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

Tucker Carlson apologizes for falsely saying President Herzog visited Epstein’s island

Conservative US commentator Tucker Carlson publicly apologizes to President Isaac Herzog for falsely suggesting that he had visited sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s island.

Carlson says he made the claim in his interview that aired Friday with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee because Epstein apparently claimed in a 2014 email recently released by the US Justice Department that Herzog and former prime minister Ehud Barak would be among the guests at a party on his island.

In a two-minute video uploaded to X, Carlson says he received a long letter from Herzog’s office vehemently denying that the Israeli president has ever been in contact with Epstein, let alone attended one of his parties, which trafficked underage women were known to frequent.

“They didn’t know each other, they never emailed with each other, never been in the same room. They had no relationship of any kind,” Carlson says the letter from Herzog’s camp stated.

Huckabee had earlier posted similar remarks from Herzog’s office.

“And so for that reason, we are taking it seriously. There is nothing worse than impugning the reputation of an innocent man,” Carlson says.

“So I just want to say clearly I’m sorry to imply that I knew something I didn’t know — of course I didn’t know that Isaac Herzog was on that island. I was referring to that email and the protest against him. But I don’t know that, and I didn’t mean to suggest that I do know that.”

Earlier this year, an Australian reporter posted what she said was a photo of Herzog alongside Epstein, which turned out to be an AI-generated fake, leading the reporter to delete it and apologize.

Statement on Israeli President Isaac Herzog pic.twitter.com/z2hIAO9ptY — Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) February 21, 2026

Statement on Israeli President Isaac Herzog pic.twitter.com/z2hIAO9ptY

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) February 21, 2026

Trump administration avoids condemning settler killing of US citizen, says it’s monitoring situation

US President Donald Trump’s administration avoids condemning this week’s settler killing of a Palestinian-American in the West Bank.

Asked for comment on 19-year-old Nasrallah Abu Siam’s killing in an armed settler attack on the central West Bank Palestinian village of Mukhmas, a US State Department spokesperson asserts the administration “has no higher priority than the safety and security of Americans.”

”We are aware of the death of an American citizen in the West Bank,” the spokesperson continues. “We are closely monitoring the situation and stand ready to provide consular assistance.”

“Out of respect for the privacy of the family and loved ones during this difficult time, we have no further comment at this time,” the statement adds.

The Trump administration has largely avoided commenting on settler violence in the West Bank.

The rare exceptions have been some of the incidents involving US citizens, though that does not appear to be the case this time.

ISIS claims two attacks on Syrian army after calling for opposition to its government

The Islamic State jihadist group claims responsibility for two attacks targeting Syrian army personnel in northern and eastern Syria, as the group signaled what it described as a new phase of operations against the country’s leadership.

The group says on its Dabiq news agency that it had targeted “an individual of the apostate Syrian regime” in the city of Mayadin in Deir al-Zor province using a pistol, and attacked two other personnel with machine guns in the northern city of Raqqa.

Syria’s Defense Ministry says in a statement that a Syrian army soldier and a civilian were killed on Saturday by “unknown assailants.” A military source tells Reuters the soldier belonged to the army’s 42nd Division.

The attacks come amid a sharp escalation by ISIS against Syria’s leadership under President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al Qaeda leader who broke with the terror group in 2016 before leading a coalition of Islamist factions that overthrew President Bashar al-Assad at the end of 2024.

The latest incidents come two days after ISIS claimed responsibility for another attack in Deir al-Zor that killed a member of the Interior Ministry’s internal security forces and wounded another.

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