Page A222From§Eachthe evening edition — 26 October 2026
OCCUPATION, ON SCHEDULE
You will have been told that Tuesday is a reckoning, and in one narrow sense it is: the first Israeli election since October 7th, 2023, with Likud lagging in the polls. Hold that, because nothing else in the week required a vote. On September 27th the attorney general moved the E1 settlement deadline past the election, and the finance minister fumed. Moved, mind you, not cancelled — in abeyance, which is to say the deadline still exists and now falls after the ballot. On Friday gunmen in Hebron killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three. By Sunday the army had ordered new restrictions on Hebron and the West Bank crossings were to be closed before the vote. And what had to be passed for that? Nothing whatever. A closure is an order, and an order is signed. Someone will say that Tuesday answers it. Tuesday elects a Knesset. Then the drill: multiple divisions, the largest in years, an analyst reaching for the Yom Kippur War of 1973 ... and not one line of it on a ballot paper. Three disastrous years for Israelis, the Times has it, and the core support remains strong. Tuesday may change the name over the ministry. The gates at Hebron it does not touch.
At noon the fox walks the yard. The dog does not rise.
“They're selling Tuesday as the big reckoning, and sure, Likud's trailing in the polls. But the crossings closed by order, Hebron got new restrictions by order, and the divisions rolled out for the biggest drill in years on a schedule nobody voted on. You can change the prime minister Tuesday and not move one gate.”
“Look, restricting movement days after gunmen kill two soldiers is standard security, it's not — did I say standard? That doesn't sound like me. The drill was on the calendar, the E1 deadline was moved by the attorney general and not by the prime minister, so if anything you're watching the system function, and the polling still shows his base holding, which, last I checked, is what an election is for.”
Earlier in this story
The receipts
The ICJ ordered Israel in January 2024 to 'prevent the destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence' of alleged genocide in Gaza ICJ provisional measures order, 26 January 2024 (via ASIL)
The Millions of Israelis in Netanyahu’s CornerDespite three disastrous years for Israelis, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s core support remains strong.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson publicly broke with her Supreme Court colleagues in a Thursday ruling allowing New Hampshire to fully block voters from using student IDs in the upcoming midterms. Jackson, the high court's most junior liberal justice, wrote in a short dissent that she would have left in place a lower court decision that...
The IDF ordered new restrictions on the West Bank ahead of Israeli elections this week. It’s focused on the city of Hebron, where Palestinian gunmen killed two IDF soldiers Friday. It comes just days before nationwide elections could determine Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political future.
The ICJ ordered Israel in January 2024 to prevent the destruction and preserve evidence of alleged genocide in Gaza ICJ provisional measures order, 26 January 2024 (via ASIL)
Israeli Jews Across the Spectrum Face an Election of FearsSupporters and opponents of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have expressed intense anxieties about isolation abroad, security at home and the future of Israel’s identity.
The ICJ ordered Israel in January 2024 to "prevent the destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence" of alleged genocide in Gaza ICJ provisional measures order, 26 January 2024 (via ASIL)
Netanyahu's party lags in polls ahead of first election since Oct. 7, 2023Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party is lagging behind in the polls ahead of Israel's first election since the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attacks. Matt Gutman has more details ahead of Tuesday.
The Supreme Court issued a ruling on Thursday, letting New Hampshire prohibit voters from using student identification cards to prove their identities before casting ballots in the midterm elections. The decision reverses a federal judge’s order blocking New Hampshire from enforcing a law that barred student IDs from being used for voter…
The Supreme Court allowed New Hampshire to reject student IDs at the polls ahead of midterm elections, warning of voter confusion too close to an election.
The Israeli military's operation comes in response to a gun attack that killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three others in the West Bank.
The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily greenlit a New Hampshire directive on Thursday that prohibits the use and acceptance of student IDs in elections. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the lone dissent in the case.
The Supreme Court cleared the way Thursday for New Hampshire to fully ban the use of student IDs for voting during the midterm elections.
A Lever investigation traces how the Israel lobby is routing millions through groups promoting women, reproductive rights, and Latino candidates — and how AI interests and other power brokers are adopting the strategy.
