Fdd's overnight brief

Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies celebrated Donald Trump’s win. But the stakes in the Middle East are far higher now than during the president-elect’s first term. – Wall Street Journal

Since the Hamas attack, more than 11,700 Americans have opened applications for aliyah, the Israeli naturalization process for people with at least one Jewish grandparent. – Washington Post

Violence broke out in Amsterdam after a Europa League match between Maccabi Tel Aviv FC and the Dutch club Ajax, with Israeli officials condemning what they called widespread attacks on its citizens. – Washington Post

The Biden administration will make a final push for elusive deals to end the wars in Gaza and Lebanon, but Donald Trump’s election may leave Washington without enough leverage to bend Israel and other regional players to its will before he becomes president. – Reuters

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Thursday that Israel had made some progress in getting assistance into Gaza but more needed to be done. – Reuters

The Israeli defence ministry said on Thursday it had signed an agreement to acquire 25 next generation F-15 fighter jets from Boeing Co (BA.N) – Reuters

Israel has informed the United States that it will open an additional crossing for aid into Gaza, the State Department said Thursday, as a US-imposed deadline looms next week. – Agence France-Presse

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Thursday in Jerusalem he saw prospects for ending Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon after Donald Trump was elected US president. – Agence France-Presse

The Prime Minister’s office has denied allegations suggesting the prime minister holds recordings of an IDF commander as blackmail, as reported by Israeli media on Thursday evening. – Jerusalem Post

The High Court of Justice ruled unanimously on Thursday against several petitions asking it to overturn Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to fire Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, saying there was no justification for court intervention. – Times of Israel

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon said Thursday that Donald Trump’s election presents an opportunity to neutralize the cases against Israel in the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice. – Times of Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will send a new ambassador to Washington as he gears up for the next Trump administration, which he hopes will be far more accommodating to Israel than the outgoing Biden government. – Times of Israel

Editorial: If the rot is so clear from the top, what can this possibly say about our society? As it stands, there is effectively one person filling in the positions of prime minister, defense minister, and foreign minister: Netanyahu. Israel Katz does not have the qualifications for the role, and the deal Gideon Sa’ar agreed to is a stab in the back of the public. We deserve better leaders. – Jerusalem Post

Cookie Schwaeber-Issan writes: Johnson has a very compelling reason to backtrack and recant his vicious sentiments, but what of the university campus students whose leftist/woke viewpoints, coupled with their lockstep ideologies of other like-minded peers, cause them to dig down even deeper, with no pressing urgency to mitigate their beliefs? We can likely expect more of the same from them because the strength of Israel and the Jewish people, to these dimwits, appears as a negative and relegates them to the role of the oppressor. How sad and misguided that anyone would misinterpret greatness for tyranny. – Jerusalem Post

Russia & Ukraine

President Vladimir V. Putin on Thursday congratulated and lavished praise on Mr. Trump in his first comments on the U.S. election result, a sign that the Kremlin would move quickly to try to capitalize on the president-elect’s apparent fondness for Russia and its autocratic ruler. – New York Times

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday described China as Russia’s ally and threw his weight behind Beijing’s claims over Taiwan, while stating that no countries had anything to fear from deepening Sino-Russian cooperation. – Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday North Korean troops had suffered casualties in combat with Kyiv’s forces and that some of the 11,000 troops sent to Russia’s Kursk region had taken part in fighting. – Reuters

President Vladimir Putin suggested on Thursday that Russia could hold military drills with North Korea. – Reuters

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday he was not aware of any details of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to end the Ukraine war quickly and he was convinced a rapid end would entail major concessions for Kyiv. – Reuters

President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Ukraine should remain neutral for there to be a chance for peace, adding that the borders of Ukraine should be in accordance with the wishes of the people living in Russian-claimed territory. – Reuters

A Russian guided bomb attack on Ukraine’s southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia on Thursday killed four people and wounded 33, destroying houses and damaging an oncology centre, officials said. – Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday called on European leaders to apply an approach of “peace through strength” to confront the threat posed by Russia. – Reuters

Russia hit an energy facility in northern Ukraine during overnight drone strikes that injured at least three people across the country, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday. – Reuters

Dozens of Russian drones targeted Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, in an eight-hour nighttime attack, authorities said Thursday as Russia kept up its relentless pounding of Ukraine after almost 1,000 days of war. – Associated Press

Hal Brands writes: If Putin imposes a conqueror’s peace on Kyiv, it won’t simply be a tragedy for Ukraine. It will be a victory for the larger cohort of autocracies and a testament to what their cooperation can achieve in a test of strength against the West. The autocracies are pulling together, not least militarily, in what looks increasingly like a prewar era. The democracies will have to do so, as well. – Bloomberg

Lebanon

The Israeli military said Thursday that it had struck dozens of sites in Lebanon, part of its widening offensive against Hezbollah, a bombardment that Lebanese officials said had killed dozens of people. – New York Times

Lebanon’s transport minister said Thursday the country’s only international airport was operating normally, after Israeli strikes on the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut, including one on an area near the hub. – Agence France-Presse

