IDF and Shin Bet Launch Major Counter-Terror Operation in Hebron

In this episode

The stories Maya and Daniel cover, in order. Each one opens the full story.

1. IDF and Shin Bet Launch Major Counter-Terror Operation in Hebron
2. Report: Netanyahu Ordered Diplomats to Back Argentina in Falklands Dispute
3. Shin Bet to Provide Security Detail for Gadi Eisenkot
4. Bank of Israel Warns Against Crypto Use for Sanctions Evasion
5. Shin Bet to Oversee Gadi Eisenkot's Security via Private Firm
6. Thousands Rally in Hostages Square Demanding State Inquiry Commission

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Transcript

Maya

Israeli forces are going house to house in Hebron, hunting the network behind Friday's deadly attack.

Daniel

And in Tel Aviv, thousands rallied to demand a state inquiry into October seventh, two days before Israelis vote.

Maya

This is Good Morning, Israel from baba News. It's Sunday, October twenty-fifth. I'm Maya.

Daniel

And I'm Daniel.

Maya

Daniel, yesterday we told you about the two soldiers killed near Hebron and the blockade of the city. What's changed since?

Daniel

The operation has moved from sealing the city to digging into it. The I D F and the Shin Bet, Israel's internal security service, launched a major counter-terror operation in Hebron on Saturday.

Maya

Hebron being the large Palestinian city in Judea and Samaria, what many abroad call the West Bank.

Daniel

Right. Forces are focusing on the area the terrorists came from. They're sweeping terror infrastructure and interrogating suspects.

Maya

Interrogating suspects. So the working assumption is these two didn't act alone.

Daniel

That's what an operation like this is built to find out. Who supplied them, who sent them, who else might be ready to go.

Maya

And that ammunition in the car.

Daniel

That's the key detail. According to the intelligence, the terrorists were carrying a large amount of ammunition, meant for a much more extensive attack.

Maya

Which is why the army keeps saying the soldiers who died prevented something worse.

Daniel

Exactly. And there's a second track. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced the demolition of dozens of illegal structures near the site of the attack.

Maya

How long does this go on?

Daniel

It's expected to last several days. So it runs right through Tuesday's election, when the army is already on maximum alert.

Maya

Let's go to a story that sent us reaching for the atlas. The Falkland Islands.

Daniel

Not where you'd expect Israeli diplomacy to turn up. A report in the British newspaper The Telegraph claims Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israeli diplomats to back Argentina's claim to the islands.

Maya

Quick refresher for anyone who skipped that history class.

Daniel

The Falklands are a British territory in the South Atlantic. Argentina claims them, and the two countries fought a war over them in nineteen eighty-two.

Maya

So what exactly does the report say Israel would do?

Daniel

Support negotiations over the islands, and recognize Argentina's historical ties to them.

Maya

And the supposed motive?

Daniel

The report links it to Netanyahu's close relationship with Argentina's President, Javier Milei. And it suggests it could be a response to British sanctions on Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria.

Maya

What does Israel say?

Daniel

Israel flatly denies it. The Israeli Embassy in London says no such directive was issued.

Maya

Is there an Israeli business angle in there?

Daniel

There is. The Israeli company Navitas is focused on oil reserves near the islands, with production slated to begin in twenty twenty-eight.

Maya

So a denied directive, an oil field, and a very sensitive subject in London.

Daniel

That's the whole package.

Maya

Back to the campaign, and protection for the man the polls put in front.

Daniel

Gadi Eisenkot, former I D F Chief of Staff and now chairman of the Yashar party, gets a security detail starting today.

Maya

Provided by whom?

Daniel

A private company, working under the direction of Unit seven thirty. That's the Shin Bet unit that guards Israel's most senior officials.

Maya

Why not the unit itself?

Daniel

Because back in August, the Shin Bet chief ruled Eisenkot didn't qualify for direct protection by that elite unit. So this is a supervised arrangement instead.

Maya

And the reason for the change?

Daniel

We don't know. His party announced it but didn't spell out any threat assessment. And the Shin Bet hasn't commented.

Maya

Which, a few days after a Rabin memorial warning that words kill, is hard not to notice.

Daniel

It is. Though officially, nobody has said what prompted it.

Maya

Now that rally in Tel Aviv.

Daniel

Thousands gathered on Saturday evening in Hostages Square. That's the plaza that became the center of the campaign to bring the hostages held by Hamas home.

Maya

And the demand?

Daniel

A state commission of inquiry into October seventh. That's Israel's most powerful kind of investigation, led by a judge, independent of the government.

Maya

Who organized it?

Daniel

A group called the October Council. Opposition leaders attended. Bereaved father Elhanan Danino spoke, and so did opposition figure Yair Golan.

Maya

Golan promised something specific.

Daniel

He vowed to push for the commission starting Wednesday.

Maya

The day after the vote.

Daniel

Right. Which tells you he sees this as the first fight of whatever government comes next.

Maya

Let's go back to cryptocurrency. Yesterday we told you about Netanyahu's idea of using it to get around possible sanctions. Now the reaction.

Daniel

And it's been fierce. The first answer came from the Bank of Israel, the central bank.

Maya

Which said what, roughly, no thanks?

Daniel

Pretty much. The bank declared that cryptocurrencies can't be used to get around international sanctions.

Maya

So what does it suggest instead?

Daniel

Governor Amir Yaron said the priority should be preserving Israel's economic ties, and avoiding sanctions in the first place. He called that crucial for the economy.

Maya

Prevention rather than workarounds.

Daniel

Exactly. Then the politicians. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, who leads the Yesh Atid party, both slammed the plan. They warned of severe economic consequences, and a threat to national security.

Maya

National security? From a finance idea?

Daniel

That's their argument. And an Israeli economic analysis backs up the worry. It warns the plan amounts to an evasive economy, one built around dodging the banking system.

Maya

And why is that dangerous?

Daniel

Because Israel's economic strength depends on its connection to the Western financial system. The analysis says stepping away from that could mean capital flight, less investment, and lost jobs.

Maya

And the tech sector, I'd guess, isn't thrilled.

Daniel

No. Economists and tech leaders fear it puts Israel's place in global markets at risk. For a country whose economy runs on foreign investment in tech, that's a big deal.

Maya

So the Prime Minister says prepare for the worst, and the central bank says don't build an economy around the worst.

Daniel

That's the clash, two days before the election. And yesterday we noted Netanyahu also warned American security aid might not last forever. He repeated that warning.

Maya

One more, and it's a hard one, from Haifa, the port city in Israel's north.

Daniel

Yana Zykova was killed on October twenty-third. Police say she was allegedly murdered by her former partner.

Maya

And she left a child.

Daniel

A son with special needs, who reportedly witnessed it. Her mother, his grandmother, is now traveling from Ukraine to care for him. He's said to be very attached to her.

Maya

She'd been helping out before this, too.

Daniel

Yes. Zykova had been recovering from a car accident, and her mother had been helping with childcare. Police have arrested a suspect and recovered what they believe is the murder weapon.

Maya

Before we go, one thing to watch.

Daniel

Hebron. The operation is expected to run for several days, so watch for what the I D F and the Shin Bet say today about arrests, and whether they uncover a wider network behind Friday's attack.

Maya

Follow Good Morning, Israel so tomorrow's episode is waiting for you.

Daniel

See you tomorrow morning.