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Israel Realtime, 48 ROCKAWAY TURNPIKE, Lawrence, NY (2026)

09/17/2026

🇮🇱 IDF ARRESTS, PARTY LEADER SECURITY, RELIGIOUS DISPUTES AND ELECTION RULING

🕑 Published: September 17, 2026 · 7:30 PM Israel time

❌ IDF reports approximately 230 arrests and more than 100 weapons confiscated: Over the past several months, troops searched more than 1,200 locations in Judea and Samaria, including an explosive-device production facility. Soldiers located equipment used for terrorism, M16 ri**es, magazines, am******on, pistols and submachine guns. The IDF released footage of Nahal Brigade operations in the area.

⚖️ Rabbis’ association to challenge Selichot segregation restriction: The Tel Aviv Municipality is prohibiting gender segregation “by physical means” at a Selichot event at Tel Baruch Beach. The Association of Community Rabbis, which is organizing the event, announced that it will petition the District Court.

🔹 Bedouin council head backs Otzma Yehudit after meeting Eisenkot: The head of the Shibli–Umm al-Ghanam Bedouin local council met with Wasserlauf today, a day after participating in a meeting with Yashar chairman Eisenkot. Declaring support for Otzma Yehudit and criticizing Ra’am, he said: “Anyone who is against the state is also against me.”

Following Eisenkot’s meeting with Arab local council heads, Netanyahu said: “They’re all counting on a government that relies on the Arab parties.”

🛡️ Shin Bet authorized to decide protection arrangements for additional party leaders: The Ministerial Committee for Shin Bet Affairs, meeting without the prime minister, decided today that the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) may independently determine the security arrangements required for party leaders who are private citizens and currently lack protection. The authorization runs until the 26th Knesset is sworn in.

Zini will decide whether and how to provide protection for Eisenkot, Golan and Ofer Winter. Bennett, Lapid and Liberman already receive protection because of their previous positions.

🔹 Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef issues voting prohibition amid contrasting Shas contacts with Ben-Gvir: Rabbi Yosef said: “According to Jewish law, it is forbidden to vote for someone who has no fear of God and who ascends the Temple Mount.”

The accompanying source commentary questions whether Shas is concerned about losing voters to Ben-Gvir. Two days earlier, Shas Council of Torah Sages member Rabbi Elbaz greeted Ben-Gvir with hugs and kisses. Separately, after Ben-Gvir arrived uninvited at the home of Rabbi Yigal Cohen of Shas, the rabbi distanced himself and signaled that he did not support him.

⚖️ High Court permits parties to receive polling-station turnout information: Overturning a Central Elections Committee decision, the court ruled that party representatives at polling stations may inform their parties which voters have come to vote.

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09/17/2026

🇮🇱 OPPOSITION RIVALS CLASH OVER COALITIONS

🕑 Published: September 17, 2026 · 6:30 PM Israel time

🔹 Bennett challenges rotation talk as Eisenkot rejects Netanyahu’s leadership

After Eisenkot’s No. 2 did not categorically rule out a rotation agreement with Netanyahu, Bennett said: “This kind of talk is very troubling to me. All this discussion makes it harder to form a Zionist government.”

Bennett and Liberman met today. Bennett’s office said they discussed the steps needed to secure an election victory and other issues on the current agenda.

Speaking to Kan Bet, Eisenkot said:

“A rotation is not on the agenda. As a matter of principle—and I have said this dozens of times in the past—I fundamentally oppose this whole device of having an alternate prime minister. I oppose rotation. A prime minister should be elected for four years so that they can implement plans and advance domestic and regional initiatives.

“So these are two separate statements: Netanyahu, like all members of the cabinet on October 7, is unfit to lead. And regarding rotation—I am unequivocally opposed to an alternation government and to a rotation, and to all the tricks and gimmicks that have accompanied us in recent years.”

Eisenkot accused Bennett and Liberman of undermining their electoral prospects: “They are hurting the chances of winning”. He also criticized Bennett’s role in the previous government: “He played along with the manipulation in the ‘change government.’ Lapid should have become prime minister then. I will not allow a prime minister with six seats—it’s undemocratic.”

