The Times of Israel liveblogged Thursday’s events as they unfolded.

A new poll by Channel 12 has the current opposition at 69 Knesset seats (including Arab parties) and the coalition at 51.

Channel 12 notes that the anti-Netanyahu bloc gained one seat and the pro-Netanyahu bloc lost one seat, the first such change in several weeks.

In the survey, Likud is still in the lead with 25 seats; Naftali Bennett’s unnamed party gets 21; The Democrats 12; Yesh Atid 9; Yisrael Beiteinu 9; Shas 9; Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar! is at 8; United Torah Judaism 7; Otzma Yehudit 6; Hadash–Ta’al 5; Ra’am 5. Religious Zionism manages to pass the electoral threshold with 4.

Below the threshold are Benny Gantz’s Blue and White, Yoaz Hendel’s Reservists and Balad.

With the body of one hostage, Ran Gvili, remaining in Gaza, more than a dozen events are planned for this weekend in support of his family.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum has held rallies for the hostages on most Saturday nights for the last two years. With the burial of Dror Or and the return of Sundthisak Rinthalak’s body on Wednesday, the Gvili family decided it was time to halt the main rally and create other gatherings.

A rally in support of the Gvili family will be held at the entrance to Meitar, the southern community where the Gvili family lives, on Saturday night.

There will also be a rally in Shaar Hanegev, while the Nir Oz community will gather in Carmei Gat on Saturday night, with former hostages and hostages’ families participating.

Around the country, communities are gathering on Friday and Saturday night, including in Eilat, in the Upper Galilee, Zichron Yaakov, and more.

Sit-ins and flag marches will be held around the country on Friday and Saturday, and Shabbat services will be held in Hostages Square and in the town of Yavne on Friday afternoon.

In Jerusalem, where the official Hostages’ Forum tent was dismantled last week, the Safeguarding our Shared Home protest group that helped organize the hostages’ rallies is returning to a Saturday night march called “Jerusalem in the Streets for Israel,” from Aza Road to the President’s Residence, the site of the protests held against the judicial overhaul prior to October 7, 2023.

Justice Minister Yariv Levin accuses Supreme Court President Isaac Amit of refusing to respect democracy and lists a litany of complaints he has against the head of the judiciary, in response to Amit’s criticism of Levin for boycotting him since he was elected to the position.

“What did you think would happen when you and your friends took over the Judicial Selection Committee with an illegal order?” says Levin, in reference to the High Court’s order in January for Levin to hold a vote in the Judicial Selection Committee on appointing a new Supreme Court president, after he refused to do so for 16 months.

“What did you imagine to yourself when you forced a ‘president’ of the court upon the citizens of Israel who tramples on the majority of the public again and again?” demands Levin.

He also criticizes Amit and the Supreme Court for various decisions that went against the government’s wishes.

Levin continues, saying he is “dismantling brick by brick the fortress of lies that you and your friends inhabit,” and is “building the legal system anew as it was in its days of greatness, under presidents such as [Moshe] Landau and [Meir] Shamgar.”

US President Donald Trump is expected to announce the transition to the second phase of his peace plan for Gaza in the next couple of weeks, Channel 12 reports, citing senior American officials who share details on the plan’s progress.

Officials tell the Hebrew network that Trump’s announcement could precede the Christmas holiday, shortly after which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with the president in the US.

The officials say that the US and mediators are currently holding talks with Hamas over an agreement that would lead the terror group to give up its governing power in Gaza and begin the process of disarmament, core issues of the second phase that have remained unresolved since the ceasefire came into effect in October.

Under the agreement, Hamas would first relinquish heavy weapons such as missiles and rockets, and later, in a longer process, give up lighter weapons, according to the report. Hamas’s acceptance of the agreement would be a precondition for implementing the second phase of the plan – including the IDF’s withdrawal beyond the current Yellow Line — the report adds.

A senior American official tells Channel 12 that “in the coming weeks, we will reach the moment of truth. Hamas will have to decide whether to give up its rule and begin disarming in exchange for an IDF withdrawal, or refuse and face the consequences.”

The second phase of the plan — which neither Israel nor Hamas has signed onto yet — also envisions a Board of Peace headed by Trump overseeing the management of Gaza, along with the establishment of an International Stabilization Force that will secure the Strip.

The American officials say that Trump will head the board along with roughly 10 leaders from Arab and Western states. Under them, there would be an international committee led by former British prime minister Tony Blair, along with Trump’s envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, as well as other senior figures from around the world.

