Uncategorized
A new scheme dishonoring victims of Oct. 7 — hatched by Israel’s own government
The Israeli government has finally launched an investigation into the failures that led to the Hamas massacre of Oct. 7, 2023 — but not the independent state commission of inquiry that Israeli law, democratic norms, and public sentiment demand.
Instead, it is pursuing an internal investigation — a scheme central to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s efforts to escape political consequences for the catastrophe, and an evolution of his broader project to weaken Israel’s checks and balances.
To understand how we got here, we must recall the argument the government now uses against a state commission: that the public supposedly “does not trust” any effort involving the Supreme Court. This narrative is new, and also false. Until only a few years ago, polling consistently showed that the Supreme Court was one of the most trusted institutions in Israel.
But as soon as criminal indictments for corruption were filed against him in 2019, Netanyahu launched a sustained campaign portraying the court as a bastion of left-wing activism, suspect in its motives at every turn. His claims on this front have, from the start, been false. But a falsehood repeated often enough can shift public sentiment. That appears to be part of the plan.
When Netanyahu addressed the Knesset last week, he claimed that the “vast majority” of the Israeli public “does not believe” in establishing a state commission. This is a transparent lie. According to the Israel Democracy Institute, 74% of Israelis — including 75.5% of Jews and 68% of Arabs — support establishing a fully independent state commission. Among leftists and centrists, support is above 85%.
Families of Oct. 7 victims stood and turned their backs on him. But while the lies may sound obvious, they have had a measurable effect, particularly on the right. This intentional erosion of trust aims to weaken oversight, expand executive power, and delegitimize any institution capable of restraining the government.
Israel has an accepted mechanism for drawing lessons from national disasters, established by the State Commissions of Inquiry Law of 1968. Under that act, commissions are chaired by sitting or retired Supreme Court justices endowed with sweeping quasi-judicial powers and full independence from government control.
The Agranat Commission after the Yom Kippur War and the Bejski Commission after the early-1980s banking crisis are remembered as credible precisely because they were insulated from political manipulation. Their conclusions reshaped national understanding and restored institutional trust, although the Agranat Commission is criticized for largely clearing Golda Meir’s government of blame.
A Sunday decision by the government to instead establish its own probe will, by contrast, allows ministers to determine the mandate, membership, and powers of a “government commission.” In practice, that means those under scrutiny will choose their own investigators, and can limit the scope of the enterprise.
The need for a true reckoning — not this parody of corruption run amok — could not be more urgent. The Oct. 7 attack revealed systemic collapse across Israel’s entire security and political architecture.
Internal reviews since have made clear that longstanding assumptions about Hamas — particularly the belief that the group was deterred and more interested in governance than conflict — were catastrophically misguided. The military left the Gaza border with minimal protection, with much personnel diverted to the West Bank to try to contain provocations against the Palestinians by militant settlers backed by the government. The Defense Minister, Chief of Staff, head of Military Intelligence, head of the Shin Bet, and other senior officials from that period have all resigned or been removed.
These failures were not solely operational; they were strategic, doctrinal, and political. For years, Netanyahu’s Gaza policy — allowing Qatari cash into the Strip, sidelining the Palestinian Authority, insisting that Hamas could be “managed” and finding a benefit in having the Palestinians be politically divided — shaped Israel’s thinking.
Netanyahu, however, has refused to even hint at accepting any responsibility. During the Gaza war, he argued that any inquiry must await its conclusion. Critics howled that such a claim incentivized his prolonging of the war — but thus did Netanyahu buy two more years of time.
Now, with the war seemingly over, comes this latest machination.
Critics across Israeli society have already labeled the government’s decision a whitewash and a cover-up. The Movement for Quality Government decried “a transparent attempt to evade a real and independent investigation.” The October Council — representing bereaved families, survivors, and relatives of hostages — condemned the move as an attempt by those in power to “absolve themselves of punishment.”
