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In-Depth Issues:
Hamas Will Have 60 Days to Disarm or IDF Will Complete the Mission - Lazar Berman ( Times of Israel)
Israeli Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Monday in Jerusalem that the Trump Administration asked for a 60-day period for Hamas to disarm and "we are respecting that."
During that time, Hamas "will have to give up all of its weapons," including its AK-47 rifles.
See also Trump Tells Hamas to Proceed with "Full and Immediate" Disarmament ( AFP-Arab News-Saudi Arabia)
President Donald Trump on Sunday urged Hamas to move forward with disarmament under his plan for postwar Gaza.
"Very importantly, Hamas must uphold its commitment to Full and Immediate Demilitarization," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
See also Hamas Seeks to Create "a Semblance of Disarmament" - Gabrielle Weiniger ( The Times-UK)
An Israeli security source said that Hamas was collecting light weaponry from civilians by setting up checkpoints in areas it controls, in the face of a U.S.-led call to surrender arms.
Ofer Guterman, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University, said the effort by Hamas to create a "proxy" stockpile "creates a semblance of disarmament, while the major armed factions themselves do not dismantle their arsenal."
Israel and Syria Edging toward Security Agreement ( AFP-Al Arabiya)
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said Saturday that negotiations on a security deal with Israel were focused on "the withdrawal of Israel" from Syrian territory occupied after Assad's ousting on Dec. 8, 2024, "not from the Golan Heights."
Israel and Syria have held several rounds of direct talks in recent months, and after talks held in Paris in January, they agreed to establish an intelligence-sharing mechanism.
See also Syria's Messaging to Israel - Seth J. Frantzman ( Jerusalem Post)
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani's statement means Syria tends to think that arguing over the Golan Heights is a lost cause.
Shaibani is hinting that Damascus and Jerusalem may be able to reach more arrangements in the future.
Poll: Syrians Warm Up to U.S. and Israel under New Regime - Carl Campanile ( New York Post)
65% of Syrians view U.S. engagement in the country positively, compared to 12% who disapprove, according to a YouGov poll conducted on Jan. 8-15, 2026, commissioned by the Council for a Secure America.
59% said peace with Israel is likely in the future, compared to 14% who said it's unlikely.
64% of Syrians support a security arrangement with Israel, while 9% oppose.
70% of Syrians described Hizbullah as having a negative impact on the country.
See also Survey of Syrian Public Opinion, Jan. 2026 - ( Council for a Secure America)
Poll: Only 6 Percent of Arabs Accept Recognizing Israel - Ray Hanania ( Arab News-Saudi Arabia)
87% of citizens in the Arab world oppose recognition of Israel while only 6% accept it, according to a new survey by the Arab Center Washington DC.
Of those 6%, "half made such a move conditional on the formation of an independent Palestinian state," said Tamara Kharroub, deputy executive director at the ACW.
These findings have been consistent with every such poll conducted since 2014.
The highest rates of opposition to recognizing Israel were recorded in Libya (96%), Jordan (95%), Kuwait (94%), and the Palestinian territories (91%).
The Middle East's Emerging Sunni Coalition Is a Strategic Threat to Israel - Yoni Ben Menachem ( Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs)
Senior officials in Jerusalem are expressing deep concern over Turkey's growing regional and international standing, and Ankara's apparent ambition to position itself as a nuclear-capable regional power as it senses the early stages of erosion within the Iranian regime.
On Sep. 4, 2019, President Erdogan declared, "We cannot accept a situation in which major powers possess nuclear weapons while Turkey is denied such capabilities."
On Feb. 9, 2026, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told CNN that Turkey is considering the broader strategic implications of joining a regional nuclear race. At present, Turkey is constructing its first of three planned civilian nuclear power plants.
Israeli security officials argue that Erdogan is moving rapidly to encircle Israel diplomatically.
Ankara is working to consolidate the Sunni world, transforming former Arab rivals, including Egypt, into partners in a broader alignment that could redirect regional momentum against Israel.
A coalition of Sunni Muslim states is taking shape, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, and Pakistan.
See also Israel Maps Turkey's Growing Perimeter - Shay Gal ( Israel Hayom)
Turkish military entrenchment across the Syrian frontier, a permanent presence on Cypriot territory, corridor assertions to Libya in the central Mediterranean, and security frameworks in Somalia constitute layers of depth for Ankara.