Under that body would be the proposed committee of Palestinian technocrats, which would include roughly 12 to 15 Palestinians from business and management fields, who are not affiliated with either Hamas or Fatah.

Some of those Palestinians are currently in Gaza, while others would arrive from abroad to serve on the committee, according to the report. The US is said to be in the final stages of coordinating the list of candidates with Israel, the PA, and Arab states to ensure consensus.

Supreme Court President Isaac Amit chastises Justice Minister Yariv Levin for the latter’s ongoing refusal to meet with him, saying that by so doing Levin is boycotting the entire judiciary.

Amit also expresses concern for harsh rhetoric directed against the judiciary as well as repeated, severe disturbances by members of the public inside courtrooms, and says further that in recent years “Israel’s ‘airplane’ of democracy has fallen into a turbulent vortex from which we have not yet emerged.”

In a speech at a conference of the Israeli Association of Public Law in Haifa, Amit says Levin’s 18-month refusal to meet with him and his predecessor Uzi Vogelman meant that key positions within the judiciary which need the cooperation of the justice minister and the Supreme Court president cannot be filled, including a president for the Lod-Central District Court, and deputy-presidents for 19 other courts.

“What reason is there to refrain from appointing a vice president to the Jerusalem Family Court? Why refrain from appointing a vice president to the Krayot Magistrate’s Court? Why harm all the litigants in the Central District by preventing the appointment of a president to the [Lod] District Court?” Amit asks in his speech.

He says he has repeatedly reached out to Levin to restart cooperation, but that his requests have been ignored.

“For about a year and a half, the justice minister has been boycotting the judicial system, thereby boycotting the Israeli public who turn to the courts,” says Amit.

“The justice minister’s conduct has one clear purpose, which he himself said last April: ‘What was built here over decades takes time to dismantle, it doesn’t end in one day.’ These words speak for themselves,” he adds.

Levin stopped meeting with Vogelman in mid-2024, when Vogelman refused to accede to a demand from the justice minister to ditch the seniority system for appointing a president, whereby the Supreme Court justice with the most years on the court becomes the sole candidate for the position. The system is intended to prevent politicization of the selection process.

Levin then refused to call a vote in the Judicial Selection Committee for appointing a new president, since he did not have enough votes to appoint his preferred pick, Yosef Elron, leading the High Court of Justice to eventually order Levin to hold a vote in January this year after 16 months in which he had refused to do so.

Levin has boycotted Amit ever since, refuses to meet with him or address him as president, and has even failed to publish his appointment as president in the state gazette, as required by law.

Israel sent a delegation to Cairo this morning for discussions with mediators aimed at securing the return of the final deceased hostage held in Gaza, Ran Gvili, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announces in a statement.

The delegation, led by government hostage point man Gal Hirsch and including IDF, Shin Bet, and Mossad representatives, held talks to secure “the immediate return of the last abducted hostage,” the statement reads.

“At the conclusion of the meeting, it was agreed to concentrate an intensive and immediate effort that will lead to the full completion of the hostage-and-missing-persons mission,” the statement concludes.

The statement does not say whether the delegation has concluded its visit or remains in Cairo.

Israel’s public broadcaster says it told Eurovision participants that attempts to boycott Israel are a slippery slope and that the country would not apologize for its success at the last two competitions.

Speaking to members of the European Broadcasting Union at its general assembly in Geneva ahead of today’s vote, representatives from Kan warned that boycotting Israel would harm free expression and could have unintended consequences.

“The attempt to remove Kan from the contest can only be understood as a cultural boycott,” the broadcaster’s director general Golan Yochpaz told EBU members, according to Kan. “A boycott may begin today with Israel, but no one knows where it will end or who else it may harm… Are EBU members willing to be part of a step that harms freedom of creation and freedom of expression?”

Yochpaz said that Kan is proud of the songs and artists it has sent to Eurovision over the years, and “I will not stand here and apologize for our success.”

A number of countries had expressed anger after Israel did exceedingly well in the popular votes in 2024 and 2025, and alleged voter fraud in the televote. The EBU dismissed such claims, but unveiled a series of reforms last month to address such concerns, which were adopted today by EBU members in a vote that allowed Israel to stay.

President Isaac Herzog, who took part in efforts to ensure Israel was allowed to remain in Eurovision, celebrates the EBU decision to let it stay in the contest.

“Israel deserves to be represented on every stage around the world, a cause to which I am fully and actively committed,” says Herzog in a statement. “I am pleased that Israel will once again participate in the Eurovision Song Contest, and I hope that the competition will remain one that champions culture, music, friendship between nations, and cross-border cultural understanding.”