The refusal to establish a state commission is not an isolated decision. It sits alongside ongoing efforts to dilute the Attorney General’s authority, undermine independent media, and reshape public understanding of Israel’s core institutions. Internationally, Netanyahu benefits from an American political climate less committed to defending liberal democratic norms. President Trump’s letter to his counterpart Isaac Herzog last week, urging him to pardon Netanyahu and end his bribery trial, underscored this new reality.
In this reality, the election coming up within a year is emerging as a referendum on the fundamental, existential question of whether Israel wants to remain a true democracy, or join the ranks or elected dictatorships, ranging from Viktor Orban’s Hungary all the way to the worst-case scenario of Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
And if Israel votes to save itself from Netanyahu and his cabal, expect the new government to decommission the whitewash — and appoint a state inquiry commission.
The post A new scheme dishonoring victims of Oct. 7 — hatched by Israel’s own government appeared first on The Forward.
Uncategorized
Global Leaders React to the Killing of Iran’s Khamenei
A woman holds a poster with the picture of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as people gather after Khamenei was killed in Israeli and U.S. strikes on Saturday, in Tehran, Iran, March 1, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in US and Israeli strikes, state media confirmed as another wave of attacks hit the country on Sunday.
Below is international reaction to his death.
PAKISTAN PRIME MINISTER SHEHBAZ SHARIF
“Pakistan also expresses concern over violation of the norms of international law. It is an age-old convention that the heads of state/government should not be targeted.”
IRANIAN PRESIDENT MASOUD PEZESHKIAN
“The martyrdom of the Supreme Leader at the hands of Israel and the criminal America was a great disaster for our country… America and Israel should know that it will bring them nothing but embarrassment.”
EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER URSULA VON DER LEYEN
“With Khamenei gone, there is renewed hope for the people of Iran. We must ensure that the future is theirs to claim and shape. At the same time, this moment carries a real risk of instability that could push the region into a spiral of violence.”
ITALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER ANTONIO TAJANI
“For the moment, Iran is in a transitional phase, and it remains to be seen how long it will last and what impact the war will have. What is certain is that a leader who had guided Iran for decades is gone, and that is bound to have consequences — including the loss of Khamenei’s personal authority over the population.”
FRENCH GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON MAUD BREGEON
“He was responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians in his country and in the region, so one can only welcome his disappearance. It is now up to the Iranian people to choose their own destiny.”
EUROPEAN UNION FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF KAJA KALLAS
“The death of Ali Khamenei is a defining moment in Iran’s history. What comes next is uncertain. But there is now an open path to a different Iran, one that its people may have greater freedom to shape.”
RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN
“Please accept my deep condolences in connection with the murder of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Seyed Ali Khamenei, and members of his family, committed in cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law.”
SWEDISH FOREIGN MINISTER MARIA STENERGARD
“Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been confirmed dead. This could open a window of opportunities. But there are still many uncertainties remaining.
“Iran’s future must belong to the people. But the road there is long. The risk of a spiral of violence in the Middle East remains great.”
INDONESIA’S ULEMA MUSLIM CLERICAL COUNCIL
“The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) expressed its deepest condolences for the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, as a result of the Israeli-American attack on February 28.
“The United States, which is playing a central role in managing the Palestinian conflict through the BoP (Board of Peace), faces a major question: is this strategy truly aimed at a just peace, or is it actually strengthening an unequal security architecture and burying Palestinian independence? Therefore, the MUI urges the Indonesian government to revoke its membership from the BoP.”