In Jerusalem, Turkey is assessed through the Turkish perimeter doctrine, a consolidated reading of all Turkish friction lines, military entrenchments, and forward projections as a single expanding strategic envelope.
Turkey is a NATO member with an expanding defense industry, assertive leadership, and armed forces that combine legacy platforms with indigenous drones, naval expansion, and a growing missile inventory.
This is alongside strategic energy infrastructure on its Mediterranean coastline built under Russian ownership and strategic dependence, and coupled with declared ambitions for independent nuclear fuel capability.
Maritime infrastructure linking Israel to Europe via Cyprus and Greece crosses waters that Ankara contests.
Israel's F35I Jets Now Have Range-Extending Fuel Tanks - Emanuel Fabian ( Times of Israel)
Israel has modified its F-35I fighter jets to have extended range capabilities, Yechiel Leiter, Israel's ambassador to the U.S., told Israel Hayom in an interview.
"We developed fuel tanks that extend the aircraft's range without compromising stealth, and we added four missiles on the wings."
"The number of flight hours our pilots have on the F-35 is greater than that of all the pilots of the other foreign countries that were partners in developing the aircraft," Leiter said.
"The feedback from our pilots reaches Lockheed Martin. When I visited there a few weeks ago, their CEO told me that Israel's information and developments 'are worth many billions to my company.'"
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
- Trump Told Netanyahu He Would Support Israeli Strikes on Iran's Ballistic Missile Program - Margaret Brennan
President Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in December that he would support Israeli strikes on Iran's ballistic missile program if a deal between Washington and Tehran could not be reached, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Internal discussions between senior figures in the U.S. military and intelligence community have started to contemplate the possibility of supporting a fresh round of Israeli strikes on Iran.
American deliberations have focused on how the U.S. might assist, including the provision of aerial refueling for Israeli aircraft and securing overflight permission from countries along the potential route. Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have all publicly said they would not allow their airspace to be used for any strikes on Iran.
(CBS News)
- Popular Anger Burns in Iran after Crackdown - Susannah George
Seething popular anger in Iran has not abated in the weeks following a government crackdown that killed thousands of protesters, according to accounts from inside the country. Iranians described to the Washington Post a society deeply traumatized, with many people saying they only recently learned the full extent of the violence, as security forces continue to carry out waves of arrests.
"Some of us don't work because we are still grieving, but some of us cannot work because there are no reliable prices," said a Tehran shopkeeper, 40. Inflation has skyrocketed since the crackdown, and with the added threat of U.S. strikes, no one wants to spend any money, he said.
A woman who participated in the protests said she saw security forces open fire into the crowds.
"Seeing the mass killing all over the country felt like waking up from a deep sleep with a slap on my face. I am so ashamed to be alive. I am also full of rage," she said. "The real enemy is the Islamic Republic and any country or army that can weaken or attack them is going to liberate us."
Alex Vatanka, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, said the Iranian government "didn't mind the optics. In fact, they wanted to show how ruthless they were. Right now they want society to be scared. They don't care about the reputational cost. It's about survival." (Washington Post)
- In Iran, a Deepening Economic Crisis - Jared Malsin
Iran's economic meltdown, which triggered protests that threatened the regime's grasp on power, is getting worse. The value of the rial has weakened from 1.4 million to the dollar at the end of last year to 1.6 million. Iranians continue to report fast-rising prices for basic foods.
Iranians reached by the Wall Street Journal said they were taking extra jobs, selling their possessions, and wrestling with radically reshaped living standards. Iranians said most people are grinding through each day or looking for ways to leave the country. Those trying to pull their money out of banks have been hampered by controls that limit access to foreign currency. (Wall Street Journal)
- Smuggled X-Rays Reveal Iranian Forces Shot Point-Blank at Protesters - Tess McClure
More than 75 sets of medical images - primarily X-rays and CT scans - were shared with the Guardian from one hospital in a major city in Iran, taken over the course of a single evening during the regime's January crackdown on protesters. They tell of the deadly violence inflicted on protesters and onlookers by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
They provide further evidence that guards switched from traditional "crowd control" to opening fire with high-caliber assault rifles and shotguns. The records present a pattern of people being shot in the face, chest and genitals. Many of the images reveal catastrophic injuries that may be fatal.
