Israel reopened the Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt on Sunday in a limited capacity after two years, allowing only foot traffic, as violence continued across the Gaza Strip. The move comes amid fresh bloodshed in the enclave, with Gaza’s civil defense agency reporting dozens killed in Israeli strikes on Saturday. The Israel Defense Forces said it was responding to ceasefire violations. Around 80,000 Palestinians who left Gaza during Israel’s war on the enclave are seeking to return through the crossing from Egypt, a Palestinian official told Al Jazeera. At the same time, Israel announced it was terminating the operations of Doctors Without Borders in Gaza, accusing the group of failing to submit lists of its Palestinian staff — a requirement Israeli authorities say applies to all aid organizations in the territory. Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism alleged that two employees had ties to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, accusations the medical charity has strongly denied. The ministry said the group must halt its work and leave Gaza by Feb. 28. The tightly controlled reopening of Rafah — alongside the expulsion of a major humanitarian actor — is likely to intensify scrutiny of Israel’s handling of civilian access and aid as the conflict drags on.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday in a statement that he will join U.S. President Donald Trump’s controversial Board of Peace, which is tasked with overseeing the ceasefire and reconstruction in Gaza. Netanyahu is the latest leader to confirm his participation in the body, which Trump formally established last week as part of his 20-point plan to end the war between Israel and Hamas. The board — described by Trump as “the Greatest and Most Prestigious Board ever assembled at any time, any place” — currently includes a motley mix of countries, among them the United Arab Emirates, Belarus, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Canada and Vietnam. Several other leaders have received invitations but have so far declined to commit or said they are still mulling their participation, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Some fear Trump could seek to create a shadow United Nations, which he has long lambasted as ineffective, as the board’s charter makes no direct reference to Gaza and gives it a broad mandate to resolve global conflicts. Trump for his part said Tuesday his board “might” replace the U.N. but added, “I believe you got to let the U.N. continue because the potential is so great.” French President Emmanuel Macron rejected the offer outright, with his office saying the board’s charter “goes beyond the framework of Gaza and raises serious questions” about whether it could undermine the U.N. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is considering an invitation but criticized Trump’s decision to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin. “For me, it is very difficult to imagine how we and Russia would be together on a board,” Zelenskyy said. “And this isn’t about the ‘Board of Peace.’ It’s just that Russia is all about a ‘board of war.’ And Belarus as well.” Putin’s potential inclusion drew further backlash from Poland, where an aide to President Karol Nawrocki, a Trump ally, said the Kremlin was “at odds” with Warsaw. According to the Trump administration, countries seeking a permanent seat on the board must contribute at least $1 billion. Those that do not will be limited to a three-year term. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that while he would join, Ottawa would not cough up the membership fee. The board’s executive committee is set to include former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and World Bank President Ajay Banga.

U.S. President Donald Trump invited Russian leader Vladimir Putin to join his “Board of Peace” to oversee next steps in Gaza, the Kremlin said Monday. “Indeed, President Putin also received an offer through diplomatic channels to join this Peace Council. We are currently studying all the details of this proposal,” Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a media briefing. “We hope for a contact with the American side so that we can clarify all the details,” he added. Trump announced the establishment of the board — which he touted as “the Greatest and Most Prestigious Board ever assembled at any time, any place” — on Friday as a key part of his 20-point plan to end the war between Israel and Hamas. The committee, chaired by Trump, will oversee the transitional governance of Gaza. The U.S. embassy in Brussels did not immediately respond to questions about the invitation. Putin, for his part, has spent the last four years waging a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which has killed thousands of civilians, and demolished towns and cities. Invitations to join the board were also addressed to countries including Argentina, Egypt, India, and Turkey among others. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has also received an invitation, as has Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Those who want a permanent membership beyond the three-year term will have to cough up $1 billion, Bloomberg first reported. Canada will join but won’t pay for the permanent seat, Carney said. So far, the leaders of Hungary, Kazakhstan, and Vietnam have accepted the invitation. “Hungary’s efforts for peace are being recognised. President Trump has invited Hungary to join the work of The Board of Peace as a founding member. We have, of course, accepted this honourable invitation,” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said. The executive committee of the board will include, among others, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Ajay Banga, the head of the World Bank. 

