Fdd's overnight brief

Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has officially requested a pardon in his corruption trial, an unusual move over an issue that has divided the country. The request comes after President Trump called several times for Netanyahu to be pardoned. The Israeli prime minister was indicted in 2019 for bribery, fraud and breach of trust, charges he denies. – Wall Street Journal

Israeli authorities said they are reviewing the conduct of security forces who shot two members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad during a West Bank counterterrorism operation after video footage appeared to show the pair surrendering. – Wall Street Journal

The proposed deployment of an international force in Gaza, seen as a crucial feature of President Donald Trump’s plan to bring peace to the enclave, is struggling to get off the ground as countries considered likely to contribute soldiers have grown wary. – Washington Post

After spending nine months in an Israeli prison without trial, 16-year-old Mohammed Zaber Ibrahim, a Palestinian American teenager from Florida, was released on Thursday. Videos of his reunion with family members showed long, tearful hugs. – Washington Post

Mr. Kalfon was among the first to speak openly about his experience. He was abducted on Oct. 7, 2023, when Palestinian militants rampaged through southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and abducting roughly 250 others. Like many hostages, Mr. Kalfon’s account of his 738 days in captivity included numerous examples of physical and mental abuse. The captors broke his teeth, starved him and pressured him to convert to Islam. – New York Times

An Israeli attack killed two children in Gaza on Saturday, medics and relatives said, in violence that has persisted in the Palestinian enclave despite a fragile ceasefire. – Reuters

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will travel to Israel on December 6 and 7 for his first official visit since taking office, a German government spokesperson said on Friday. – Reuters

Four foreign pro-Palestinian activists — three Italians and one Canadian — were injured Sunday, one of them seriously, in a settler attack near Jericho, the Palestinian Authority’s WAFA news agency reported. – Agence France-Presse

A spokesman for Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said that the two deceased hostages whose bodies remain in Gaza should not be seen as grounds to delay the second phase of US President Donald Trump’s peace deal. – Times of Israel

The Israeli military declared an area near the West Bank city of Bethlehem a closed military zone following a settler attack that wounded several Palestinians. The Palestinian Red Crescent said one of the injured people had been shot. – Times of Israel

The commander of Hamas’s East Rafah Battalion, his deputy, and two other terror operatives were confirmed by the military to have been killed early Sunday morning after attempting to flee a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip. – Times of Israel

Ahmad Nasrallah, a central weapons supplier for terrorists in the West Bank, was apprehended near Tulkarm, the IDF announced on Sunday. – Jerusalem Post

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday met with the family of  St.-Sgt.-Maj. Ran Gvili, the last Israeli hostage whose remains are held in Gaza, to brief them on Israel’s efforts to bring him to burial in Israel. – Jerusalem Post

A Hamas terrorist crossed Gaza’s Yellow Line and surrendered to IDF soldiers on Saturday, a US official told CBS News. The report did not specify where the incident occurred along the ceasefire line. – Jerusalem Post

The Palestinian Authority (PA) is continuing to transfer payments to terrorists and their families, despite a public commitment by PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas to immediately halt salaries to terrorists, according to a report in the British Telegraph. – Arutz Sheva

Shin Bet Director David Zini visited Egypt Sunday, meeting with the head of Egyptian intelligence. According to a report by Kan News, the two discussed developments in the Gaza Strip and the next phase of the agreement between the parties. – Arutz Sheva

Editorial: Netanyahu has not shied away from the challenge of standing again for election, but maybe he should not do so again under the shadow of the trial. Maybe it is best to give Israelis the chance to express their views on Netanyahu at the ballot box. Does that mean doing away with justice and laws? No. But after 10 years of this, and moving forward into a post-Israel-Hamas War world, this issue needs to be put behind Israel. – Jerusalem Post

Mohamed Elgohari writes: A cease-fire that delivers on its promises—together with an Israeli willingness to publicly accept the goal of the two-state solution and to curb settlement growth and settler violence—can push Palestinian public opinion further toward a moderate political center that supports negotiations and the two-state solution, especially in Gaza. A cease-fire that exists mostly on paper, however, would push opinion back the other way. Where popular attitudes go next depends on whether Palestinians are given a real chance to imagine a future that is not just war by other means. – Foreign Affairs

Russia and Ukraine

U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators said Sunday’s meeting on ending the war with Russia—which included talks on possible elections, land swaps and security guarantees—was productive, and top U.S. envoys will head to Moscow on Monday for further discussions. – Wall Street Journal

Russia’s growing prowess at hitting Ukrainian supply lines with drones is the most important shift in the war in 2025, Ukrainian front-line fighters and analysts studying the conflict say—more significant than Russian forces’ incremental gains in territory. – Wall Street Journal