Medical experts note that the images would only reflect patients who have survived to the point where doctors are able to administer detailed scans. Most people shot by a high-caliber round to the head, for example, wouldn't have got a CT scan.
X-rays of the chest of one patient show 174 metal pellets sprayed into his right chest cavity, the metal balls tightly packed, indicating he was shot at extremely close range. His risk of death would be very high, medical experts say. (Guardian-UK)
News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
- Netanyahu: "Gaza Will Not Pose a Threat Ever Again to the State of Israel"
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem on Sunday:
In his recent meeting with President Trump, "I expressed my skepticism of any deal with Iran, because, frankly, Iran is reliable on one thing, they lie and they cheat. But I said that if a deal is to be reached, it should have several components that we believe are important."
"The first is that all enriched material has to leave Iran. The second is that there shall be no enrichment capability - not stopping the enrichment process, but dismantling the equipment and the infrastructure that allows you to enrich in the first place. And the third is to deal also with the questions of ballistic missiles....The fourth is, dismantle the axis of terror that Iran has built....The last thing is...distrust and always verify. So there has to be real inspections, substantive inspections."
"We also spoke about Gaza....Hamas must first be disarmed and then Gaza must be demilitarized. Disarmed means that it must give up weapons....They did the worst massacre of the Jewish people since the Holocaust with AK-47 [assault rifles], 60,000 of them. They have to go....Gaza will not pose a threat ever again to the State of Israel."
"The first requirement to defeat antisemitism is to fight antisemitism. It's the only way. There's no other way....In front of these vilifications, do not cower. Do not bend. Do not bow your head. Fight back, because people respect those who respect themselves....Silence will not help. Looking askance will not help, fight back." (Prime Minister's Office)
See also Video: Netanyahu Addresses the Conference of Presidents (Prime Minister's Office)
- Israel Will Not Agree to Deployment of Foreign Forces in Gaza without Hamas Disarmament - Danny Zaken
A diplomatic source acknowledged that the practical establishment of a multinational force for Gaza was still far off, as were agreements among all parties on its deployment. All countries that have agreed to be included in the force have made clear they will not send troops to Gaza before Hamas is disarmed.
In Israel, officials believe Hamas's refusal to disarm will continue to delay and obstruct any negotiations over the full conclusion of the war and the reconstruction of Gaza. Without a viable agreement on disarmament and the creation of an enforcement mechanism, Israel will not consent to the deployment of other forces on the ground. The prevailing assessment is that once the ultimatum period granted to Hamas ends, the IDF will renew military pressure. (Israel Hayom)
See also Morocco, Albania, and Greece to Join Indonesia in Gaza Stabilization Force - Yonah Jeremy Bob (Jerusalem Post)
- Israel Escalating Lebanon Strikes to Cripple Hizbullah - Sam Halpern
The IDF has been escalating its strikes on terror targets in Lebanon in recent days in preparation for another round of war with Iran, N12 News reported on Monday. Strikes on Hizbullah operatives, rocket launchers, and weapons stores are part of an effort to cripple Hizbullah's ability to aid Iran in a potential conflict.
Since the start of February, the IDF has killed 12 Hizbullah and Islamic Jihad terrorists in Lebanon, Maariv reported. Since the ceasefire went into effect in November 2024, the IDF has continued to strike at terrorist operatives who have been engaging in activities that violate the ceasefire conditions.
(Jerusalem Post)
Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis:
Iran
- U.S. Ambassador: U.S. and Israel "Absolutely Aligned" on Iran - Itamar Eichner
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem on Monday that "the United States and Israel are absolutely aligned on Iran. Iran cannot continue their nuclear and ballistic program. Iran is not Israel's problem; it is the world's problem. For 47 years, Iran has said 'death to America.' They preface that with 'death to Israel,' but only because Israel is in the way." (Ynet News)
Huckabee said, "There's a lot of significant and legitimate doubt that the Iranians will ever agree to something that would cause them to lay down any ambitions of nuclear weaponry. At some point, the United States needs to say: enough is enough, we're not going to continue to believe that they're ever going to be different than they are. And it's time for them to either make a radical change of their point of view and their direction, or for them to experience what we call in the south, the 'second kick of a mule.'"
"They cannot remain a nuclear threat. They cannot continue to build extraordinary surpluses of ballistic missiles and aim them, not just at Israel, but also at the rest of the world." (Times of Israel)
Huckabee added, "Israel stands in the way of Iran's ultimate goal: the destruction and annihilation of American culture."