Israel’s foreign ministry accused New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani of antisemitism on Friday, escalating tensions with the progressive leader within hours of him formally taking office. Israel’s criticism focused on Mamdani’s revocation of executive orders issued under his predecessor Eric Adams, including policies supportive of Israel. The Adams-era measures had prevented city officials from pursuing punitive economic policies such as boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel. They had also adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism, which the Adams’ administration said identified “demonizing Israel and holding it to double standards as forms of contemporary antisemitism.” “On his very first day as New York City Mayor Mamdani shows his true face: He scraps the IHRA definition of antisemitism and lifts restrictions on boycotting Israel. This isn’t leadership. It’s antisemitic gasoline on an open fire,” Israel’s foreign ministry said in a post. Mamdani became mayor just after midnight on New Year’s Eve, beginning a term that Democrats hope will energize the party ahead of the 2026 midterms. The 34-year-old democratic socialist campaigned on an ambitious but costly agenda, including universal free childcare and free buses, financed in part by higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy. Friday’s public rebuke from Israel’s government adds an international dimension to a controversy already unfolding at home. On Thursday, Jewish civil rights groups criticized the removal of posts related to combating antisemitism from the official @NYCMayor X account shortly after Mamdani assumed office, warning that the move risked sending the wrong signal at a particularly sensitive moment. Mamdani has repeatedly rejected accusations of antisemitism, arguing his criticism of Israel is rooted in human rights concerns. He has pledged to protect New York’s Jewish community, while maintaining his outspoken views on Middle East policy. That solidarity with New York’s Jewish community was repeated in his swearing-in ceremony, where celebrated the city’s diversity by quipping: “Where else could a Muslim kid like me grow up eating bagels and lox every Sunday?” Mamdani does, however, support bond disinvestment to pressure Israel, and says he does not believe Israel should exist as a “Jewish state.” Israeli officials have long viewed Mamdani with suspicion. Following his election victory in November Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel described the outcome as “deeply concerning,” pointing to Mamdani’s past activism and rhetoric. Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu slammed Mamdani’s Jewish supporters, accusing them of having “raised their hands in support of antisemitism in the heart of America.”

Listen on * Spotify * Apple Music * Amazon Music Rixa Fürsen nutzt die ruhigen Stunden für ein Gespräch abseits des hektischen Tagesgeschäfts. Zu Gast ist Constantin Schreiber, Global Reporter bei Axel Springer und Nahost-Experte. Gemeinsam blicken sie auf ein Jahr zurück, das von Kriegen und Krisen geprägt war – von der Ukraine bis nach Israel. Ein Blick in die Welt: Schreiber berichtet von der rasanten Entwicklung in der arabischen Welt und der Stimmung in Israel nach dem 7. Oktober. Er analysiert, wie das Trauma der Geiselnahmen noch nicht verarbeitet ist und welche neuen Konfliktlinien sich in der israelischen Gesellschaft auftun. Und: Constantin Schreiber wünscht sich einen „Wahrheitstrank“ für Berlin und kritisiert leere Worthülsen und Stanzen. Das Berlin Playbook als Podcast gibt es jeden Morgen ab 5 Uhr. Gordon Repinski und das POLITICO-Team liefern Politik zum Hören – kompakt, international, hintergründig. Für alle Hauptstadt-Profis: Der Berlin Playbook-Newsletter bietet jeden Morgen die wichtigsten Themen und Einordnungen. Jetzt kostenlos abonnieren. Mehr von Host und POLITICO Executive Editor Gordon Repinski: Instagram: @gordon.repinski | X: @GordonRepinski. Legal Notice (Belgium) POLITICO SRL Forme sociale: Société à Responsabilité Limitée Siège social: Rue De La Loi 62, 1040 Bruxelles Numéro d’entreprise: 0526.900.436 RPM Bruxelles info@politico.eu www.politico.eu

