Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS
Akiva Van Koningsveld, commentary and analysis on contemporary issues.

Akiva Van Koningsveld

Akiva Van Koningsveld is a news desk editor for JNS.org. Originally from The Hague, he made the big move from the Netherlands to Israel in 2020. Before joining JNS, he worked as a policy officer at the Center for Information and Documentation Israel, a Dutch organization dedicated to fighting antisemitism and spreading awareness about the Arab-Israel conflict. With a passion for storytelling and justice, he studied journalism at the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht and later earned a law degree from Utrecht University, focusing on human rights and civil liability.

“We must not return to the Oct. 6 situation where the enemy is on our fences,” said the Israeli finance minister.
The U.S. president said the contacts were “in depth, detailed and constructive,” and could lead to a “complete and total resolution” of the conflict.
The move reportedly came in the wake of pressure from the Trump administration.
Israeli Air Force strikes on the Iranian regime are “meant to enable the brave people of Iran to celebrate the Festival of Fire,” Netanyahu said.
The Israeli military is operating “with determination against the Hezbollah terrorist organization,” it said.
Internal Iranian security forces “have for years been responsible for executing terror activities,” the Israeli military said.
“The IDF is operating with determination against the Hezbollah terror group,” said the military.
The IDF has been deployed across Lebanon’s south following Hezbollah’s decision to join the war on behalf of Iran.
“Hezbollah opened a campaign against Israel overnight and is fully responsible for any escalation,” said IDF chief Eyal Zamir.
PLO Executive Committee Secretary-General Azzam al-Ahmad said he was seeking to unite all Palestinian terror factions.
“It is part of Israel, part of the State of Israel,” Smotrich told JNS, “and with God’s help, this can never be changed.”
As of Jan. 1, 2026, 541,085 Jews lived in Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley, amounting to some 5.32% of the nation’s population.