it back."The relationship between Trump and Zelenskyy has often been tense since 2019, when the U.S. president was impeached, though ultimately acquitted in the Senate, of pressuring the Ukraine president for political favours in exchange for military aid to Kyiv. Last year, Trump and Vice-President JD Vance berated Zelenskyy in the White House for what they perceived as a lack of gratitude for U.S. support of Ukraine.In fighting on Friday, Moscow's largest airport, Sheremetyevo, resumed operations after it was forced to briefly suspend its work and ask passengers to move to safe locations due to a Ukrainian drone threat.Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in a statement on Telegram that air defence forces had shot down 21 Ukrainian drones that were headed to the Russian capital over a 2-hour period.Rosaviatsiya, Russia's aviation watchdog, said earlier on Friday that three of Moscow's airports had temporarily suspended flight operations, something they do when there is Ukrainian drone activity.The warring sides engaged in another exchange of war prisoners, Ukraine officials confirmed on Friday, involving 270 people on each side being repatriated. Earlier in the week, the two sides exchanged the bodies of several people killed in the war, in Belarus.More than 19,000 Ukrainian civilians, including 762 children, have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale war, Ukraine's acting prosecutor general said on Friday.In 2026 alone, Ukrainian prosecutors confirmed the deaths of 2,960 civilians, including 668 children, Anton Kovalskyi said on Telegram.With files from CBC News
