Palestinian man reportedly wounded in West Bank settler attack
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January 03, 2026
January 03, 2026
A Saudi-UAE face-off in Yemen exposes the myth of a unified pro-Western axis | Analysis
On Tuesday, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks with U.S. President Trump and his team on the Gaza Strip, Syria, Lebanon and the rest of the active war fronts, an unusual drama was unfolding in Yemen. Saudi Arabia attacked two United Arab Emirates ships carrying weapons, military equipment and vehicles en route to the Houthi militia in control of areas in southern Yemen.
Later, at Saudi Arabia's instruction, the chairman of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi, ordered the United Arab Emirates to get its forces out of the state within 48 hours and announced the annulment of the defense agreement the two states had signed.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE are allies and partners in the Gulf States' Cooperation Council with a substantial mutual trade exceeding tens of billions of U.S. dollars. They are both seen as close allies of the United States and are part of the so-called pro-Western axis in the Middle East. They fought side by side against the Houthis as part of the Arab coalition Saudi Arabia set up in 2015.
Yemen is one of the places where the "axes" approach that has characterized U.S. and Israeli policy shapers in the Middle East over the recent decades falls to pieces. This is also the assumption that sees the Abraham Accords as something that could break walls and make alliances, ensure military solidarity and serve as a kind of joint security belt that operates according to joint interests that overcome each state's individual interests. Anyone looking for an anti-Iranian Arab "axis" had better look at the Yemenite case.
Hundreds of billions or a trillion? The true cost of Israel's longest and most costly war | Haaretz Magazine
IDF soldiers in Jabalya, the northern Gaza Strip. Credit: Moti Milrod
IDF soldiers in Jabalya, the northern Gaza Strip. Credit: Moti Milrod
Although the 2026 state budget has already been approved by the government (though not yet by the Knesset), it is already clear that the defense allocation rests on a fiction.
This is not conjecture but an explicit assessment by Amir Baram, Director General of the Defense Ministry. While the government has agreed on a defense budget of 112 billion shekels, Baram said this week that exceeding it would be inevitable. He also laid out how the fiction operates: "The Treasury knows that the scope of missions imposed by the political leadership on the defense establishment far exceeds the budget framework. It chronically underfunds defense and then accuses the IDF of overruning the budget – something everyone knows will happen."
This dynamic has shaped relations between the Treasury and the defense establishment for decades. It begins with an effort to rein in military spending, improve efficiency, and preserve a manageable deficit, but it ends when those assumptions collide with security realities that were either unforeseen or conveniently ignored when the budget was approved. In ordinary years, the gap between the defense budget and actual spending runs to a few billion shekels. Since October 7, those gaps have ballooned into the tens of billions.
UN chief deeply concerned over Israel's suspension of NGOs
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is deeply concerned by Israel's announcement of a suspension of the operations of several international non-governmental organizations in occupied Palestinian territory and called for the measure to be reversed, according to a statement on Friday.
"This announcement comes on top of earlier restrictions that have already delayed critical food, medical, hygiene and shelter supplies from entering Gaza. This recent action will further exacerbate the humanitarian crisis facing Palestinians," Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the secretary-general, said in the statement.
Palestinian man reportedly wounded in West Bank settler attack
Palestinian media reported that a Palestinian man was wounded during a settler attack in the West Bank. According to Palestinian sources, several settler incursions took place on Friday evening in different locations.
In Khirbet Ibziq, near the northern West Bank city of Tubas, settlers reportedly attacked and wounded a Palestinian man.
In Burin, near Hebron in the southern West Bank, a group of settlers was seen moving among residential homes.
In Far'ah, near central West Bank Salfit, dozens of settlers entered the northern side of the village, roaming between houses and reportedly firing live ammunition.
Iranian foreign minister rejects ‘interference’ after Trump says U.S. ready to assist protesters
Iran's Foreign Minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, said Iranian forces are "on standby" after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to come to protestors' aid if Iran killed protesters. "Iran will forcefully reject any interference in their internal affairs," Araqchi wrote on Friday in a post on X.
Iranian Foreign Minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, statement on Trump's 'locked and loaded' comments, on Friday. Posted on X @araghchi
"We have witnessed isolated incidents of violent riots – including attacks on a police station and throwing of Molotov cocktails at police officers," he wrote. "Given President Trump's deployment of the National Guard within U.S. borders, he of all people should know that criminal attacks on public property cannot be tolerated. This is why President Trump's message today, likely influenced by those who fear diplomacy or mistakenly believe it is unnecessary, is reckless and dangerous."
