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HEADLINES - Ex-official reveals Iran crackdown plan - Arabic-page listing sparks Albanese forum controversy - PMO probes widen amid Braverman Qatargate The time is now 10:01 PM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report. In the conflict with Iran and its Regional Proxies, a former Iranian Interior Ministry official with a history in the IRGC told Iran International that the regime prepared a multi-layered crackdown on protests starting in 2022, and that the January 8-9 crackdown was part of that plan. The official described systematic training to handle demonstrations, including informal motorcycle and foot patrols and marking vantage points for snipers. He said ideological and psychological preparation to kill, including firing final shots at protesters, was taught, with some trainees positioned as protest leaders. The former official said thugs were employed by the regime to identify individuals and guide or misdirect street movements, and leaked documents reportedly reflect a premeditated, coordinated strategy by Tehran. In the Disputed Territories (Gaza, Judea and Samaria, East Jerusalem), UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese is reportedly slated to speak at the Al Jazeera Forum Conference in Doha, on a panel about the Palestinian cause in a multipolar world. Albanese is listed on Al Jazeera’s site as a speaker during the forum’s third session on its first day, alongside other panelists including Fatou Bensouda, Omar Makki, and Stephen Wilkinson. An OSINT investigator noted Albanese’s listing appeared on the Arabic page but not the English page, prompting Israel’s former UN ambassador Danny Danon to call the inclusion a profound failure of the forum’s organizers. Separately, in East Jerusalem’s Shuafat refugee camp, two Palestinian men were shot dead in what police described as a criminal dispute; the victims were Iyad Awaida, 42, and Muhammad Abdin, 31, who were transported to Hadassah Mount Scopus and pronounced dead. Police said they are tracing the suspect who fled, with Deputy Commissioner Avshalom Peled visiting the scene. Earlier in the day, three men from the same family were shot and killed in northern Israel. In Gaza, the IDF said it carried out a precise strike on terrorist infrastructure in Khan Yunis in response to a ceasefire violation yesterday when Hamas fighters fired on IDF forces. In Israeli Domestic Politics, an unnamed Prime Minister’s Office official is being investigated on suspicion of inappropriate conduct with a woman, and police have been in contact with the alleged victim to file a complaint. This is part of a string of PMO investigations, including the midnight parking-lot meeting affair in which police suspect Tzachi Braverman, Netanyahu’s chief of staff and designated ambassador, used sensitive information connected to the investigation into leaked classified materials published by the German newspaper Bild. The PMO has also faced allegations of Qatari infiltration, known as the Qatargate scandal. The Prime Minister has been on trial since 2020 and was indicted in 2020 on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in cases 1000, 2000, and 4000. Separately, Netanyahu denied responsibility for October 7 failures and released a redacted 55-page response to the state comptroller, arguing that Israel’s withdrawals from Lebanon and Gaza and security assessments made 75 minutes before the Hamas attack contributed to that day. Thank you for tuning in to this Israel Today: Ongoing War Report update. I'm Noa Levi. Stay safe and informed. Keep in mind that this AI-generated report may contain occasional inaccuracies, so consult multiple sources for a comprehensive view. Find the code and more details in the podcast description. SOURCES https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-885804 https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-885802 https://www.timesofisrael.com/police-launch-manhunt-after-two-men-shot-dead-in-east-jerusalems-shuafat-camp/ https://t.me/beholdisraelchannel/68497 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-885797 https://www.ynetnews.com/article/ry0tcnmd11l