Haifa Diary
Haifa is on the "front line" in any action in the north but this blog looks at life in the shadow of danger to all of Israel
Thursday, November 5, 2026
UNRWA to be Shut Down?
The newspaper Israel Hayom reported, citing Arab and Western diplomatic sources, that a plan for the gradual closure of UNRWA and the transfer of its powers and activities to the Peace Council will be presented.
According to the sources, the plan is led by
the Acting UNRWA Commissioner, Christian Saunders, and involves the gradual
transfer of the organization's tasks to other entities, such as the Palestinian
Authority in the West Bank and the Peace Council in the Gaza Strip.
During a meeting of UNRWA's Advisory
Commission, Saunders presented the plan, linking it to the organization's
difficult financial situation and the possibility of transferring a large part
of its activities to relevant entities.
UNRWA's deficit for this year has reached
between $70 million and $100 million, which is approximately equivalent to
one-tenth of its annual operational budget.
The first steps to implement the plan have been
approved, but this is drawing fierce opposition from the Palestinian
leadership, which fears losing a key political tool in its conflict with
Israel—namely, the "refugees" institution, according to the
newspaper.
The Executive Committee of the Palestine
Liberation Organization (PLO) recently held a meeting in Ramallah and also
invited representatives of the UNRWA Workers' Union to attend.
During the meeting, it was decided that the PLO
and the Palestinian Authority would work to thwart the plan, as closing UNRWA
requires the approval of the United Nations General Assembly, and criticisms
were directed at Saunders on the grounds that he was acting with political
motives.
At a meeting of the organization's
international committee held a few days ago in Amman, the capital of Jordan, a
number of Western country representatives opposed the plan, including
Switzerland and Ireland. Egypt also joined the opposition, while other Gulf
states did not.
The Irish representative announced that he
would work to find alternative funding sources for the organization in order to
cancel the closure and prevent the initial steps, which include the layoff of
thousands of Palestinian workers.
The newspaper learned that talks between UNRWA
and the Peace Council have laid the groundwork for mechanisms to transfer
authority and activity in two main areas: education and health, two fields for
which the Peace Council had been preparing for over a year as part of Trump's
plan for the reconstruction of Gaza.
Why Trump Lost the Mid-Terms
Ari Fleischer, White House Press Secretary during the Bush administration, in reply to a post published by U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, in which he noted that the war in Iran and relations with Israel were at the heart of the Republicans' loss in the midterm elections. This post, which garnered 3.7 million views within ten hours:
a) "Mr. Vice President, Allow me to present a different perspective.
The problem was not the war in Iran. The problem was the ceasefire.
If you start a war, you must win it and bring it to a conclusion. Otherwise,
don't start it in the first place.
This war should have ended six months ago, when the Strait of Hormuz was
completely open and oil was flowing freely. The second- and third-tier
leadership in Iran should have been eliminated, and support given to the
pro-Western forces who could have seized power. We stood on the threshold of a
new and more peaceful Middle East, but at the decisive moment, we hesitated. We
had a chance not only to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, but also
to get rid of the world's largest state sponsor of terror.
Instead, we reached a ceasefire, followed by months of uncertainty over whether
we would finish the job or not. Every day, a different message was conveyed,
and that's still the case today. Has the war ended? Is it about to start again?
No one knows. Confusion and inconsistency prevail.
In June 2025, the United States was not involved. It was a confrontation
between Israel and Iran.
No one forced the United States to strike Iran then, nor in February 2026. That
was a decision made by President Trump. In my opinion, it was the right
decision.
Once the decision was made, we should not have stopped until the regime was
overthrown. But instead, you negotiated a ceasefire that did not hold, did not
achieve its goal, and left us in a limbo, with no resolution, higher costs, and
our forces still deployed in the field.
Our soldiers could already have returned home, the navy could have gone back to
its bases, a peace-seeking regime could have risen in Iran, new alliances could
have been forged, and the price of gasoline could have dropped below three
dollars per gallon.
No, Mr. Vice President. The problem is not the war. The problem is what is
called 'the ceasefire.'"
b) The Lebanese Shiite journalist, Nadim Koteish (CEO of Sky News), also writes in a similar vein – you lost the elections because you refused to defeat Iran.
