❌ JUDEA AND SAMARIA OPERATIONS, ELECTION POLLING AND DOMESTIC POLICY
🕑 Published: August 5, 2026 · 1:42 AM Israel time
❌ COUNTERTERRORISM OPERATIONS CONTINUE IN JUDEA AND SAMARIA: The IDF issued a confiscation and demolition order for the Tell home of Farouk Ramadan, who carried out the July 24 shooting attack that killed Master Sergeant (res.) Benayahu Melet and Major Yuval Ezra. Ramadan was eliminated at the scene.
In the Shechem area, forces apprehended a Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist also affiliated with the previously dismantled Lions’ Den organization. In Qabatiya, troops dismantled ten machines used to manufacture weapons and explosive devices.
🕯️ OCTOBER 7 SURVIVOR FOUND DEAD AT GIRLFRIEND’S GRAVE: Bar Asraf, 30, was found dead in Elkana at the grave of Liron Barda, who was murdered at the Nova festival after reportedly remaining behind to assist wounded attendees. Israeli reports said Asraf took his own life after continuing to honor her memory and remain close to her family.
His death follows the October 2025 suicide of Nova survivor Roei Shalev and reflects the continuing psychological toll of the massacre. May his family be comforted among the mourners of Zion.
🇮🇱 DEFENSE EXPORT REFORM MOVES FORWARD: The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee approved the first stage of a Defense Ministry plan to expand Israeli defense exports by shortening and digitizing licensing procedures. The initial measures include faster registration in the Exporters Registry.
🔹 KATZ REJECTS CLAIMS OF MEDIA-DRIVEN IDF APPOINTMENT DECISION: Defense Minister Israel Katz said he immediately rejected a call during an interview to dismiss Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth. He maintained that the Chief of Staff’s recommendation had been approved months earlier and was already moving through the appointment process.
Katz framed the dispute as part of a broader political struggle over future senior military appointments and warned against returning officials associated with the pre-October 7 “conceptzia.” The Chief of Staff subsequently said no new major-general appointments would be made before the elections. Katz later told Judea and Samaria council leaders that Bluth was performing well and would not be removed.
🗳️ ELECTION CAMPAIGN OPENS AS CHANNEL 14 SHOWS A NARROW NETANYAHU MAJORITY: Otzma Yehudit launched its campaign under the slogan “Those who believe are not afraid.” Netanyahu separately reiterated that Haredi men who do not study Torah would be drafted and could face prison, even without rabbinical approval.
A Channel 14/NEXT DATA poll gives Likud 31 seats and Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar 22. Shas receives 11; the Democrats ten; United Torah Judaism, Yisrael Beiteinu and the Bennett-Lapid alliance eight each; Otzma Yehudit and Religious Zionism six each; and Ra’am and Hadash-Ta’al five each.
The Netanyahu-aligned right-Haredi bloc reaches 62 seats, compared with 48 for the Zionist opposition and ten for the Arab parties. Netanyahu receives 54% in the suitability question and leads Eisenkot 56% to 44% in a direct comparison.
Channel 14’s recent polling presents a stable 62–63-seat right-wing bloc and Eisenkot as Netanyahu’s primary challenger. That majority remains exposed to turnout, electoral-threshold failures and internal fragmentation. Other Israeli polls place the Netanyahu bloc below 61 seats, making the result a Channel 14/NEXT DATA snapshot rather than a national polling consensus.
⚖️ COURT PAUSES KETZIOT CROCODILE PLAN: An Israeli court temporarily blocked Ben-Gvir’s proposal to place crocodiles around Ketziot Prison following an animal-rights challenge. Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman nevertheless instructed the Israel Nature and Parks Authority to continue preparing the conditions required for the proposed pilot program.
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