🔹 Eisenkot proposes an ethical code requiring departing lawmakers to return their seats

Following Amit Segal’s report, Eisenkot was asked how he would prevent “Shiklis and Silmans” in his own party. In a response also directed at Bennett, he said:

“Silman, Shikli, and their associates would not have been in my party. I think what Shikli and Silman did was disgraceful. We will have an ethical code requiring anyone who disagrees with the party’s path and wants to leave the party not to defect, but rather to return their Knesset seat.”

His criticism contrasts with his recent statement about Shikli: “I respect him for his principled decision to leave.”

🔹 Yisrael Beiteinu sets coalition conditions; Golan urges opposition unity

Responding to Eisenkot’s remarks, Yisrael Beiteinu said:

“Avigdor Liberman has no ego and has experience, and experience teaches us that pressure must not be projected at any stage. Yisrael Beiteinu is committed to forming a Zionist government without Netanyahu, the Arab parties, or the Haredi parties—one that will pass a conscription law applying to everyone, with no quotas, no targets, and no exemptions for anyone, and that will establish a state commission of inquiry in accordance with the law as the next government’s first decision. What matters is strengthening the bloc of those who serve and forming a stable government. Gadi Eisenkot would do well to make it clear to the public who his partners will be the day after the elections.”

The accompanying source commentary interprets the closing sentence as an insinuation that Eisenkot intends to cooperate with Ra’am. The statement itself does not name Ra’am or establish such a plan.

Democrats chairman Maj. Gen. (res.) Yair Golan urged Eisenkot, Bennett and Liberman to stop attacking one another and work together to replace the government. He criticized the government over the massacre, draft evasion and abandonment, and argued that leadership disputes should be secondary to the country’s interests.

Golan said they would all recommend the same candidate for prime minister, noted that he had already stepped aside, and called on the others to do likewise. He urged a coordinated bloc campaign and higher voter turnout, describing the coming 40 days as the most important in the country’s history.

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09/17/2026

⚓ U.S. ENFORCES IRAN BLOCKADE AS REUTERS REPORTS HOUTHI TALKS AND SAUDI ARABIA SEEKS AIR-DEFENSE AND DIPLOMATIC SUPPORT

🕑 Published: September 17, 2026 · 6:00 PM Israel time

⚓ An MH-60 Sea Hawk helicopter lifts off from the flight deck of USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) as the destroyer enforces the U.S. blockade against Iran in the Arabian Sea. As of September 15, U.S. forces had redirected 103 commercial vessels to ensure compliance.

🔸 Senior U.S. officials met with Houthi representatives in Oman over the weekend after the group seized a strategic stretch of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, Reuters reported. The Houthis have not confirmed the meeting, which included sanctioned Houthi official Mohammad Abdulsalam and Abdelmalik al-Ajri.

According to Reuters, the Houthi representatives told U.S. officials they would not attack American vessels, Israeli ships or commercial vessels, saying only Saudi vessels would remain targets. This marks a notable shift in their stated policy: since the May 2025 ceasefire, the Houthis had explicitly excluded the U.S. from their attacks while continuing to target Israeli-linked shipping.

🛡️ Saudi Arabia is running low on missile interceptors amid continued Houthi attacks and has asked the UK, France, Pakistan and Egypt for air-defense support, AP reported.

🔸 Saudi Arabia also asked China to privately press Iran to restrain the Houthis following their seizure of Yemen’s Red Sea coast and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, Reuters reported. Three Iranian sources said Beijing conveyed the message to Tehran, going beyond its public calls for restraint.

Iran responded that regional stability depends on first ending the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. According to Reuters, China issued no threats and did not use its economic influence over Tehran as leverage.

⚠️ The U.S. raised its travel advisory for Saudi Arabia to Level 3, urging citizens to 'reconsider travel' because of the escalating conflict involving Yemen.