“The Republican Party did not lose the midterm elections because it fought Iran. It lost because it refused to win the war.
J.D. Vance presented the memorandum of understanding signed in June as a victory: the Strait of Hormuz is open, fuel prices are dropping, and the nuclear program has been dismantled. But within weeks, everything collapsed. The war continued, prices remained high, and voters punished the Republicans for the tangible cost of the partial move.
A basic rule in poker: when you have a strong hand and you don’t go all in, even a weaker hand might win the pot.
That’s exactly what happened. The choice not to go all the way, and not the war itself, is what cost the Republicans control of the Senate and the House of Representatives.”
Wednesday, October 28, 2026
Israel Is Just the Pretext, The Real Target is the West
(With thanks to Bassam Tawil)
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22941/israel-is-pretext-target-is-west
Why should anyone expect peace between the Palestinians and
Israel while
a) Palestinian leaders glorify terrorism and armed groups
continue to attack Israelis?
b) the Iranian regime is standing on its feet and supporting
the jihad (holy war) to destroy Israel?
c) the continuing willingness of Palestinians to celebrate violence against Israelis while presenting terrorism as supposedly legitimate national resistance.
Israel is just the pretext. If you think that a Palestinian
state, or an election defeat of the Israeli Prime Minister or
even the disappearance of Israel itself — would solve anything, you would be
wrong. What the West is up against is the desire of Muslim extremists, with a
leg-up from Marxists, to overthrow the "corrupt" West and replace it
with Islamic Sharia law and eventually global caliphate. Only after this
transformation will the world have the "peace" part of the
"Religion of Peace." Until then, as the founder of the Islamic
Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, vowed, "there will be
struggle" (lit. jihad).
Reference the riots taking place in so many countries, a few clearly terrified leaders in the West might think that if there were a Palestinian state, it might keep the mob quiet for a while. Yes, until breakfast. That is also why US President Donald Trump should not make a "deal" with the rulers of Iran.
1) Hamas and other likeminded jihadists have no problem murdering civilians — whether in the US on 9/11, the London transit system, the Barcelona and Madrid attacks, Paris's Bataclan Theater, Nice on Bastille Day, German Christmas Markets, the Manchester concert or anywhere else.
2)
3)
4) 4) The silence of the Palestinian Authority — and other Arab and Muslim leaders — is also significant.
Israel's countermeasures have indeed caused hardship for
local residents. Where, though, is any denunciation of the attacks that caused
Israel's security response?
The Palestinian people have been put — by their own leaders
— in a horrible position of bearing the consequences of terrorist attacks while
the Palestinian organizations that praise the attackers present themselves as
champions of the people. They are not. Like the ruling butchers of Iran, they
are holding the Palestinians and other Muslims hostage. If these captives hope
to live, they cannot even protest.
The Palestinian Authority is frequently described by Western
leaders and governments as a potential partner for peace. However, the
Palestinian Authority is part of the problem; it is not the solution. Its long-standing policy of paying monthly
stipends to Palestinian terrorists who murder or wound Jews
("Pay-for-Slay") makes it as rotten as Iran's Palestinian terrorist
proxies – Hamas and PIJ, or all the other terrorist groups whether Al-Qaeda,
ISIS or Antifa.
The international community might begin to understand that
peace requires more than diplomatic declarations and initiatives, ceasefires,
and promises of Palestinian statehood, especially for self-declared terrorists.
Peace requires a total rejection of terrorism, of the people organizing it, of
those who carry it out, and it requires a political leadership willing to put
the lives and future of ordinary Palestinians — and innocent civilians whoever
they are — ahead of the interests of terrorists and of their own incompetent
political careers.
Help Refute the Claims of the Film NAZA.
On November 1st, the antisemitic propaganda film "NAZA" will begin its large-scale international distribution.
A
massive worldwide release of this film is expected, which could turn it into a
major propaganda attack against the Jewish people, Israel, and IDF soldiers.
This time, we want to get ahead of the lies before they spread all over the world!