Herzog thanks those “friends who stood up for Israel’s right to continue to contribute and compete at Eurovision. This decision demonstrates solidarity, fellowship, and cooperation, and reinforces the spirit of affinity between nations through culture and music.”

Following widespread criticism of how it broadcast Israel’s war in Gaza, the BBC has ordered all staff members to complete a training course on antisemitism.

According to a note sent by BBC Director-General Tim Davie yesterday, staff will have six months to complete anti-discrimination e-learning courses on antisemitism and Islamophobia.

“As an organization, we stand united against any form of discrimination, prejudice, or intolerance,” Davie wrote.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews says it welcomes the announcement, which follows months of discussions it held with the BBC, including a meeting held on Tuesday, which addressed antisemitism training, concerns relating to BBC Arabic, and wider Middle East coverage.

“The BBC finds itself in a moment of challenge and opportunity,” Board of Deputies President Phil Rosenberg says. “It can continue in the same vein, with the same problems, or it can make changes that restore trust and pride in the central place of our national broadcaster in an ever-more fraught and fractious media and societal landscape. We hope that today’s announcement on antisemitism training to all staff is the start of a more positive journey.”

Davie announced his resignation from his position last month after a leaked internal memo highlighted editorial bias in the British public broadcaster’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, in the editing of a speech by US President Donald Trump, and on transgender issues. He will remain in the position until the board finds a replacement.

Israel’s Civil Administration says it seized dozens of archaeological artifacts from a site north of Ramallah in Area B today and transferred them to the Museum of the Good Samaritan archaeological site in Area C.

According to the statement, the artifacts were confiscated after Palestinians built a villa on the site of “Burj Lasana,” which was continuously inhabited from the Iron Age (1200-586 BCE) to the Crusaders period (1099-1260 CE). Located on top of a hill, the site include the remains of a a Crusaders’ fortress, a Byzantine church and a ritual bath.

The Civil Administration, a branch of the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), is in charge of civilian affairs in the West Bank. Under the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority maintains civilian and security control over Area A of the West Bank, Israel over Area C, while in Area B, Israel maintains security control and the PA maintains civilian control.

According to the statement, the artifacts include coins, stone columns and column capitals. The inspectors also found a metal detector used to identify metal remains underground.

The neglected status of archaeological sites in the West Bank has been denounced by both experts and activists for many years.

The current government has spearheaded an effort to bring control over antiquities in the region under an Israeli civilian body, which critics say Israel has no authority to do, and many charge would represent a step towards a de facto annexation in the field of archaeology.

“Protecting antiquities sites is a central part of our work and of our responsibility to preserve the history of the region,” says a statement from the Enforcement, Investigations and Intelligence Department in the Archaeological Unit of the Civil Administration.

“Any damage to an ancient site harms not only the artifact itself, but also our ability to understand and document the historical narrative it reflects. We will continue to act tirelessly, using all tools at our disposal, to eradicate the destructive phenomenon of antiquities theft and to protect the region’s national heritage assets and historical record.”

Slovenia’s RTV SLO confirms that it will also back out of the competition.

Its representative at the EBU asserts that Eurovision has become “hostage to the political interests of the Israeli government,” according to the broadcaster.

RTV SLO says it was among those who called for a secret vote to be held, along with Spain, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Turkey, Algeria and Iceland. Ultimately, members voted to accept a package of reforms as enough to allow Israel to remain in the competition.

British low-cost carrier easyJet announces that it will resume flight operations to and from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport starting March 29 next year.

“We are pleased to be resuming flights between London Luton, Amsterdam and Milan Malpensa and Tel Aviv,” an easyJet spokesperson says in an e-mailed statement. “We plan to resume flying to Tel Aviv from additional European bases next winter season at the end of October instead of next March.”

“We continually review all of our routes and remain committed to resuming more flying to and from Tel Aviv,” the easyJet spokesperson adds.

In July, the UK carrier, which had been expected to restart its flight operations at the end of October, announced that it would extend the suspension of all routes to and from Tel Aviv through March 28, 2026.

An Israeli military drone made an emergency landing near Kibbutz Mishmar HaEmek in northern Israel due to “technical malfunction” earlier today, the IDF says.

The drone was then collected by troops, the military adds.

The public broadcasters of the Netherlands, Spain and Ireland confirm that they will back out of next year’s Eurovision in protest of Israel’s inclusion.