Listen on * Spotify * Apple Music * Amazon Music Der Kanzler ist von einer wichtigen Reise zurück. Friedrich Merz war in Jordanien und Israel unterwegs und bemüht sich um ein stabileres Verhältnis zu Jerusalem. Die Tage dort zeigen einen gehäuteten Bundeskanzler. Er setzt auf Ruhe, Verlässlichkeit und sichtbare Nähe zur israelischen Regierung, auch wenn in zentralen Fragen wie dem Umgang mit dem Westjordanland deutliche Differenzen bleiben. Gordon Repinski beschreibt, warum dieser Besuch für Merz ein Wendepunkt sein kann und welche Signale er vor dem Treffen im E3-Format mit Emmanuel Macron und Keir Starmer senden wollte . Im 200-Sekunden-Interview spricht Siemtje Möller, Vizechefin der SPD Bundestagsfraktion, über die Erwartungen an das Treffen in London. Sie erklärt, wie Europa eine gemeinsame Position entwickeln kann, obwohl die eigentliche Verhandlungsmacht derzeit bei Washington und Moskau liegt. Im Zentrum steht die Frage, welchen Beitrag Deutschland leisten kann, wenn es um Sicherheitsgarantien, militärische Unterstützung und den Wiederaufbau der Ukraine geht. Danach geht der Blick nach Brüssel. Rasmus Buchsteiner begleitet die Sitzung der Innenminister, bei der die europäische Asylreform und der Solidaritätsmechanismus verhandelt werden. Zum Schluss geht’s um den Parteitag des BSW in Magdeburg. Sahra Wagenknecht positioniert sich klar gegenüber einigen Landesverbänden und kündigt eine inhaltliche Schärfung an, während die Partei sich auf einen neuen Namen vorbereitet. Das Berlin Playbook als Podcast gibt es jeden Morgen ab 5 Uhr. Gordon Repinski und das POLITICO-Team liefern Politik zum Hören – kompakt, international, hintergründig. Für alle Hauptstadt-Profis: Der Berlin Playbook-Newsletter bietet jeden Morgen die wichtigsten Themen und Einordnungen. Jetzt kostenlos abonnieren. Mehr von Host und POLITICO Executive Editor Gordon Repinski: Instagram: @gordon.repinski | X: @GordonRepinski. Legal Notice (Belgium) POLITICO SRL Forme sociale: Société à Responsabilité Limitée Siège social: Rue De La Loi 62, 1040 Bruxelles Numéro d’entreprise: 0526.900.436 RPM Bruxelles info@politico.eu www.politico.eu

The European Broadcasting Union cleared Israel to take part in next year’s Eurovision Song Contest, brushing aside demands for its exclusion and sparking an unprecedented backlash. “A large majority of Members agreed that there was no need for a further vote on participation and that the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 should proceed as planned, with the additional safeguards in place,” the EBU said in a statement Thursday. Following the decision, broadcasters in Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands and Slovenia said they disagreed with the EBU and announced they would not participate in the 70th-anniversary Eurovision in Vienna because Israel was allowed to take part. The boycotting countries said their decision was based on Israel’s war in Gaza and the resulting humanitarian crisis, as they launched a historic boycott that plunges Eurovision into its deepest-ever crisis. “Culture unites, but not at any price,” Taco Zimmerman, general director of Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS, said Thursday. “Universal values such as humanity and press freedom have been seriously compromised, and for us, these values are non-negotiable.” On the other side of the debate, Germany had warned it could pull out of the contest if Israel was not allowed to take part. Before the voting took place, Golan Yochpaz, a senior Israeli TV executive, said the meeting was “the attempt to remove KAN [Israeli national broadcasters] from the contest,” which “can only be understood as a cultural boycott.” Ireland’s public broadcaster RTÉ said it “feels that Ireland’s participation remains unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there, which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk.” Spanish radio and television broadcaster RTVE said it had lost trust in Eurovision. RTVE President José Pablo López said that “what happened at the EBU Assembly confirms that Eurovision is not a song contest but a festival dominated by geopolitical interests and fractured.” The EBU in Geneva also agreed on measures to “curb disproportionate third-party influence, including government-backed campaigns,” and limited the number of public votes to 10 “per payment method.” RTVE called the change “insufficient.” Controversy earlier this year prompted the changes, when several European broadcasters alleged that the Israeli government had interfered in the voting — after Israel received the largest number of public votes during the final. The EBU has been in talks with its members about Israel’s participation since the issue was raised at a June meeting of national broadcasters in London. Eurovision is run by the EBU, an alliance of public service media with 113 members in 56 countries. The contest has long proclaimed that it is “non-political,” but in 2022, the EBU banned Russia from the competition following the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people in Israel, a large majority of whom were civilians, and taking 251 hostages. The attack prompted a major Israeli military offensive in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, many of them civilians, displaced 90 percent of Gaza’s population and destroyed wide areas. The ceasefire brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump in October 2025 led to the release of the remaining 20 Israeli hostages. Shawn Pogatchnik contributed to this report.

