The Times of Israel is liveblogging Monday’s events as they unfold.

US President Donald Trump calls his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European partners “very good” and says he’s begun arrangements for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky after a subsequent call with Putin.

He says security guarantees for Ukraine — provided by the European countries with a coordination with the US — were discussed during the meeting.

“At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelensky,” Trump says, adding that US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will make arrangements between the two countries.

US President Donald Trump interrupteda meeting with European leaders at the White House to call Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on efforts to reach a Ukraine deal, a source close to the talks says.

The call came as Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Finland, the European Commission and NATO, the source tells AFP on condition of anonymity.

A group of settler activists, along with their young children, crossed the border into Syria earlier today in an attempt to establish a new settlement.

The military says troops were dispatched to the scene, across from the border town of Alonei Habashan, after several civilian vehicles were seen crossing into Syria.

“IDF troops at the scene returned the civilians safely to the territory of the State of Israel after a short time,” the military says, adding that they were called in for questioning by police.

“The IDF emphasizes that this is a grave incident that constitutes a criminal offense and endangers the public and IDF troops,” the army adds.

i24news first reported the case, identifying the group of activists as the “Bashan Pioneers,” named after the biblical name for the Golan Heights and southern Syria region.

According to the report, the organizers planned to stay inside Syrian territory, with their children, for a prolonged period, and establish a new settlement named “Nave Habashan.”

תיעוד: קבוצת משפחות חצתה את הגבול לסוריה בניסיון להקים יישוב בשם "נווה הבשן"

https://t.co/h1P1oZ4zQm pic.twitter.com/8lI075o6ee

— ערוץ 7 (@arutz7heb) August 18, 2025

Since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December, the IDF has been deployed to nine posts inside southern Syria, mostly within the UN-patrolled buffer zone.

In December, a group of settler activists entered Lebanese territory — in an area under Israeli control at the time — in an attempt to set up a settlement, before being cleared by the IDF.

"חלוצי הבשן": קבוצת יהודים עברו היום........

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