Israel News, Thursday, 27.11.2025  

 Israeli settlers set fire to a mosque in the West Bank, according to Palestinian reports. Germany, the U.K., Italy and France condemned the “massive increase of settler violence” in the West Bank and called on Israel to protect Palestinian civilians. Neither Israel nor Hamas is willing to take the steps required in order to advance to the cease-fire’s second stage, a senior Palestinian official told Haaretz. The IDF said it has killed more than 370 people in the year since Israel signed a cease-fire agreement with Lebanon.  

■ WEST BANK: Israeli settlers set fire to the Al-Falah Mosque north of the village of Biddya on Wednesday night, according to Palestinian news reports. Graffiti sprayed at the scene included the words “Am Yisrael Chai” and a Star of David.

• In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Germany, Italy, France and the U.K. said that they “strongly condemn the massive increase of settler violence against Palestinian civilians and call for stability in the West Bank,” urging Israel to abide by international law and protect Palestinians from settler attacks.
  
• Footage published Thursday by an Egyptian news channel showed Israeli soldiers killing two Palestinians at close range after they had surrendered during an operation in Jenin. The IDF said that “the incident is under review by the commanders on the ground, and will be transferred to the relevant professional bodies.”
  
• A 24-year-old Israeli settler was indicted in a Jerusalem court for allegedly assaulting a 53-year-old Palestinian woman during the olive harvest in the West Bank town of Turmus Ayya last month, which was captured on video and widely circulated on social media.
  
• The IDF said soldiers killed a Palestinian man after he threw an explosive device at them during a counterterrorism operation in the Qabatiya area on Wednesday, adding that the soldiers later located and dismantled several explosives found in the man’s vehicle.

■ LEBANON: The IDF said it had struck Hezbollah operation sites across southern Lebanon, later saying in a statement it has killed more than 370 people and launched 1,200 strikes in the year since Israel signed a cease-fire agreement with Lebanon.

“Washington believes it can compel the Lebanese government and Army to disarm Hezbollah, and that Israeli strikes in the country may encourage them to do so. Despite realizing that the current escalation could likely intensify and become dangerous, U.S. officials are optimistic. They hope that the strikes could force Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to choose between war and entering a diplomatic negotiation with Israel, normalizing ties, and even joining the Abraham Accords, no less” – Liza Rozovsky

■ GAZA CEASE-FIRE: Neither Israel nor Hamas is willing to take the steps required in order to advance to the cease-fire’s second stage, namely a significant Israeli withdrawal from the enclave on one hand, and the handover of Hamas’ weapons on the other, a senior Palestinian official briefed on the talks taking place in Cairo told Haaretz.

• According to the source, PM Netanyahu doesn’t want to withdraw any further out of the Strip ahead of the election due next year, and “isn’t interested in progress so long as there is no real international pressure, mainly from America.” Another Arab source said Israel may still be looking at a military option as a way of disarming Hamas and thus is in no hurry to move on to the cease-fire’s second stage.
  
• Hamas is not ready to disarm without a clear commitment to a complete Israeli withdrawal and a detailed plan for who would get the weapons it surrenders and who will be enforcing the process, Palestinian and Arab sources said.
  
• Five Palestinian prisoners were released from Israel and transferred to Gaza’s al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah on Thursday, the Palestinian Center for Prisoners Advocacy said.

“Palestinian sources said that the involvement of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who met senior Palestinian Authority officials in Ramallah this week, was criticized. The sources said that Blair is seen as a proxy for Jared Kushner rather than as someone leading an internationally-backed independent process. Amid diplomatic hesitation and prolonged talks about negotiations, no progress is being made on rebuilding Gaza. Gaza rescue services told Haaretz that there has been almost no progress in clearing the rubble and suitable equipment to recover the thousands of bodies buried beneath collapsed buildings is lacking” – Jack Khoury

■ ISRAEL: A High Court of Justice hearing related to the investigation of the leak of a video allegedly showing Israeli guards abusing a Palestinian detainee was halted after repeated outbursts from the gallery, including one spectator who shouted at Supreme Court President Isaac Amit, “You’re a criminal; you lied … to the court.” Physical scuffles erupted outside the courtroom after Amit ordered it cleared.

• After the session resumed without an audience, Amit said he is “not aware of any democratic country where people behave like this in its Supreme Court. This is a serious, direct blow to the separation of powers and, quite simply, to Israeli democracy.”
  
• At his corruption trial, Netanyahu told the judges that testifying three days a week as required was “virtually impossible,” adding that he had “to delay critical discussions on matters about which the public knows nothing and hears only a small portion.” Netanyahu’s remarks came even though the three-judge panel allowed him to significantly cut short two days of testimony this week.
  
• The Shin Bet security service said it has arrested several suspects in recent weeks for allegedly smuggling weapons funded by an Israeli citizen living in Turkey with ties to Hamas, who authorities said used family and social connections in the central Israeli town of Kafr Qasem to set up a network for transferring arms and money to the West Bank.

■ ISRAEL-U.S.: A dozen U.S. senators, led by Democrats Chris Van Hollen and Jack Reed, urged U.S. President Trump to review a report issued in September by the U.S. State Department’s Inspector General, which found that IDF units committed “many hundreds” of potential violations of U.S. human rights law in the Gaza Strip that would take the Department “multiple years” to review. They added that the report is “the latest confirmation…of failures to uphold American human rights laws and policies governing the use of U.S. weapons.”

• Far-right Israeli lawmaker Tzvi Succot was notified that his application for a visa had been rejected during an interview at the U.S. embassy, Channel 12 News reported. Succot was among a group of protesters who stormed the Sde Teiman detention facility last year, demanding the release of IDF reservists who had been detained on suspicion of abusing a Palestinian prisoner held at the site.

■ ISRAEL-FRANCE: France has urged Israeli authorities to guarantee the security of its diplomatic missions, the French Foreign Ministry said, sharply condemning an incident last week in which far-right lawmakers berated a French consulate employee, saying they would “make sure you can’t work here,” and two recent demonstrations near the consulate led by a deputy mayor of Jerusalem protesting France’s recognition of Palestine.