Korean Peninsula

South Korea’s finance minister said on Friday that authorities will respond in a timely manner if volatility heightens excessively in financial markets. – Reuters

France’s foreign ministry summoned North Korea’s general delegate in France last week to protest against the deployment of his country’s troops to Russia and warned there would be consequences. – Reuters

The strengthening ties between Russia and North Korea are not only a threat to European security, but also for the United States, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Thursday. – Reuters

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol denied wrongdoing on Thursday in a burgeoning influence-peddling scandal involving him and his wife that is severely hurting his approval ratings and providing political munition to his rivals. – Reuters

South Asia

The Pakistan army said on Thursday that four of its soldiers were killed in a firefight with militants near the northwestern border with Afghanistan. – Reuters

Russia has increased fertilizer exports to India and is ready to increase it further, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday while addressing the Valdai Discussion Club. – Reuters

India is open to offering easier market access for U.S. firms if Washington reciprocates under President-elect Donald Trump, who has long called out New Delhi for its high tariffs, sources aware of the matter said. – Reuters

India should join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a top official at a government think tank said on Thursday, years after the country decided to walk out of the China-backed Asian trade bloc. – Reuters

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra met Myanmar’s junta chief on the sidelines of a regional summit in China on Thursday, in a rare overseas trip by a general grappling with a civil war at home. – Reuters

Europe

After years of internal strife, it was a dispute about economic policy that finally toppled the German government. Now Europe is facing months of political paralysis just as its many simmering crises are coming to a boil. – Wall Street Journal

A long-planned gathering in a Budapest sports arena took on unexpected urgency on Thursday as European leaders contended with the election victory of Donald J. Trump and the collapse of Germany’s ruling coalition, two pressing issues that added to the tumult of a world already thrown off balance by the war in Ukraine. – New York Times

The victory of Donald J. Trump will test the ability of America’s European allies to maintain solidarity, do more to build up their own militaries and defend their economic interests. – New York Times

New sanctions against Russia announced by the British government on Thursday will also target three private mercenary groups with links to the Kremlin, including Africa Corps, and 11 individuals associated with Russian proxies. – Reuters

Germany’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Thursday he was prepared to dissolve parliament and clear the way for new elections following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-way coalition, warning all parties to act responsibly. – Reuters

Three airports in Eastern Finland are reintroducing radio navigation equipment to facilitate aircraft landings during times that authorities believe Russia is interfering with satellite navigation, their operators told Reuters. – Reuters

France accused Israel on Thursday of harming bilateral ties after Israeli security forces entered a holy site under French administration in Jerusalem and briefly detained two French officials with diplomatic status. – Reuters

France is mulling new sanctions on those enabling the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, regarded as illegal under international law, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on a visit to the territory on Thursday. – Agence France-Presse

Brandon Lewis writes: Here in the U.K., our Labour government must be prepared to work with the U.S. and President Trump to strengthen this alliance. History has shown that both nations are stronger when united and working together. As global challenges grow, this partnership will be essential — for our economies, our security, and the preservation of democratic values worldwide. – The Hill

Liana Fix writes: This would be the kind of leadership that Germany’s European partners have waited for since 2022, when Scholz proclaimed a Zeitenwende—or new era—in security and defense without ever following up. And that kind of leadership will be indispensable with war raging in Europe and Trump in the White House for a second term. – Foreign Policy

The Americas

Cuban authorities said they had begun restoring power to the eastern half of the island on Thursday, a day after Hurricane Rafael knocked out the country’s electrical grid, leaving 10 million people in the dark. – Reuters

Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Milei will meet with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and tycoon Elon Musk next week in the United States, a government spokesperson said on Thursday. – Reuters

Donald Trump’s electoral victory in the United States has injected new energy into Brazil’s hard right and stirred hopes that former President Jair Bolsonaro can mirror his return to power despite legal obstacles to running for office in 2026. – Reuters

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum spoke with President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday morning, and described the first telephone call between the leaders since Tuesday’s U.S. elections as “very cordial.” – Reuters

Members of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team reached out to a leading Nicaraguan opposition figure on Thursday, saying they want to unite exiled communities from Nicaragua, Cuba, and Venezuela, the opposition figure said. – Reuters

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday he is re-establishing a special Cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. relations to address his administration’s concerns about another Donald Trump presidency. – Associated Press

Cybersecurity

A federal agency has issued a directive to employees to reduce the use of their phones for work matters because of China’s recent hack of U.S. telecommunications infrastructure, according to people familiar with the matter. – Wall Street Journal

The Transportation Security Administration issued long-waited proposed cyber mandates Thursday that would set in stone, harmonize, and add to the emergency security directives first issued following the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack in 2021. – CyberScoop

MirrorFace, a hacking group that researchers believe is aligned with China, has been spotted targeting a diplomatic organization in the European Union for the first time. – The Record

Mac users in the crypto industry are being targeted with malware by suspected North Korean hackers looking to siphon funds, according to a new report. – The Record