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09/17/2026

🇮🇱 TANZIM OPERATIVE DETAINED IN BALATA; NORTHERN ALERTS LINKED TO LIKELY FALSE TARGET; NETANYAHU VOWS TO DEFEAT IRAN’S REGIME AND ELIMINATE HAMAS

🕑 Published: September 17, 2026 · 5:30 PM Israel time

❌ Undercover officers from the police’s elite Gideonim Unit, also known as Unit 33, detained a wanted Palestinian Tanzim operative last night in Balata refugee camp, on the outskirts of Shechem in northern Judea and Samaria. Police said the 35-year-old Kafr Qallil resident was located in a store and has "access to weapons." Palestinian media identified him as Rami Shalbai. Tanzim is a mostly dormant terrorist group.

"Upon entering the building and identifying the wanted man, the terrorist attempted to flee the scene while resisting the force," police said. Officers shot him in the leg and detained him. He was transferred to the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) for questioning.

🛡️ Sirens warning of a suspected drone infiltration from Lebanon sounded in the northern border communities of Manara and Margaliot. An interceptor was launched toward a suspicious target. An initial assessment indicated it was most likely a false target, but the incident remains under review. Missile and rocket alerts were activated due to the interception attempts.

⚠️ At the Shin Bet Outstanding Employees Ceremony, Prime Minister Netanyahu said: “We will eliminate Hamas, and first and foremost, we will defeat the regime in Iran.”

▪️ Defense Minister Israel Katz said: "If Erdogan wants to help Hamas members in Gaza, he should invite them to move to Antalya"

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09/17/2026

🛡️ IDF ELIMINATES TWO NUKHBA TERRORISTS; NATIONWIDE READINESS INSPECTION BEGINS, KEREM SHALOM DRILL SET

🕑 Published: September 17, 2026 · 2:30 PM Israel time

🎯 The IDF said it eliminated Hamas Nukhba terrorist Sharif Shadi Ibrahim Labad in a strike in northern Gaza two days ago. Labad, a member of Hamas’ military wing, infiltrated Erez Crossing during the October 7 massacre. An additional strike earlier this week eliminated Yusuf Saad Al-Din Rashad Zaim, a Nukhba commander in Hamas’ military wing.

According to the IDF, both terrorists recently advanced attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians and worked to restore Hamas’ capabilities, systematically violating the ceasefire. The IDF said they were eliminated to remove the threats they posed. The accompanying photo shows Labad at Erez Crossing during the October 7 massacre.

🛡️ The IDF announced the start of a joint surprise readiness inspection by the Technology and Logistics Directorate and Home Front Command at several locations across Israel, scheduled to continue until midday.

The exercise assesses technological and logistical alertness and readiness across military branches for a range of unexpected operational scenarios, alongside the Home Front Command’s operational fitness, alertness and preparedness. It includes activating alert procedures and reserves and evaluating decision-making and operational responses at every level, from regional commands, districts, branches and corps to the General Staff.

Increased movement of security forces, military medical personnel and vehicles will be noticeable in various areas. The IDF said there is no concern over a security incident and that the exercise was planned as part of its 2026 training schedule.

🛡️ The Defense Ministry’s Crossings Authority will conduct a security exercise at the Kerem Shalom terminal tomorrow, September 18, from 6:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Gunfire and explosions will be heard during the drill.

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09/16/2026

🎥 IDF RELEASES FOOTAGE OF DISMANTLED TUNNEL ROUTES AND EGOZ OPERATIONS AT ALI AL-TAHER RIDGE

🕑 Published: September 16, 2026 · 11:45 PM Israel time

🎦 The IDF released new footage of underground tunnel routes dismantled beneath the Ali al-Taher Ridge. The material includes body-camera footage from the Documentation Unit inside one route, footage of Yahalom Unit troops dismantling the routes, and additional footage showing one of the routes.

The release also includes a video statement by Commando Brigade Commander Col. M. and footage of Egoz Unit troops operating on the ridge.

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09/16/2026

❌ DUVDEVAN ARRESTS SENIOR ISLAMIC JIHAD TERRORIST NEAR JENIN

🕑 Published: September 16, 2026 · 11:30 PM Israel time

❌ Mohammad Saadi was arrested this morning in Burqin, near Jenin, during a special operation in the Menashe Brigade’s sector, according to a joint IDF and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) statement. Duvdevan commandos carried out the operation under Shin Bet direction, using information it provided on his whereabouts.