Israel's largest military drill in years mobilizes multiple divisions to counter border infiltrations, as an analyst invokes the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
· Battle Over Illegal E1 Settlement in Occupied West Bank Escalates a Month Before Israeli Election from the morgue, 27 Sep 2026
· Elon Musk's 'Absolutely Insane' $276 Million Midterm Spending Exposed in New Report from the morgue, 12 Oct 2026
· 'Take the Open Shot': Democrats Rebuked for Refusing to Target Elon Musk Over $100 Million Midterm Spending Spree from the morgue, 22 Sep 2026
· 'Major Win' for Democracy as Supreme Court Rejects Trump Attack on Mail-In Voting from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· Supreme Court slams brakes on Trump's mail-in voting plan from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· US Citizens 'Could Lose Their Right to Vote' After Supreme Court Gives Green Light to Trump's Voter Purge Database from the morgue, 25 Sep 2026
· New Hampshire urges Supreme Court to reinstate student ID voting ban ahead of election from the morgue, 20 Oct 2026
· Supreme Court allows Trump admin to use federal voter eligibility database during appeal from the morgue, 25 Sep 2026
· After airport strike, Trump considering whether to join fight against Houthis from the morgue, 11 Oct 2026
· Saudi Arabia promises response to Houthi attacks from the morgue, 8 Sep 2026
· Is Yemen Heading Back to All-Out War? Saudis Launch Strikes as Houthis Take Control of Red Sea Coast from the morgue, 14 Sep 2026
· US Backs Major Saudi-Led Offensive as Yemen Slides Back Toward All-Out War from the morgue, 4 Oct 2026
· F Lead Iran must stop arming Yemen's Houthi forces, say the G7 from the morgue, 22 Sep 2026
· Blasts Rattle Riyadh as Saudi Arabia Hit by Deadliest Houthi Attacks So Far from the morgue, 8 Oct 2026
· Saudi Arabia sees disruptions at Riyadh airport amid ballistic missile attacks from Houthis from the morgue, 8 Oct 2026
· Houthis claim they struck Riyadh's main airport in Saudi Arabia from the morgue, 8 Oct 2026
· The Royal Saudi Air Defense intercepts a ballistic missile fired from Yemen over the Saudi capital Riyadh that caused panic among residents. Houthis say they fired several Burkan-2 missiles at targets from the morgue, 11 Apr 2018
· The Houthis say that they have struck Saudi Arabia's Abha International Airport and King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah with drones. A Houthi spokesman said on Twitter that the attacks halt from the morgue, 15 Feb 2021
· Houthis tried to hit Saudi capital with ballistic missile, Riyadh confirms from the morgue, 20 Sep 2026
· Riyadh airport explosion prompts Saudi Arabia to issue air raid alerts as Houthi fighting escalates from the morgue, 19 Sep 2026
· Markey Urges Congress to Block Trump-Saudi Deal, a 'Starting Gun for a Middle East Nuclear Arms Race' from the morgue, 26 Aug 2026
· Trump admin's list of US-designated 'foreign terrorist' groups in Latin America expands to 21 from the morgue, 11 Sep 2026
· Top Trump official reveals how 30-minute military op unlocked Venezuela oil windfall for US buyers from the morgue, 11 Sep 2026
· Ex-Venezuelan first lady Cilia Flores seeks release from NYC jail, citing heart ailment from the morgue, 11 Sep 2026
· New York City protest once again demands release of Maduro and Flores from the morgue, 11 Sep 2026
· Trump Official Denies Stealing Venezuela's Oil One Hour After Boasting Country is 'Forced to Work' With US from the morgue, 6 Sep 2026
· 'Mobster Language': Trump Says Venezuelan Oil Will Replenish US Reserves from the morgue, 30 Aug 2026
· 'Yet Another Trump Grift': Congress Called to Stop US Takeover of Venezuelan Oil Fields from the morgue, 28 Aug 2026
· The Biggest Oil Deal or Theft at Gunpoint? U.S. Claims Majority Control of Venezuela's Oil Reserves from the morgue, 1 Sep 2026
· Tehran threatens attacks after U.S. strikes Iranian tankers from the morgue, 7 Sep 2026
· US forces take out 3 Iranian oil tankers in retaliation from the morgue, 7 Sep 2026
· Oil prices up as Iran says it will expand control over Strait of Hormuz from the morgue, 8 Sep 2026
· Iran live updates: Trump speaks to MBS, says everything will 'work out fine' from the morgue, 13 Sep 2026
· Iran threatens retaliation against U.S. tanker strikes from the morgue, 7 Sep 2026
· U.S. gas prices hit record high for Labor Day from the morgue, 7 Sep 2026
· Ship tracking websites, including Kpler, MarineTraffic, and TankerTrackers, show that three Iranian oil tankers, including two from the National Iranian Tanker Company, have escaped the blockade that from the morgue, 17 Jun 2026
