The Times of Israel liveblogged Saturday’s events as they happened.
Russia’s withdrawal from northern Ukraine in recent days has left “evidence of the disproportionate targeting of non-combatants including the presence of mass graves, the fatal use of hostages as human shields, and mining of civilian infrastructure,” says the UK’s Ministry of Defence in its daily briefing on Twitter.
Russian forces have continued to use IEDs (improvised explosive devices) “to inflict casualties, lower morale, and restrict Ukrainian freedom of movement,” while also attacking infrastructure targets “with a high risk of collateral harm to civilians, including a nitrate acid tank at Rubizhne,” the ministry says in reference to a city in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region which has suffered heavy shelling this week.
KYIV — Russian shelling killed five civilians and wounded five others in two east Ukrainian cities Saturday, the local governor says on Telegram.
“Today, five people were killed after Russian shelling in the region of Donetsk,” the Donetsk governor, Pavlo Kyrylenko, posts on Telegram. Four of them died in the city of Vugledar, and one in the town of Novomikhaylovka, he adds.
Visiting hospitalized victims from Thursday’s deadly terror shooting in Tel Aviv, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett says security forces will continue to “pursue the terrorists everywhere, day and night.”
“I have just finished visiting the wounded at Ichilov hospital, they are lively and with a very strong spirit,” Bennett says.
“We are moving from defense to offense, and attacking the sources of terrorism, at any time, anywhere, at night, during the day, in the morning, in the evening, and wherever they are,” he says.
“As I said, there will be no restrictions on the security forces, on the IDF, the Shin Bet, and the Israel Police. We will continue to pursue the terrorists everywhere,” the prime minister adds.
The deputy mayor of Nazareth mourns the Palestinian Islamic Jihad gunman who was shot dead during a gun battle with Israeli troops in Jenin this morning.
In a now-deleted Facebook post, Samir Saadi said Ahmed Saadi was a “martyr.” According to the Kan public broadcaster, the two are relatives.
סגן ראש עיריית נצרת ניחם את משפחת המחבל שנהרג היום בהיתקלות עם כוח צה"ל בג'נין. סגן ראש העיר, סמיר סעדי, קרוב משפחתו של ההרוג ואיש הפלג הצפוני של התנועה האיסלמית, כינה בפוסט בפייסבוק את המחבל כ"שאהיד". בהמשך מחק סעדי את הפוסט (אורלי אלקלעי ו-@CBeyar) pic.twitter.com/YbFaIwaB3D
After the post was picked up by Hebrew-language media, and received harsh criticism from right-wing lawmakers, the post was deleted.
Members of the progressive Peace Now group are protesting against far-right MK Itamar Ben Gvir’s visit to the scene of Thursday’s terror attack in Tel Aviv.
“Tel Aviv says no to the Kahanists who dance on the blood!” the group says in a statement, referring to Ben Gvir, a member of the ultra-hardline Religious Zionism party and a disciple of the late extremist rabbi Meir Kahane.
“We showed up tonight to make it clear to the provocateur from Kiryat Arba that we do not want instigators and supporters of terrorism in our city,” Peace Now adds.
Ben Gvir tweeted a photo from the site of the attack with a Bible passage translating to “Earth, do not cover my blood.”
אֶרֶץ אַל תְּכַסִּי דָּמָם pic.twitter.com/2GBR0bjmJf
KYIV — Ukraine says 12 Ukrainian soldiers and 14 civilians are returning home following a prisoner exchange with Russia.
“On the order of President [Volodymyr] Zelensky, the third prisoner exchange took place today. 12 of our servicemen are returning home, including one female officer,” Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk says on Telegram.
Fourteen civilians including nine women were also on their way home, she adds.
Ksenia Sobchak, who is believed by many to be Russian President Vladimir Putin’s goddaughter, has obtained Israeli citizenship, according to the Haaretz daily.
Sobchak is a prominent television host in Russia, and ran against Putin in the country’s 2018 presidential election.
According to the report, the 40-year-old, who has said she has partial Jewish heritage, secured Israeli citizenship for herself and her young son. She has reportedly been in Israel since early March.
Last month, she reportedly said she was on a “planned vacation” in Israel, and denied she was emigrating anywhere.