Referring to accusations against him for being a Christian Zionist, he said Christian Zionism "is a simple understanding that as Christians we recognize there wouldn't be such a thing as Christians if there wasn't such a thing as Judaism. It simply wouldn't exist. We have a debt, an obligation, if you will, to be grateful, for you're the trunk of the tree from which our branches derive. If God could break a covenant with the Jewish people, then what on earth would I possibly have as a foundation to think that he would ever keep a covenant with me?" (Ha'aretz)
- Hundreds of Iranian Protesters Sentenced to Death in Online Trials - Danny Zaken
In the past two weeks alone, hundreds of demonstrators arrested during last month's protests in the Islamic Republic of Iran have been sentenced to death in expedited proceedings. Most of these trials were conducted online, in rapid fashion, with almost no opportunity for the accused to respond or mount a defense.
A Tehran resident involved in documenting the protests told Israel Hayom that, according to figures in his possession, the families of more than 3,000 detainees received notices that their relatives had died. Many were required to pay ransom in order to retrieve the bodies. He said, "This is a directive from above as part of a policy of terror aimed at crushing the protest movement, while circumventing promises made to the Americans that there would be no executions."
Meanwhile, crude oil exports from Iran's Persian Gulf terminals fell to 1.39 million barrels per day in January, compared to 1.8 million barrels per day in the same month last year. The difficulty in marketing its oil has forced Tehran to offer discounts of 20-30% below the global benchmark price per barrel.
A U.S. official said, "It is quite astonishing that despite Iran's economic dead end, it continues to haggle over the nuclear issue and refuses to discuss other matters as though it still holds countless bargaining chips. It has almost none, aside from the military threat to its neighbors and to American interests in the region. This rigidity in negotiations leads to the assessment that Iran's leadership is operating on a fundamentally flawed appraisal bordering on illusion." (Israel Hayom)
Gaza
- IDF International Lawyers Guided Forces during Gaza War - Yonah Jeremy Bob
IDF commanders received operational legal advice throughout the Gaza war over the last two years from three dozen full-time IDF International Law Department (ILD) lawyers, together with 100 reservist legal advisers stationed with the IDF high command, at IDF regional headquarters, and near the front lines at division headquarters. ILD lawyers were in position at headquarters and in the field by 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 7.
No one had ever fought a war with an enemy so deeply entrenched in their civilian population, and who so systematically abused international law, as the IDF faced with Hamas, a senior IDF legal official said.
The ILD had to deal with mass arrests, mass detention, and large-scale rules for interacting with the Gazan civilian population in real time and unpredictable situations. It also advised the government regarding humanitarian obligations to Gazan civilians post-evacuation.
(Jerusalem Post)
Israel and the West
- The West's Suicidal Empathy - Ariel Bulshtein
Professor Gad Saad, 61, born in Lebanon to a Jewish family that fled during the civil war, is the author of The Parasitic Mind - How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense. In it, he uses the imagery of viruses and parasites to describe how harmful cultural ideas can hijack public discourse, academia, and social institutions, damaging freedom of expression, critical thinking, and basic logic of ostensibly rational human beings.
"Those who want to control us try to control both our cognitive system and our emotional system," Prof. Saad explained. "In my new book, Suicidal Empathy,...I focus on the way they try to manipulate our emotions."
"Empathy is a wonderful thing that every social creature needs. But like everything else in life, empathy must be applied in the right amount, in the right situation, and toward the right objects. When it's applied incorrectly, it harms the person possessing it to the point of threatening their existence. In my book, I examine a long series of domestic and foreign policy issues where the West adopts approaches that endanger its existence, and I show how they all stem from suicidal empathy."
Suicidal empathy works overtime when it comes to Israel. "If you go to study in Middle Eastern studies programs at any institution of higher learning in the West, they teach you that Israelis are white colonialists, devoid of any ancestral rights to the land they conquered, that they're evil exploiters oppressing the noble and peaceful Palestinians, who opened the door to white Jews from Austria and Russia, and the Jews exploited the opportunity to steal the land from its owners."
"Islamist groups don't hide that they intend to conquer the West through three methods - the womb, immigration, and exploiting the West's freedoms against it. Why does the West refuse to see this clearly?...The West tries to be understanding, compassionate, considerate, and generous toward other cultures, assuming they'll reciprocate in kind, while other cultures interpret the West's behavior as a sign of weakness....Blind Westerners mistakenly think that the values embedded in their culture are also dear to other cultures' hearts - and nothing could be further from the truth."