The U.N. Security Council adopted a U.S. resolution to authorize an international stabilization force for Gaza and back the Trump administration’s peace plan on Monday, a significant early step toward rebuilding the destroyed enclave. The body’s support was a significant diplomatic win for the Trump administration and its efforts to stabilize Gaza. Many of the countries the U.S. has hoped will contribute troops and funds to the project indicated to Washington that they would not do so absent the U.N.’s backing. “This will go down as one of the biggest approvals in the History of the United Nations,” President Donald Trump said on Truth Social, adding that the names of the members of a board to oversee the effort, which he named the Board of Peace, will be announced in the coming weeks, as well as “many more exciting announcements.” Thirteen members of the Security Council voted for the measure, while both China and Russia abstained. The council’s five permanent members, including the U.S., China, Russia, the U.K. and France all have veto power. While Monday’s vote is an important milestone, many challenges lay ahead to fielding a force to help move Gaza beyond the initial fragile transitional phase Gaza is in now. Indonesia, Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Turkey have all expressed interest in providing troops, though Israel is opposed to Turkish and Pakistani troops. Deep disagreements also remain about what role the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank, will play in the Gaza Strip’s future. While the Trump peace plan calls to disarm Hamas and a government without the militant group, Hamas has reestablished control of Gaza and its security forces are currently policing it. The Trump administration is also concerned the Gaza peace deal between Israel and Hamas could break down because of the challenges of implementing many of its core provisions, as POLITICO has reported. The U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal has been in effect since last month and the Trump administration has stood up a Civil-Military Coordination Center in southern Israel to monitor the effort. Key details such as who will staff the Board of Peace as well as make up and contribute to the force remain under negotiation. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will meet with Trump at the White House on Tuesday. The Gulf state is expected to be a key provider of funds to the reconstruction effort and the pair are expected to discuss the situation in Gaza. The Trump administration has lobbied Riyadh hard to move toward normalizing ties with Israel now that the war is over. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has made clear it cannot go ahead with the process absent a clear path to an independent Palestinian state. The Trump peace plan envisions “a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood” only after Gaza redevelopment advances and the Palestinian Authority reforms itself.

Ami Ayalon was one of Israel’s legendary gatekeepers — intelligence chiefs who’ve shouldered the daunting responsibility for the country’s security since the state’s founding, defending it against the odds from hostile Arab neighbors and militant Palestinian groups. And he’s pessimistic about the prospects for Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan. Ayalon became head of the Shin Bet security service after the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin in 1995, having turned the job down just a few months before. He’s credited with reviving a then-demoralized agency and modernizing it. Under his leadership, Shabak — as Israelis call the security service by its acronym — had a high success rate in preventing militant attacks. In the 2012 documentary “The Gatekeepers,” Ayalon explained that much of that success was down to close coordination with counterparts in the Palestinian Authority. “We’re not your agents,” they told him. “We only do it because our people believe at the end of the day, we’ll have a state beside Israel.” That background is important to understand why he’s gloomy about the prospects of Trump’s plan, which “has more holes than Swiss cheese,” he told POLITICO. The biggest hole not filled is a clear commitment to a two-state solution — the only path to a negotiated settlement, as far as Ayalon sees it. Lack of a sure political horizon for a Palestinian state will mean the withholding of the kind of cooperation he was able to secure from the Palestinian Authority, he explains. Peace will prove elusive. Without Palestinians directly running Gaza in the meantime, as envisaged in the French-Saudi and Egyptian initiatives, the chances of Hamas disarming are negligible, he believes. That’s also the position of Palestinian factions, including the Palestinian Authority. The future makeup of Gaza’s interim postwar government has been a sticking point in the talks about the Trump plan. Israel has insisted that neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority should have any role in running postwar Gaza. But Muslim countries and Palestinian leaders want the Palestinian Authority to manage civilian affairs in the enclave. Palestinian Authority officials warn that excluding Hamas totally risks the militant group wrecking the interim administration.  Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who has embraced the Gaza peace plan, last month called on the international community to “stop the Israeli government’s undermining of the Palestinian Authority and the two-state solution.” He has also affirmed the readiness of institutions within the authority to assume administrative responsibility for Gaza and to link it with the West Bank, with Arab and international support and coordination. ‘BETTER IDEAS’ TO COUNTER HAMAS IDEOLOGY For the past 20 years since leaving Shabak, Ayalon has been a prominent advocate for the two-state solution. He argues this with patriotism and the long-term security of Israel in mind, as well as from a position of authority based on his experience as a former Shabak boss. Ayalon’s watched the war in Gaza with rising exasperation. It was a just war at the start, he says. But he mocks the whole idea that peace will follow, and Israel will be safe, once Hamas is vanquished militarily. Ayalon’s watched the war in Gaza with rising exasperation. | Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images “We have to ask ourselves: What is Hamas all about? It is a radical Muslim organization with a military wing.” Since Hamas is a combination of an ideology and a military force, the idea of total victory is nonsense, he thinks. “And yes, you can defeat the military wing on the battlefield — but you cannot defeat its ideology with the use of military power,” he adds. You need “better ideas” in order to defeat an ideology, he believes. The two-state solution — that is, an independent, sovereign Palestinian state alongside Israel — is the better idea to counter Hamas. His greatest worry is that the carnage, trauma and brutality of the war will fuel Hamas recruitment. “When a child, a teenager, loses his family, what will he do? He will take up a knife, a gun, and kill an Israeli, a Jew.” He also says the war will inevitably be exploited by global jihadi organizations — such as al Qaeda and the Islamic State group — to radicalize, inspire and encourage attacks around the world. OVERCOMING PUBLIC SKEPTICISM Ayalon’s not an outlier among other Israeli gatekeepers in advocating strongly for a two-state solution. Many of them, including Ayalon’s predecessor as head of Shabak, Yaakov Peri, supported the initial stages of the war, arguing Israel had to defend itself after the murderous rampage across southern Israel two years ago by Hamas and allied militant groups. But they became fierce critics when the military campaign in the Palestinian enclave was prolonged, the death tally rose and the enclave was razed. And they railed against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for not developing a serious plan to follow up. For Peri, a two-state solution is the only way to a negotiated settlement. And without it, the very existence of the state of Israel will always be in peril. Peri told POLITICO last year, “Israel could survive a civil war, for example over a withdrawal of settlements from the West Bank; but can’t endure long term without a deal with the Palestinians.” The position of Ayalon and Peri, and other stalwarts of Israel’s defense and intelligence establishment, however, is at odds not only with Netanyahu’s forever wars, but Israeli public opinion as well. In 2012, 61 percent of Israelis supported a two-state solution. But for the past decade and more, Israelis have lost faith in the very idea. In a Gallup poll published this past September, only 27 percent of Israelis backed a two-state solution, with 63 percent opposed — consistent with other surveys since 2023. Palestinians are equally skeptical. The two-state solution also receives little support in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Only 1 in 3 adults support a two-state solution, while 55 percent oppose it. That doesn’t deter Ayalon. Public skepticism can be overcome, he says, noting that most Israelis were suspicious of the Egypt-Israel peace treaty signed by Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin in 1979. The Egyptian and Israeli leaders of the time courted great risks to ink an agreement. “We need great gestures now,” he says. “We need Arab leaders to come to Jerusalem and to speak to the Israeli people. And then we shall see beginning of change … on both sides — among the Palestinians and Israelis,” he concludes. So while he’s critical of the Gaza plan, he does see a glimmer of hope. “It is a first step,” he says, “on a long journey of a thousand miles, as the Chinese say.”

Listen on * Spotify * Apple Music * Amazon Music Von den Bundesländern bis zur COP30 in Brasilien: Der Kanzler reist, verhandelt und kämpft um Vertrauen in die Wirtschaft. Im Gespräch mit Rasmus Buchsteiner geht es um steigende Krankenkassenbeiträge, drohenden Stellenabbau, den geplanten Stahl-Gipfel und die Frage, ob aus den vielen Runden endlich greifbare Ergebnisse werden. Im 200-Sekunden-Interview erklärt Franziska Hoppermann, Vorsitzende der Enquete-Kommission zur Corona-Aufarbeitung, wie die Arbeit des Bundestags Gerechtigkeit und Versöhnung schaffen soll. Sie spricht über die Rolle von Jens Spahn, wo die Corona-Kritiker bleiben und erste Lehren aus den Anhörungen. Und: Hans von der Burchard analysiert das erste Telefonat seit längerer Zeit zwischen Friedrich Merz und Benjamin Netanjahu. Es geht um humanitäre Hilfe für Gaza, diplomatische Spannungen – und darum, ob Deutschland wieder Einfluss im Nahost-Friedensprozess gewinnt. Das Berlin Playbook als Podcast gibt es jeden Morgen ab 5 Uhr. Gordon Repinski und das POLITICO-Team liefern Politik zum Hören – kompakt, international, hintergründig. Für alle Hauptstadt-Profis: Der Berlin Playbook-Newsletter bietet jeden Morgen die wichtigsten Themen und Einordnungen. Jetzt kostenlos abonnieren. Mehr von Host und POLITICO Executive Editor Gordon Repinski: Instagram: @gordon.repinski | X: @GordonRepinski.