In a social media post today she said she is currently in Russia, and that the reports of her obtaining Israeli citizenship are part of Putin’s “propaganda machine,” but did not deny them, according to the Daily Mail.
Sobchak is the daughter of Putin’s political mentor Anatoly Sobchak, but she has said she isn’t the Russian president’s goddaughter.
She opposed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine from the start, stating on February 24, “We the Russians will be dealing with the consequences of today for many more years.”
Jenin governor Akram Rajoub slams the Israeli decision to impose restrictions on the West Bank area, saying it will only lead to more violence.
“When you punish all of Jenin, prevent commerce and workers, you push people into a corner. Expect him to do anything,” Rajoub tells The Times of Israel.
Israeli authorities announced several sanctions on Jenin following repeated clashes between troops and Palestinian gunmen in the area. Two of the Palestinian attackers in the recent terror wave also came from Jenin and the surrounding villages.
But Rajoub declined to condemn the two terrorists. He distanced himself from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s denunciation of the attacks.
“Palestinians are not terrorists. Palestinians want to free themselves from occupation,” Rajoub says.
“There’s no political horizon, there’s no economic horizon, and there’s no hope to end the occupation. So what do you expect from the Palestinian people?” Rajoub adds.
Religious Affairs Minister Matan Kahana says fellow party member Idit Silman could still return to the coalition after her surprising defection last week.
“With God’s help, Idit could still return,” Kahana tells Channel 12 news.
“You know, the world of politics is pretty crazy… Nothing has happened that truly justifies her departure… I think that once the government returns [from the Knesset recess] and starts getting things done on the basis of its founding principles, Idit will see that we are doing good things, protecting right-wing values, without poking each other’s eyes out,” he says.
Still, he adds, the coalition “is certainly not in good shape; it’s not a minor hiccup.”
Silman’s Wednesday announcement, which she said was due to the “harming” of Jewish identity in Israel, means that the coalition no longer has a majority.
KYIV — UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson says during a visit to Kyiv that the discovery of civilian bodies in Ukrainian towns have “permanently polluted” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reputation.
“What Putin has done in places like Bucha and Irpin is war crimes that have permanently polluted his reputation and the reputation of his government,” Johnson says, standing next to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, referring to towns in the Kyiv region where bodies have been discovered.
Israeli authorities impose restrictions on Jenin after two Palestinians from the area committed deadly terror attacks in Israel, and repeated firefights between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers rock the West Bank city.
The Jalameh and Rihan checkpoints in the Jenin area will be closed for Arab Israelis to enter and exit, says Israel’s military liaison to the Palestinians, which is widely known by its acronym COGAT.
The crossings are a key economic artery for the city. Arab Israelis regularly enter to shop in Jenin, and the Ramadan holy month is a crucial time for businesses to get in the black.
Israeli authorities have issued looser restrictions on West Bank Palestinian movement during Ramadan that allowed women, children, and some men to enter Jerusalem for Friday prayers, even without a permit.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz has warned that the looser Ramadan restrictions are dependent on stability.
But following a situational assessment, Gantz said the army “will continue and intensify” operations, “alongside the continuation of civil policy as agreed.”
Palestinian businessmen holding elite permits issued by the Israeli army will also be banned, although ordinary day laborers will be permitted through the crossing as usual, COGAT says.
Jenin’s Palestinian residents will also be banned from visiting first-degree relatives in Israel. Authorities permit some Palestinians to conduct family visits during Ramadan as a gesture to Palestinians during the holy month.
Israeli forces have repeatedly clashed with Palestinian gunmen in Jenin and the surrounding villages over the past few months. Although the Palestinian Authority conducted a “law and order” operation late last year, Ramallah appears increasingly unable to control the region.
Two Palestinian shooters in the recent terror wave hailed from the Jenin area. Large crowds of supporters arrived in front of their houses after their identities became known, including officials in the ruling Fatah movement.
The Israeli government has sought to balance deterring terrorism with avoiding sparking a broader escalation with the Palestinians.
The Israel Defense Forces publishes bodycam footage of troops operating in the northern West Bank city of Jenin and the nearby town of Burqin this morning.