"Our Powerful Armed Forces are on standby and know exactly where to aim in the event of any infringement of Iranian sovereignty," he added.
IDF troops kill Palestinian who crossed Gaza's Yellow Line
Israeli troops in southern Gaza killed a Palestinian who crossed the Yellow Line, which separates the Israeli-controlled part of Gaza from the Palestinian-controlled part of the Strip.
According to the IDF, the "terrorist ... approached the troops, posing an immediate threat to them."
Over 50 international aid groups critize Israeli move to revoke licenses of aid organizations operating in Gaza, West Bank
Fifty-three international organizations operating in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank said on Friday that Israel's decision to revoke the licenses of 37 aid groups threatens to halt their work at a time of "acute and widespread humanitarian need."
A Palestinian patient arrives the Doctors Without Borders or Medecins Sans Frontieres clinic, in the al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City on Wednesday. Credit: Omar al-Qattaa/AFP
A Palestinian patient arrives the Doctors Without Borders or Medecins Sans Frontieres clinic, in the al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City on Wednesday. Credit: Omar al-Qattaa/AFP
The organizations said in a statement that the groups whose licenses were revoked are "integral to the humanitarian response" and work in cooperation with the United Nations and Palestinian organizations to provide life-saving assistance.
Signatories include Amnesty International, Diakonia, ActionAid, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), British charity Oxfam, the Norwegian Refugee Council and Islamic Relief, which Israel has previously accused of supporting Hamas and banned from operating in Israel. Some of the organizations that signed the letter are among those whose licenses have been revoked.
Ex-IDF intelligence general who sent Netanyahu warnings before Oct. 7 laid to rest; ex-IDF chief calls for state commission of inquiry at funeral
Hundreds attended the funeral on Friday of Brig. Gen. Amit Saar, head of the Military Intelligence Research Department at the time of the October 7 massacre, who died of cancer on Thursday at the age of 47.
Brig. Gen. Amit Sa'ar appointed as head of the IDF Intelligence Directorate's Research Department, in 2020. Credit: IDF Spokesperson's Unit
Brig. Gen. Amit Sa'ar appointed as head of the IDF Intelligence Directorate's Research Department, in 2020. Credit: IDF Spokesperson's Unit
Saar was buried at the Kiryat Shaul military cemetery in Tel Aviv.
Funeral of Brig. Gen. Amit Sa'ar, at the military cemetery in Kiryat Shaul, Friday. Credit: Itai Ron
Funeral of Brig. Gen. Amit Sa'ar, at the military cemetery in Kiryat Shaul, Friday. Credit: Itai Ron
Former IDF chief Aviv Kochavi said at the funeral that the investigation into the failures that led to the October 7 Hamas attack must be conducted by "a state, independent commission of inquiry made up of professionals." He said the commission "must be one that those appearing before it trust and believe in its purpose."
Among those attending the funeral were former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot; former defense ministers Yoav Gallant and Moshe Ya'alon; Gal Hirsch, who led efforts to search for and rescue hostages and missing persons; and Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder, the current head of Military Intelligence.
RECAP: Trump: U.S. is 'locked and loaded and ready' to protect Iranian protesters if attacked by regime
Here are some of Friday's updates from the Israel-Gaza war:
■ Israel asked Qatar to increase funds transferred to Hamas in Gaza in September 2023, according to reports by Yedioth Ahronoth.
■ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has landed in Israel after a trip to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump for the fifth time in 2025.
■ President Trump warned, in a Truth Social post, that Washington would intervene if Iran used lethal force against peaceful demonstrators.
■ Several people were killed during protests over Iran's worsening economic conditions, according to Iranian media and rights group.
■ IDF announced that it struck Hezbollah military infrastructure and a training compound for the elite Radwan Force in southern Lebanon.
■ Foreign ministers from eight Arab and Muslim nations urged Israel to allow immediate humanitarian aid to Gaza amid worsening conditions.
■ A Palestinian Bedouin family fled their home in the Taibeh area in the West Bank, following recurring harassment by settlers from nearby outposts.
■ 15 people, including children, were evacuated for medical treatment following tear gas inhalation by IDF forces in the village of Khallet al-Louza, south of the West Bank city of Bethlehem, according to Palestinian reports.
■ Hollywood actor and former UN special envoy, Angelina Jolie, visited the Rafah crossing to assess the condition of wounded Palestinians transferred to Egypt and examine the flow of aid into the Gaza Strip.
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