· Iranian state media reports that the United States Navy attempted to capture an Iranian oil tanker. The oil tanker was boarded, commandeered and then returned by Iranian NEDSA marines in a helicopter from the morgue, 3 Nov 2021
· US strikes Iranian rocket launchers in first attack since late July from the morgue, 30 Aug 2026
· An Iranian Navy commander claims on state television that the Iranian Navy forced a U.S. submarine to surface as it transited the Strait of Hormuz and that the submarine violated Iranian territorial w from the morgue, 20 Apr 2023
· Trump Threatens to Rename Strait of Hormuz for Himself as War Pushes Diesel Prices Toward Record High from the morgue, 2 Sep 2026
· Trump floats renaming Strait of Hormuz after himself from the morgue, 2 Sep 2026
· U.S. strikes targets in Iran near Strait of Hormuz as Iran says it is retaliating from the morgue, 1 Sep 2026
· Trump Hammered Over Iran War That Drove Gas Prices Above $4 Per Gallon Every Day in August for First Time Ever from the morgue, 31 Aug 2026
· 'Trump Did It!': At $5.85 a Gallon, Diesel Price Hits All-Time High in US Thanks to War on Iran from the morgue, 4 Sep 2026
· Price of diesel in U.S. hits record as Vance downplays Iran war impact from the morgue, 4 Sep 2026
· Diesel prices hit record high as wars disrupt supply from the morgue, 4 Sep 2026
· Trump vows response to Iran's retaliatory strikes: 'We're going to hit them hard' from the morgue, 31 Aug 2026
· Trump threatens Iran against retaliation for latest U.S. strikes from the morgue, 1 Sep 2026
· Live updates: US, Iran ramp up strikes; incumbents hold on in Massachusetts from the morgue, 2 Sep 2026
· Trump calls Iran conflict "small potatoes" from the morgue, 7 Sep 2026
· Labor Day gas prices are highest ever for holiday from the morgue, 7 Sep 2026
· How ‘Hypermilers’ Are Trying to Beat High Gas Prices from the morgue, 7 Sep 2026
· Fuel prices at record Labor Day high in US thanks to Iran War and refinery issues from the morgue, 7 Sep 2026
· Oil Prices Rise Slightly After U.S. and Iran Trade Strikes from the morgue, 6 Sep 2026
· USS Lincoln heads home as war with Iran escalates from the morgue, 7 Sep 2026
· Lawler disagrees with Trump on Iran war: 'It is certainly not small potatoes' from the morgue, 6 Sep 2026
· OPEC Plus to Keep Oil Production Steady from the morgue, 6 Sep 2026
· Iran War Has Cost the Average American More Than $1,200 Over Six Months, Economist Estimates from the morgue, 1 Sep 2026
· Trump says military conflict in Iran is 'small potatoes for us' from the morgue, 4 Sep 2026
· Wright: US has 'a lot of leverage' in Venezuela after oil deal reached from the morgue, 6 Sep 2026
· White House unveils new details of Venezuela agreement from the morgue, 1 Sep 2026
· Chris Wright explains how Venezuelan crude will ‘fill’ the Strategic Petroleum Reserve from the morgue, 4 Sep 2026
· Energy Secretary Wright says Venezuela oil deal will bring down gas prices in a year or two from the morgue, 4 Sep 2026
· Chevron to expand in Venezuela, days after the U.S. and Venezuela strike oil deal from the morgue, 2 Sep 2026
· Venezuelan oil flows will lower gas prices in 12-24 months, Wright says in Caracas from the morgue, 2 Sep 2026
· Trump says Venezuelan oil will replenish Strategic Petroleum Reserves from the morgue, 31 Aug 2026
· US, Russia explore gas sale to Europe amid Ukraine war: Report from the morgue, 8 Oct 2026
· Countries across Europe report reductions in gas supplies after Russia disconnected supplies to Ukraine yesterday. Russia accuses Ukraine of stealing cubic metres of gas yesterday from pipelines trans from the morgue, 2 Jan 2006
· AI safety group outlines demands for legislation, warns lawmakers from the morgue, 7 Oct 2026
· AI-generated child sexual abuse images cause real-life harm from the morgue, 7 Oct 2026
· OpenAI fires researchers for sharing data with AI safety advocacy group: Report from the morgue, 2 Oct 2026
· Courts just allowed AI child sex abuse material because it’s ‘virtual.’ Who do you think it’s trained on? from the morgue, 19 Sep 2026
· 'We Cannot Wait for Disaster to Strike': Beyer Leads Bipartisan Push in House to Urgently Regulate AI from the morgue, 16 Sep 2026
· MPs demand tech firms block nude images on children’s smartphones from the morgue, 30 Sep 2026
· AI safety groups aren’t buying OpenAI’s spending retreat from the morgue, 6 Oct 2026
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front. The byline is a pen name for a column drafted by a machine and checked by the editor: how this is made.