Two years ago, Prof. Saad was pushed out of Concordia University, which had been his academic home for many years. His presence on campus became too dangerous, literally. The same Jew-hatred he knew in Lebanon caught up with him even in distant Canada. Now he teaches at the University of Mississippi. (Israel Hayom)
Palestinian Arabs
- The Palestinian "Constitution" to Destroy Israel - Bassam Tawil
As part of an attempt to persuade the U.S. and the international community that the Palestinians are seeking to create a democratic state "based on the rule of law and human dignity," the Palestinian Authority leadership last week published a 162-article draft "constitution."
It shows that if the Palestinians have a state of their own, it would not be different from the two mini-states they have had for the past two decades: the Hamas regime in Gaza and the PA in the West Bank.
Both Palestinian regimes have deprived their people of democracy, opportunity, free elections, and freedom of speech.
The new "constitution" reaffirms the "right of return" for Palestinian refugees and their descendants to their former, mostly no-longer-existent homes inside Israel; the continuation of stipends paid to Palestinian terrorists - a program also known as "Pay-for-Slay," and the perpetual denial of the Jews' far-reaching history and religious roots in Jerusalem.
Article 3 on Jerusalem states: "The [Palestinian] state is committed to preserving its religious character and protecting its Islamic and Christian sanctities." Notice something missing? In the eyes of the Palestinians, only Islam and Christianity have sanctities in Jerusalem. The Palestinians have been falsely claiming for many years that the Western Wall - a retaining wall of the Second Temple that was destroyed by the Roman Empire in 70 CE - is not sacred to Jews because it is just another wall of the adjacent Al-Aqsa Mosque (built in 1035 CE).
The new "constitution" designates the official religion of a Palestinian state as Islam, with Sharia law to be the "primary source for legislation." For the Palestinians, the Jews simply do not exist.
Contrary to claims that the Palestinian leadership had decided to end its "Pay-for-Slay" program, the program was never canceled. Instead of listing the recipients as prisoners or "martyrs," the PA has relabeled them as civil servants, security force personnel, and pensioners, so that they continue to benefit from the funding as a legal right.
This "constitution" demonstrates that the Palestinians still have not come to terms with Israel's right to exist, still have not abandoned their dream of destroying Israel, and are still as committed as ever to encouraging terrorists to murder more Jews. (Gatestone Institute)
Observations:
- It appears that a principled decision to strike at the Iranian regime was taken two months ago at Mar-a-Lago. What we have seen in recent days, and what we are likely to see soon, is not a series of impulsive reactions; it is a managed and carefully planned event, advancing according to clearly defined stages.
- The first stage is the campaign of the slain: a continuous flood of death tolls, harrowing footage, and testimonies seeping out of Iran following a partial reopening of the internet. The U.S. needs a smoking gun, a casus belli, a justification for war. Americans require a moral and political rationale to legitimize a broader move.
- The second stage is talk of a siege, the creation of a sense of tightening suffocation. The Iranian regime is accustomed to living under sanctions. Nevertheless, it creates an appearance of pressure, a sense that diplomacy is underway. It is a pattern Trump has used repeatedly.
- The third stage is discourse - negotiations. Iran will talk and threaten, while simultaneously sending quiet messages and asking for time. However, the terms placed on the table will be such that the Iranian regime cannot accept them. The real demand is not the dismantling of the nuclear program, but the dismantling of the regime's very essence, and the radical Shiite regime in Tehran cannot agree to its own dissolution.
- Here the central element comes into play: surprise. The strike, when it comes, will not be a symbolic event nor a one-night operation. It will be a prolonged aerial campaign, sustained over time, with repeated waves of strikes targeting regime symbols, Revolutionary Guard headquarters, the Basij militia, and the infrastructure of control and repression.
The objective is not merely to damage military capability, but to create conditions under which the people take to the streets.
- Trump either enters the history books as the one who freed the Middle East from an extremist regime that destabilizes the global order, or he falls into the Iranian trap of delays, prolonged talks, and stalling tactics.
The writer, a former senior officer and operations commander in Israel's security forces, is an expert on Iran, influence operations, and strategic perception at the Jerusalem Center.
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