Soldiers came under fire during the raid, but none were hurt. One Palestinian Islamic Jihad gunman was shot dead, and 13 others Palestinians were hurt in the raid.
Troops arrested three terror suspects, including one gunman who was seriously hurt and taken to Haifa’s Rambam hospital for medical treatment.
IDF publishes bodycam footage of special forces operating in Jenin and Burqin this morning. pic.twitter.com/UJ6gykAO92
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) April 9, 2022
Defense Minister Benny Gantz will bring a plan to invest NIS 360 million ($111 million) to strengthen the West Bank security barrier for governmental approval tomorrow, after several terror attacks in the past week were committed by Palestinians who snuck through gaps in the fence.
His office says the investment will allow work to begin this year, “according to operational priorities.”
“This is an early start of work on the project, in light of the urgent operational need. The works will continue in the coming years,” his office says.
Joint List chairman MK Ayman Odeh tells Channel 12 news his party won’t be partners in a potential “constructive” no-confidence motion that would see Prime Minister Naftali Bennett replaced as premier by opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu.
He says there is “no way” they would vote in favor of such a move.
Regarding a bill to simply dissolve the Knesset, Odeh says “I do not think it is up to us.”
“In my opinion, the government may disband before the end of the recess,” he says.
Syria’s state media outlet SANA says Israeli jets launched airstrikes from over northern Lebanon at 6:45 p.m., targeting areas in the center of the country.
Citing a military source, the report claims air defenses shot down some of the Israeli missiles. It says the damage is still being assessed.
Earlier reports said air defenses were engaging targets over the northwestern Syrian city of Masyaf.
— Yusha Yuseef ???????? (@MIG29_) April 9, 2022
Syria’s state media outlet SANA reports air defenses are engaging “hostile targets” over the city of Masyaf in the Hama region of western Syria.
The outlet doesn’t provide further details.
Photos said to be from the area show several clouds of smoke following alleged airstrikes.
سانا: الدفاعات الجوية تتصدى لأهداف معادية في سماء منطقة #مصياف. pic.twitter.com/Ufs71TP6cJ
Police say officers arrested a 24-year-old resident of Haifa for allegedly stabbing a French navy soldier at the northern city’s bay this morning.
Police describe the incident as a brawl. It occurred after the soldier’s boat docked at the Haifa port.
The soldier was moderately hurt in the incident, and was taken to the nearby Rambam hospital for further treatment.
Law enforcement officials say the suspect will be brought to a Haifa court tomorrow to extend his remand.
Ariel Weinblat, the fiancée of 27-year-old Tomer Morad who was killed during Thursday’s terror shooting on Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv mourns him in a Facebook post.
“My Tomer. The love of my life. You are my whole world. Waiting for you to come and wake me from this dream,” Weinblatt writes.
“I love you. You are within with me forever. I thank everyone for the support and strengthening,” she adds.
Morad and two others were killed in the attack, including his childhood friend Eytam Magini.
LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is visiting Kyiv for face-to-face talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as part of a “show of solidarity with the Ukrainian people,” Downing Street says.
“They will discuss the UK’s long-term support to Ukraine and the PM will set out a new package of financial and military aid,” a spokesperson says.
Surprise ???? pic.twitter.com/AWa5RjYosD
— Embassy of Ukraine to the UK (@UkrEmbLondon) April 9, 2022
Four people including Israel’s Eytan Stibbe enter the International Space Station, after their capsule docked around two hours ago.
The Dragon capsule had paused its approach after a failure of a video feed needed for docking, but teams on the ground found a way to work around the issue.
It took nearly two hours before the team entered the orbiting lab after docking.
Stibbe, a former fighter pilot and the second-ever Israeli to go to space, is carrying some 35 experiments for companies and research institutions on the privately funded Rakia Mission to the orbiting lab.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz indicates Israel will continue its plan of easing restrictions for Palestinians during Ramadan, despite a recent string of terror attacks.
Following a situational assessment, Gantz says the army “will continue and intensify” operations, “alongside the continuation of civil policy as agreed.”
Israel has implemented measures aimed at easing freedom of movement for Palestinians who wish to pray at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque during the holy Muslim month, including allowing kids, women, and some men entry without permits.