According to the statement, Saadi was affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad and was a senior member of the Jenin terrorist network dismantled during Operation “Iron Wall” in early 2025. The IDF said he was “involved in managing and directing funds for terror activities” against IDF forces and Israeli citizens.

The statement highlighted helmet-camera footage from the operation and said security forces would continue proactive and offensive operations throughout Judea and Samaria to thwart terrorism and protect Israeli citizens.

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09/16/2026

🇮🇱 ZAMIR URGES GREATER LEBANESE ARMY EFFECTIVENESS TO ADVANCE HEZBOLLAH DISARMAMENT; IDF TO LAUNCH ROBOTICS BRANCH; ISRAEL AND MOROCCO AGREE TO UPGRADE TIES

🕑 Published: September 16, 2026 · 11:00 PM Israel time

🛡️ HEZBOLLAH DISARMAMENT AND NORTHERN DEFENSE: IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said the Lebanese Armed Forces must “significantly improve their effectiveness on the ground” for Hezbollah’s disarmament to advance through a desired agreement with the Lebanese government. Visiting the 91st Division today, he said the IDF is determined to remove Hezbollah’s presence south of the Litani River while pursuing the broader objective of disarming the organization.

“The war is not yet over, and challenges still lie ahead,” Zamir said, according to remarks published by the IDF. Citing significant operational accomplishments and Hezbollah’s weakening, he added: “We will not allow Hezbollah to rebuild its strength, restore its capabilities, or reestablish terrorist infrastructure in the area.”

Zamir described the 91st Division as northern residents’ front line of defense. Under the updated operational concept, it operates from forward defensive areas and maintains a presence deep inside enemy territory beyond the border, thwarting threats and strengthening protection for northern communities.

Accompanied by Northern Command chief Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo, 91st Division commander Brig. Gen. Yuval Gaz and other senior commanders, Zamir assessed the operational situation and troop readiness. He approved the principles of the area’s defensive concept and instructed commanders to strengthen preparedness and maintain high alertness in line with developments and operational missions.

🤖 IDF TO ESTABLISH ROBOTICS BRANCH: Field intelligence troops, Yahalom troops and 91st Division reservists demonstrated robotic capabilities and advanced weapons supporting operations and defense during the visit.

Zamir said lessons from the war and the rapidly changing battlefield are driving new capabilities and expanded use of manned and unmanned systems. He said the IDF will inaugurate a Robotics Branch in the coming months to develop capabilities in the air, at sea and on land.

He credited systems used during the war, including in the Battle of Beaufort and at the Ali al-Taher Ridge, with improving operational effectiveness and saving troops’ lives. “What you see here is only the beginning,” he said, pledging continued rapid development and adaptation with the aim of becoming a global leader in the field.

🤝 ISRAEL–MOROCCO DIPLOMATIC AGREEMENT: Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz held a trilateral diplomatic summit in New York. They agreed on a series of measures to upgrade relations between Israel and Morocco and advance the Abraham Accords.

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09/16/2026

🇮🇱 IDF ELIMINATES FOUR TERRORISTS IN GAZA; NETANYAHU DEFENDS ISRAEL’S TREATMENT OF MINORITIES AND VOWS TO REVOKE CITIZENSHIP FOR SLANDERING SOLDIERS

🕑 Published: September 16, 2026 · 10:30 PM Israel time

🎯 The IDF announced that a strike last Thursday in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, eliminated Jihad Samih Mahmoud Ismail, a Hamas Nukhba Force squad commander. According to the military, he infiltrated Israel during the October 7, 2023 massacre and participated in the battle with Tank No. 3 near Nirim.

The IDF said Ismail took part in abducting the bodies of tank commander Captain Omer Maxim Neutra, 21, and loader Staff Sergeant Oz Daniel, and taking gunner Sergeant Nimrod Cohen, 19, captive. The tank’s driver, Sergeant Shaked Dahan, 19, was killed in the battle, and his body was taken to Gaza separately.

The military said Ismail carried out ambushes against Israeli troops during the war and recently advanced attacks against troops and Israeli civilians “in systematic violation of the ceasefire.” It said he was “eliminated to remove the threat he posed.”

🎯 Three other Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists were eliminated in separate strikes in northern Gaza, according to the IDF.

A strike earlier today in Gaza City’s Tuffah area eliminated Said As’ad Said Akrim, a commander in Hamas’ Daraj-Tuffah Battalion. The military said he had recently planted explosives and advanced shooting attacks against IDF troops.

Two separate strikes yesterday eliminated Nimer Yasser Nimer Arshi, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad regional artillery operative who participated in rocket launches toward Israel from Daraj-Tuffah, and Ahmed Bazahat Saleh Shaer, a member of Hamas’ Shuja’iya Battalion who had recently been involved in planting explosives.

The IDF said all three had recently advanced attacks against Israeli troops and civilians in systematic violation of the ceasefire and were eliminated to remove the threats they posed.

🇮🇱 At a cornerstone-laying ceremony for a memorial honoring fallen members of the Christian community, Prime Minister Netanyahu said: “We are facing a global assault on the State of Israel and the IDF, in which we are portrayed as perpetrators of war crimes and persecutors of minorities. This is the greatest absurdity imaginable to say about the most moral army in the world and about the State of Israel, which is an island of progress and security. Israel is the only place in the Middle East where the Christian community is flourishing—but the world is being swept up in the big lie.”

⚠️ Following the controversy over the film “Naza,” Netanyahu said: “We will revoke the citizenship of anyone who slanders IDF soldiers, and hit them financially.”

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09/16/2026

⛰️ SAYERET GOLANI COMPLETES 14-MONTH TRAINING AT MOUNT HERMON’S SUMMIT

🕑 Published: September 16, 2026 · 4:30 PM Israel time

Sayeret Golani’s newest soldiers completed their 14-month training program with a roughly three-week final exercise incorporating combat lessons and ending at Mount Hermon’s summit.

The exercise included 32 team drills. In its final week alone, soldiers covered more than 100 kilometers through the Upper Galilee and Golan Heights, conducting raids and responding to simulated terrorists, explosive devices and casualties.

Capt. A., the unit’s training company commander, described a progression from individual proficiency to squad and team operations. After initial training, soldiers develop skills in urban terrain, open terrain and dense vegetation, attend specialized courses, and complete a four-day, 130-kilometer solo navigation exercise from the Sea of Galilee through the Western Galilee to the Mediterranean.

The squad phase builds coordination and culminates in a roughly five-day march from the Kisra area to Training Area 100. Squad commanders serve as team commanders during exercises across different terrain. Team training revisits those skills with greater complexity and precision. Soldiers also spent several days on operational deployment near Jenin in Judea and Samaria.

Readiness gaps are addressed before the final exercises. One team received an additional dedicated week to improve its team-level performance after falling short of the required professional standard. A centralized scoring system tracks each team’s progress across more than 100 team exercises completed by the end of training.

Each week of the final exercise opened with a simulated terrorist infiltration into an Upper Galilee community. Soldiers had to shift rapidly into an operational mindset, reach the community, stabilize the situation, eliminate the simulated terrorists inside and prevent further infiltrations.

The last week began as Shabbat ended, with soldiers leaving Training Area 100 and advancing through successive exercises and raids toward Mount Hermon. They reached the summit shortly after 5:00 AM on Thursday after a full night on their feet.

Capt. A. said the exercise’s structure and priorities have evolved with combat lessons, including firsthand knowledge of the drone threat passed on by soldiers with combat experience: “Not a single soldier here in the training program has personally experienced that threat, but someone who was there has already taught him.”

Beyond exercise totals, equipment and scores, he identified the central measure of effectiveness: “The answer, in my view, is the ability to carry out all the missions simultaneously, and to the highest possible standard. That is what we measure most in this final exercise.”

🔗 https://www.israelrealtime.com/p/sayeret-golani-completes-14-month

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