A group of exceptional Israeli filmmakers has produced "NAZA: The Real Story", a pro-Israel documentary that is already available. The work features DIRECT testimonies from IDF soldiers and battlefield footage, revealing a completely different reality that directly refutes the narrative presented in the antisemitic propaganda film.
There has been severe criticism and backlash from Israeli sources.
- IDF Denials: The film presents a distorted and factually erroneous view of target planning and denied a central claim in the film's trailer that a strike was ever approved or planned with an expectation of 500 civilian fatalities.
- "Blood Libel" Allegations: Israeli military chief condemned the film as being based on "blood libels" and "deliberate distortions of reality,"
- Anonymity and Whistleblowers: The 80-minute film relies on interviews with 24 anonymous, digitally altered Israeli intelligence officers and soldiers. Critics—including domestic journalists and military analysts—question the verification, context, and credibility of these unverified accounts.
- Omission of Context: Critics argue that the film strips away crucial context of Hamas's tactics of using civilian human shields, and the operational reality of military counter-offensives.
- Disputed Casualty Figures: Discussions and forum analyses have challenged the film's casualty and collateral damage figures, arguing that claims regarding massive single-strike death tolls lack corroborating evidence and utilize Hamas’s propaganda figures
What
can we do??
1. Watch the documentary via the link below, give it a "like" and leave a comment to help boost engagement and most importantly: share it with as many friends, family members, and communities as possible! Watch it here at https://nazadocumentary.com/
The goal is simple: by the time the antisemitic film reaches millions of people worldwide, the truth must already be within everyone's reach. The more views and engagement we generate now, the greater the chances that the Israeli documentary will reach a broader audience and be able to counter online antisemitic propaganda.
Thursday, October 22, 2026
Shin Bet stops foreign interference campaign ahead of elections
(With thanks to Israel National News)
The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) announced Thursday morning that numerous social media accounts identified as being used for foreign influence operations ahead of Israel's elections have been detected and removed in a joint operation with the State Prosecutor's Office Cyber Department and the Central Elections Committee.
The action against them was taken as part of efforts to prevent improper
interference in Israel's electoral process.
As part
of the joint operation, the three agencies worked to identify profiles that,
according to their findings, were being used in attempts to influence the
upcoming elections. Following their identification, measures were taken that
resulted in the accounts being removed from social media platforms.
The Shin
Bet emphasized that the operation was intended to protect the integrity of the
elections and thwart attempts by foreign actors to influence Israel's
democratic process.
The
statement did not identify those responsible for the accounts, the countries
from which the influence operations originated, the platforms on which the
profiles operated, or the messages they disseminated.
The
exact number of accounts removed was also not disclosed.
Efforts
to counter foreign influence operations would continue the Shin Bet stressed.
Provocations Unlimited
Once again, the media is having a field day in being able to blame Israel. Who is behind the constant provocations under the guise of the "olive harvest"? Why is there always a TV crew available for filming? Who are the overseas anarchists taking part? etc.,
Here we have yet another generously funded, carefully planned and well-organized campaign creating a false perception of a widespread phenomenon of violence by settlers in Judea and Samaria against Arab residents in the area.
Today,
thanks to the proper actions of the IDF and the police, three provocation
events were prevented in Judea and Samaria under the pretext of “olive
harvest”:
1. The main event of the Palestinian Authority in the village of Deir Jarir –
IDF forces thwarted the event, in which senior Palestinian Authority officials
planned to participate, thanks to early intelligence on the organization.
2. Another event was prevented in Turmus Ayya near Ramallah – an event led by
the anarchist Jonathan Pollak and dozens of Palestinians and journalists – and
only two olive pickers.
3. An uncoordinated event, in an area that requires coordination near Beitar
Illit, with dozens of participants including foreigners, among them a
Democratic candidate for the U.S. Congress who wanted to make some headlines
before the elections in the U.S. and ended up only partially satisfied. Dozens
of participants were put on a bus back and the uncoordinated event was
prevented.
Each of these events could have ended up as huge headlines in the mainstream
media in Israel and abroad and caused cognitive damage to Israel.
Early intelligence for such events prevent terror attacks. The impact of
“cognitive attacks” on Israel’s legitimacy in the world justifies allocating
intelligence gathering resources to this issue.