Gantz had previously warned that such gestures are “threatened by terrorism.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, the Ukraine presidency says.
The Ukrainian embassy in the UK posts a picture on Twitter of the meeting.
Surprise ???? pic.twitter.com/AWa5RjYosD
— Embassy of Ukraine to the UK (@UkrEmbLondon) April 9, 2022
The Royal Hashemite Court says Jordan’s King Abdullah II will head to Germany on Sunday for back surgery.
“His Majesty King Abdullah II departs for Germany on Sunday to undergo surgery to treat a slipped disc,” it says in a tweet.
According to Reuters, after the operation at a specialist hospital in Frankfurt, Abdullah will require a week’s rest before being able to return to Jordan.
His Majesty King Abdullah II departs for Germany on Sunday to undergo surgery to treat a slipped disc #Jordan
Defense Minister Benny Gantz wraps up a situational assessment with top defense officials following this morning’s raid in the northern West Bank city of Jenin.
“The defense minister expressed appreciation to the forces operating over the weekend, and in particular for the operational activities carried out this morning in Jenin,” Gantz’s office says in a statement.
He adds that “defensive and offensive” military operations amid a string of terror attacks in Israel “will continue and intensify everywhere.”
KYIV — Ukraine is “still ready” to continue negotiations with Moscow, which have stalled since the discovery of atrocities in Bucha and other areas near Kyiv, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says.
“We are ready to fight and to look in parallel to end this war through diplomacy,” Zelensky says in a press conference with Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who visited the capital and Bucha.
Police say officers have arrested four suspects allegedly involved in last night’s shooting in a café in the southern Bedouin city of Rahat.
The suspects are men in their 20s and 30s, law enforcement officials say.
Footage showed armed men storming into the café and opening fire. Five people were hurt, one critically.
"זה פיגוע": חמושים פורצים לבית הקפה ברהט ויורים לכל עבר, הלקוחות מסתתרים מתחת לשולחנות | תיעוד@Itsik_zuarets pic.twitter.com/OAEGaqDusS
A space capsule carrying four people, including Israeli Eytan Stibbe, has docked at the International Space Station.
Stibbe sent a message in Hebrew from space earlier today.
The Dragon capsule had paused its approach after the failure of a video feed needed for docking, but teams on the ground found a way to work around the issue.
The first fully private mission to the International Space Station blasted off from Florida on Friday.
NASA has hailed the three-way partnership with Axiom and SpaceX as a key step towards commercializing the region of space known as “Low Earth Orbit,” leaving the agency to focus on more ambitious voyages deeper into the cosmos.
Businessmen Stibbe, American Larry Connor of Ohio, and Canadian Mark Pathy have paid $55 million apiece for the rocket ride.
The visitors’ tickets include access to all but the Russian portion of the space station — they’ll need permission from the three cosmonauts on board. Three Americans and a German also live up there.
Stibbe, a former fighter pilot and the second-ever Israeli to go to space, is carrying some 35 experiments for companies and research institutions on the privately funded Rakia Mission to the orbiting lab.
A space capsule carrying four people, including Israeli Eytan Stibbe, pauses its approach to the International Space Station after the failure of a video feed needed for docking.
The Dragon capsule is located around 20 meters from the docking station.
Teams on the ground and on board the ISS are trying to troubleshoot the issue — the capsule can stay in its current position for around two hours if needed.
A flotilla of around 40 kayakers sail down the Yarkon River in Tel Aviv in honor of Barak Lufan, a 35-year-old father of three who died on Friday from wounds sustained in the previous night’s terror attack in Tel Aviv.
Lufan was a coach on Israel’s Paralympic team and the head coach of the Israeli national kayak team.
His kayak was left at the pier in a memorial.
— Or Heller אור הלר (@OrHeller) April 9, 2022
TEHRAN — Tehran says it sanctioned a retired US general and 23 other American nationals involved in what the Islamic Republic described as terrorism and human rights violations.
The announcement comes days after Washington imposed new sanctions on Iran, and amid crucial talks in Vienna to salvage the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
Retired US General Joseph Votel, who headed US Central Command which covers the Middle East, is among the 24 sanctioned Americans. Other US former treasury and military officials, ambassadors and company managers are also on the list.