Uncategorized
Israel and US Used Anthropic’s Claude and CIA Intelligence in Timing Iran Strike
CEO of Anthropic Dario Amodei, addresses the gathering at the AI Impact Summit, in New Delhi, India, February 19, 2026. REUTERS/Bhawika Chhabra
i24 News – Israel and the United States used an artificial intelligence system and detailed CIA intelligence to help plan and time their joint strike on Iranian leadership in Tehran, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. The operation targeted a rare gathering of senior Iranian officials and was adjusted to coincide with a Saturday morning meeting at a government compound in central Tehran.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the attack was carried out with the assistance of “Claude,” an artificial intelligence tool developed by the company Anthropic, just hours after the federal administration announced it was terminating its contract with the firm and labeling it a “security threat.” According to the report, sources familiar with the matter said military headquarters around the world, including United States Central Command in the Middle East, are using Claude “for intelligence assessments, target identification, and battle scenario simulations.” CENTCOM declined to comment on the specific systems being used in the operation.
In a separate account, the New York Times said the CIA had been tracking Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “for months, gaining more confidence about his locations and his patterns,” according to people familiar with the operation. The agency then learned that a meeting of top Iranian officials would take place on Saturday morning at a leadership compound in the heart of Tehran and that Khamenei would be present at the site.
Officials with knowledge of the decisions told the Times that the United States and Israel decided to adjust the timing of their attack “in part to take advantage of the new intelligence.” The information provided a “window of opportunity” for the two countries to achieve “a critical and early victory: the elimination of top Iranian officials and the killing of Ayatollah Khamenei,” the report said. The CIA passed its intelligence, described as offering “high fidelity” on Khamenei’s position, to Israel, according to people briefed on the operation.
Those sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the intelligence and military planning, said Israel used the American intelligence alongside its own to execute an operation it had been preparing for months, focused on the targeted killing of senior officials in the Iranian regime. According to the reports, the governments of the United States and Israel had originally planned to launch the attack at night but shifted to a daylight strike after learning of the leadership gathering in Tehran.
The Times said senior figures in Iran’s security establishment attended the meeting, including Revolutionary Guard commander Mohammad Pakpour, Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, military council head Ali Shamkhani, Revolutionary Guard Aerospace Force commander Seyed Majid Mousavi, Deputy Intelligence Minister Mohammad Shirazi, and other top officials. An Israeli security official, quoted by the Times, said the operation “was carried out simultaneously at several sites in Tehran, including at the meeting point of the Iranian political‑security leadership,” and added that despite Iranian preparations for war, Israel had achieved a “tactical surprise” in striking the compound.
Uncategorized
Abu Dhabi Complex Housing Embassies Damaged as Retaliatory Strikes Widen in Gulf
Smoke billows from Zayed port after an Iranian attack, following United States and Israel strikes on Iran, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, March 1, 2026. Picture taken with phone. REUTERS/Abdelhadi Ramahi
Debris from an intercepted drone damaged an Abu Dhabi complex housing the Israeli embassy and several other international missions, causing minor injuries to a woman and her child, Abu Dhabi’s state media office said on Sunday.
Debris from the drone fell against the facade of the Etihad Towers complex after an interception that caused loud sounds heard across the emirate, the media office said.
After the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Saturday, Iran said it would target US bases in the region. But it has also hit a range of civilian and commercial areas across Gulf cities, widening the conflict’s impact on key regional aviation and trade hubs.
As retaliatory strikes widened on Sunday they reverberated across Gulf Arab states, with loud blasts heard in Dubai and the Qatari capital Doha and with Oman being hit for the first time.
PORTS TARGETED
In Dubai, two people were injured after shrapnel from drones fell over two houses when they were intercepted, a Dubai state media office statement said.
Dubai’s international airport, its landmark Burj Al Arab hotel and man-made Palm Jumeirah Island all suffered damage overnight, as did Abu Dhabi’s international airport.
Thick black plumes of smoke continued to rise from the Jebel Ali port area, where one of the berths caught fire on Sunday because of debris from an intercepted missile.
In neighboring Oman, which was spared retaliation on Saturday, Duqm commercial port was targeted by two drones, wounding one worker, the state news agency said.
Dubai is the biggest tourism and trade hub in the Middle East and its airport is one of the world’s busiest travel hubs.
Qatar’s interior ministry said on Sunday that it was responding to a limited fire in an industrial zone after debris fell from an intercepted missile.