President Volodymyr Zelensky’s right-hand man and top peace negotiator has resigned, as an investigation into alleged corruption in Ukraine’s government widens. The departure of Andriy Yermak marks the biggest shake-up of Ukraine’s government since the start of the war and deprives Zelensky of a trusted emissary at a pivotal moment, with Russia advancing on the battlefield and the U.S. pressuring Kyiv to make painful concessions to end the conflict. – Wall Street Journal

Russia unleashed a nearly 10-hour air assault across Ukraine on Saturday, killing at least two people in the capital and injuring dozens more, according to the Ukrainian authorities. – New York Times

The Ukrainians call these prisoners “civilian hostages.” Their fates are likely to be one of the most difficult issues to resolve if Ukraine and Russia ever agree on a peace deal, which the Trump administration is pushing hard again. – New York Times

President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed a decree granting visa-free access to Russia for up to 30 days for many categories of Chinese citizens, including tourists, business people, academics, artists and sports people. – Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will pay his first official visit to Ireland on Tuesday, the government said in a statement. – Reuters

Ukrainian underwater drones have struck two tankers belonging to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet in the Black Sea, according to an official in Ukraine’s security services (SBU). – CNN

Editorial: Yet anti-Ukraine voices in Congress, the Administration and the pundit class cite Kyiv’s corruption as worthy of unique condemnation. They do so because they view it as one more excuse to abandon Ukraine to Vladimir Putin’s domination. If zero corruption is the standard for dealing with the world, the U.S. won’t have many, if any, friends. And, by the way, profiting from government power is hardly unknown in Washington these days. Corruption deserves to be policed and punished. But U.S. support for Ukraine deserves to be judged by overall American interests, and the highest interest is national security. – Wall Street Journal

Editorial: Isolationists in Washington may try to use Yermak’s resignation as an excuse to ditch Ukraine, citing it as evidence of endemic corruption. In truth, his ouster is evidence of resiliency and maturity that should hearten the Trump administration. Friday’s news shows Zelensky’s willingness to sideline even his closest aide to do what’s best for his country in its fight for national survival. – Washington Post

Syria

A year after the dictator Bashar al-Assad was toppled, Syrians are still waiting to see any concrete form of transitional justice. The new government and its much-depleted judicial system face a gargantuan task, to address hundreds of thousands of crimes committed by the former regime. – New York Times

The U.S. military said on Sunday that it recently destroyed 15 sites containing Islamic State weapons caches in southern Syria. – Reuters

The military is considering an expanded operation in southern Syria if it finds that Syrian government forces were involved in gunfire at soldiers during an arrest operation in Syria’s south early Friday morning, Channel 13 said in an unsourced report. – Times of Israel

Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya terrorists who were arrested after operating in southern Syria admitted to ties with Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran, during an interrogation, a source told Israel’s public broadcaster KAN News on Saturday. – Jerusalem Post

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s general intelligence orchestrated the attacks on the IDF on Thursday night and earlier attacks against the Druze communities, KAN reported on Friday, citing informed sources. – Jerusalem Post

Yossi Mansharof writes: Neutralizing Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Syria is equally crucial, and Israel should condition any future agreement with al-Sharaa on the removal of all components of the resistance axis from Syrian territory. Iranian regime discourse suggests that planning is underway for a potential multifront ground assault on Israel. Accordingly, Israel must fully implement its updated security doctrine, one forged through heavy sacrifice and loss. – Jerusalem Post

Turkey

Explosions rocked two tankers sanctioned for carrying Russian oil, the latest in a spate of blasts on such vessels, sparking a rescue operation off Turkey’s Black Sea coast. The 900-foot Kairos was en route from Egypt to Russia when it suffered a blast and caught fire, according to Turkish authorities. – Wall Street Journal

In the largest event yet of his inaugural foreign trip, Pope Leo XIV spoke to a few thousand faithful in this Muslim-majority metropolis on Saturday of unity, of “breaking down the walls of prejudice,” of rejecting “darkness” in favor of “light.” – Washington Post

When Pope Leo XIV arrived here Friday to commemorate the Council of Nicaea, a seminal event in Christian history about 1,700 years ago, he prayed at the once-sunken ruins of an ancient basilica that only recently emerged from Lake Iznik, a freshwater expanse whose very survival is now threatened. – Washington Post

Middle East & North Africa

Tunisian police arrested prominent opposition figure Chaima Issa at a protest in the capital Tunis on Saturday to enforce a 20-year prison sentence, her lawyers said. – Reuters

A Tunisian appeals court on Friday handed jail terms of up to 45 years to opposition leaders, businessmen and lawyers, a court document showed, in what critics said was a sign of President Kais Saied’s increasingly authoritarian rule. – Reuters

African leaders pushed Sunday to have colonial-era crimes recognized, criminalized and addressed through reparations. – Associated Press