They are targeted for “their involvement in terrorist acts, glorification and supporting terrorism and gross violations of human rights,” a statement by Iran’s foreign ministry says.
The Dragon capsule is scheduled to dock for the first all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station.
On board is Eytan Stibbe, the second-ever Israeli to go to space. He is one of three businessmen to have paid $55 million apiece for the rocket ride.
NASA has hailed the three-way partnership with Axiom and SpaceX as a key step towards commercializing the region of space known as “Low Earth Orbit,” leaving the agency to focus on more ambitious voyages deeper into the cosmos.
While wealthy private citizens have visited the ISS before, Ax-1 is the first mission featuring an all-private crew flying a private spacecraft to the outpost. Axiom pays SpaceX for transportation, and NASA also charges Axiom for use of the ISS.
Stibbe, a former fighter pilot, is carrying some 35 experiments for companies and research institutions
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group identifies the gunman killed during a clash with Israeli troops in Jenin earlier this morning as a member.
The terror group says 23-year-old Ahmad as-Saadi was a field commander in its military wing’s so-called Jenin Brigade.
After he was shot dead in the Jenin refugee camp, his M16 rifle was seized by Israeli troops.
His funeral is being held now in Jenin. His body is seen wrapped in the flag of the Islamic Jihad terror group.
سرايا القدس تنعى الشهيـد أحمد السعدي الذي أستشهد خلال اشتباكه مع جيش الاحتلال الذي توغل في مخيم جنين صباح اليوم pic.twitter.com/bYtQsXoM0Y
The Rambam Hospital in Haifa confirms reports that a man injured in clashes in the West Bank city of Jenin has arrived by military helicopter for treatment.
The hospital emphasizes in a statement that the man is not a member of the Israeli security services.
The hospital says the man was shot and is on a ventilator.
He is in serious condition, the hospital says.
While rare, it is not unheard of for Palestinians wounded in clashes to be treated by Israeli medics, particularly if security services wish to question them.
The man was wounded during a raid by Israeli security forces on the West Bank home of the terrorist who carried out the deadly shooting attack in Tel Aviv.
The Israel Defense Forces said Palestinian gunmen opened fire toward troops operating in the city of Jenin and other nearby villages.
One Palestinian was killed, the Palestinian Authority health ministry said. He was reportedly a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group.
There were 13 Palestinians wounded — the Harretz daily reports one of the injured is a 19-year-old woman.
KYIV, Ukraine — Ten humanitarian corridors for civilian evacuations are to open in Ukraine’s east today, according to Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.
The corridors will allow residents to leave a number cities in the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia.
Those in Mariupol, Enerhodar, Tokmak, Berdyansk and Melitopol will be able to evacuate to the city of Zaporizhzhia, while those in Severodonetsk, Lysychansk, Popasna, Girske and Rubizhne can evacuate to the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region.
LONDON — Britain’s Ministry of Defense says Russian naval forces are launching cruise missiles into Ukraine to support military operations in the eastern Donbas region and around the cities of Mariupol and Mykolaiv.
In its morning briefing, the ministry said Russia’s air forces are expected to increase activity in the south and east of Ukraine to further support these operations.
The ministry says these actions come as attempts to establish a land corridor between Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, and Russian-controlled parts of the Donbas region “continue to be thwarted by Ukrainian resistance.”
UK officials also say Russia is continuing to attack non-combatants, such as those killed at the Kramatorsk railway station in a rocket strike on Friday.
Israeli troops have begun to leave the Jenin refugee camp after this morning’s raid on the home of Ra’ad Hazem, who carried out the deadly terror shooting in Tel Aviv, according to Palestinian media reports.
Images shared online show Hazem’s home after the raid.
According to reports, the terrorist’s family members were not home at the time of the operation and were not arrested.
The home was mapped out by troops ahead of a potential demolition, according to the Kan public broadcaster.
Israel demolishes the homes of Palestinians accused of carrying out deadly terror attacks as a matter of policy.
The efficacy of the policy is controversial even within the Israeli security services and human rights activists have denounced it as unfair collective punishment.