Iceland intends to consider whether to remain.

The Netherlands’ public broadcaster, AVROTROS, issues a statement saying that its decision “follows a careful and extensive deliberation process” and included consultations with the Israeli ambassador.

“After weighing all perspectives, AVROTROS concludes that, under the current circumstances, participation cannot be reconciled with the public values that are fundamental to our organization,” it says.

Spain’s RTVE also confirms it will quit next year’s competition “following the vote” held today in Geneva.

And Irish broadcaster RTE says it “feels that Ireland’s participation remains unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza,” and it will not participate in or broadcast next year’s contest.

Spain is a member of the “Big Five” Eurovision nations, which give the biggest financial contributions to the competition alongside France, Germany, the UK and Italy.

The European Broadcasting Union issues an official statement confirming that “a large majority” of members voted to back new Eurovision reforms, allowing for “all EBU members” who wish to take part to do so.

The EBU statement does not explicitly mention Israel, but confirms that its members showed “clear support” for the new reforms and that there was “no need for a further vote” on who would be allowed to participate.

“The result of this vote demonstrates our members’ shared commitment to protecting transparency and trust in the Eurovision Song Contest, the world’s largest live music event,” says EBU President Delphine Ernotte Cunci in a statement, thanking members for “their thoughtful, respectful and constructive contributions.”

The reforms unveiled by the EBU last month aimed to address some of the concerns expressed after Israel ran away with the popular vote in 2024 and 2025. Moving forward, votes per person will be capped at 10, not 20; the EBU will “discourage” governments from running public campaigns for their entrants, and bar contestants from coordinating with such campaigns; and professional juries will be brought back for the semifinal rounds, in conjunction with the popular vote.

The EBU says that broadcasters will now have to confirm their participation in next year’s competition in Vienna, and the full list of participants will be announced before Christmas.

A British pro-Palestinian activist on trial over a raid targeting Israeli defense firm Elbit says she and her co-defendants wanted to “cause as much property damage as we could,” but said she was opposed to violence.

Charlotte Head, 29, and five others are on trial at Woolwich Crown Court over what prosecutors have described as a meticulously planned assault by Palestine Action on the Elbit Systems UK facility in Bristol, southwest England, last August.

All six are charged with aggravated burglary, violent disorder and criminal damage, with one of Head’s co-defendants also charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent for allegedly hitting a police officer with a sledgehammer.

They all deny the charges. Head told jurors she and her co-defendants had decided to take action because “all else had failed.”

Head admits she drove a repurposed former prison van carrying fellow activists through fences outside the factory and then into a loading bay in the early hours of August 6, 2024.

She says the plan was to “go in and destroy as many weapons as we could find.”

Head is asked by her lawyer Rajiv Menon: “Did you use violence against security guards or a police officer?” She replies: “No, never.”

Prosecutor Deanna Heer told jurors as the trial began last month that one of the six defendants, Samuel Corner, 23, hit a female police sergeant with a sledgehammer in the back, causing a lumbar spine fracture.

Head, asked on Thursday if she would have participated in action targeting Elbit if she knew someone would have used violence, says: “No, it was not a part of the plan.”

The trial continues.

The Kan public broadcaster reports that Israel will be able to participate in next year’s Eurovision, following a vote by members of the European Broadcasting Union in Geneva.

According to Kan, members voted in an overwhelming majority to adopt Eurovision reforms unveiled by the EBU last month aimed at quelling concerns raised by some member states over Israel’s participation.

Since that vote passed, a separate vote on ousting Israel will not be held, Kan reports.

A number of countries are now expected to pull out of the contest after threatening that they would not take part if Israel was still allowed to do so.

Troops of the 7th Armored Brigade stationed in the southern Gaza Strip opened fire on a Palestinian terror operative who crossed the Yellow Line today, the military says.

The IDF says the operative posed “an immediate threat” to the soldiers.

“The troops opened fire on the terrorists to remove the threat, and a hit was identified,” the military says.

According to a Spanish-language news site, Spain has forced a secret vote on Israel’s Eurovision participation at the European Broadcasting Union general assembly in Geneva.

EBU members are meeting in large part to discuss efforts to oust Israel from the competition, with a number of countries, including Spain, Slovenia, Ireland and Iceland, threatening to back out of the contest if Israel isn’t barred. The EBU had originally called for a vote to be held in November on the issue, but pushed off the decision following the October ceasefire, and revealed a number of reforms last month aimed at avoiding a vote entirely.

The 20-minute news site reports that Spain’s........

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