Egypt’s Higher Administrative Court has annulled parliamentary election results in 26 districts due to violations, local media reported Sunday, citing Anadolu. – Arutz Sheva

A US drone strike on Saturday targeted a motorcycle in the Al-Husoon area of Al-Wadi district, east of Yemen’s Marib province, eliminating two alleged Al-Qaeda terrorists, a local government security source told Xinhua. – Arutz Sheva

China

For Western companies in China, a new reality has set in: The easy money is gone and competition is only getting fiercer. As China’s economic growth has slowed in recent years, consumers have become choosier about their spending. Meanwhile, the rise of formidable local rivals has crowded the market and driven vicious price wars, eating into profit margins. – Wall Street Journal

Revenues at China’s giant military firms fell last year as corruption purges slowed arms contracts and procurement, according to a study released on Monday by a leading conflict think tank. – Reuters

China’s military and coast guard organised patrols around Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Saturday to “resolutely safeguard its sovereignty, maritime rights and interests”, the official Xinhua news agency reported. – Reuters

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on Britain on Friday to uphold the “one-China” principle, as Beijing seeks to rally support in its worst diplomatic dispute with Tokyo in years over democratically-governed Taiwan. – Reuters

Victor Ferguson and Audrye Wong write: Beijing has demanded that Ms. Takaichi retract the statement that sparked the conflict, but backing down would be politically costly for her in Japan. Public pressure in both countries makes it harder for either side to de-escalate, increasing the risk of a public incident spreading into a broader confrontation. Even as China hones its formal sanctions toolkit, it still turns to informal methods when legal and political justification is thin. These tools offer Beijing flexibility and deniability while adding volatility that can make crises worse. Governments need to figure out how to coordinate effective responses and bolster resilience against continued Chinese coercion on many fronts. – Wall Street Journal

Meg Reiss writes: This is not about turning inward: America must build capacity with allies such as Australia. But no foreign government should ever be allowed control the pace of America’s defense readiness. If the government acts now to cut red tape, the United States can rebuild processing capacity in three to five years. Delays are not administrative inconveniences. They are active strategic vulnerabilities. A major power does not ask for permission to secure its own defense. – Washington Post

Karishma Vaswani writes: Washington’s Asian allies — Japan, Australia, South Korea and the Philippines — will need to deepen coordination and treat the island’s defense as central to regional security. Continuing with transits through the Taiwan Strait, despite the risk of annoying China, would go a long way toward reasserting the importance of international law. Trump’s Ukraine plan may feel distant from what is happening around Taiwan. All Beijing sees is an opportunity. – Bloomberg

Asia

His death adds to a toll of more than 300 undocumented migrants who have died in custody in Malaysia since 2020, according to government data provided to Parliament. Malaysia’s Home Affairs Ministry did not respond to questions about the death of Mr. Ben Za Min or the data. – New York Times

Kazakhstan told Ukraine on Sunday to stop attacking the Black Sea terminal of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which handles more than 1% of global oil, after a major drone attack halted exports and seriously damaged loading infrastructure. – Reuters

Taiwan is aiming for tariffs on its exports to the United States to be cut to 15% from 20% now, though help in training U.S. workers is not among the “conditions” figuring in their trade talks, senior Taiwan officials said on Monday. – Reuters

Australia will reorganise its defence department, forming a Defence Delivery Agency and appointing a national armaments director to improve defence spending and delivery, Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Monday. – Reuters

Allies of Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov swept the board in a snap parliamentary election on Sunday, preliminary results showed, cementing his increasingly tight control of politics in what had long been Central Asia’s most democratic state. – Reuters

Japan’s beloved Princess Aiko is often cheered like a pop star. During a visit to Nagasaki with Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, the sound of her name being screamed by well-wishers along the roads overwhelmed the cheers for her parents. – Associated Press

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will remain in detention at the International Criminal Court after appeals judges on Friday rejected a request to release him on health grounds. – Associated Press

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s ruling coalition suffered a blow in Sabah’s state election, highlighting the bloc’s continued struggle to gain a foothold in East Malaysia. – Bloomberg

Taiwan plans to buy its first weapons for a major air-defense system announced less than two months ago, underscoring Taipei’s urgency to get the program online as China escalates its military intimidation. – Bloomberg

Last week, Tokyo’s top defense official toured Japan Self-Defense Force (JSDF) and Coast Guard facilities across the southwestern islands – including a base located 70 nautical miles away from Taiwan. – USNI News

Africa

This country has long been a haven for Africans fleeing war and famine. No longer. Uganda is among a raft of poorer countries pulling back the welcome mat, which officials here blame on deep cuts to American aid. The move is the latest sign that impoverished nations are joining far wealthier states in turning desperate people away. – Wall Street Journal

Seventeen South Africans have sent distress signals to their government this month asking to be rescued from the grinding battle in Ukraine, according to the office of President Cyril Ramaphosa. Mr. Ramaphosa has announced an investigation into how the men ended up there, and an elite police unit says it is looking into criminal charges against Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, Mr. Zuma’s daughter, who has been accused by one of her own sisters of tricking the men into joining the Russian battle. – New York Times

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa dismissed on Sunday U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to exclude Pretoria from next year’s G20 summit, reaffirming South Africa’s status as a founding member of the group. – Reuters

Guinea-Bissau’s ousted President Umaro Sissoco Embalo arrived in the Republic of Congo’s capital Brazzaville on Saturday, days after the military seized power, a source close to him told Reuters. – Reuters

An Anglican priest kidnapped in northwest Nigeria last month has been killed in captivity, the head of the Church of Nigeria said, as the country reels from a surge in abductions and killings that has drawn condemnation from Washington. – Reuters

The presidents of Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda will travel to Washington next week to sign a peace deal and meet with U.S. President Donald Trump, three sources told Reuters, as the U.S. tries to broker peace in war-hit eastern Congo and attract Western mining investments to the region. – Reuters

South African police said they arrested four men en route to Russia who are suspected of having been recruited to fight in the military there. – Reuters

Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko on Friday said this week’s coup in neighbouring Guinea-Bissau was a sham and demanded its disrupted election be allowed to continue, adding to a chorus of regional anger over the latest power grab. – Reuters

Hundreds of children have arrived in a refugee camp without their families as thousands of people fled violence in the Sudanese city of el-Fasher in the past month, with more children disconnected from their families arriving every day, officials said. – Associated Press

Sam Brownback and Frank Wolf write: This status has enormous benefits to our economy, a fact the Chinese recognize full well. The Chinese want to dethrone the dollar, and a key part of that strategy is to get the Saudis and other Gulf countries to trade in Chinese currency, not dollars. We cannot afford to let this happen.  Lives are at stake in Sudan, millions of them, but so is U.S. global leadership and dollar supremacy. President Trump should use his matchless skills and position as a peacemaker to save lives and further our interests. – Fox News

Ed Husain writes: Thirty years later, Sudan rhymes again with a pre-9/11 enabling environment as it shelters supporters of Hamas, Houthis, and their terror financiers. President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are avoiding Clinton’s mistake: Sudan must return to civilian rule immediately, hand over Abdelbasit Hamza, ban the Muslim Brotherhood, and other terrorist financiers must be expelled or put back in prison. The Sudanese prime minister, who supported America, sought prosperity by normalizing relations with America and Israel, and deserves to be backed by America and our Arab allies. This is a roadmap that can help Sudan, America, our Arab allies, and Israel, too. – National Interest

North America

India’s government is considering guaranteeing Canada ongoing pulse crop sales so its farmers keep growing the vital protein source, Indian High Commissioner to Canada Dinesh Patnaik said during a visit to Saskatchewan. – Reuters

Canada’s government is willing to negotiate with more provinces beyond Alberta on lifting clean electricity regulations if they have equivalent policies, Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said. – Bloomberg

Jonathan Lowy and Pablo Arrocha Olabuenaga write: Mexico’s calls for action to stop gun trafficking have also been heard by U.S. lawmakers. In 2022, when enacting the first significant U.S. federal gun legislation in 30 years, Congress outlawed cross-border gun trafficking in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. […] The fight for accountability and reform is long way from won, but it is being waged unwaveringly on multiple fronts, with diplomacy, bilateral cooperation, regional pressure and litigation against those who facilitate the deadly crime gun pipeline. It will take continued progress on all of them to stop the scourge of gun trafficking. – The Hill

Cybersecurity

Defense-tech companies and artificial-intelligence startups have found a vital new market in President Trump’s rapidly escalating drug war. Weapons and AI platforms that were designed for a future conflict with China or struggled to prove themselves on the Ukrainian battlefield have found a niche in the administration’s tech-enabled crackdown on drug trafficking. – Wall Street Journal

When DeAndrea Salvador began receiving emails in June from people in Brazil, the North Carolina state senator assumed they were part of a phishing scam. The emails, first to her senate office and then to her campaign, had subject lines like “Is this you?” and “AI manipulation.” – Washington Post

Russia is moving toward a full block of messaging app WhatsApp after degrading the service for months, taking another step to replace Western communication and technology platforms with domestic ones. – Bloomberg

Zhaslan Madiyev writes: To sustain AI leadership, Washington will need to address the twin bottlenecks of energy and critical minerals and that requires looking beyond its own borders for complementary partners. The message from this month’s summit is that the next phase of U.S.–Central Asia cooperation will be defined not only by pipelines and railways, but by fiber networks, data centers, and AI systems. The infrastructure of the 21st century is digital, and the United States should build it together with Kazakhstan. – The Hill