تغطية صحفية: "صور من آثار اقتحام الاحتلال لشقة منفـــذ عمـــلية تل أبيب رعد حازم في مخيم جنين". pic.twitter.com/6V4NaGI1lL
A spokesman for the Hamas terror group praises the Palestinian gunmen who opened fire at Israel Defense Forces troops in the Jenin refugee camp.
“We salute the young people of Jenin who are carrying out courageous acts of heroism that define the next stage in the conflict with Israel,” Fawzi Barhum says in a statement reported by the Ynet news site.
Barhum calls for “the conflict to extend to all West Bank cities and villages.”
One Palestinian was killed and several wounded by Israeli fire when IDF troops were reportedly attacked during a raid on the home of the terrorist who killed three people at a Tel Aviv bar on Thursday evening.
The Israel Defense Forces says it is bolstering troops around the West Bank security barrier, after military chief Aviv Kohavi confirmed the terrorist who killed three in Tel Aviv crossed a gap in the fence.
An additional three companies will be deployed in the “seam zone” border area along the Green Line separating Israel and the West Bank, the IDF says.
There are many gaps in the West Bank barrier, and the IDF has dispatched thousands of troops in recent weeks to the seam zone area to prevent Palestinians from crossing into Israel.
Ra’ad Hazem, who carried out the deadly terror shooting in Tel Aviv on Thursday, crossed into Israel from the West Bank via a gap in the fence much like the terrorist who killed five in an attack in Bnei Brak last week.
The Israel Defense Forces says that Palestinian gunmen opened fire toward troops operating in the West Bank city of Jenin and nearby villages.
The IDF says there are no Israeli casualties.
According to the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry, one Palestinian was killed and a number of others wounded in clashes.
The IDF says an M16 rifle used to attack Israeli troops was seized.
A young Palestinian man has died from Israeli fire during clashes in Jenin, the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry says.
He arrived at a local hospital with bullets in his head and chest, according to the Health Ministry.
The deceased has yet to be publicly identified by health officials.
It is not immediately clear if he is one of the four Palestinians earlier reported as wounded.
The reports come during Israel Defense Forces operations in the wake of the deadly Tel Aviv terror attack.
According to reports, troops are raiding the family home of the terrorist who killed three when he opened fire at a bar on Thursday night.
TEHRAN — Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have seized a foreign boat smuggling fuel in the Gulf and arrested its 11 crew members, a senior justice official says.
“Naval forces have seized a foreign vessel carrying smuggled fuel in Persian Gulf waters,” says Mojtaba Ghahramani, justice chief for Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, state television reports.
“Over 220,000 liters of smuggled fuel were seized and 11 foreign crew members were detained for investigation,” Ghahramani says.
Ghahramani did not specify the date the boat was seized, nor the origin of the vessel or nationality of the crew.
The Guards also captured an “Iranian boat carrying 20,000 liters of smuggled diesel, intended to supply the foreign ship” and arrested three crew members, Ghahramani adds, noting the seizure was made “in the territorial waters” of Iran.
The incident comes in the wake of a series of seizures of vessels in the sea lanes serving the Gulf, where a large portion of the world’s oil is produced and shipped.
Four Palestinians wounded by Israeli fire are being treated at Jenin hospitals, the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry says.
All four are in stable condition, the Health Ministry adds.
The four are wounded during Israel Defense Forces operations in the wake of the deadly Tel Aviv terror attack.
According to reports, troops are raiding the family home of the terrorist who killed three when he opened fire at a bar on Thursday night.
Israel is now a far more prominent player on the world stage than its size suggests. As The Times of Israel's Diplomatic Correspondent, I'm well aware that Israel's security, strategy and national interests are always scrutinized and have serious implications.
It takes balance, determination, and knowledge to accurately convey Israel's story, and I come to work every day aiming to do so fully.
Financial support from readers like you allows me to travel to witness both war (I just returned from reporting in Ukraine) and the signing of historic agreements. And it enables The Times of Israel to remain the place readers across the globe turn to for accurate news about Israel's relationship with the world.
If it's important to you that independent, fact-based coverage of Israel's role in the world exists and thrives, I urge you to support our work. Will you join The Times of Israel Community today?
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel ten years ago - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel