A proposal calls for nearly quintupling Israel’s public diplomacy - or hasbara - budget.  The plan calls for increasing the propaganda budget to $729 million in 2026, up from $150 million this year. The significant boost to the public diplomacy fund comes as Israel's...

Leaders in Congress released the details of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) post-conference committee. The military spending bill will be voted on this week.   The compromise NDAA will require President Donald Trump to keep at least 76,000 American...

A Hamas official explained the group was willing to take steps towards disarmament in an effort to progress negotiations on moving into the second phase of President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan.  “We are open to have a comprehensive approach in order to...

The chief of the Israeli military said the IDF will not withdraw any further, and he considers the current partition line in Gaza as the new border.  “We have operational control over extensive parts of the Gaza Strip and we will remain on those defence lines. The...

The US Ambassador to Turkey and Syria said that Israel can “claim” to be a democracy, but should aspire towards “monarchy.” “I don’t see a democracy [in the Middle East],” US envoy Tom Barrack told the Doha forum. “Israel can claim it’s a democracy but in this region,...

Adm. Alvin Holsey, the commander of US Southern Command who abruptly announced he was stepping down in October, was pushed out by US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The report said that Hegseth and Holsey were at odds...

Israel is in the process of erecting a new 13-mile-long separation fence in the Jordan Valley. The wall will isolate Palestinian villages and cut off farmers from their land.  According to Haaretz, the IDF is in the advanced stage of building the barrier. Last month,...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel had won its war, but was in a never-ending conflict.  The Israeli leader told The New York Times’ Dealbook Summit, “We won this war. But it’s never ending. It’s like if you have cancer and you take it out, it...

President Trump sent a short handwritten letter to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the former al-Qaeda leader who took power in Damascus with his group of jihadists, known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), nearly one year ago. “Ahmed, you will be a great leader — and...

Israeli strikes hit near a field hospital in Gaza, killing five Palestinians. The bombs hit a tent camp, causing fires.  A spokesman for the Gaza civil defense force said, “Five citizens, including two children, killed and others injured, some seriously, as a result...

The Knesset advanced legislation that approves President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his Likud party boycotted the vote.  On Wednesday, legislation introduced by Israeli opposition...

Pope Leo XIV has warned the US against invading Venezuela to oust President Nicolas Maduro amid a major US military buildup in the Caribbean and threats of the US launching a regime change war. Leo was asked about the US threats against Venezuela during a press...